Claire desperately needed to know where her employment stood with Danvers but was afraid to broach the subject and ruin the good mood that he was in. She decided to let it go for now hoping that Jason decided to put the whole incident behind him. Claire finished up the last revision and looked over to see that Jason also appeared to be finishing up.
“If you’re finished Claire, go ahead and pack up your computer, and we will continue in the office on Monday.”
“I thought you needed to get this contract back to Mericom today?” asked Claire.
As he leaned back in his chair, Jason focused those beautiful eyes on her and said, “No, there are more issues to address than I’d originally thought. This will probably run a few months until it closes.” Then why in the hell are we working this weekend? I could have saved myself a boat load of embarrassment if we had left this until Monday.
She tried to hide the anger in her voice as she asked what she’d been thinking, “Why the need to work on it this weekend if we’re months out?”
As he started packing his briefcase, Jason replied, “As you know, we’ve a couple of important deals in the works that will require my attention. Until we can get Mericom wrapped up, I’m afraid weekend work will be required for the foreseeable future.”
“Wh…. What do you mean?” stammered Claire.
“I mean that we will be working on Saturday and possibly Sunday for the next few months at least,” said Jason. “Even though Mericom is of course the priority right now, I also must turn my attention to the other projects we already have in the works. To do this, I’m afraid it’s going to take some team effort and sacrifices on both our parts,” finished Jason.
~~~
Jason studied her reaction to the news he had just delivered. She looked completely stunned and for once at a loss for words. No doubt she was busy running through her future stripping commitments and wondering how to postpone them. Part of him almost felt guilty for causing this apparent upheaval in her life, especially since he could easily handle all the current projects on the table and probably a few more as well. Claire, however, didn’t need to know that.
If not for some last minute issues that had come up with the merger, it would be wrapped up today and finding reasons to make Claire work on the weekends would have been a little more challenging. Even though he didn’t like delays, he couldn’t say he was sorry for how things had worked out. The merger would go forward, of that he was certain, but the delay this time was a bonus for him. He tried not to ponder what his motives were in this as he finished packing his stuff up.
He risked one more covert look at Claire and was surprised at how disappointed he was to find her hair up again. She looked young and vulnerable with her ponytail, someone who looked like they needed to be protected from the world. He had the sudden urge to lay his lips on the pulse beating in the curve of her neck.
When he had been standing behind her earlier, the floral scent of her skin had intoxicated him. What started as a playful game had fast turned a corner for him. He had to pull back and hope to walk to the other seat without her noticing the sudden tent in the front of his jeans.
He seemed to have lost all of his poise and polish this weekend and was in high school trying to control his hormones, or as they said back then, ‘having a boner all weekend long.’ With a grimace, Jason stood up and jolted Claire out of the fog that she’d been in since his announcement of the weekend work requirement.
~~~
Claire looked up as Jason rose from the desk and began packing his suitcase. She wondered how to broach the subject of the weekend work again without angering him and jeopardizing her job. You have until next weekend to work something out with him, just let it go for now and worry about it later. Claire stood and packed her side of the desk up and walked quickly towards the connecting door.
“Claire.” Hearing her name, she turned to look at Jason inquiringly. “I told Harold that I would be downstairs soon. He and the other guys are in the room at the back of the house and with Liz gone right now you should be in the clear if you’d rather leave and avoid saying goodbyes.”
Overcome with relief and gratitude, Claire said a heartfelt, “Thank you, I really appreciate it,” and quietly left the room.
Even though she felt sure that Harold and Liz didn’t know what had happened last night, she was still grateful to avoid seeing them when she left. She quickly gathered her clothing and toiletries and was soon packed. When she heard Jason’s door close, she allowed an additional ten minutes and quietly left her room. She made her way cautiously down the stairs, relieved to see that the foyer was indeed empty. She wasted no time in loading her items in the car and heading down the drive.
Claire felt almost as if she were fleeing, the relief was so great when she made it down the driveway and was back on the road. To say she was puzzled by Jason’s behavior was an understatement. Upon awaking this morning, Claire instantly imagined the talk between Jason and herself concerning the previous night. She fully expected a condescending lecture at the very least and a termination of her employment with Danvers International as the worst-case scenario. Claire was hesitant to think that Jason had decided to let the matter drop.
She didn’t know what she would do if Jason pushed the issue of her quitting the job at Partiez Plus. The extra income barely covered her mother’s medication each month. He also mentioned working on the weekends for the next few months. Luckily, the bachelor parties were usually later in the evening, so she didn’t foresee that being a problem; however it would limit the amount of time she could spend with her mother on the weekends. Claire noticed an approaching rest area and stopped to give Louise a call.
Hearing Louise’s voice on the other end of the line always brought a smile to her face. “Hey Louise, how are you doing today?” asked Claire.
“Oh honey, I’m doing just fine; these old bones are still getting me around and the ticker is beating strong,” laughed Louise.
“I’ll be hearing you use that same line twenty years from now Louise,” said Claire with a smile.
“I don’t know about that honey, but I hope to be saying it tomorrow; one day at a time at my age, you know?” She had a similar exchange with Louise on every call.
