They arrived at a pool.
Inside his home.
The city view in full display.
Wow. — Lucy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She wasn't expecting this at all. Even when she understood Owen's previous question if she knew how to swim. She thought it was some random thought thrown in for the lack of other interesting topic.
How was she supposed to know they were headed to an actual pool? When they're inside a building and they're not even on the ground floor.
Two walls are filled with floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the room a wide view of the city's panorama. The light from the windows was enough to illuminate the room during the day like this. She wondered how it would look at night, when the city lights are in full bloom, instead.
The pool itself is stunning, unlike the public pools Lucy was used to. There were LED lights underwater and a full wall doubles was a waterfall. The drier space of the room looked like a fancy coffee shop, which was so out of place and felt warm in contrast to the water-filled fixture next to it. It has a couch, a coffee table, and two shelves filled with books. The space looked intimate, maybe because of the lighting and potted plants. The atmosphere was a polarity not only to the room but to the whole house.
Lucy inhaled, taking it all in.
"Wow—" This time the words made it to her mouth.
Lucy couldn't see because she was standing behind Owen, but the sound she made made the man in front smile. He was satisfied and proud, not because the pool was something he wanted to brag about but because he felt he was able to lift the woman's spirit by showing her this, somehow.
His face reverted back to its default rest before he turned around. "There's a changing room and shower over there." He pointed to a door on the side.
"I spend my time in here when I'm overwhelmed… sometimes." Lucy can't help but notice the pause towards the end of the sentence.
"Use the pool, It'll help ease your mind. I promise"
These were all too casual words but Lucy believed, at that moment, that it would really take away all her worries, at least for the day.
Her body ached to say yes. She imagined the expanse of her limbs floating on the water and her worries seeping, leaking, drifting away from her until there was none left.
"Thank you."
She's been thanking Owen a lot today and has been accepting all his offers too quickly. Lucy doesn't want to get used to this type of treatment, especially not from a person she just knew a few weeks ago. But, there's something encouraging when Owen offers. It's comforting, yes of course, typical for an offer to help, but still, there's something she can't just point her finger at.
This was not the case during their first encounter. She was on guard. Lucy is not sure when she started feeling this way but she is getting more and more accepting of the kindness from this man. This is supposed to be terrifying, given Lucy's personality. She didn't want to rely on anyone. She used to be so adamant in receiving help but why is it so easy to give in whenever it's extended by Owen.
An invisible string is tugging at the back of Lucy's mind that this might be dangerous. That there's a catch. Her mind is thinking the possibility, but her instinct is not feeling it all.
"I'll do that…. But maybe not today. I need to get back to the hospital later." As much as she wants to soak herself into oblivion, she needs to take care of Nana, still.
Owen nodded, understanding Lucy's priorities. He is satisfied enough with the moment earlier. They walked back to the living room to find the stuff from Lucy's already brought by the staff. Lucy grabbed them on her own, not giving Owen the chance to offer a hand this time, and excused herself to her room.
She laid back on the bed and checked the time once more. 5:38 PM. She got up and plucked a few garments from the disarrayed pile. It only took her a few minutes to shower. She went out of the room again, intending to knock on Owen's door so she could bid goodbye before heading out. But there was no need, Owen was seated in the living room, reading a book.
He's wearing eyeglasses. She can't help but smile. Her eyes twinkled a bit.
Lucy appreciated the man's profile as she carefully walked into the room. He could pass as a scholar with those nerd glasses, he should wear this look often. He was holding the book with one hand, legs delicately crossed, back fully submerged on the couch's backrest.
He was too into his reading that Lucy needed to clear her throat to get his attention.
*Cough*. The young woman quipped a quick and polite smile leaning sideways to catch Owen's immediate line of sight.
"Hi. I'm off to the hospital."
Owen noticed that she showered and imagined moving closer to inhale her scent. Another intrusive thought he's been having too often when she's around. He removed his glasses and placed them with the book on the side table.
He picked up a piece of paper from the same glass surface and handed it to Lucy without standing.
"The door's passcode."
Lucy received it with both hands.
She felt again the weight of the help she's receiving. This man, trusts her fully.
Maybe there's a difference because he's a man? Because she would never. Is the building so secure that he's this confident? Doesn't he see the potential danger in letting a stranger into his home? That's already a lot of possibilities but Lucy chose to be thankful instead.
"Thank you. I'll send you a message when I'm on my way home." It was a slip of the tongue. Home. This is not her house, obviously, but what else could she have said? I'll text you when I'm arriving? That would have been worse. The woman brushed it off when the man didn't seem to mind.
Owen gave a gentler nod this time. "Say hello to Nana for me."
The lock clicked and Owen was still staring at the front door where Lucy disappeared. Home. That sounded nice.