Chapter Eight
Angie couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She hummed as she got ready for bed and sat on her bed, wishing she could figure out a way to sneak Bucky up to her apartment. Sometimes she found the rules of The Griffith ridiculous but she knew it wasn’t a permanent stay for herself. So for the time being, she would have her date with him to look forward to.
The next day, she was no stranger to him at the L&L Automat as she walked over with his fresh cup of coffee and studied his game of Solitaire. He had gotten better at it and sometimes she liked to point out things that he took a longer to see. It was a bit of a relief to not be upset with him anymore and when he left, she cleaned his table and collected the money before continuing on with her shift.
She knew the customers could tell that she was in a much happier mood than normal (which was surprising, since Angie was a naturally bubbly person). Even Peggy Carter had some words to say about it, to which Angie promised to enlighten her new neighbor later that evening over a bottle of schnapps. Could she really wait until later? Not necessarily but she preferred to not talk about it in her work setting.
As Angie went about her workday, she couldn’t get her mind off Bucky. The man who intrigued her with his quiet yet interesting personality. She was never romantically interested in many people, choosing to focus on her acting career. However, Bucky had changed things but in a good way. She looked forward to the time she spent with him and he always treated her with respect.
Her mother always spoke of Angie marrying young to start a family while her father distastefully spoke of his daughter’s choice to be on Broadway and tried to persuade her into a more financially secure career. Angie, being just as stubborn as her older brothers, had often told her parents that she was happy where she was and was willing to work her way up to where she wanted to be. Angie never asked her parents for anything, especially their opinion of her life choices.
However, Bucky never discouraged her from acting. When they shared their dreams in the cab, Angie felt comfortable to share hers with him. She felt like he was interested in what made her happy, rather than trying to force her into a different career. He took special interest in her and always inquired about her auditions when he came in for his cup of coffee. No one had ever really shown interest in her like Bucky had in a long time.
When their conversation in the street began to replay in her head, she stood and hurried to her closet, digging out the jacket Bucky had given her and she laid back on the bed, with it hugged against her chest. She had planned on returning it to him but when he told her to keep it, she knew it would quickly become one of her favorite jackets she owned. Angie was expecting Peggy to get off work at the phone company and she was practically a giddy school girl, anxious to gossip about the latest news with the bottle of schnapps already ready for them both.
When she got a knock on the door, she got up quickly with the jacket in her arms. She quickly pressed a hand on the curlers she had taken time to put in her hair to make sure they were still in place before opening the door. She felt like her smile widened when she saw Peggy at the door, eager to tell her new neighbor all about the man who had consumed her mind nearly all day. “English! I hope those boys at the phone company weren’t giving you a hard time,” she quipped as she led Peggy into her apartment and grabbed the bottle of schnapps along with two glasses.
Peggy chuckled and shook her head, sitting on Angie’s bed and took the glass of schnapps when it was offered. “Oh, nothing I’m not used to, Angie,” she said with a sigh and took a short sip of the drink. “Now, I am interested in what has got you so chipper at the diner today.”
Angie took a breath and sat down beside Peggy, letting out a laugh. “Okay, okay,” she took a long drink before sitting up straight. “I’ve met someone. He’s a regular at the diner and he’s an absolute sweetheart,” her smile widened. “We had a bit of a misunderstanding but we’ve got a date on Friday!”
Peggy’s eyes widened in surprise as she wasn’t expecting Angie to say that. Perhaps Angie had finally gotten a part after one of her auditions but Angie wouldn’t have shied away from that information at work. “Well, what’s his name?” Peggy inquired, knowing Angie was thrilled to have a more close friend conversation with Peggy.
Angie was surprised to hear Peggy’s inquiry but she absolutely did not mind talking about Bucky. “His name’s Bucky Barnes. He served in the war and he’s just trying to figure things out but… we’ve gone out before,” she took a breath.
The surprises kept coming for Peggy. Not only was she surprised that Angie had met someone but it was someone Peggy had served alongside. “Sergeant Barnes?” she asked, saying the only name she called Bucky.
Angie stared at Peggy. “You know him?” she asked as Peggy nodded.
“Oh, we knew each other during the war,” Peggy responded and shook her head. “I didn’t realize you two knew each other. But he’s a good man, Angie. I’m really happy for you.”
Angie took a deep breath before nodding. “He’s been a real gentleman and… I think I could see this going somewhere, English,” she confessed, which surprised her. She had never felt like this about anyone before and she couldn’t believe she said that out loud. She downed the rest of her schnapps and kept her eyes on the glass. “But I don’t know… we’ve only known each other a few weeks and I’m not looking to settle yet but…”
Peggy smiled gently. “Well, don’t be bringing him up above the second floor because you know Miss Fry disapproves of that,” she remarked with a shake of her head. “No man is worth losing a good place like this,” she reminded Angie and took a breath. Peggy knew that Bucky struggled without having Steve around because it was hard for her as well. She caught glimpses of him at the diner but it was through passing, he had just begun to leave when she came in. They shared a small smile in greeting but no words were exchanged.
Angie chuckled. “Absolutely not. I may enjoy spending time with him but I really enjoy living here as well,” she said and set her glass aside. “I want to take my time with him. It’s very new so it’s very likely we’ve still got a lot to learn about each other,” she smiled at Peggy.
There was a few minutes of pleasant conversation between the pair, mostly Angie talking about the cider date she had with Bucky. After the conversation was slowly coming to an end, Peggy eventually got up and put her empty glass beside Angie’s. “Well, I wish you both the best of luck,” she said. “Thank you for the drink but I best turn in,” she offered Angie a small smile before going to the door. “Goodnight, Angie.”
Angie watched Peggy leave and she took a deep breath. Bucky’s jacket laid on the bed where Angie had left it when she got up to put their glasses away. She sat back down on the bed and put the jacket on, hugging it tightly around herself. It surprisingly still smelled like him, considering she had shoved it in a spot where her scent had taken over strongly. But she found comfort and grew excited at the thought of seeing Bucky again.
She felt a lot of different things. Content, happy, excited… Angie didn’t know that one person could make her feel strong emotions all of a sudden but she hoped that this whole thing wasn’t too good to be true. She hoped it wasn’t all some crazy dream because if it was, she’d never want to wake up. She laid back on the bed, humming a show tune, replaying their cider date in her head.
Angie had asked him out but he was insistent on paying for everything, from the taxi to the cider when they got there. He was interested in her, not only her looks but also in her as a person. They sat on a picnic bench, snuggled up close together to share their body warmth and to share their likes and interests in a quiet, intimate setting. That was the date when she got the jacket. She had miscalculated the temperature drop and he didn’t hesitate for a moment to offer his jacket.
Being able to talk about him with someone made her heart flutter. She wanted to ask him more questions, learn more about him. There was so much about him that she had yet to learn. She didn’t call him her mysterious regular for no reason, afterall. But she had every intention in learning more about her mysterious regular.
Angie was eager for their date on Friday but that was only a couple days away so she had something to look forward to. When she had finally decided to settle down and get some sleep for the evening, she had nearly forgotten that she still had his jacket on. So instead of getting up and putting it away, she decided to fall asleep with his jacket safely wrapped around her.