Truthfully Louise never seemed to age, she still looked the same today as she did when Claire had first met her. “I was going to come over for dinner. Can I bring anything?” inquired Claire.
“Honey I don’t need anything; I’ve everything I need to make the homemade spaghetti you love.”
“Oh Louise, you don’t have to do that, but I would be more than happy to eat it! How is mom doing today?” Hearing the pause in Louise’s voice, Claire knew this was not a good day for her mother.
“She’s fine honey, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you. Give her time today; she’s been a bit confused.”
Sighing, Claire said, “That happens so often now, maybe I should talk to the doctor again about possibly changing some of her medications. The last one he added seems to be making her worse.”
“I don’t know if that will help honey, I think the good lord above controls most everything for us down below,” replied Louise. She said her goodbyes to Louise and started back on the road wanting to stop at her apartment for a shower and a quick nap before going to her mother’s for dinner.
Chapter Nine
When she finally arrived home, Claire pulled into her parking spot and turned to retrieve her suitcase from the back seat. As she was straightening up she heard a voice that made her inwardly cringe. “Claire, you’re back! Old Billy has scored those Neil Diamond tickets that I told you about.” No, No, NO! Please lord haven’t I been through enough this weekend? Please, if you make him go away I promise I’ll go to church every Sunday, be kind to old people and donate something to charity that I’m not counting on my taxes.
As Billy smiled down at her Claire wondered why the universe seemed to be against her this weekend. She’d not made it to her apartment in week
s without being accosted by Billy as she was leaving the car. Could he actually be in his apartment waiting for her every day? No, surely even he had more to do than spend hours watching for her arrival.
“Hey Billy, how’s it going?” asked Claire with a tight smile.
“Did you hear what I said about the Neil Diamond tickets?”
“Er... Yes, I heard that but I’m sure there’s someone you’d rather take than me Billy, maybe Melissa in 4B; she loves concerts,” supplied Claire hopefully.
“Oh no babe, Billy got these tickets especially for you.”
“Um… My mother is expecting me any moment at her house for dinner; we will talk about this later,” replied Claire as she slowly made her way around him and towards her apartment.
Billy looked down at his watch and said in obvious confusion, “It’s only after three, why would you have dinner this early?”
Claire tried to stick as close to the truth as possible, “she has a medical condition and has to eat several times per day, so we’re eating earlier today.”
Luckily, this seemed to occupy Billy’s thought process enough for her to make her way around him and close to her apartment door. With a wave, Claire said, “I’ll talk to you later," and practically ran into her front door wincing at how loud the door slammed in her haste to escape. Claire wondered how much longer she would be able to live with this daily aggravation before she either hurt his feelings or just gave up and moved.
After a weekend of looking at and drooling over the hot body of Jason, being pursued by Billy was a real reality check. It’s like having to settle for sirloin after having the prime rib. You can’t win 'em all girl, for every hot guy you’re looking for five creepy weird guys are looking for you.
Claire walked to the bedroom and sat her suitcase on the floor. The light was blinking on her answering machine, and she pondered not even bothering to check the messages. Hadn’t she had enough bad news this weekend? Curiosity got the better of her though and she pushed the button and was informed she had one new message.
“Claire, it’s me, Suzy, I um… oh Claire, Jeff and I broke up!” Hearing what was plainly a sob Claire walked closer to the machine as if she could see Suzy. “He has been cheating on me; the bastard has been cheating on me with his dentist, can you freaking believe that?!” Now openly sobbing, “I… I’m ok; I just didn’t have anyone to tell, shit!” When the beep signaled the end of the recording, Claire stood rooted to her spot, completely stunned.
Suzy and Jeff had been together since high school and had been engaged for the last three years. Sure, everyone joked about them taking their sweet time to get married but there was never a doubt in her mind that they’d spend their lives together. Jeff was the exact opposite of Suzy, very quiet and serious to her loud and outgoing personality.
To Claire, he seemed to dote on Suzy, and she seemed to breathe life into him. She felt so guilty that she’d not been there for Suzy and, come to think of it, she’d not told Suzy she would be out of town either. Great, my friend in need thinks I bailed on her this weekend! Score: crappy weekend - 3, Claire - 0.
Claire picked up the phone and walked into the living room and settled herself on the couch to call Suzy. A low quiet voice answered the phone, “Hello?”
“Suz, it’s me, Claire. I’m so sorry, I just got your message; I was out of town. What in the world is going on?” Suzy started to cry; raw, seemingly uncontrollable sobs were coming so fast it was as if a dam had collapsed. “Suz, hold on, I’m coming over there right now,” said Claire in an urgent voice.
“No,” Suzy managed to get out between sobs; Beth is here.”
Beth was Suzy’s younger sister who lived across town and worked as a school teacher. Claire knew they were extremely close and immediately felt better knowing Beth would slay dragons to protect her sister.
“Can you talk Suz?”
