Chapter 2

Freddie approached Janet in the conference room she had been using. “Oh, Janet,” he said.

“Oh, hi, Freddie. Can I help you?”

“Have you seen Eva?”

She shook her head. “Not since this morning.”

“She asked Heidi to cover for her while she went to lunch. She never returned.”

“That’s odd.”

“It’s very odd -- it’s not like Eva at all. I know you two have become friendly. Did she say anything to you?”

“Only that she was meeting her husband for lunch. I hope nothing’s happened to her.”

“Well ... If you hear anything, let me know.” Freddie turned to leave.

“Oh, Freddie,” she said.

“Yes?”

“May I use a copier? I’ll need to make additional copies of some of the material.”

“Certainly -- you can use the copier in the break room. You know where that is.”

“Of course I do.”

“Remember -- after five the front door is locked. We ask you to exit via the back door in the break room.”

“I remember.”

Janet was finishing making copies of course material. Most of the office staff had filed out. She looked at the clock -- it read five-thirty.

Heidi stepped into the break room and headed for the back door. “Heidi,” Janet said, “any word from Eva?”

Heidi shook her head. “No ... not a peep.”

Janet turned to the copy machine. She slipped the last original onto the glass and pressed the start button. On the counter-top she began the task of collating the sheets into the correct order.

The sound of the back door’s doorknob rattling startled her. She could hear the beeping of the entry code keypad, followed by more rattling. Her heart began pounding and she backed away from the door. The knob rattled again, and she heard the sound of weight being shoved against the door. A third time she heard beeping and the knob rattled. Then the door swung open and Eva staggered in.

Her eyes met Janet’s. “Janet! Oh, Janet!” Eva began weeping uncontrollably. Her crying became wailing.

Janet supported Eva as she wept; and she noticed a strong smell of alcohol. “Eva -- what happened?”

She controlled her sobbing long enough to blurt out, “Rob! He’s divorcing me!” She resumed wailing.

Janet continued to hold her and caress her back. “It’ll be all right, Eva,” she said. “You’re young and strong and pretty -- you’ll come through this just fine.” Eva began to calm. “Tell me what happened.”

“I tole you I was meeting my husban fer lunch ... he didn’t show but his lawyer did and he serve me papers...” Eva’s eyes widened and she began gulping.

Janet lunged for a tall wastebasket and held it under Eva’s face as she vomited. “Oh, Eva...” she said.

“I’m gonna go home now ... fine some pills or somethin. I wanna die, Janet. I just wanna curl up and die...”

“You’re doing nothing of the sort -- you’re coming home with me,” Janet replied. “I have a guest room. You can sleep it off and then we’ll figure out the next step.” She pulled out a chair next to the break room table. “Sit here while I get my stuff together. Okay?”

“Kay...” Eva folded her arms on the table and rested her face on them.

Janet carried the stacks of training material to the conference room and returned with her laptop. Eva was passed out, slumped over the table. “Come on, Eva,” Janet said. She shook her upper arm. “Eva -- wake up!”

Eva sat up. Her eyes were glassy and bloodshot and a flush covered the bridge of her nose. “Let’s stand.” Janet helped her to her feet. Eva swayed and supported herself on the table. She made a retching sound and Janet shoved the wastebasket under her face.

Eva vomited again. “Are you okay now?” Janet asked.

“Uh-huh...”

“Then let’s walk. That’s it ... one foot in front of the other. I’ll support you...” Janet led Eva to the elevator and to the street. Slowly they navigated two blocks. Eva put her hand to her mouth.

Janet steered her around the corner and out of heavy foot traffic. Eva stood leaning, her forehead resting against the building and retched. She heaved unproductively several times.

“Now you’ve got the dry heaves,” Janet remarked. “I don’t think there’s much worse than those.” Eva’s heaving subsided and she stood, gasping and leaning against the building. “Are you over them?”

“For now...”

“Let’s go ... just a little further...” Janet led her to the parking garage and to her car. She eased Eva into the passenger seat and belted her in. Then she started the car and drove to her apartment building.

“Here we are,” Janet said. Supporting Eva, she walked into the building and rode the elevator to her floor. She unlocked her door, swung it open and saw the set of spare keys on the floor. With her toe she nudged them out of Eva’s path and steered her into the guest room.

“You need to sleep it off,” she said gently. “You’ll be more comfortable out of these clothes.” She helped Eva slip out of her jacket and blouse. Janet unzipped her skirt and then eased her pantyhose off her legs so her guest was dressed only in her bra and panties. She turned back the covers on the guest bed and Eva wriggled between the sheets.

