Chapter 20

The Crossroads had become our place of choice in doing the casual thing as opposed to the formal thing. We still did the fancy dinner at the fancy bistro. We still liked those kinds of things too. But most of the time when we met, or got together with friends, we met at the C. The company was good, the bartenders professional, and the mood of the place suited us. We were here again.

Having been deposited by the cab, van, we had our usual table near the back and far enough from the disco guy to hear ourselves talk.

“Glad you were free tonight,” I said, unnecessarily.

“Me too, but the reality is that I am free almost any time,” she said. “I mean apart from you I don’t have a lot of people calling to ask me out or to join the group as one might be inclined to say.”

“Yeah, well, me either,” I said. “I just feel lucky as hell that we met. That we did it at my ex-best friend’s place is some kind of coincidence. You said that night that your sister had told you he was interviewing you for a job or words to that effect. You heard anything about that yet?”

“No, not yet. Denise told me that he is working on it. She said I could have an office job right off, but that the one open at his place was kind of low on the pay and benefit scale, so he was looking to get me a better deal.”

“It’s been almost two months. Your sister give you any time line on that?” I said.

“Hmm, yes, maybe. There’s a company that needs a clerk and that he’s kind of in tight with that might hire me. It’ll be $30K annual if I get it plus the usual benefits. That plus my military disability will take care of me pretty good,” she said.

“Good, sounds good,” I said. “Wish I could do as well. I’m getting by on maybe twenty grand at the moment. But, I’m looking for something I can do as well, you know like you.”

“For sure,” she said.

“You know, I know you said that the reason for having you and your sister come to their house that day was to kind of feel you out about a job, but still, it seems almost too coincidental you and I meeting up like that.

“Oh and don’t misunderstand me. I’m grateful as hell to my lucky stars that it worked out, but knowing my ex-best friend like I do, I still wonder if he might not have had a dual purpose in mind. Know what I mean?” I said.

“I guess I do. But, I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth,” she said.

“You see meeting me as a gift then?” I said.

“I do, Jim, I do,” she said.

“Ann, I’m gonna go out on a limb here. If I’m out of line, just slap the hell outta me. Okay?” I said.

“Okay,” she said, suspicion written all over her face.

“Ann, I’ve fallen for you,” I said. I was shaking in my boots, well, figuratively speaking.

She stared at me. “Jim...” she started and stopped. I had a bad feeling.

“Never mind. I can see...” I started.

“No! I have the same kinds of feelings for you. But...” she said.

“Okay, but ‘but’?” I said.

“Are you sure, Jim? I know or think I know that you still have feelings for you ex. I am not gonna be good as a fill in woman for you. The man that gets me, even if any man ever even could want me the way that I am, well, he has to be all in on me. I’m not going to go through again what I went through with the last so called love of my life,” she said.

I sighed, and it was a sigh of relief. “Thank God,” I said, finally. “Ann, the truth is that since you came into my life whether a set up by my old ex-best friend or not, I have completely lost any interest in my ex-wife. I have rarely even thought of her these last couple of months.

“Oh, I’m still mightily pissed at the bullshit the two of them pulled on me. I’m still real unhappy with all of the put downs and attempts to buy me off with money. And they tried, offered me a lot of money or the means to earn it; but all of that notwithstanding, I’m over them. Ann, I want you and I want you real bad! If you can get by ‘my’ disability, I swear to you, I’m your guy and I mean forever!”

She came to me and planted her lips on my lips and she tasted oh so sweet. “Okay then,” she said. “So what’s our next move? Oh, and one of these days, I am gonna slap the hell outta you just to make sure you know your place.” She started to laugh no doubt at the mental of me taking my punishment at her hands.

“I’m so glad you asked that, dear heart, I mean about what comes next. Our next move is to move, to move in together,” I said. “It would make it so much easier and cheaper than to keep doing as we have been. And, then we start planning the wedding. Oh wait I almost blew it, almost earned my punishment. Ann, will you marry me. Oh, and consider me on my knees begging you to.” She snickered.

“Yes, darling man, yes indeed,” I said. “Oh, and now you can get up off your knees.” We both laughed, uproariously laughed.

The night of sex and cuddling and being together was the best of my life I was certain of it.

We did move in together, to her place. She’d gotten her own place of course, that where we’d already spent some time together. That had happened soon after our initial meet up. Her parents had funded her down payment and costs. And it was a house: it was smallish but warm and well adapted for folks like us; she’d seen to that. We did okay financially too as a result of the move. My twenty and her thirty from the military disability thing combined were enough. And, if she got the job she was hoping for, and if somewhere down the line I found me a job to complement hers; well, we’d be doing right fine for sure. No competition for my ex-best friend of course, but pretty damn good all things considered.

There was one thing that kept bugging me. I really wanted a van like the one he’d had custom built: the one with the elevators. Man that would be the cat’s meow. But, $200K was way out of my price range and likely always would be.

