Chapter 54: Another Week Apart.

Kay's turn:

Oh how I hate Monday mornings, especially after a GOOD weekend. The alarm went off and all I wanted to do was hit the ignore button, too bad there isn't one, then again, maybe not. If there was one I don't know if I'd make it to work on Monday mornings. I do a little better the rest of the week but Mondays are killers. Rob pushed me until I sat up and started moving. He threatened me with another ice cube; I still have to get him back for the last one.

I went into the bath and after relieving myself got into the shower. While I was in there I could see Rob's shape through the frosted glass as he came in for what he needed to do to start his own day. I saw him leave the room and I went back to doing what I had to. I couldn't go into work smelling of sex and after last night, that's what I'm sure I smelled of. I didn't want to upset my coworkers and as I told Rob before the wedding, there's no reason to rub their noses in it. Then, I was referring to my parents.

I dressed in slacks for the day instead of a skirt; it just felt like that kind of day. Rob was at the kitchen counter making up a lunch for me and he had cheeses on a serving plate next to the fruit bowl on the table. When he saw me, he reached over to pull the coffee pot and filled my cup. "Thanks, Rob. What am I having for lunch today?"

"I've made you a ham and cheese sandwich and I used mayo, so make sure you put it in the refrigerator. I doubt it would happen but I don't want you to get sick from eating a sandwich I made. Do you want an apple or an orange to go along with it?"

"Then it would be okay for me to get sick from a sandwich someone else made?" There was a smile on my lips.

"That's not what I said or meant and you know it."

"I know but it's fun to tweak you now and again. Here, put this in the bag, too." I handed him a nice shiny apple.

He handed me the bag. "Please tell Troy again that I had a good time yesterday and I enjoyed meeting his family. I'm looking forward to sailing with them next weekend, as long as the weather's good."

He walked with me to the door and gave me a kiss as I left for work. The sky was overcast and threatening rain but the drive in was uneventful, just the normal Monday morning traffic which is a little worse than the other days of the week. Troy beat me in, dang it.

As I was sitting down, he brought my coffee mug to my desk. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Do you have anything in particular you want me to tell Ben when we have our morning meeting about you interns?"

"If you haven't already, you can tell him I should be able to finish my project by the end of the week."

"I was going to, that and you might be worth having around, long term."

"Aw, I think you just paid me a compliment." I smiled at him.

"I'll have to watch that in the future, if you have one here." He smirked.

We'd gotten friendly during the last week and we kidded with each other, lightly. When it was work, though, we didn't play around. He watched over everything I did, asking me probing questions so that he knew what I was thinking. I went to him if I had a problem that was hanging me up. So far I'd done that twice and I was happy I hadn't needed to do it more than that.

We went to work on our individual projects. It was raining when it was time for morning break, so we didn't go for a walk outside as we had been doing. Instead we sat and talked at our desks. I learned about the company he started with and why he made the move. When the position with our company became available, his professor from school knew Troy wanted to move out to the West Coast and told him about it. The professor knew Ben and wrote a strong recommendation for Troy. It's what got him here. He was happy and didn't plan on moving again.

At lunch I sat with Linc and Ryan as usual. We talked about the weekend. I let it slip that I went to Troy's house for a barbeque. I hadn't meant to but when I did, I learned that they too had done things with their mentors over the weekend. Linc and Ryan were single and come to think of it I was too, at the start of our internships. Now I was married but they were still single. I and my husband interacted with Troy and his wife; his kids didn't really count in this. Linc and Ryan each had a weekend interaction with their mentors alone.

At the afternoon break it was still raining, so Troy and I again stayed at our desks and talked. "Troy, I don't want you to think I'm not appreciative of the barbeque but when I talked with Linc and Ryan during lunch I learned they too had some sort of something with the guys mentoring them and it seems to me these were all planned out."

"You're sharp, Kay, it's only about one in five of the people who intern with us who pick up on that. Yes, it was planned. If you've made it this far in the program, the company is interested in how you do socially. As part of our evaluations, we mentors put you in a social setting to see how you do. Since you're married, I involved my family. The other two are single so only the mentors were needed. There aren't many social events the company has an involvement in but there are some and if you're working here you may be called upon to attend and represent us."

"Why not tell us about it?"

"The company wants to see the real you, not a false front you might put up. This is the way they came up with so we could do an effective evaluation. I'm sorry I had to mislead you. I hope you aren't hurt by my deception and that you won't hold it against me or my family. Should I tell Alice and the kids we need to make other plans for the weekend?"