Janet positioned Eva on her side with her face aimed downward. She pulled up the covers; then she retired to the living room to a chair that provided a line of sight into the guestroom. She picked up a paperback novel she had started and began reading, looking up from time to time at Eva as she lay in bed.

Once Janet convinced herself that Eva had settled, she changed from her skirt and blouse into jeans and a tee. She warmed some leftover pizza and ate it for her dinner. Then she returned to her chair and her novel.

Around eleven she began to feel sleepy. She put down her novel and stepped into the guestroom to check on Eva. She found her lying on her back. Janet adjusted the covers and Eva sat up with a start. “Oh, my God! Where am I?” she gasped.

Janet sat on the bed and took Eva’s hand. “You’re at my place.”

“Janet?” Relief washed over Eva’s face. “God, I thought for an instant I might’ve ended up with some man. I’m so relieved to see you.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Wretched.”

“You need more sleep.” Janet patted the back of Eva’s hand and stood.

“Janet ... please stay. I need to talk.”

Janet returned to sitting on the bed. “Would you like to tell me what happened? How much do you remember?”

“I remember most of it... ‘til the end. I’m kind of blacked out after going back to the office.”

“What happened up ‘til then?” Janet asked.

“I was supposed to meet Rob for lunch. When I got to the restaurant Rob wasn’t there but his attorney was. He served me the divorce papers.” Her lips trembled and she began crying.

Janet embraced her. “I know it hurts,” she said. “It’s the rejection.”

“It’s the betrayal ... Oh, God, Janet...” Eva sobbed against Janet’s shoulder.

“What happened next?” Janet asked.

“I was in shock and needed some escape so I bought a pint bottle of Southern Comfort and sat in the park, drinking it.”

“Out of a brown paper bag?” Janet asked.

“Exactly.”

“You drank the whole thing?”

“Yes, I did. I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“I think I’d forgive you under the circumstances,” Janet replied. “I know how it feels. I ended a long-term relationship about a year ago.”

“How long were you married?” Eva asked.

“We weren’t ... but that doesn’t lessen the hurt. Actually, I knew it was coming. I travel so much in my job I couldn’t give us the attention we needed. We were together five years.”

“Rob and I were together twenty-two. I married him right out of high school. I never went to college, Janet. I married him and got a job.”

Janet caressed Eva’s back. “You’ve done all right. You have a good job and you’re highly regarded at your office.”

“Monica came along a year later. She was kind of an accident ... we really didn’t plan on having a child. I’m happy to have her. She and I are very close. Rob was the dutiful husband and father while she was growing up...”

Janet fetched a box of facial tissues and handed one to Eva. She blew her nose and dabbed her cheeks. “I should’ve seen this coming, too. I insisted Monica go to college. She’s going to Duquesne on a scholarship. I’m proud of her, Janet. She’s a wonderful girl. But when she went off to school, Rob and I were empty-nesters. I was in denial over the warning signs.”

“Is he leaving you for another woman?” Janet asked.

Eva exploded into more tears. “Yes ... Someone your age, Janet. His office assistant!”

“I don’t know why he’d leave you, Eva. You’re a beautiful woman. He’s crazy to.”

Eva’s shoulders shook with her sobbing. “I just wish he had the balls to tell me in person. Now I have to get a lawyer.”

Janet held Eva and stroked her back until she calmed again. “Do you have a house?” she asked.

“Yeah ... Rob will end up keeping it. He had me sign a pre-nuptial agreement that says the house is his. It’s an old family estate -- the land has been in the family since the early 1800s although the house isn’t that old. He wanted to make sure it stayed in the family.”

“You’ll come out of this fine,” Janet replied. “Like I said, you’re strong, you’re healthy, you’re young, you’re pretty and you’ll pull through this ... stronger than ever.”

“Thanks, Janet. I’ll keep telling myself that.”

“What do you want to do about tomorrow? I can’t imagine they’d insist you work under the circumstances.”

“I don’t want to let on that anything’s wrong,” Eva replied. “I should just show up at eight as usual. I’ll tell them that something I had for lunch didn’t agree with me, so I went home sick and felt too poorly to call. Oh, God! I can’t show up in the same clothes.”

“What size do you wear?” Janet asked.

“Size four or six.”

“I wear a size two or four. We’ll look through my closet and I’m sure we can find something.”

I wish I had something to give Heidi. Covering for me for a whole afternoon is outside of what’s expected of her.”

