I live for the moment I hear that catch in her throat with our first kiss. Her breathing getting heavier with each tender touch, and caress of her sensitive places, I wait for those three words she will not say..., yet.
Catherine Chapter 5
Her Surprise Early Return Part 1
Strange, that last night I didn't wake up from one of those dreams, or my over pressurized bladder in desperate need of relief, or even the coffee maker beeping when it finished perking this morning.
So after getting a cup of coffee, along with my cell phone, its back to shower, shave and dressed for another week of commuting into the city for that training class. And now that I'm about to leave the house, I touch in the speed call digits for Catherine's cell phone where the call goes straight to her voice mail. Okay. my thought. I'll try again from the train station.
And after leaving my truck parked in station's parking lot and on my way to the station's passenger platform, where it's just like the other call to her this morning, it went straight to her voice mail. And again, the same thing on the train ride into the city, it's still only her voice mail, where the message I leave this time is, "Please call or text me Catherine, just so I know you're alright." Where my others were, "Hi it's me, or It's me again." Where my thought now goes to calling her business cell phone, but deciding against it for now. But if I don't hear from her by lunch time, I will call her business cell phone, or her office number if I have to.
But now that mid morning has come and gone, with John, me, along with the rest of the class having finished the last lab Frank assigned. Which leaves us sitting around waiting for Frank to get back. Where he's most likely outside of the building catching a smoke, and forgot again how fast we can get through these things. But when I start to say something to John about that, my cell phone buzzes.
Frank insist our phones be off, but we all leave them on vibrate. So when I look at the screen its with my, "Holy Shit!" Its Catherine's text message, "Sorry haven't been able to call, big screw up, please call me at my office."
"Call you at your office?!" Surprised by the message. "What the hell are you doing in your office?" My blurting it out loud!
"Must be the girlfriend, what's up?" John asking.
"I don't know John." I said. "She's supposed to be in Pensacola, and wasn't due back here until Friday." But just as I get up to leave the room to call her, Frank walks back in. "I'll be right back, nature calls, too much coffee again." My excuse, as I pass Frank on my way out of the room.
But instead of heading to the rest room, I duck out into the hall by the stair well, touching in the speed dial for her office where she answers in three rings, "Hello, this is..."
"Are you Okay?!" My interrupting her.
"Oh yes Bob, I'm fine." she says "And Bob, I'm so sorry for not getting back to you sooner. But the lateness of me getting in, and everything else that's happened when I got in here; Bob, I'm so very sorry. And thank you for being concerned." She says. "I did get your messages, but I couldn't reply until just a few minutes ago. Again, I'm really, really sorry!" Her apologizing again.
"Hey, that's okay Catherine!" I'm telling her. "I'm just relieved you're alright! But Catherine, what are you doing back here?"
"Well Bob, I'm back here because things got screwed up in DC!" It's her telling me. "And like I usually do when I travel for company business, I call a contact to check in with them." She's telling me.
"So after my plane landed in Pensacola." she goes on." I called my contact there while I was on my way to the hotel. That's when she told me there was a last minute change, the people I was going to meet with in Pensacola that afternoon weren't going to be there because of a scheduling conflict; some screw up in D.C., She was telling me. So it was a good thing I called to verify the meeting time Bob, or I would have wasted a whole morning. An now everything will have to be rescheduled and retry again in a few weeks." her finishing.
"Sounds like typical Washington to me Catherine." My familiarity with that too.
"Yes Bob, my thoughts too!" Her agreeing with me! "That's when I was right back on the phone to the airline, and what a hassle that was." she saying. "Trying to cancel my original flights in and out of Washington. Then Bob, it was trying to get a flight out of Pensacola as soon as possible back to here took so many phone calls and waiting on hold, the battery on my business cell phone went dead. So while waiting for that one to recharge, I was using my personal one."
Her going on now. "It seemed like after dozens of phone calls to each airline, again waiting on hold, I finally got a flight out, but it wasn't until late last evening." Her explaining. "Plus they were nice enough to let me re-book the flights to Pensacola and D.C. in two weeks; if everything gets worked out by then?" Where I here the doubt in her tone of voice.
"So in between those calls Bob." it's her going on again. "I called the hotels to cancel the rooms and luckily!" She says now. "I was just under the wire doing that. Now, in between all that." she's saying. "I called my Manager Rachael, to bring her up to date on what happened, and about trying to get back home."
And going on. "Where Rachael tells me she needed me in the office this morning, as early as I could because I needed to move my car; some kind of maintenance activity in that secure area where I was parked. And, after that, I was to meet, first with her, then with everyone else to brief them about my trip; I was just heading there when you called." Ending her long explanation, also her frustrations too.
"My God Catherine! So what time did you get in last night, and how did you get home?" Is my asking now.
"I got in about twelve-thirty Bob, but I didn't go home." She says. "I took a cab to my sisters because it's closer, plus I was wiped out tired. And going to my sisters would make it easier to get into the office this morning." Her explaining.
"Then." She goes on. " From my sisters, I took another cab into the office for that briefing with Rachael. But first, I had to move my car because of that maintenance activity; I sent you that text on my way to this next meeting with the rest of my group. And Bob, I'm sorry I should have called instead." Her apology. "But once people new I was back, I started getting phone call after phone call. So...," her taking a breath, "Where are you?" She's asking now.
"I'm out in the hallway by the stair well Catherine. My telling her. "And can you have lunch with me?"
"Oh Bob, I'd love too!" she says. "But I don't know how long this meeting is going to take. And I do have a bunch of things to catch up on here. But is that dinner invitation still open?" She ask now.
Does she really mean it?
"Catherine, are you kidding me?" Her catching me by surprise. "After all you've been through these past weeks. Plus, what you had to go through just to get home, and now more meetings too. Catherine, we can do that some other time." My trying to make it easier for her to bow out.
"No Bob!" she says. "I want to see you! So, what time do you get out this afternoon?" Her asking now, catching me by surprise again.
"It should be around four-thirty; the usual time, why?" My reply
