Finally Getting Love Right

by Jamie Nichols

  “I know. This is why I had some friends come in to finish the painting. You shouldn’t worry so much. I have it covered here.” Max said laughing a little.

  “Oh. Thank you.” She said walking into her office.

  Sams’ office was more like some ones living room with a large desk in the center. She had a large oversized couch along the main wall, under the picture sized window that let her see into the store. There was a large decorative chair in the corner of the room. Her desk was made of cherry stained wood with a large lamp next to it. She wanted to create a comfortable environment for her employees to come and talk to her when they needed something.

  Sam sat down at her desk to pay her bills for the month. They were a lot lower than she had projected for this month. That meant that she could finally give bonuses. It had been a long year. She had managed to consistently make payroll and put some toward building the classrooms in on the second floor. Now that everything including her store was completely paid off, she could show her employees exactly how much she appreciated them.

  “Knock Knock.” Max said.

  “Hey.” Sam replied as she finished addressing the envelopes to send her bills in.

  “Can I ask you something?” Max asked politely.

  “Sure.”

  “You know that Charlee and I have been together for a while.” Max started. “I am going to ask her to marry me this weekend. I was wondering if you could help me set it up.”

  “Congratulations!” Sam said getting up from her desk to hug him.

  “Thanks. So can you help?” Max asked.

  “I can help. That is not a problem. Where did you want to do it?” Sam said as they both sat on her couch.

  “I was thinking Tj’s or maybe your courtyard.”

  “You probably want to rent the VIP room at Tj’s. That way you don’t have to spend extra time decorating my courtyard.” Sam said with a chuckle.

  “Ok. Can you set it up please? You know how bad I am at this kind of stuff.” Max said.

  “I know.” Sam said breaking into a full on laugh.

  Sam had known Max for almost 2 years. He had a comedian as well as a very bad romantic trapped inside his medium build, average body. Max had always known how to make people laugh hysterically for hours if they were having a bad day. It was one of the two reasons she had asked him to take part of her business endeavor. The second reason being that he was an amazing singer. He would never openly admit to it, however.

  “Are you going to sing for her?” Sam teased. She knew Charlee had never heard him sing.

  “Actually I was thinking about it. I was hoping you could help me write a song for her?” Max asked suddenly turning serious.

  “Seriously?” Sam said excitedly.

  “Seriously. So will you help me please?” Max said sounding almost like he was begging.

  “Ok. How about tomorrow night? We can meet at Tj’s and talk about decorations as well.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “Do you have the ring yet?” Sam asked.

  “No. I am going to pick one out after we close.”

  “Ok. I want to see it tomorrow then. Do you think that you can handle the store tomorrow? I have some things I need to get done.” Sam asked.

  “You know I can.” Max said as he stood up and headed back to work.

  “Thank you.” Sam called after him.

  Sam spent the rest of the morning checking on the progress upstairs and reorganizing different areas of her store. She tried to be a perfectionist when it came to her music. It did not always work out well for her but she tried and that was all that mattered to her. When 1 o’clock came around she took her lunch break and headed over to Liz’s store which coincidentally was across the street.

  She glared at the Lamborghini as brushed passed it onto the street. After waiting for the cars to pass, she briskly walked across busy Franklin Street. She stopped on the sidewalk and looked at the new sign that had just been put up. It still read the same Liz’s World Of Books, it just had a new updated but yet old world look.

  Sam pushed open the standard store glass door and walked straight to the back. She made her way through the mess of boxes that were being unloaded through the back door and into the door marked ‘do not enter.’

  “Excuse me!” Liz said sounding annoyed. “Do you not know how to read?”

  “It would help if you looked up from your desk when you said that.” Sam said laughing.

  “Oh. It is just you.” Liz said

  “Yes, just me. I told you I would come see you today.” Sam said

  “I know. I didn’t forget. It has just been one of those days.”

  “Well I know how to make you feel better. Let’s go get a coffee.” Sam said.

  “I can’t today. I only have 5 minutes. Tell me what happened last night.” Liz stated.

  “I will give you the short version then. He took me to the hotel he owns, in a limo. We had dinner in a huge ballroom and then danced for an hour. Had some wine and went to bed.” Sam said quickly.

