It didn’t take many minutes of chat for a now familiar longing to sink into Jamie’s gut. The video calls were great, but he wished that Aaron could be there in person. If he was, they could cuddle together on the couch and discuss the day before falling into bed together for mutual sexy fun. Afterward, ,they would slowly drift off to sleep in each other’s arms.
Aaron asked,”What’s up, Jamie? You almost look like you’re daydreaming. Am I getting boring?”
Jamie shook his head and smiled. He said, “No, in fact, it’s the complete opposite. I wish we were together every evening talking like this in person. I would never get bored again.”
Aaron said, “Aw, yeah, wouldn’t that be nice? We could get up in the morning, and I’d make us each a lunch to take to work if we couldn’t have lunch together. We would kiss as we walked out the door knowing that in just eight hours or so we would see each other again.”
Jamie couldn’t believe he was saying it, and he wanted to take it back as soon as he said it, but he blurted out, “Aaron, marry me.”
He felt a lump in his throat while Aaron stared silently into the phone. Jamie started to try and backtrack and say that he didn’t mean to say something ridiculous like that, but before any words could come out, Aaron said, “Okay.”
Jamie’s hands started to shake, and he set the phone down on the coffee table to avoid dropping it. He tried to push it up against a stack of books, but the view was still at an odd angle.
Aaron asked, “Are you alright, Jamie? I said yes. Let’s do it. Let’s get married.”
Jamie said, “I know you said yes, and I’m glad you said yes.” He leaned in closer to the phone and added, “But Aaron, I’m terrified.”
14
Aaron
For three consecutive weeks, Aaron missed the Friday get together at the Blue Goose bar with his Purple Pack friends. He endured heavy sighs over the phone from all five of them. Most recently, Emma said, “I really miss you, Aaron, and for the guys I think it’s even worse. You’re a really important piece in the puzzle of their lives. I hope you’re able to make it to the Goose sometime soon.”
The comments put a knot in his stomach, but he knew that Jamie was just as important, and probably even more important, for his long-term future. That’s why Aaron decided that an announcement of their engagement was a perfect excuse for getting the gang together in the middle of the week at his apartment.
Aaron planned to pick up Chinese food on his way home from work and stock up on beer and other beverages. Christy didn’t know about the engagement yet either, but Jamie convinced Aaron to wait to share their news until they could tell her together.
Aaron gave cryptic invitations to his friends via e-mail. He said that a major announcement was planned for 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night, so they should plan accordingly. Food would be served beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Derek called as soon as he read the message. He asked, “What the fuck is up, Aaron? What kind of message is that? Are you moving out of town? If you are, just tell us straight out. Don’t drag us all through some cryptic nonsense like a big, special announcement.”
Aaron wanted to spill the beans so badly, but he knew that the rest of his friends would never forgive him if he told Derek first. Instead, Aaron said, “Just relax. I promise it’s important, but no, the world isn’t coming to an end.”
Derek quieted down and he said, “Okay, and it will be good to see you. Do you want us to bring anything? Yale and I can both be there.”
“Maybe a dessert,” said Aaron.
Derek said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
* * *
While eating and sharing drinks, the get together was a raucous affair. When 7:00 p.m. rolled around, Thomas said, “You’re killing us here, Aaron. Can’t you move the timeline up a little? We’re all here, and Hadley’s at home corralling the dogs. He’s probably chewed his nails to the quick waiting to see what this news is.”
Aaron looked around the room at his very best friends all gathered in one place. They were happy in each other’s company, but he could see the atmosphere starting to grow tense as 8:00 p.m. loomed closer. He raised his arms in the air and said, “Okay, stop being so nervous. I’ve got an announcement to make, and I’ll go ahead and make it now. I won’t keep anyone in suspense any longer.”
All eyes turned toward him and the room suddenly grew silent. Emma wrapped her right arm around Jane’s waist and held on tight. Derek gripped Yale’s bicep with both hands.