But, all of that stuff aside, I had some thinking to do. The notion that he had set me up on the one hand really burned my butt. But, on the other hand, his ploy had worked. I had what looked like a way to be happy once again. Did that mean that I was now in debt to him! Not on your life. But, it did lessen my visceral, if more or less dormant, hatred of them and how they’d done me.

Ann had been at pains to convince me that it was time to move on. Had he done something good or useful for me, for us, as she maintained? The short answer was yes. Did it make up for all of the bad stuff? The short answer was no. Did it buy him, and for that matter Claire, some level of tolerance or bode well for some kind of relationship with the two of them? The short answer was yes, but I’d have to be gritting my teeth when granting such a hitherto unlikely scenario.

And then there was Rebecca. She’d grown up to be a truly startlingly beautiful woman, and yes I was proud of her, and of my fatherhood. Did she give a rat’s ass about my being proud of her? Doubtful. But, as my Ann was telling me, I would be letting things play out without making too many waves just for the sake of making them. I would be going with the flow and not sweating anything all that much; well, I was under orders.

All of the foregoing said and set in stone I did have one card to play and I intended to play it before even telling Ann that I was going to: I would be going to talk to Claire. I really needed to know whether or not I’d been set up, or Ann had, and then I would actually make up my mind just how much I’d be willing to interact with the pair of them.

I pushed the button on the ground floor intercom. I was hoping she was home and willing to see me. Oh, I knew she’d see me if she were home, but ‘willingly see me’ might be a participial phrase that didn’t actually quite fit the moment. Well, we’d see.

“Yes,” came the tinny response from the intercom.

“Yes, Claire, it’s me. Any chance you’d have time for a little talk?” I said.

“Jimmy? What? I mean of course,” she said. I could almost see her frown ten floors up.

“Good, I’ll be right up,” I said.

“Okay,” I’ll buzz you in,” she said.

I skittered over to the elevator she’d hit the buzzer and it opened just as I got to it. Open, I skittered inside.

The ride up seemed kinda slow, but I did get there. The doors opened and she was there waiting for me.

“Jimmy, good to see you she said. Rod’s at work of course, but I’m sure you knew that. And it really is good to see you though a bit of a surprise. But come in, come in,” she said, as she led the way across the short hall to the open door of the penthouse.

“Yes, well thank you for seeing me,” I said.

“Darn it, Jim, you know damn well that this door is always open to you, always. Okay?” she said.

“Yeah okay, I guess,” I said. Then I saw her, Jenna Courtland. I hadn’t seen her in forever, but I did know her. She was Claire’s best friend from her school days: kind of the counterpoint to my relationship, my past relationship, with Rodney Pollard. I remembered Jenna being a nice person.

I know my face must’ve shown my embarrassment. “Oh, Claire, I’m sorry. I didn’t know, didn’t think. I should’ve called,” I said. I really was sorry. And, I hadn’t thought or considered or anything. I’d just come by.

“Jenna, nice to see you. You look good,” I said. I was on my skitterboard and it was clear to me that Jenna was feeling a little uncomfortable. Well, I had that effect on people.

“Uh, yes, and it’s nice to see you again, James; it’s been kind of forever,” she said.

“Yes, well that’s so I guess,” I said.

“Claire, I’ll be going. I’m sure James must have important things to discuss,” she said.

“No, no,” I said. “It’s my bad. I can come back later. Really it’s no bother.”

“Jim, of course it would be a bother for you. And is Jenna right? Do you have things we need to discuss,” said Claire.

“Nothing that can’t wait till later,” I said. I turned to go, but the woman blocked me. “Stay right here, Jimmy. I’ll be back in a second. She didn’t wait for a response from me. She just walked her friend out and to the elevator across the hall. They were talking but I didn’t hear any of it.”

“Well, I can see you were surprised,” said Jenna, as they stood talking in front of the elevator. “Does he just show up like that often?”

“No, it’s the first time actually. I think you were right. He must have something fairly important to say for him to just drop in like that,” said Claire, “and yes, I need to hear him out. Anyway, we’ll talk.”

“Sure bet,” said Jenna. “Anyway, you better get back in there, or he’ll be thinking we’re conspiring or something given everything you’ve told me,” she said. Claire keyed the elevator’s code and Jenna Courtland was gone. She rejoined her ex-husband.

She was back in less than a two minutes. I felt embarrassed and a little bit set back in my goal of getting some answers. But, I did want those answers and I wanted them now. Ann and I needed to know what was what. Well, I considered that we did.

“So,” she said. “Can I get you something to drink, anything?” said Claire.

“Uh, maybe a cup of coffee if you have any made. I don’t want to be a bother. And, I really am sorry about interrupting you and Jenna like that. I should’ve called first. If I ever need to come by again I do promise to call first. I know you all have lives and well, I don’t want to be a bother.”