"Of course not. I won't speak for Linc or Ryan but I'm not hurt. What you've said makes sense, it's a little sneaky, but it does make sense. Rob and I really did have a good time with you and your family; he wanted me to let you know that. Even if I don't get a position here, I'd like to stay friends with you. We want to return your hospitality. We want you and your family to come on the boat and have a good time, really. It's a three day weekend and if we're all enjoying ourselves we can stay on the boat the whole weekend."

"I'm glad you're not hurt by the deception. After you left yesterday, the kids were talking about your boat, they've never been on one, so I know they're looking forward to the weekend; Alice and I are, too. Can we bring anything for the weekend?"

"Bring your swim suits because we have to swim from the boat to the shore if we're going to have a campfire and toast marshmallows after it gets dark. It's like a private beach and the only way to get to it is from inside the cove."

"We'll swim after dark? Are there lights? Is it far? We all swim, the kids are part fish, but Alice isn't a strong swimmer."

"The only lights will be those on the boat but they're more than sufficient for seeing where we're going when we swim back to the boat. We'll also have whatever moonlight there is. It's about fifty yards in total but I can walk to the shore the last fifteen or twenty, depending on the tide level. One of the things Rob does every time is inspect the boat's hull while swimming around it. The kids can do it with him, if it's okay with you. He'll make it fun for them."

"They'll like that."

"We should have a couple of hours of daylight in the cove so if you have any pool toys you think they'd like you can bring them, too."

"Will there be enough room for a couple of large inner tubes? They fit in our mini-van."

"Lots of room and we have an electric pump if you need to inflate them."

"They're already blown up. We need to get back to work for now."

"Okay."

The rest of the work day was like any other and I made progress on the project I had on my desk. When it was time to go home, the roads were slick from all the rain so I had to take it easy and it took me nearly twice as long as it should have. Rob was waiting for me.

"Was it a bad drive?"

"The roads were slick and you know most of the idiots on the road don't know how to drive on slick roads. I saw two accidents on the way home. They're what slowed me down."

"Bad ones?"

"No, just fender benders but they snarled traffic."

"It happens. I called my car service; they're going to pick me up half an hour early to make sure I make my flight to Florida."

"You don't think it'll be delayed?"

"I doubt it. The rain's been a nuisance but that's all. It shouldn't bother flight operations."

"I wish I was going with you."

"I wish you were, too, but you'll just have to wait until Thanksgiving, sorry. You have to finish up your project and the internship. Right now those have to be your priority."

"I know. I still wish I was going with you, even though I know I can't."

"It's the reality of the working world. You can rarely do everything you want to do; at the same time you do what you have to do. You end up doing them one at a time."

"I guess. I'm going to change clothes. What're we doing for dinner?"

"I didn't want to cook and I didn't think you'd want to, either. I thought we'd go to the diner."

"Suits me." We went to the bedroom and talked while I changed.

"How's your project going?"

"I made progress, about what I expected to."

"Is that good, bad, or what?"

"It's good; I should be able to finish before Friday morning. I had an interesting talk with Troy today during the breaks. We talked about the weekend."

"Which one, the barbeque or the sail?"

"Both actually, this past weekend was a set up. I found out that Ryan and Linc also got together with their mentors to do something over the weekend. When I questioned Troy about it, he admitted it was part of the program; they were evaluating us in a social setting to see if we mixed well outside of the office setting."

"I wouldn't have thought that was important to them."

"Troy said it was because there are social settings we might be put in as part of our work, either hosting or being hosted at some event."

"Okay, I can see that. What about next weekend?"

"He asked about it some. He wanted to know if they should bring anything. I told him to bring swim suits and pool toys for the cove. They'll be bringing large tubes for the kids. We have to bring marshmallows; I kind of promised them a campfire and marshmallow roast on the beach after dark."

"We can do that. Anything else?"

"I told him about the hull inspection you do and that the kids could come with you when you do it. He said they swim like fish. Oh, I also said that since it's a three day weekend, we can stay on the boat for the whole weekend, if we're all having a good time."

"We can do that, too. I hope they have a good time on the boat."

"I'm sure they will. I told him that even if I don't end up working for the company, we'd like to stay friendly with them."

"They are a nice family, I had a good time yesterday with them. I'd like to stay friendly with them, too."

I finished changing and Rob changed into his traveling clothes. We went to the diner and the food was as good as they made. This wasn't gourmet dining but it was better than fast food. They did have one significant advantage over other restaurants in our area though; they had an outstanding baker who made some really great desserts. Tonight they had his French apple pie on the menu which I know is one of Rob's favorites.

Our mood was subdued; with Rob having to fly out tonight neither one of us was feeling bubbly. We finished our meal and went back to the house. Rob already had his bags packed and all we needed to do was move them to the doorway to be ready for the car service. Once we did that, we sat on Rob's recliner, or rather he sat on his recliner and I sat in his lap, leaning on him with my head on his chest and my legs over the arm of the chair.

