Perfect Pitch

Two evenings later, just when Renee was sure she wouldn't hear anything from Aisha, she received a notification on Facebook letting her know she had a message. She was sitting at the kitchen table working on her laptop while the doctor was sitting on the couch nearby reading on her Kindle. Melanie had gone to bed nearly an hour ago. A big grin appeared on Renee's face when she saw who the message was from and the doctor didn't miss it. “Who's making you smile so much?” Deanne asked. “Oh, just someone,” Renee answered, not sure if she should mention that it was a neighbor or if Aisha would want to be mentioned at all. She didn't see the harm in it when looking at it logically, but something told her it would be better to remain mysterious. “Just someone, huh?” asked the doctor. “Yeah, an old friend of sorts that I wasn't expecting to hear from.” Renee was eager to read the message but would prefer to wait until Deanne turned in so she could give it the attention she wanted to give it without any distractions. After another half hour of the doctor reading and Renee surfing the web, the doctor announced that she was getting tired. Renee followed her into her room as the two discussed their plans for the weekend. Instead of the doctor hanging out with friends or family, she wanted the three of them to do something together. “What do you want to do?” asked Renee as the doctor tapped the numbers to the code that opened her safe. Each time she did that, a different tone sounded for each button she pressed, just like on a phone. The tune that the number pattern played was becoming more and more familiar to Renee, who had always had a great sense of pitch. In her younger years, she had played the guitar and even the keyboards a bit and was often able to play by ear rather than rely on reading music. “I don't know, maybe go to the beach.” “A day of fun in the sun would be good,” Renee agreed. As long as she didn't let her sensitive pale skin get fried and she remained mostly in the shade when she wasn't in the water, she always enjoyed an occasional day on the beach. She knew Melanie would love it as well. The child loved creating sand castles and hunting for cool-looking shells. Deanne said goodnight before going into the shower and then to sleep. “Enjoy your shower and sleep well. I'm going to spend a few more minutes on my laptop and then when I hear the water turn off, I'll take my own shower and hit the sack as well.” After Deanne shut her door, she hurried back to Facebook, hoping Aisha was still around. Her message was brief. Hello, Renee. I hope I have the right one. As in my new neighbor? Renee responded promptly. Yes, that’s me. The good doctor just turned in for the night. How are you doing? They weren't connected, so Renee couldn't tell if Aisha was presently online until she accepted her message request. Once she did, she could not only see that she was online, but she got another message shortly after sending her reply. Good to know I've got the right one. I'm just hanging out. Would love to chat in person sometime. Same here. What time will you be around tomorrow? Weekends are unpredictable for me and I know that the doctor wants to take us to the beach this weekend, so what about during the week? It's usually just me during the morning and then I watch Melanie for a few hours until Deanne gets home. Could I knock on the door early in the afternoon tomorrow? Maybe even bring some lunch over? That should be okay. I'll double-check with Deanne in the morning but since you're the neighbor and all that, I don't see why she would mind. After I see what she has to say, I'll message you. Okay, that sounds great. Assuming she's okay with it, what would you like? Surprise me. I’m open to most things as long as it's nothing spicy. Well, you sleep well tonight, and I’ll definitely look forward to getting to know you better tomorrow. The smile remained plastered to Renee's face as she took her shower and climbed into bed, unable to sleep right away as she thought of the hottie next door. Although Deanne told her that Aisha was welcome to visit, Renee sensed hesitation in her voice as if she wasn't entirely comfortable with it. “I won't let her stay long,” Renee promised. All throughout the morning, Renee found herself constantly glancing at the clock. Each hour was like three hours as the morning dragged on and on. Then lunchtime finally rolled around, and that much-anticipated knock came on the door. Renee opened the door to find Aisha clad in skinny jeans and a form-fitting purple t-shirt. “Well, hello there,” Aisha said. “Hello back,” said Renee as she stepped aside to let Aisha in. “How ya doing today?” “Fine, and you?” “Just peachy.” Aisha set a couple of paper bags down on the table and said, “I got us a mix of fish and chips as well as some chicken nuggets. No drink, though, as I didn't know what you wanted.” “Sounds great. We’ve got a few kinds of soda if you’re interested,” Renee said, fetching some glasses for drinks. “That’s okay. I got something for myself.” Renee poured herself some Diet Coke and then noticed the necklace Aisha wore with Arabic lettering. “You speak Arabic?” Aisha glanced downward and fingered her necklace. “A little bit. I'm part Lebanese.” “What does it mean?” “It’s my name.”