"Lois?"
Lois turns around to see Jesse staring at her, a surprised look on his face.
"Oh, hey Jesse. How's it going'?" She asks, trying to disguise the surge she felt at seeing him. She was in town visiting family and dropped by the recruiting office to bring the guys some baked goodies before they all went on Christmas vacation. Most of them have kids and she knew they would appreciate the thought.
When she first came to the Navy recruiting office, her official recruiter had been a man named Eric. He was the one who first questioned her, explained certain things to her, answered her questions, and took her to MEPS the first time. He was a good guy and she liked him a lot. He had a daughter a few years younger than Lois and she could tell by the way he always talked about her what a proud papa he was.
However, Eric had recently been promoted to Chief Petty Officer and with that came new responsibilities. Having been given the title of Recruiter of the Year, he had a full load of recruits on his hands. Too many. He ended up having to disperse about half of them between the other four recruiters he worked with.
As it so happened, Lois got transferred to the one guy that she hoped she wouldn't be transferred to; Jesse. The only man in the whole office that she found herself distractingly attracted to.
Before Jesse had become her recruiter, he'd been the one to take her to and from MEPS the second time around. It was a long trip, both ways, so they'd had a lot of alone time in the car. When she'd first saw him, she thought he was a cutie. After that first car ride together, all those hours of conversation, she realized that there was a lot more to Jesse than met the eye and it wasn't long before her head was spinning with the attraction she felt for him, both physically and emotionally.
By the next time she had to go to and from MEPS with him, her feelings had only snowballed. She prayed that he couldn't see right through her. She'd never been good at hiding what she was thinking so she took extra precaution with Jesse. Avoiding eye contact, avoiding certain subjects in conversation, and at all costs, avoiding any physical contact. The one time his hand and brushed against the length of her arm when they were in the car, her stomach began doing flips inside of her. She'd jumped and moved away from his touch, causing him to look surprised and mumble an awkward apology.
Jesse had been careful not to touch her again after that. He hadn't meant to in the first place but when his hand had come in contact with her soft skin, he hadn't been in a huge rush to move it away again. He'd let it graze farther along her arm, as if it were a thoughtless accident, pretending to be unaware as he continued to reach behind her seat for his cover. When she jerked away, he felt embarrassed and tried to disguise it by pretending nothing had happened.
He'd gotten closer to this eighteen year old beauty than he ever intended. What had started with small talk quickly turned into a friendship that had surprised both of them. Talking to Lois was easy and comfortable. She always listened and never seemed to miss a thing. She would stay quiet when he wanted her too, and always seemed to understand what he was saying. She didn't only comprehend it, she really got it. Like she knew what he was trying to say before he even got it out.
She would ask him questions, letting him know that she was listening and actually interested in what he was saying. But she didn't only ask surface questions, questions that anyone would ask. She asked the kind of questions that got to the heart of the matter. There were times when she would listen quietly until he was finished talking, consider it in silence for a moment, and then BAM, her genius would come out in something as short as one or two sentences.
She took his breath away on a regular basis. He often found it hard to believe that she was ten years younger than him. She was just as mature, if not more so, than he himself was at twenty-eight years old. Her intelligence and perceptive skills surpassed most women he knew at his age. Even his wife.
Ex-wife, he corrected himself mentally. He had married Angel three and a half years ago. Stupid mistake, he chided himself. He had loved her so much and she'd mortified him. He still couldn't believe what a fool he had been for that woman.
Now, here in front of him stood the only person he had confided in about Angel. Back when he was still hopeful of their getting back together. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
He hadn't intended on talking to Lois about his marriage. In fact, after he first met her, she was the last person in the world he would have expected to talk to about his wife. What man wants to talk about that with a young, beautiful girl like Lois? Most men wouldn't touch that subject with a ten foot pole.
But damn, she was just so easy to talk to. It was like they were always on the same page. And she hadn't ever tried to flirt with him or seduce him like other girls had, even before she knew he was married. She was so respectful and classy. A rare trait in women in general, let alone teenagers.
Before he knew what happened, he was confiding in her. He told her about Angel leaving, heading down south to stay with her parents because she needed "a break". He told her about how he was blaming himself and his Navy career for her leaving. He told her about how they were starting to work it out over the phone. He told her that he'd be taking his Christmas leave a little early to go down and get his wife so he could bring her back home.
And now he was standing in front of her surprised expression and knew why she was confused to see him. She'd thought he'd be southbound by now, on the brink of seeing Angel for the first time in months. Instead, he was in the office, just hoping for some sort of distraction from the reality that his marriage was now over.
"Um, hey," he stammers, recovering his senses. "What are you doing here, Lois?"
She looks up at him and raises her eyebrows as if to say 'I could ask you the same question'. Instead she just clears her throat and holds up a platter stocked with all kinds of homemade sweets. "I thought these hard working men might like some treats to take home to the families. I was making a bunch for my family so I whipped up a couple extra batches. Would you like some?" Her eyebrows rise again, daring him to turn her down.
Despite himself, Jesse feels a smile tug at the corners of his lips. "I'd love some," he says. "Set aside one of each for me." And with that, he turns and walks into the staff room to make some coffee. He hears muffled voices in the main office as he sets up the pot, and then the men begin roaring with laughter.
That's Lois, he thinks. Always making people laugh.
Lois came prepared with enough Ziploc bags to send each man home with an adequate supply of holiday treats. She divides it all up according to how big each man's family is and hands them out as they all clean up and leave the office, anxious for their two week break.
Eric is the last one out the door. He smiles and gives Lois a quick hug as he takes his go-bag. "Thank you," he says with a wink, "that was very sweet of you, Lois."
"Hey, I was happy to do it," she replies as she shoots a wink back at him. She hopes his daughter will enjoy the sweets.
Eric directs a glance towards the staff room door. "Hey, make sure he doesn't stay too late, will ya?" he whispers. "He's got a lot going on and I don't want him to bury himself in work as an escape." And with that, he walks out the door, happy to be homeward-bound.
Lois stands there, silently pondering what Eric said. She knew something was obviously wrong. Jesse is here, instead of going to get his wife. His demeanor is glum and he is obviously distracted. And Eric is clearly in the loop, or else he wouldn't be worried about the guy. Something has definitely happened between Jesse and Angel. Something bad.