  “Interesting. Did you find out why he disappeared? Are you getting back with him?” Liz fired at her.

  “I didn’t even bother getting into the intimate details with him. He seemed a little too preoccupied. Plus, I just wanted to enjoy myself.” Sam said as she sat down in the extra chair.

  Liz’s office was a closet in comparison to Sams’ office. There was a desk with an old wooden chair and a small cloth desk chair placed next to it. Behind the desk about 2 feet was a wall lined with books and file cabinets.

  “Ok, We will talk about this later.” Liz started hurriedly as she took a file folder off her desk. “I have a meeting with that lady who wants to do a book signing but doesn’t have a published book.”

  “Fine. Before I go though, I need you to reserve the VIP room at Tj’s for Saturday. I’ll tell you why later.” Sam said as she walked back out the door and out of the store.

  Sam walked down the block stopping at the pizza place to get some lunch. She sat down at one of the booths and began to take a bite of her pizza when her phone rang.

  “Hello?” Sam said almost choking on her mouth full of pizza.

  “You ran out on me this morning.” George said sounding mad.

  “Well I do have other priorities.” Sam said.

  “I understand that. I was just wondering if you are free tonight?” George asked.

  “Actually no I am not. I don’t think we should see each other anymore though. I am still pretty hurt over what happened. Last night was amazing but when all is said and done it doesn’t change anything. You still left without a good reason.” Sam said trying to sound like she meant it.

  “Oh. Ok then.” George said then immediately hung up the phone.

  Sam almost felt bad for him. She just felt like she wasn’t ready to forgive him. There was months of numbness that could never be replaced. If she decided to forgive him it wasn’t going to be easy. She wouldn’t give him that one too.

  Sam finished her lunch and walked back to her store. She walked straight to her office, turned out the lights, and laid on her couch. She wanted to take a nap. She closed her eyes and tried but her mind was racing. Suddenly, Sam sat up. She grabbed her cell phone remembering she had to call Javier.

  “J & M Storage. Javier Speaking. How may I help you?”

  “Javier, this is Samantha Lee. I need a huge favor.”

  “Samantha, How have you been? What can I do for you?”

  “I need the furniture that you have brought to my house and the old stuff taken back with you. Is that possible?”

  “For you? Most definitely. When would you like us to come?”

  “Is tonight possible? I can’t stand to look at it anymore.”

  “We can be there at 7.”

  “That is great. Thank you so much, Javier. I will see you tonight then.” Sam said hanging up the phone.

  Sam turned the light back on and stood up. She walked out to find max. She needed to get home a
nd dismantle the bed and other furniture.

  “Max, I have to go. Can you close for me?” Sam pleaded.

  “Not a problem.” Max said not taking his eyes away from the customer he was helping.

  “Don’t forget to take the deposit in today.” Sam said.

  “I won’t.”

  “See you tomorrow night.” Sam said as she walked out the door.

  When Sam arrived home she walked to the mailbox. When she opened the mailbox she found the other set of keys to her new ride. ‘Well I am glad that I have all the keys now.’ She thought to herself. She walked up the sidewalk and into her house. She set her purse onto the coffee table and headed for the garage. She grabbed her electric drill, a couple of baggies, and all of the drill bits she could find.

  Walking into her bedroom she set down her handful of stuff and started stripping down the bed. She put the sheets and pillow cases into a trash bag along with the blankets. She pulled the mattress off of the bed and rested it against the bench of her nook. Sam looked around the bed frame to figure out what kind of drill bits she would need. Lucky for her all of the screws were phillips head. She took the bed frame apart one screw at a time laying each piece of it to the side against the mattress.

  She looked at the clock and noted the time. She still had 15 minutes before Javier and his men would be there. She strolled around her house and picked up a bit. Since she hadn’t been home much lately there was a layer of dust on the tables but everything else seemed to be in order. She wiped down the tables as well as the mantle. Sam got done just in time.

  ‘Ding dong ding.’

  “Just a second.” Sam called as she walked to the door. “Hi, the frame and dressers are all in the bedroom. It is the second door to your left.”

  “Samantha I did not know which furniture you wanted so I brought it all.” Javier said sheepishly.

