The BJM office was buzzing with activity when he breezed in the door. Flashing a smile and nodding at the receptionist as he passed her desk, Jon hurried toward his office. If he was lucky, Cheryl wouldn’t be at her desk. On paper, he was the boss, but Cheryl really ran things. She kept all his many calendars collated and organized. She made sure that he was at an appearance on time, smiled for the camera, and still made it to his kid’s play. He’d never seen anyone as organized as the little brunette. She made his life a hell of a lot easier and made him look good. But, she ruled with an iron hand.
Cheryl terrified him.
The grin of relief at not seeing his assistant at her desk had barely started to form when her voice sliced through the air from somewhere over his left shoulder.
“Good morning, JB.”
How could a simple good morning sound like a death knell to his entire day?
“G’morning, Cheryl.” Cheer was forced, as he reached to open the door to his office.
Tinkling laughter followed his words. How could such a dragon sound like such a sweet fairy? At five foot nothing in heels and probably not even a hundred pounds soaking wet, Cheryl was just a little slip of a woman, but she was a force to be reckoned with. A fleeting grimace and the barest of winces were quickly shuffled behind the door of his work facade, the deadbolt thrown for good measure, before he turned back to face her. “What’s worthy of a dragon lady giggle, this morning?”
“Your tone of voice with that ‘g’morning’ was most definitely worthy of a giggle,” she said with a grin. “The tone most certainly did not match the sentiment. So what the fuck has your balls in a bunch this morning?”
The slightest bit of a southern drawl still lingered in her voice even after twenty years in The Big Apple, but her way with words and the occasional Deep South turn of phrase would never leave her. You can take the girl out of the South …
He shrugged. Honesty was always the best policy. “I was trying to dodge you today.”
“Busted,” she said with a tinkling laugh. She didn’t have to ask why he was dodging her. “So, you wanted to play hooky today, and thought I’d throw something from your calendar atcha?”
“Yeah, sorta,” he groaned.
“Jon, you do realize you’re the boss here, right?”
“That’s a fucking lie,” he said with a smile that made his blue eyes sparkle.
She didn’t even blink. “If you were trying to dodge me, why the hell did you come into the office today?”
“I needed to pick up something.” He’d made it to his desk at this point and was scanning it’s dark surface for the ‘something’ in question.
“You mean the letter Mr. Scuzbucket dropped off?” she said, fanning herself with an envelope slowly back and forth like she was standing on a porch in Atlanta on the hottest day in August.
Scuzbucket? A genuine smile stretched his lips, even Cheryl who had never met Doc before now had him pegged. To paraphrase A Knight’s Tale, in Cheryl’s eyes Doc had been weighed, he had been measured, and he had been found wanting. “Thank you, Cheryl,” he said softly as he reached for the envelope in her hand.
“As always, I’m just here to serve,” the small woman said as she handed over the letter.
When she turned to leave his office, he grinned and tossed out, “And to catch a glimpse of my ass.”
Her tinkling laughter floated back to him. “Well, it is an exceptional ass.”
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Jonny,
I’ve been a complete idiot. I was wrong …. And I love you too. I’m sorry for being such a bitch, and I’m not even saying that because I’m now in need of ‘rescuing’. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just spit it out. Jon, I’m pregnant. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I’ve been working on a cruise ship. I’ll be home for two weeks, then be shipping out for six more, but then I’ll be back home again. Come see me, please. I’m forever yours.
I’ll understand if I don’t hear from you. I’ll take that as a hint that you’ve gone on with your life and have no desire to see me or your child.
But, know that I do still love you,
Kimber.
The words on the paper had blurred as the memories of them together had clouded his mind. The years they’d lost mocked him now as he sat in the dark of his apartment, a half empty wine glass in his hand. If he’d seen this letter all those years ago, what would their life look like today? He hadn’t been able to let go of the piece of paper since Cheryl had handed it to him earlier. It had been crumbled in hands that were at first angry, then it had been smoothed out again on his desk by loving hands that cherished her words. “I’m forever yours.” There were some spots that had since dried, but tears at what could have been had splashed down on her words at some point during the day.
How many times had he read it?
He couldn’t say. Hell, he couldn’t even be angry at Doc. This was really nobody’s fault, except perhaps his pride.
Pride had kept him from going back to that apartment. Pride had kept him from looking for her. Pride had cost him more than he could even begin to comprehend.
But, he’d be damned if he wouldn’t get it all back.
Somehow.
Cheryl terrified him.