We cuddled and enjoyed our closeness. We didn't say much, it was mostly communications of the non-verbal variety. There wasn't much to be said anyway, we knew we'd each be feeling lonely without the other. There really wasn't anything to be done about it. We stayed that way until about five minutes before we knew the car would be here. I let Rob up to wash his face. While he was in the bath, I pulled a little present I had for him from my lunch sack and slipped into a pocket of his computer bag where he'd find it when he went to pull out a connection cable.

Rob was still in the bath when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to our friendly driver. After we greeted each other, he loaded the bags into the car. As he finished Rob came from the bedroom to the door. We hugged and kissed good-bye at the door and I stayed there to watch him drive off before closing it. I couldn't help it, I was bummed.

I had housework to do but decided there wasn't anything that had to be done tonight. This week I had the laundry to do, including all the things we brought off of the boat. I needed to change all the bed linens and wash them as well. I had to dust the whole house and vacuum. I should be finished before Thursday and I could shop for what we'd need for the weekend sail then. Friday Rob would be back and we could enjoy a leisurely evening together. I decided to just read in bed for a while before turning out the light for the night.

When the alarm went off, I knew I didn't have Rob to help me. Instead of hitting the snooze button, I started moving as soon as the alarm went off. I was going to need a little extra time in the kitchen to make my own coffee and lunch. I saw the skies were still overcast and traffic was still responding to the wet roads and running slow. Today, I beat Troy into the office but only by a minute or two. I fixed him a cup of coffee at the same time as my own.

"Thanks, Kay. Did you talk with Rob last night about the weekend?"

"Yes, both of them, the sneaky thing you did last weekend and what we're going to do this weekend. How fond did you say you were of the kids? If only one made it back you won't be too upset, will you?" I was trying to keep a straight face.

"Hunh?" He looked shocked.

"Do you have a preference about which one we use for fish food?" I chuckled.

His face relaxed. "Okay, you got me. I guess I had it coming."

"I do have one question for you about last weekend. Was Alice in on it?"

"No, she doesn't know about that part of the intern program. You are the first intern I've worked with who was married. The others have been single and I did something with them alone. She thought I just invited you out for an afternoon barbeque."

"I'll keep that in mind but I'm not sure if I'm done with you yet." We both laughed and turned to our desks and work. I continued to smile and chuckle until I became too absorbed in my work and tuned Troy out. The weather was the same as it was yesterday, with rain on and off all day.

When we were finishing up our discussions at the end of first break and just as we were getting back to work, Troy sprung something on me I didn't expect. As he cleared his desk he said, "Kay, I'm going to be gone for the rest of today. There is a video conference call that will take the rest of the morning and then I'm taking some personal time for the afternoon. I'll see you tomorrow morning. If you get hung up and can't wait for me in the morning, you can take whatever it is to Ben and don't worry, he won't take too much when he snaps at you." He smiled.

"I could stand to lose some weight. Does he take it all off the top or can I guide him as to where to bite?" We both laughed.

The rest of the day was routine and I didn't have any problems. At home, I got into my housework and was working away when Rob called. We talked for a while about nothing of any consequence. The majority of the call was us telling each other how much we wanted to be together. He was tired from the long flight and long day, so we didn't stay on the phone for long.

Wednesday and Thursday were duplicates of Monday except the weather improved as the week progressed. The last thing I did Thursday was turn my project folder over to Troy. It was complete and I felt good about it. He took it from me and smiled.

"I'll review it in the morning. While I'm doing that you can write up a summary of experiences here during your internship. I'll want that before second break and before you clear your desk. You'll return to H.R. after the break."

"I know. I've enjoyed my time here and working with you. Thanks for all the help you've given me."

"Go home, there's nothing more to do today. Besides you're distracting me when I'm trying to think of some way to chase you away. Don't you want to become a housekeeper full time?"

"No and you know it would be a waste of my talents."

I headed for home but not directly. I had the shopping list with me and was going to do the shopping on my way.

Friday morning I was all smiles when I sat down at my desk. I pulled my keyboard in front of me and started on the summary Troy assigned me. At the first break we went out to walk and talk as we always did.

"I've been looking over your project folder, Kay. You did pretty well from what I've seen so far. Now that you've turned it in I can do a little critique work with you."

"Is this the actual critique?"

"Not yet. This is only my initial observations. Ben will do the official critique and send it over to the school. He'll talk with me about it, too."

"Okay, what've you got for me?"

"There are some things I would have done differently but what you've done will work. Some of what you've got is the long way around but you'll learn more efficient ways and the short cuts with experience."

He continued to tell me what I did right and showed me some of the things I could have done differently. Some better, some not, just different.