Norm is sitting on the steps outside the house, gazing at his cellphone.
He could have used the land line, of course. And there's no guarantee that a cellphone conversation will go unheard, any more than that on a land line. But it feels more private, and that's good enough for him.

He's been just looking at the display on the phone for a few moments now. Taking a deep breath, he hits the send button, and brings the little device to his ear.

Sam had better pick up. He doesn't know if he'll have the nerve to do this twice.

She hasn't been waiting by the phone.

Really.

You'd have to be really desperate to wait by the phone.

...right.

But she picks up on the first ring.

"Hi?"

Oh, she isn't nervous. Not one bit.

It might not be him. How's she to know?

He's so startled he almost drops the phone - no one ever picks up on the first ring.

He doesn't think of the implications of it, however. He grins nervously to himself and runs a hand back through his hair, which is pretty much the same as he'd be doing if she were there standing in front of him.
"Hi, Sam."
I called the correct number, right?
"How's it going?"

Whee, small talk.

"Oh, y'know. Pretty well. You?"

There's an undercurrent of nervous excitement to her - they're going to talk about things.

They really are.

Soon.

Not immediately. But soon.

"About the same."

Silence.

"...So..."
Let's approach this from the side.
"You said last night your birthday is next week, but I, uh, forgot to ask you which day it is."

"Right. It's thursday."

She hesitates, not continuing, for this is new and unfamiliar territory.

"Okay. Thursday. Got it."

Silence for a moment, then a sniffle - it's cold outside.

"...Want to do something before then?"
He said they'd do something for her birthday before anything else happened last night. Sam's birthday is for her, regardless. Any other get-togethers have to be separate from it.

"...like a date something?" She asks softly.

They could go on a date.

It could be fun.

Right?

Of course right.

"Well... yeah."

He is biting the inside of his cheek.
She could still say no.

"Unless you're, you know, busy..."

"Remember the part where I said I'd rather be busy with you than busy with other stuff? That stands," she says gently. "So. Where'd we go?"

They could go out for coffee. Coffee is nice (except she's been trying to cut down lately; she's getting just a mite addicted).

"Um..."

He'd say a movie, but they went out to a movie just last night.
It wasn't a date last night. But still..

"How about we go for coffee, or...or something?"
They haven't done that recently, at least.

"Coffee sounds good," she agrees too quickly.

And then she hesitates.

"So, we're really going to try dating?"

Wow.

"Yeah. I think,... That's what it looks like."

Norm chuckles softly.
(From nervousness, of course.)

"So, um. Coffee. When?"
He'll pick her up, of course. Only he'll walk her there, because his poor clunker of a car was demolished last winter.

"Um. This weekend?"

She rather has papers, exams, and various up until then.

She's really, really looking forward to winter break.

He shifts his phone to hsi other ear, because the silly plasticky thing is starting to stick to his skin.

"Sure, this weekend would be good. How about around two o'clock?"
That way the lunch hour rush will have faded out, and they'll have plenty of time before the next crowd comes in.

"Sure."

That sounds good. That sounds very good.

"So, other than that. How's life?"

They are decided. It is time to change the subject. Before she faints from nerves.

"Oh. Uh... It's good."

Very good, now. It will be even better this weekend.

"Not much to report, really." Pause. "Well, okay, not really. A friend of mine from the old apartment building - the one I used to live in, remember? It kind of burned down. So he's staying with me and Nick."
Norm doesn't know whether it's a temporary or permanent arrangement. He's avoided asking in case he doesn't like the answer.

"God...."

That's scary.

"I'm glad you moved out before that happened."

Eep.

"Heh. There's a funny story about that..."

Norm chuckles softly. It's not really laughing-funny, but he can pretend.

"There was actually a fire in my apartment a while back. It started in the stove while I was asleep - an electrical fire, they said. They put it out pretty quickly, but they still had a lot of repairs to do - I mean rewiring,... the works. This latest fire? Electrical, again, only it didn't start in anyone's apartment. Freaky, huh?"
He neglects to mention that these electrical fires weren't due to faulty wiring. The real cause isn't something he's going to mention to anyone.

"Oh, that's creepy. Don't burn down your new place, Norman."

Joking. She's joking.

He laughs.

"I won't, I won't. Don't worry." A chuckle. "Nick would kill me."

...Though maybe he should just offhandedly mention to Mort that he ought to be extra extra careful from now on...

"Good."

She'd hate to think he was in danger of burning up all the time.

And yet still she's treating it as a joke, because she doesn't know not to. It's just a freak electrical fire, is all.

Another little chuckle, and then he's quiet.

"So... what's new with you?"
Your turn, Sam.

"Other than a lot of exams? I'm currently cooing over Laelia. She's this little baby I sit for, 'cause her dad works and her mum isn't around."

She is inordinately proud.

Cutest baby ever.

"She's nine months old and ridiculously cute."

"Aw. Sounds adorable."
Yes, he is secure enough to use words like adorable.

"Do you babysit a lot?"

"I even have business cards," she replies.

Which she does. 'Sam Tucker's Childcare Services'.

They were a present from her elder sister, who thinks her hobby is just darling.

Her elder sister has an odd sense of humor.

"I'd do it more if I didn't have school to take care of."

But she must finish school, you know.

On the plus side, given that all her expenses are covered by her parents as long as she stays in school, the money she earns is currently building up nicely in her bank account. It's comforting to have a safety net for when she cuts and runs.

"Ah, well. You don't have too many more years left of school, do you?"

Babysitting isn't something that has ever really occurred to him. He doesn't have any younger siblings, and by the time he was old enough to babysit - there were plenty of better options for the parents in his neightborhood.

"Once you're done, you could open up your own daycare. I hear there's a demand for them."

"Just a year and a half. I guess I might try to find work in one over next summer. Good a reason as any not to go home for the summer."

And she doesn't want to go home for the summer.

He grins, and it's actually audible.
"Oh, well, that's not so bad. You're mostly finished."
The grin fades. He seems to remember a conversation they had about family. If he remembers correctly, it concluded with neither of them liking their families very much.
"You should do that. Get work experience and whatnot."

"That's kinda the idea. If it's where I want to go with my life, I'd have to know the mechanics."

She isn't sure, but she is going to take a practical approach to it.

So there, 'marry and raise a family like a good girl'.

"Yeah." He nods, though obviously she can't see him. "That sounds like a plan. I can just see you looking after kids as a job."

What? He can.
With some people, you can just tell.

She chuckles briefly.

"Well, thanks."

That's really flattering, in her mind.

"You're welcome."

...Oh joy.
An awkward silence.

Sigh.

Awkward silences are more awkward on the phone.

And then the sign turns into a yawn, and she covers her mouth with one hand.

"God, sorry. 'm just a bit tired lately."

Going sleepless except for naps will do that, Sam my girl.

"That's okay. We were out kind of late last night."

He sighs also, but it's a contented one.

"Tell you what, we'll have lots of time to talk this weekend. It'll give me something to look forward to the rest of the week." Pause. "See you then, alright?"

"Sure. See you, Norman."

They're dating.

This is all kinds of cool.

They're going to go out on a date.

Yay!