The grin of relief at not seeing his assistant at her desk had barely started to form when her voice sliced through the air from somewhere over his left shoulder.
“Good morning, JB.”
How could a simple good morning sound like a death knell to his entire day?
“G’morning, Cheryl.” Cheer was forced, as he reached to open the door to his office.
Tinkling laughter followed his words. How could such a dragon sound like such a sweet fairy? At five foot nothing in heels and probably not even a hundred pounds soaking wet, Cheryl was just a little slip of a woman, but she was a force to be reckoned with. A fleeting grimace and the barest of winces were quickly shuffled behind the door of his work facade, the deadbolt thrown for good measure, before he turned back to face her. “What’s worthy of a dragon lady giggle, this morning?”
“Your tone of voice with that ‘g’morning’ was most definitely worthy of a giggle,” she said with a grin. “The tone most certainly did not match the sentiment. So what the fuck has your balls in a bunch this morning?”
The slightest bit of a southern drawl still lingered in her voice even after twenty years in The Big Apple, but her way with words and the occasional Deep South turn of phrase would never leave her. You can take the girl out of the South …
He shrugged. Honesty was always the best policy. “I was trying to dodge you today.”
“Busted,” she said with a tinkling laugh. She didn’t have to ask why he was dodging her. “So, you wanted to play hooky today, and thought I’d throw something from your calendar atcha?”
“Yeah, sorta,” he groaned.
“Jon, you do realize you’re the boss here, right?”
“That’s a fucking lie,” he said with a smile that made his blue eyes sparkle.
She didn’t even blink. “If you were trying to dodge me, why the hell did you come into the office today?”
“I needed to pick up something.” He’d made it to his desk at this point and was scanning it’s dark surface for the ‘something’ in question.
“You mean the letter Mr. Scuzbucket dropped off?” she said, fanning herself with an envelope slowly back and forth like she was standing on a porch in Atlanta on the hottest day in August.
Scuzbucket? A genuine smile stretched his lips, even Cheryl who had never met Doc before now had him pegged. To paraphrase A Knight’s Tale, in Cheryl’s eyes Doc had been weighed, he had been measured, and he had been found wanting. “Thank you, Cheryl,” he said softly as he reached for the envelope in her hand.
“As always, I’m just here to serve,” the small woman said as she handed over the letter.
When she turned to leave his office, he grinned and tossed out, “And to catch a glimpse of my ass.”
Her tinkling laughter floated back to him. “Well, it is an exceptional ass.”
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Jonny,
I’ve been a complete idiot. I was wrong …. And I love you too. I’m sorry for being such a bitch, and I’m not even saying that because I’m now in need of ‘rescuing’. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just spit it out. Jon, I’m pregnant. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I’ve been working on a cruise ship. I’ll be home for two weeks, then be shipping out for six more, but then I’ll be back home again. Come see me, please. I’m forever yours.
I’ll understand if I don’t hear from you. I’ll take that as a hint that you’ve gone on with your life and have no desire to see me or your child.
But, know that I do still love you,
Kimber.
The words on the paper had blurred as the memories of them together had clouded his mind. The years they’d lost mocked him now as he sat in the dark of his apartment, a half empty wine glass in his hand. If he’d seen this letter all those years ago, what would their life look like today? He hadn’t been able to let go of the piece of paper since Cheryl had handed it to him earlier. It had been crumbled in hands that were at first angry, then it had been smoothed out again on his desk by loving hands that cherished her words. “I’m forever yours.” There were some spots that had since dried, but tears at what could have been had splashed down on her words at some point during the day.
How many times had he read it?
He couldn’t say. Hell, he couldn’t even be angry at Doc. This was really nobody’s fault, except perhaps his pride.
Pride had kept him from going back to that apartment. Pride had kept him from looking for her. Pride had cost him more than he could even begin to comprehend.
But, he’d be damned if he wouldn’t get it all back.
Somehow.
4 comments:
T,
Can't tell you how excited I was to stumble upon these new chapters! I loved the beginnings of the story, but had pretty much given up on it.
With the unknown son and Doc on the scene now, I'm nearly salivating at the many storyline possibilities. Please, PLEASE don't keep us hanging. I'm truly hooked. Again!
LOVE the quote from A Knight's Tale. One of my favorite movies! And Cheryl... Man, I'd love to have a job keeping him in line. I'm jealous! :)
LOL!! Cheryl must be quite a character, I do not imagine someone who Jon fears except Dot and Carol B., I can not wait to see what Jon will do to recover Kimber and Frankie ... this story can only improve! !
Post a Comment