Aaron said, “Okay, I’ll just say it straight out. Jamie and I are engaged to be married!”
Aaron wasn’t sure exactly what kind of reception he was expecting, but he was pretty sure that he didn’t get it. The silence continued in the room until Thomas finally stepped forward and offered his hand. He said, “Congratulations, buddy! Jamie is a good man.”
They shook hands, but Aaron couldn’t focus on Thomas. Instead, he was looking from one stunned face to another of the rest of his friends.
He said, “C’mon guys, you all look like I just told you I have terminal cancer.” He implored, “Be happy for me, please.”
Emma spoke up first. In a quiet, measured voice she said, “I can’t speak for anyone else, Aaron. I can’t even talk for Jane about this, but it is a little bit of a shock. It seems really early. I mean…um, let me see how to put this.”
Aaron stared intently at Emma, and he could feel a tear starting to well up in his left eye. He wiped at it while she continued.
“I’m with Jane like we’ve always been. Now Thomas is with Hadley, and Derek and Yale finally figured things out, but none of us are married, yet. It’s a big thing, Aaron, and how long have you and Jamie even been dating?”
Aaron took his glasses off and rubbed them with the tail of his shirt. He said, “But he’s the right one. I can feel it in my gut. Really, he is. None of you know what it’s like. We really sort of complete each other.” He paused, and then he looked up at his friends. “Please, be happy for me.”
Yale shook off Derek’s grip and stepped forward with his arms spread wide. Aaron took one step forward and let himself be wrapped in his friend’s strong arms. Yale whispered in his ear, “It’s exciting news, and I congratulate you. We’re only concerned because we love you, buddy.”
Aaron sniffed and laid his head against Yale’s shoulder. In a soft but defiant voice, he said, “But you would all be happy if any of the rest of you got engaged. Why not me?” He pulled back from the hug and put his glasses back on. Then he said, “That’s my question. Why not me?”
It was a signal for Derek to come forward. His teeth were set, and he spoke with a tense, constricted, high-pitched voice. “Do you really want to know why not you, Aaron? I can tell you why not you, at least not right now, and not with Jamie. I’m sorry. I can’t feel happy for you quite yet while I’m feeling pissed off for the rest of us.”
Aaron’s brows knitted together in confusion. “Pissed off? What did I do to piss you off?”
Derek was riled up and he let loose with his opinion. He said, “Oh, come on, Aaron. You can’t tell me that when you get married, Mr. Big City is going to come back here to the Cove to make himself a home. No, he’s going to take one of our best friends and try and make the country mouse into a city mouse. He’s going to try and turn you into something that you’re not. He’s going to give you a fancy car, and a fancy place to live, and expensive restaurants and expensive clothes…” Derek began to cry and Yale reached out to wrap his arms around from behind.
Aaron looked from one face to the other and said, “Shit, I just wanted to share good news with my best friends. I guess none of you can see it that way. Just go ahead and go home.” He pointed toward the door of the apartment and said, “Jamie and I are getting married whether any of you like it or not. Maybe someday you all can get past your selfishness and be genuinely happy for me.” He sniffed and wiped at his nose before saying, “Go, just go. I can’t talk about this anymore.”
After all of his
friends left, Aaron seated himself on the couch and looked at the small figure of Yoda standing on the coffee table amid empty pizza boxes. Aaron leaned forward and said, “What the fuck? Why can’t they be happy for me?” For once, he got nothing back from the guru. There was only silence in the room.
15
Jamie
Christy said, “I’m really sorry to call you in the middle of the day, Jamie, but I’ve been thinking a lot about you wanting me to move up there with Sylvia. I just really can’t see her growing up there. We grew up here, and a small town like the Cove is good for the kids. Ethan has disappeared, and he’s left us alone for weeks now, so I’m not worried about him anymore.”
