All of her life, Geri was very much a girl enamored by romance. Growing up, her mother suspected that Geri was a bit idealistic about love and how commitment went. Geri, on the other hand, had a very deep secret: she didn't believe in love at all.
Geri went through life as a very good actress, giving performances worthy of several Oscars. She giggled at the appropriate times when her girlfriends would fall madly in love with this boy or that boy; she read all the teen magazines and pretended to swoon for this actor or that. She could even fake a starry-eyed expression when the most popular boy in the whole entire school asked her to the prom. Her mother had no idea, but Geri loathed the idea of being attached and of being in love.
Now why would a beautiful young girl be so opposed to such an idea, you might ask. The answer was quite plain: it was Geri's father that soured her on the thought of melding her life with a man. Geri's father was a golden child in the eyes of the community, but to his children, he was a ghost. When he was home, no one was allowed to hold a very deep conversation with him. He rarely showed true emotion. He was a paycheck with legs and a $800 overcoat. Or so that is what he told Geri's mother when he left. Geri was just 13 at the time, but she remembered that day as vividly as she would've had she taken a video of the events. After that, while Geri's mother did her best to go on with her life and remain strong, Geri always saw a hint of sadness and longing in her eyes.
By the time Geri reached college, she had all but given up on ever having a "normal" life. The word normal meaning a life with a husband, kids, bills, a white picket fence. She turned her energies to her studies instead, avoiding the "normal" college rites of passage such as losing her virginity and/or getting drunk until she passed out. She never went to bars, never went on dates. The boys on campus assumed she was a lesbian brainiac, and the women assumed she was a bitch. Both opinions were wrong, of course, but Geri did little to dispel them. She liked the way everyone sort of smiled that said "oh-you-poor-thing" smile yet kept their distance.
Geri graduated, as most true bookworms do, at the top of her college class. Her degree in biology suited her fine: she could spend weeks inside a laboratory and never speak to anyone. She was recruited by some of the top research facilities, and once hired, she busied herself about making sure her own little world was compact, convenient and quiet: a one-bedroom apartment near the facility with lots of conveniences nearby. All this worked for her for about six months. Then her world came crashing down.
The call woke her in the middle of the night.
"Geri Bersten?" A rather static-y voice queried over the phone.
Geri rubbed her eyes, trying to adjust to the time and to the caller. "Yes, I'm Geri. Can I help you?"
"This is Morovian County Hospital. Your mother has been admitted here. I think you should come right away ..."
"WHA?? What's wrong??"
"We really can't discuss it over the phone. Please, if you could come ..."
Geri hung up the phone before the woman could give her any details. Her mind was a blur of fear. She had to get a ticket. Had to get home. Geri dialed her boss, Aaron Ashcraft.
"Helllooo?" Aaron's voice was obviously sleepy.
"I'm sorry for waking you, Aaron. I don't even know what time it is. The hospital back home called and my Mom's been admitted ... I don't know what's wrong, but I ... I ..." Suddenly she felt herself break down.
"Hey ... hey ... it's okay. Give me a minute and I'll get dressed and be right there ..."
Before she could protest, Aaron had hung up the phone. Geri put her face into her hands and wept, great wracking sobs. Her mother has been the center of Geri's life since she was 13. Now, at 23, she didn't know what to do ... she didn't know if she was strong enough to go it alone. Now, at 23, she wished she had someone to hold her hand.
Aaron was a striking man of 30. He was Geri's boss only because his father owned the research facility, although Aaron himself was a brilliant scientist. He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a cap and bounded for the door.
"Where are you going?" his mother asked, hearing the phone and the commotion had awakened her.
"Sorry, Mom. Geri's mom is really sick and she got a call from the hospital. I can tell she's scared and confused and needs a friend right now. I didn't mean to wake you. Tell Dad where I went and what's going on with Geri."
"Okay, son. Be careful."
Aaron ran out the door and jumped into his Jeep. He was not the typical "scientist" type: he liked being outdoors and he was very animated around people. He looked more like an athlete than the thinker he was. Within moments, he was standing at Geri's door. He rang the doorbell and listened as the room inside was shuffled about.
"Just a minute .."
More shuffling.
Then the door swung open. Geri stood in front of him, still in her robe and her flannel pajamas. Her green eyes were swollen from crying, her short auburn hair all disheveled from sleep. Aaron stepped into her apartment.
"Have you made arrangements?"
Geri shook her head. "I've never done this before. I drove here from college, so I've never flown ..." Her voice trailed off in both desperation and embarrassment. She was having to be vulnerable in the presence of a man, and she suddenly didn't like it one bit.
"Then let me. Where is home again? And where is your computer?"
Geri told him where she was from, and led him to the space in the room that held her computer. Before she could protest, Aaron punched up some numbers and whipped out his credit card.
"There. Two tickets to Morovia. All we have to do is pick them up that the window when we get to the airport."
"Wait. What do you mean TWO tickets?"
Aaron turned to face Geri. He looked into those deep green eyes and saw such sadness and longing and fear.
"Two tickets because I'm going with you. You've never flown, you have no idea how bad it is with your mother AND, to top it off, you're my friend. So, I'm going to go and hold your hand and get you coffee and whatever else you nee...."
She cut him off, "What about the research?!"
"I told Mom to tell Dad what was going on. He will see to it that the team is supervised well until we can get back. But you need a friend, Geri, and I'm all you have. Now, we don't have much time, so let's get you packed."
Geri allowed Aaron to guide her back to her bedroom, and he helped her pack for the trip. He insisted that she get a nice hot shower while he loaded the Jeep, and then together they went back to his family estate to pick up some of his belongings.
"I'm sorry to hear about your mother, Geri," Aaron's mother said. "I hope things will be alright .." She wrapped Geri in her arms and gave her a warm hug. "If there is anything we can do, please let us know. Working at the lab, you are family. I hope you know that"
"Thank you," Geri replied stiffly. She had never been in a place of such warmth before.
Aaron once again bounded down the staircase, this time holding a duffle bag.
"I'm ready and we'd better hurry if we're to make that flight!"