Suzy took a couple of shuddering deep breaths, trying to get herself back under control and Claire held the phone in silence, giving Suzy the time she needed to compose herself. “I… I was just so shocked, Claire,” began Suzy weakly. “I thought we were happy. We hadn’t been fighting, the sex was still good, and he didn’t have any of the usual signs. He wasn’t late coming home, didn’t switch brands of underwear and hell, he didn’t even start gelling his hair,” finished Suzy in disbelief.
She had no idea what hair gel had to do with infidelity, probably something from Suzy’s bible, Cosmopolitan. “Suz, how do you know he’s involved with someone else? Maybe he just needs some time alone?”
“I saw text messages on his phone and not the 'reminding him of his appointment' type, the ‘I want to stick my tongue down your throat’ type. The funny thing is I was not suspicious at all. I grabbed his phone thinking it was mine since they look alike; I was scrolling through the phone looking for a number that Beth had texted me earlier. At first, I was just confused as to what all the text messages were and who Melissa was. I opened the first one, still thinking that someone had the wrong number and had sent me all those messages by mistake. I read through probably fifty messages and each one seemed to unfold a life and a part of Jeff that I didn’t know existed.
"I was so shocked, the messages and his replies were so out of character for the Jeff I’d known all those years. When he walked back in and saw me holding the phone, he didn’t even bother to make excuses. It was almost as if he was relieved that I’d found out. I swear Claire; it was the most surreal moment of my life, and you know that’s saying something."
Claire was glad to hear the smile she could detect in Suzy’s voice and her attempt at humor when she finished her sentence. “Did he move out, Suz?” asked Claire.
“Yeah, the rat bastard was packed and out the door within the hour. I think he must have had the suitcase half packed already and waiting for the opportunity,” Suzy wearily finished.
“Suz, I don’t know what to say, I can’t believe it. Maybe you guys can talk and try to work through things. He might just be confused, and it’s possible he didn’t have sex with the girl.”
“Bullshit! Trust me, without going into a lot of disgusting details, he did have sex with the slut dentist; she drilled more than a hole in his mouth, that’s for damn sure.”
Even clearly upset, Suzy as usual had a way with words; she gave new meaning to ‘making a sailor blush.’ “Are you sure you don’t want me to come over there?"
“I’m not much company Claire; I want to continue this outstanding pity party that I’m hosting for myself today. Tomorrow it’s over and I’m going to forget the scum bag ever existed."
"So where were you this weekend?” Suzy suddenly asked.
Claire had hoped to get off the phone before Suzy brought that up. “I had to work.” In a vain attempt to change the subject, Claire quickly asked, “Are you feeling better?”
“Wait, you had to work all weekend? You never do weekends,” said a suspicious Suzy.
“It’s the merger with Mericom, there were some important changes that had to be made this weekend; that’s all,” hedged Claire.
“You were in the office with smoking buns all weekend?”
“Well um, not exactly in the office,” Claire replied evasively.
Claire stood up and started to pace her apartment knowing that Suzy was fixing to go off like a drill sergeant. “What do you mean, 'not exactly in the office', where were you exactly?
Claire felt like she’d traveled back in time, and she was being drilled by her father for coming home late. “Um well, I sort of went to Columbia because Jason had to go to a friend’s house for the weekend, and he needed to work while he was there.” Her shoulders tightened as she waited for the inevitable barrage that would certainly be coming.
“Hmm, I see,” replied Suzy. "How long have you been bumping uglies with smoking buns you tart?”
“I most certainly am not 'bumping uglies,’ whatever that’s supposed to mean. I’m not bumping anything with Jason,” replied an indignant Claire.
&nb
sp; “Yeah, yeah, save it for someone who buys it. I’m going to need some details here. I mean complete disclosure; no sweaty stone left unturned. Tomorrow night we’re going out to dinner after work, and you’re giving me the 411 on this whole sordid story. Don’t even think about saying no, I’ll drag you kicking and screaming if I need to,” threatened Suzy.
Claire knew it was useless trying to correct Suzy and hearing the excitement back in her friend’s voice; Claire decided to let Suzy labor under the false assumption for the night. She knew that Suzy needed something else to focus on even if the fantasy was all in her head.
“I promise I won’t back out; you pick the place tomorrow. I love you Suz and I’m here if you need me.”
“I love you too Claire; I might even tattoo your name on my rump this weekend,” joked Suzy.
“You’re impossible, you know that, right?” laughed Claire. Promising once again to go to dinner tomorrow, Claire was smiling as she finished the call.
Anyone else would be depressed and miserable for months over a breakup of this magnitude but Suzy would do exactly as she said. She would be miserable for the rest of the day, and tomorrow she would forge straight ahead as she put her life back together.
~~~
The drive through Myrtle Beach was slow during the tourist season. Girls in skimpy swimsuits and even skimpier shorts walked down the Boulevard usually followed by some guys hoping for a summer fling. The water parks and putt putt courses were doing a booming business. Claire felt much older than her twenty-eight years with the weight of so much responsibility on her shoulders. She was relieved when she made it through the heavy traffic and arrived at her mother’s home.
Quickly, she exited the car and made her way to the door so she could turn a blind eye today to all the repairs that were so obviously needed. Louise was waiting with the door open and a smile on her face. How would she ever survive if that smiling welcome wasn’t waiting for her each time?