“I can’t make you do this, Christy,” said Jamie. “I’m just trying to look out for the best interests of both of you. The private schools up here are better than any in Catlett’s Cove, and there are so many great cultural resources for a girl growing up.”
“Can’t she just come up and visit?” asked Christy.
Jamie drummed his fingers on his desk and said, “Of course she can. Christy, can we talk about this some more tonight? I don’t want to cut you off, but it’s a busy day here. There are rumors that they might be laying off a few people, and that always puts everybody on edge. I’ll give you a call when I get home tonight. Is that okay?”
Christy said, “Yes, and I’m sorry, Jamie. I was just pacing back and forth in the living room, and I had to say something. It’s been bothering me for awhile.”
“We’ll talk about it later,” said Jamie.
Jamie put the phone down, closed his eyes and leaned back in his desk chair. He left his office door slightly ajar because of all the tension floating around in the building. It was true that layoffs were being considered, and Jamie wanted to be alerted if anything was happening on his floor.
After nearly falling asleep, he decided to get up and make his way past the cubicles that occupied the lion’s share of space on the floor to pour himself a fresh cup of coffee and get to work poring over the new files that were mounting on his desk.
The large office space was much quieter than normal. Instead of the low hubbub of conversations, all that could be heard was the clacking of computer keyboards. Everyone was trying to lay low to avoid a hammer coming down on their heads.
In mid-afternoon the coffee pot was usually half full with the leftovers of the last brew made before lunch. It was Jamie’s favorite, because he loved an extra stiff black cup of coffee.
As he approached the break room, Jamie was surprised to find the door shut, and he heard what sounded like commotion on the other side. He looked around to make sure no one else was in close proximity and then leaned his head close to the door.
Jamie recognized one of the voices. It was Sarah, one of the newer secretaries. Her voice was strained, and it sounded like she was in distress. She said, “Please…just don’t.” Then he heard a slap, and she said, “Stop that.”
A deeper, masculine voice responded, “Come on, Sarah, you know…”
That was enough for Jamie. He turned the knob and pushed the door open. He found Sarah and one of the older company VPs. Jamie growled, “Stop…now!”
They both stared at Jamie and then the VP said, “We were just having a little innocent fun, weren’t we Sarah?”
Sarah stared at Jamie dumbstruck and then she looked at the older man. She brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and refused to say anything.
Jamie was pleased that she didn’t instantly buckle under pressure. Jamie thought the VP’s name was Miller, but he wasn’t sure. The man glanced at Jamie and then focused again on Sarah. He repeated, “Just a little innocent fun. That’s all that either of you saw.” He turned on his heels and marched out of the room pushing past Jamie on the way.
Rushing to Sarah’s side, Jamie asked, “Did he hurt you?”
She sighed heavily and said, “Just my pride. He didn’t actually touch me, but he wanted to.”
“I thought I heard a slap,” said Jamie.
She lowered her head and said, “You did. I slapped his hand before he could do anything. I wanted to slap his face. Now I just hope I don’t get fired for this.”
Jamie shook his head. “No, you should report it. It’s clear in the employee manual that any harassment should be reported immediately. I’ll back you up on it.”
She sighed again and said, “I already tried to report him once. They told me I was just making things up, and it would be my word against his. I think I should just keep my mouth shut. Maybe this time since you saw him, it will stop.”
Jamie could feel anger seething inside. He rarely got raging mad at anyone or anything, but harassment was harassment. It was blatantly illegal, and the targets were helpless victims.
Jamie pulled out his wallet and retrieved a business card. He scribbled on the back of it with a pen and then handed it to her. He said, “Sarah, I wrote my personal email address on the back. If this happens again or you are ready to report something, just drop me a message there. It’s outside of the company system so they won’t be able to trace it.”
She looked up with a half smile and said, “Thank you so much, Mr….oh, I’m sorry, I don’t remember your last name.” Then she looked at the card and laughed softly saying, “Mr. Bradley” in a low voice.
