Chapter 14

Paul called Jemison before catching his train back to Philadelphia, and told him he'd take the job. Jemison suggested he report for work the next day, but Paul held out for four days later. He was, after all, making an interstate move, and although he traveled light, it would require some doing.

Even with the four-day respite, Paul welcomed the prospect of working, for well over a week, at the radio station before facing the task of reporting six days a week to the school in Manhattan as well. It would give him a chance to get his feet on the ground at WNUT-AM, Nutley, NJ.

His "feet on the ground," right. Not for the first time, Paul marveled at how many commonplace expressions involved references to legs, knees, feet, or combinations of all three. Everybody did it. Sometimes, when someone employed such a phrase in Paul's presence, they would think about what they had just said and blush furiously.

But, Hell, he thought, he still used those phrases himself. So what, if his feet were aluminum or steel or titanium or whatever-the-hell they were made out of? He would go to that half-assed little radio station and get his erector-set feet on the ground!

He called ahead and asked Lois if she could meet him at the station. He was scheduled to be back in Philadelphia at 4:47 p.m. A pretty early hour to knock off, for a lawyer, but Lois said she'd find a way. They agreed to go out for dinner before heading back to Paul's apartment.

Paul's new apartment in Philly had a 90-day lease -- an escape-hatch he had arranged in anticipation of his possible need to move elsewhere after a short time. Well, in all likelihood, more than 60 of the 90 lease days were going to be donated to the landlord's favorite charity -- the landlord.

Lois met him at the train and took over management of his suitcase-on-wheels on their way to the parking lot. Paul was learning not to make too big a deal out of letting others take on such tasks for him, where possible. The fact was, whether it was equipped with wheels or not, dragging that thing around was, for him, a drag.

"Hey! I've got a school, I'm all enrolled, and I've got a job, too!"

Lois had already heard a little about the Jemison Plan, before Paul had left for New York, but she was somewhat surprised to find that he had bought-in to all of it. "Isn't that going to be an awful lot of -- activity?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's going to be tough, I guess. But I figure it's short-term, and I'm gonna be all alone up there, and the busier I am, the quicker the time will go by!"

"You're working Saturdays, too?"

"Not at the station, no. But at the school, yeah, all day."

"Sunday?"

"Sunday's are free. Except I'll eventually be the station manager. I guess that might involve an occasional interruption, on a Sunday."

"You're going to be exhausted!"

"I was hoping you'd make a few runs up to see me, make damned sure I stayed exhausted!"

"I can come up, some, on Saturday nights, and then head back here late Sunday. I guess Amtrak would make more sense than flying."

"We can meet at Penn Station," Paul said, "and make an evening of it. I haven't seen my apartment myself, yet, but something tells me you won't really want to see my new digs in Nutley. We'll spend Saturday nights in New York, get a hotel room, make it a real holiday!"

"I probably won't be able to come every weekend," Lois warned. "You wouldn't believe how -- involved I'm getting, at work."

"Yeah, I'd believe it," he said. "That's OK. We'll try for three out of five weekends. Whenever you can't make it, I'll just sleep for 24 hours."

It was decided that professional moving assistance wouldn't be necessary for Paul's upcoming four-months-plus sojourn in the Big Apple and Environs. Instead, with Lois' help, he vacated his apartment in Philadelphia that very night (forfeiting more than two month's rent, just as he had expected), and moved in with Lois for his remaining few days in Philadelphia.

As it had turned out, he had wasted a lot of money because of his prideful refusal to move in with Lois, even temporarily, after he'd been discharged from the hospital. Well, it was OK to "move in" with her now -- he was just there temporarily.

Any of his possessions not needed in New York could be left behind with Lois. His scant wardrobe, and anything else he had to have with him, could be taken by train, two days hence. It would mean some heavy tipping at both railroad stations, and a likely very expensive cab ride to his new apartment in Nutley, but it was do-able, even traveling alone.

His apartment key would be waiting for him at the rental manager's office on his arrival, and Lois, after hearing Paul's description of his one-bedroom temporary new home, packed all-purpose cleanser, toilet paper, and Windex, along with his clothing and personal effects. She also donated a half-dozen cleaning rags. "Maybe I'll just hire a cleaning lady," Paul said. "What's the going rate for housekeepers, for a one-bedroom apartment?"

"Just don't get too friendly with the lonely housewife down the hall," Lois said. "Just hold off. Don't take a tub-bath until I get there, so I can clean the bathtub for you!"

"Maybe one of those friendly housewives down the hall will come in, help me with my bath," Paul said. "Anyway, I have no plans to so much as even show you that apartment!"

"It can't be that awful!" Lois said. "Anyway, I'll want to see the radio station, at some point. So I can come and see your apartment, too. Once, anyway... But I can't come up this coming weekend, Paul. I'm sorry. I'm not going to be able to get away on such short notice."