“I think I have an unopened box of Godiva chocolates someone gave me,” Janet said. “You could take that. I don’t eat them and I wish people wouldn’t give them to me as gifts.”

“I can understand,” Eva replied. “Look at you -- you’re like a rail. No wonder you can wear a size two.”

“You need more sleep,” Janet said.

“I’m so worked up I don’t think I can...”

Janet stepped into her bathroom and withdrew a bottle from the medicine cabinet. She tapped out two tablets and then ran some water into a paper cup. “Here,” she said to Eva. “Whenever I’m agitated and can’t sleep I take two of these. They knock me right out.”

“What are they?”

“A couple of Benadryl.”

“Okay...” Janet handed Eva the pills and water. She swallowed them. Then she lay on her stomach, clutched the pillow and rested her face against it.

Janet gathered Eva’s luxurious hair and straightened it. She turned off the light and caressed Eva’s shoulder. “When Monica was little,” Eva said, “and couldn’t sleep, I’d stroke her back like you’re doing now. It helped her relax.” She reached behind her back, unhooked her bra, lifted herself on her elbows and slipped it off. Then, she returned to lying on her stomach.

Janet resumed stroking Eva’s shoulder and back. “It feels good, Janet. I’m starting to feel the Benadryl.”

“Go to sleep,” Janet whispered. Eva’s breathing became deep and regular. Janet pulled the bed covers over her shoulders. She closed the door behind her and headed for her bedroom. Looking at the ceiling she shook her head. “Holy shit,” she exclaimed.

Janet awoke to the sound of her shower running. She arose and pulled a robe on. The water shut off and shortly Eva emerged with a towel tucked around her under her arms. “Did I wake you?” she asked. “I need to take a shower early so my hair has a chance to dry. I hope that was okay.”

“It’s all right,” Janet replied. “You can blow it dry.”

“I’d rather let it drip.”

“Did you find everything all right?”

“Yes. I found this towel in the cabinet.”

“How are you feeling this morning?”

“Hung over,” Eva replied. “I helped myself to a couple of your Tylenol and my head stopped aching. I don’t think I’ll want anything heavy for lunch, and nothing for breakfast.”

“I’ll take my shower and then we can raid my closet.”

Janet stepped from the bathroom in her robe. Eva was sitting on her sofa, still wrapped in the towel. Janet beckoned to her and Eva approached.

“I found this,” Janet said, holding up a red dress. “It doesn’t fit me quite right but it might work on you.”

“That looks like a cocktail dress,” Eva replied.

“It is.”

“I can’t wear something like that to the office.”

“I thought if you wore your little jacket over it, it might look pretty cool.”

“Hmm ... I hadn’t thought of that. I’d need a strapless bra ... or at least a different one.”

Janet opened a dresser and rummaged through the drawer. “What size do you wear?”

“I can wear a thirty-four C or a thirty-six B.”

“I wear a thirty-two B. Here’s one that’s a bit large on me -- I need to hook it on the first tabs. Maybe if you hook it on the last ones.”

Eva slipped off the towel and stood nude before her. Janet regarded her breasts. They were ample, with wide areolas and fleshy nipples, but gravity had taken a toll on them. She scanned Eva’s body, glancing at her full patch of dark pubic hair and her long, shapely legs. Save for the sag in her bosom, Eva’s body was lithe and would pass for an older twenty-something’s.

“I think this will work,” Eva said as she hooked the back strap, then she adjusted her flesh in the cups.

“This one converts,” Janet said and tugged at the shoulder straps to remove them from concealed hooks. “That bra gives you some cleavage,” she said.

“I haven’t had cleavage like this since before I was your age,” Eva replied.

“I think it’s sexy on you.”

Eva regarded herself in a mirror. “It is a little tight...”

“That tightness gives you some lift. Is it too uncomfortable?”

“Not TOO uncomfortable. What can I do? The one I wore yesterday would show and I can’t go without...”

Janet handed her a pair of briefs. “Step into these.”

“Thanks. Wearing the same underwear would make me feel ... icky...” Eva slipped the dress over her head and flipped her long hair from it. She regarded herself in the mirror. “The bra strap shows in back.”

“Who’ll see it if you keep your jacket on?”

“True, true...”

“I think that dress shows just the right amount of cleavage.”

“Do you think I’m showing too much leg?” Janet regarded the hem, a couple inches above Eva’s dimpled knees.

“You have terrific legs, Eva. You could show more.”

“What about the slit?” She turned and modeled the dress, slit on the right side halfway to her hip.

“I think it looks spectacular on you. Your legs will be hidden under your desk, won’t they?”