Jamie said, “I’ve put up with enough bullies in my lifetime. It’s time for it to stop. Take the rest of the day off if you need to, but always remember it’s not your fault.”
Sarah blinked her eyes and said, “Thank you.”
16
Jamie
Jamie returned to work after a long, boring weekend without Aaron to find a massive pile of folders on his desk. The note attached said, “Jamie, we need you to sort through these and make sure all is in order. Wednesday due date.” It was signed by one of his bosses, a VP two steps above Jamie in the pecking order.
Verification work was always a part of Jamie’s job, but he never had so much dropped on his desk at one time. He looked again at the deadline and was startled to see that it was Wednesday. He only had three days to get it all done.
Jamie thought about calling Caleb and whining about his work load, but he knew that would only expand the time he needed to spend in the office and make him even later getting home in the evening. Starting immediately, Jamie wasn’t sure he could complete the work in three eight-hour days.
He worked his way through the maze of cubicles and retrieved a cup of stiff, black coffee. He needed it as a companion for the routine work. He couldn’t afford to lose concentration. It was sort of like working on the quality control line in a factory. One missed item left out of place could gum up the entire works somewhere down the line.
By noon it looked like Jamie hadn’t even made a dent in the stack of work, but he was developing a sort of rhythm to his work. He shut the door to his office, fired up a music streaming service and lost himself in poring over all of the details. At least it was more productive for the company than tossing paper airplanes into a wastepaper basket.
When 5:00 p.m. approached, Jamie realized that he was so busy that he forgot to send Aaron any text messages through the day. He counted through the folders and realized he only completed one quarter of the stack of materials instead of one third. At the rate he was going, he would need to squeeze in eight extra hours of work somewhere before the end of the day on Wednesday.
Jamie was a salaried employee which meant he had to turn in whatever hours were required to complete work whether he had to stay in the office until midnight. He could comp the time later and take it off, but Jamie had no control over ways in which a company emergency might disrupt any of his personal life plans.
* * *
“How’s the punishment going, Jamie?”
Caleb stopped in at Jamie’s office at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday when the rest of the floor was dark and Jamie was still toiling away. “Punishment?” asked Jamie.
Caleb looked at the two piles of folders on the desk and asked, “So
you’ve got the saw about halfway through the chain holding on to that big metal ball?”
Jamie responded, but he refused to look up from the documents he was reviewing. “What the hell are you talking about, Caleb?”
“I’m talking about the higher ups playing you for a patsy. I listen to the rumor mill. You’re on the outs for calling out one of the big guys as the louse that he is.”
Jamie looked up. “Seriously? That’s the story going around?”
Caleb slumped down in a chair and propped his long legs up on Jamie’s desk. “Uh huh. Looks like you need to learn to be quiet, or you’re gonna end up somewhere in a vault in the basement with a stack of work twice that high.”
Jamie blinked and could barely believe what he was hearing. “What? You would let him get by with that kind of shit? I basically caught him in the act, Caleb. The only reason he didn’t get to actually grope her was because she fought back.”
Caleb raised his hands in a defensive posture. “Hey, I just want to keep an even keel with everybody, take home that nice paycheck and live a good life. l’m staying out of everybody’s pants.”
“So you would have just walked away, Caleb?”
Caleb leaned forward across the desk. He said, “I don’t play the hero shit, Jamie. My dad was what the good guys called a whistleblower, and now he’s in the grave. He would have been celebrating his 65th birthday two weeks ago. So that’s strike one. Strike two was some random guy tried to stand up for me in college, and he ended up in the hospital with pins in his jawbone. I’m not planning to step up to the plate for strike three. Nope, I’m not the hero type.”
It was way too much for Jamie to process while he still had work to do. He looked up at Caleb’s impassive face and said, “That all really sucks, Caleb, and I would love to talk about it sometime, but I’ve just got a shitload of work to do. Do you understand?”
The Experiment Page 10
