The guys I worked with, asked how I held out during the storm, as we sat in the tavern over a lunch of burgers and beers. I gave them a brief account. They listened, in total amazement, as they couldn't even imagine something like that ever happening. It was almost like the beginning of a 'story book'. I guess, I hadn't thought of it like that, until now.
I had to visit Jeannie's cubical on some project stuff that I was working on. After 'business' was taken care of, she asked how my 'alone' weekend went. I kind of knew this would be coming up, and was ready to deal with it. I just said,
"It was nice. But, I need to talk to you. How about meeting up after work later? Same place?"
She gave me a quizzical look and said, "OK. See you later."
Given what I had started with Bev, I knew I had to end our fucking sessions. I wasn't
that
kind of a guy. And I definitely wasn't going to jeopardize what was starting between Bev and myself.
Jeannie was sitting off to the side, in a booth with a full drink. Looked like a screwdriver.
I got a full 24 once beer and sat across from her.
"OK. What's up?" she asked in her usual casual voice, with a slight smile.
Taking a long draw, "Jeannie, this last weekend, something happened that I never expected to happen in my whole life."
"Don't tell me that that bitch that dumped you showed up."
"No. No. Nothing like that."
I went into the whole 'rescue' thing. Our high school history, and everything. That Bev spent the weekend with me until Sunday afternoon. And that I was planning on driving over to spend the coming weekend with her.
Jeannie listened quietly. I couldn't detect any looks of hurt or disappointment or anything negative.
When I was finished, there was a long moment of silence. Then.
"Thank you for telling me. Thank you for being open and honest with me. That means a lot to me, more than you ever could realize," her voice soft. She had a soft and understanding look.
"I'm truly glad and happy for you. You deserve somebody to fall in love with. Somebody who, sounds like, appreciates, and truly cares about you. She's a lucky girl."
I let out a sigh of relief.
"What was that for?"
"I don't know. Maybe, I just didn't know what your reaction would be."
"Why? I mean, did you think I would be hurt and feel rejected?"
"Kind of. I didn't know. I'm new to this whole thing."
"Bill. I thought I was clear from the start. I wasn't looking for a boyfriend, or anything. And you weren't looking for a girlfriend then either. We each just wanted to have some fun together. That's all. No. Like I just said, I
am
truly happy for you," pausing for a moment, "Do I get to meet her... this lucky girl," she smiled.
"Yes, if you want to."
"Are you going to tell her about us?"
"Probably. Probably sometime, down the road. I need to see how things go. I just knew that we couldn't keep having our fun together. I'm not like that."
"I know you're not. And like I just said, thank you for being open and honest with me. It's all that I ever asked. I think that if I had, somehow, found out and we were still doing our thing, that would have hurt deeply, and ruined us... I suppose this means we can't have a final farewell fuck," she grinned.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Not that it doesn't sound like fun."
I got a grin, "And thank you Jeannie, for everything. You were just what I needed, at that time in my life."
"I can say the same thing. If you ever want to talk about anything, anything at all, you know where to find me."
..........................................
My roommate, Wayne, was back for the week and through the weekend. Then off on another startup that was expected to last a week. We were sitting at the kitchen table, each of us with a 12" pizza and a beer.
"So, how was the storm? I was watching it on the evening news. I talked to my folks. They said that it pretty much shut everything down from Friday night until around noon on Saturday."
"Pretty much."
"I can see you were prepared, at least in the beer and pizza department. Must have been cold. I can see you got good use of the fireplace," he grinned.
"I was a Boy Scout once, a long time ago. One can never be too prepared. Yeah. It was cold. The house is kind of drafty, especially in a strong wind. But then, that's what electric blankets are for. Good thing the power didn't go out."
"That doesn't seem to happen too often."
I went on to describe the weekend. He listened, fascinated.
"Wow. The girl that you went to high school with and had a huge crush on, showing up at the door, just out of nowhere. What are the odds of that happening?"
"I know. I think about it a lot. I can't wait for you to meet her. Maybe next weekend."
"You're not going to get all involved and move out on me are you?"
It was a simple question. Partially in jest. Partially serious.
"I don't see that happening for quite a while, if at all. I mean, it's not like it's going to be next week, or anything," I grinned back.
We talked Wednesday night.
Bev thought it should take me around half an hour to get there, once I left. I had planned on leaving directly from work. Maybe squeeze 15 minutes out of my boss and leave early. I would have my suitcase all packed. I mean by 'packed', I could probably fit it all in a brown paper grocery bag, like a guy needs a lot of stuff for two and a half days. Still, it was the only thing I had, a leftover from college. Besides, I was hoping that I wouldn't be wearing clothes most of the time.
Friday was, I think, the longest day in my life.
My boss, grinned at me when I asked to leave a bit early that afternoon and the reason why. I was pretty sure he sensed my eagerness. I mean, even though he was married, he understood and was happy for my new situation.
Bev's apartment was on the edge of town. It looked relatively new, maybe 10 years old. Two story. Brick exterior with maybe 10 units. I parked next to Bev's car. I was early. On a whim, I had stopped at a florist shop, and picked up a dozen red roses.
Bev opened the door, still in her long white cotton robe that was open a bit at the top and tied at her waist that went mid-thigh.