Chapter 40: It's So Cold Tonight, Would You Like to...
By the time Grace finished work and got ready to leave with Bruce, it was nearly one in the morning. The moment they stepped into the parking lot, a blast of cold air hit them, and Grace instinctively moved closer to Bruce.
Bruce pulled the car out of the garage and stopped at the exit. Ahead was a junction: right led to his apartment on Bedford Street, left to hers on Roosevelt Island.
Bruce suddenly said, "It's freezing tonight—would you like to stay at my place?" The instant the words left his mouth he realized how they sounded and quickly added, "It's only a ten-minute drive, so getting to work tomorrow will be easy!"
Grace had looked surprised for a moment, but then answered softly, "Okay."
Bruce eased the car forward, turned the wheel, and headed right.
His blunt invitation had created an awkward silence, broken only when Grace asked, "That restaurant we went to—why does it have the strange name 'One if by Land, Two if by Sea'?"
Bruce replied, "It comes from the lantern signals used during the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere's famous ride—one lantern in the church tower if the British were coming by land, two if by sea. It's from an old American poem."
Grace asked, "How did you know that?"
Bruce said, "I picked it up in a history class back in college."
Just after eight the next morning, Grace stirred; Bruce woke at once. Seeing her sit up to get dressed, he did the same. "I'll drive you to work."
Grace quickly said, "No need, it's close enough to walk. You should sleep in." As she spoke, she gently pushed him back toward the bed.
Bruce offered, "Then take my car? The keys are on the living room table. After work I'll come by and we'll grab dinner?"
Grace said, "Sure, I finish at six."
Bruce said, "Great, I'll make a reservation!"
Grace suggested, "How about we go back to One if by Land, Two if by Sea? I really loved it there."
Bruce said, "Perfect. The café downstairs is already open if you want coffee and a pastry—they're really good."
Some time later, Bruce was jolted awake by shouting outside. The voices were close, and suddenly he recognized one. That's Rachel! He jumped from the bed, walked through to the living room, and opened the balcony door. A wave of cold air hit his face; he grabbed a jacket, threw it on, and stepped outside.
He looked over the railing to see Rachel and Paolo below. Rachel, clearly upset, was pulling clothes and belongings out of a suitcase and throwing them over the balcony railing.
The suitcase obviously belonged to Paolo, who stood nearby trying to talk to her. Bruce knew Phoebe must have told Rachel about Paolo's behavior. He could hear Rachel's voice, half angry, half relieved: "I can't believe I almost took you to meet my parents this weekend!"
Suddenly remembering something, Bruce hurried back inside and called Ross. The phone rang several times before someone picked up. "Hey, Ross, took you so long I thought you'd already left for the Museum!"
Ross answered, "I'm at the Museum right now; I forwarded my calls here."
Bruce said, "Got it. Listen, you need to come back—to Monica and Rachel's place—actually, come to mine first."
Ross asked, "But I'm at work. What's going on?"
Bruce said, "Rachel found out what Paolo did. I can hear her yelling at him from my balcony; she's throwing all his stuff into the street. When it's over, she's going to break up with him for good."
Ross said, "So... you want me to come back because...?"
Bruce said, "Isn't it obvious? Be the first person she talks to after the breakup. She'll be hurting, you offer comfort—I don't need to spell out what could happen next, do I?"
Ross got it and said hurriedly, "Okay, okay, I'll be right there—wait, that sounds weird. Anyway, I'm coming!"
Bruce sat in the living room while Rachel's voice continued from below. He understood her perfectly right now: Rachel was passionate about everything—she'd been crazy about Paolo, and now she was just as intensely done with him.
About fifteen minutes later, someone knocked at the door. Bruce opened it to find Ross out of breath.
Bruce said, "Wow, the Museum's five miles away. How'd you get here so fast?"
Still panting, Ross said, "Speed-walking and two hundred bucks to the cab driver. Are they still down there?"
Ross started toward the balcony; Bruce followed. "Only Rachel's there now—Paolo left about three minutes ago."
Ross and Bruce looked over the railing; below, Rachel was leaning on the balcony railing, staring into space.
Bruce waved Ross back inside. "This is your moment—go talk to her."
Ross nodded. "Right, I'm going down. And don't eavesdrop!"
Bruce said, "If you're talking on the balcony, keep your voices down—I went to bed late and I'm tired."
Ross answered, "Got it. Going now."
Ross turned toward the door, but Bruce caught his arm and pointed to the fire escape. "Use that—no stairs. Rachel probably won't answer the door for anyone right now."
Bruce watched Ross climb down, heard him call "Hey, Rachel," then closed the balcony door and went back to bed.
Bruce hadn't been asleep long before knocking woke him again. Groggily, he followed the sound and found Ross outside on the balcony tapping on the glass.
Bruce opened the door. "Ross, why'd you come back up? Where's Rachel?"
Ross stepped inside and collapsed onto the couch. "Are you sure this was a good idea?"
Bruce said, "Of course it was. Every romantic movie ever: heartbroken girl meets caring guy, he comforts her, they fall in love, happily ever after."
Ross groaned, "Movies? That's where you got this from? Oh my God."
Bruce shrugged. "The plots are fiction, but people are real. So what happened?"
Ross sighed. "She said she's done with men—doesn't want to see or talk to another one ever again."
Bruce waved it off. "That's just her being upset. You didn't leave because of that, did you?"
Ross muttered, "No... I figured she needed some space, time to calm down..." The more he spoke, the less convinced he sounded.
Bruce said, "You can't give up now. Back off and some other guy will swoop in. Rachel will end up with a new boyfriend, and I want it to be you."
Ross held up his hands. "Fine, I won't give up. But wait—Bruce, if your theory's so good, why are you still single? What about Grace—did you ever actually ask her out officially?"
Bruce grinned. "I didn't want to bring it up, but last night Grace stayed over."
"What? You mean you two finally...?"
Bruce's smile widened. "Yep."
Ross broke into a grin. "Suddenly your advice sounds a lot more credible."
Bruce said, "So trust me and go for it."
At five-thirty Bruce took a cab to the law firm. When Grace finished work, they got in her car and drove to 17 Barrow Street for dinner at One if by Land, Two if by Sea.
Back at the apartment later, Joey knocked and walked in. Seeing Grace, he laughed. "No wonder you didn't answer earlier—you were with Grace!"
Grace greeted him, "Hi, Joey."
Bruce said, "We just had dinner. What's up?"
Joey asked, "Bruce, can you come with me to Miramax tomorrow morning for the audition?"
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