The three of us joined hands; the connection between Michael and I began to vibrate. It was a very sexual feeling and I was all into it as we walked the few blocks to Rick’s office.
Amanda was waiting for us. I introduced everyone, even though they’d met over the phone, told Amanda that Charlie was doing fine and that I’d see him in a couple of days. He’d probably be released by the end of the week.
Amanda hugged me and thanked me for being so kind to her Charlie.
“Charlie’s wonderful; I’m inviting him to Sunday dinner as soon as he can be released. We’ve become great friends.”
Then I looked Amanda in the eye.
“Great friends, like us. You and Charlie are going to be part of my family.”
We hugged.
As we waited for Rick to finish with his business meeting I caught Michael looking at me; I held his eyes and we enjoyed our own means of getting a reconnect. Lu stood kind of in the back ground while I was introducing everyone. I felt her shyness and slipped my hand into hers as I stepped up to stand next to her. She squeezed her hand around mine.
“Thank you Lu for being here for me and being such a good friend.”
When the doors to Rick’s office opened, people came streaming out in a hurry each carrying concern and possibly motivation on their faces. When the last of them had purged themselves from Rick’s office, we went in. In single file, Amanda was first and then me and then Michael and then Lu.
The look on Rick’s face was one of extreme pity. Perhaps he felt sorry for me because normally I wasn’t ‘a looker’ so to speak and with the injuries to my face, I looked even more hopeless. ‘Funny’ I thought because Amanda had looked at me the same way as did both Michael and Lu. Charlie was the only one who didn’t remind me with the way he looked at me that I looked like Hell.
The ‘social mirror’ told me that I must be pretty terrible looking for my face to garner that much pity among my friends. Well, the bruises were new and probably not finished forming just then. It wasn’t the best idea to be out in public looking like I did and I hoped the bruises would clear up fast because I’d forgotten about them and how they looked to others.
Michael stepped up to Rick and shook his hand.
“Thank you Rick for handling the situation and for saving our Helen.”
Having them think that I needed saving bothered me because those thoughts put Charlie in a bad light. I didn’t need saving but I just let it go, for then.
Rick gestured all of us over to the ‘sofa setting’ in his office. Amanda left momentarily to ask for some coffee and scotch. I guess that was Rick’s regular order. The thought made me smile and that led me to remembering how close we came to consummating our relationship in the apartment next door. The blush that would normally be seen on my cheeks was buried beneath the bruises as I remembered that fabulous kiss – then I remembered how he looked for Amanda to see us and the sweetness of the moment disappeared.
Smiling didn’t hurt anymore but the grimace that the attempt produced was a bit off putting for those looking at me. It took me sometime to figure it out but I let that be their problem because my body had to respond to the way I felt and it seemed that I felt like smiling. To help others out I put my sunglasses back on and kept them on all the time. Odd that the small change made a major difference in the way they all looked at me. Human behavior could be contradictory and strange and the collective even more so.
During the hour we spent in Rick’s office Michael, Lu, and I were assured that Rick, with the amazing assistance of Amanda, had the whole boycott situation well in hand. During a news conference that very morning Rick issued a public statement and a public and personal apology to me and any others who may have been affected adversely by his employee. He said that he accepted the responsibility and that the employee was getting the help he needed.
Drinking the scotch before lunch was probably not the best idea but I hadn’t taken any pain killers or had a smoke and my body was achy. The scotch relaxed my muscles and the burn always had a sexy feel to it. The second scotch went down just as smooth as the first but the first sip put me over the limit for sobriety. After the scotch, I didn’t participate in the conversation because when I said something they all looked at me as though I had just landed from Mars. I got the hint and watched and then zoned-out completely.
When we left I smiled and hugged everyone. The smile/grimace stayed on my face; everything I saw or smelled or touched or heard added to my delight at being. Michael and Lu showed me their need to be close to me as they sandwiched themselves on either side of me. We stayed hip to hip to hip all the way back to the car. Of course, my recall would later reveal the truth that they were supporting a very drunk me and working to keep me from falling on my face. God forbid that I should make a bigger mess out of my face.
I sat in the back seat looking out the window and smiling only seeing the goodness. Sighing deeply when I witnessed Michael and Lu take each other’s hand and share a look of triumph and unity I felt them sigh too. And again we sighed all together, the three of us.
Glad to be home, I had a renewed energy and headed straight for the kitchen already formulating an idea of what to fix for a meal as I was starved. Aproned and gloved, I picked up the speed and gathered the needed ingredients. They watched me, Michael and Lu for a matter of minutes and then got involved. I gave them assignments and in 30 minutes, like Rachel Ray, we were sitting down to the world’s greatest hamburgers.
While packing a bowl in the ‘Pinky bank’, I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them again I was on my bed with a quilt over me. It felt like morning so I went to the kitchen to see about some coffee. I stood motionless for the 12 and a half minutes it took for the coffee to drip but went into action to pour myself a cup at exactly the right time.
I took the coffee to my room and then to my morning routine. I showered and took care of all my personal needs including curling my hair and dressing in a pair of jeans and my red cardigan. Feeling better with each change, I headed for more coffee and the garden.
My thinking cleared as soon as I reached the garden. The sun was not just coming up but it was just starting to set. ‘Michael’, where were Michael and Lu? I stood to gather a greater sense of the surroundings and to feel all of the currents on the breezes within our clearly defined space – within the boundary lines of the property. The panic of losing him, them, felt like a dream and a slow motion dream at that. Without giving my body a command, my legs took the lead and headed for the house to see if, perhaps, he, they, were out of my sensor range but still near by.
The sound of the garage door opening was the catalyst that put nearly everything into perspective. The fingers of the reconnect that showed up seconds later were more than welcome to my psyche. That intense rush of panic just evaporated as though it had no hold on me in the first place.
Not knowing what I should be doing, I took stock and anchored myself to the fact that it was Thursday early evening, sun setting. Thursdays usually meant dinner, evening chores – for Thursday there was the laundry, personal maintenance, computer and lab, then sleep. With my house guests, I knew that my routine would most definitely be interrupted, I could handle that.
Michael entered the dining room through the garage door carrying grocery bags, met up with me in the kitchen pouring myself that cup of coffee. He put the bags on the counter and turned to me for a ‘proper’ reconnect. We wrapped up in each other and appreciated the repair and the soft adjustment in our balance. Neither one of us wanted to let go so we stood there near the kitchen sink like statues absorbing all that the reconnect had to offer.
Keeping my voice low and quiet, so as not to disturb some internal meditation, I asked, “Where’s Lu?”
“On her way back to London; she got the part.” Michael answered me with all that was needed.
“Oh,