  “Oh. That is ok. I will figure something out.” Sam replied trying to sound reassuring.

  The men came out of her room carrying parts of the bedframe. They moved faster than she thought they would have. They sat all of her bed furniture next to their moving truck and came back in for more. When they had cleared out her bedroom they opened the back of the truck and started to empty it. They had brought all of her old furniture.

  “Can we just set it on the lawn until I can figure out what else in the house is going to go?” Sam asked politely.

  The men had her entire secret garden themed room set, as well as an entire living room set. The living room set could fit in her nook. She decided to make her room look like the secret garden with a twist. After assessing each piece of furniture sitting on her lawn Sam told the men to take everything but an old trunk into her room. She decided to put the trunk in her living room.

  “We will be going now Miss Samantha.” Javier said as the men were finishing up.

  “Thank you Javier. You have no idea how grateful I am.” Sam said smiling.

  “It is no problem at all. Goodnight.” Javier said as he followed his men out the door and back down to the truck.

  Shutting the door, Sam headed into her bedroom to start rearranging her furniture. When she looked in her room she let out a sigh. There was too much to do for her to be able to get it all done by tonight. She decided she would call her friends for some help. She decided she would call Kylee first. She grabbed her house phone and dialed the number.

  “Hello?” Kylee Walker said as she picked her phone up.

  “Hey Kylee.” Sam said

  “Hey Sam. What have you been up to while I was on vacation?”

  “A lot actually. Can you come over and help me put my room together?” Sam asked.

  “What’s wrong with how your room looks?” Kylee asked.

  “I will tell you when you get here can you please just help me.” Sam said desperately.

  “Ok. I will be there in a few minutes. You are lucky that I live less than a mile from you.” Kylee said hanging up.

  Sam was glad that Kylee was coming over. She needed to surround herself with friends. Sam continued to call Liz, Charlee, and Pepper. They were all surprised to hear what she needed help with. Sam wasn’t one to randomly change her house around. She always had it a certain way and never changed anything.

  A few seconds after she got off the phone Sam heard her door slam closed. She sat quietly and waited to see who would just walk into her house. She assumed it was Kylee.

  “SAM!” Blair Lewis yelled into a quiet house.

  Sam stood up and walked toward Blair. Blair was her mother. Sam wished she had someone else for a mom most of the time. Blair had burned Sam one too many times for her to want to have a good relationship with her mom. Sam was furious that her mother was standing in her house, let alone the fact that she just walked in.

  “What are you doing here?” Sam said sternly.

  “You kicked Will out?!” Blair replied screeching.

  “Yes. Why do you care?” Sam said as calmly as she could.

  “Because you are my daughter and I had to find out from him.” Blair said seeming to calm down.

  “Well honestly mother it’s not your business. Yes I kicked him out. If he told you then you should know why already. I really don’t have time for this right now. You need to leave.” Sam said pointing at the door.

  “Excuse me?” Blair replied sounding hurt.

  “Just leave ok? I will see you next week as originally planned and then you can ask me all about it ok. Just go.” Sam said turning back toward the bedroom.

  “Fine.” Blair said as she stormed out of the house and screeched out of the driveway.

  Sam went into her kitchen and took out a shot glass. She poured herself some rum and took the shot. When she had to deal with her mother it always emotionally drained her. As she waited for the girls to get to her house she paced her hallway. She heard a car pull up in the driveway and waited to see who it was.

  “Hey!” Kylee said as she walked in the door. “Did ya miss me?”

  “I most definitely did.” Sam said walking over to Kylee giving her a big hug.

  Kylee was the typical skinny girl. She had long brown hair and the longest legs Sam had ever seen. She was wearing black pants and a bright yellow top. She had brought her guitar as she always did. Sam always called it her big purse. Kylee never went anywhere without her guitar. Sam had not seen Kylee in 2 weeks. Kylee went to Cabo San Lucas with her boyfriend Dillon for their anniversary.

  “So I saw your mom’s car speeding to Elle’s. I assume she was picking up the kids?”

  “No. She was mad because I finally kicked Will out and did not tell her. Well, that and I told her to leave.” Sam said.

  “Wait a second. You finally kicked that jerk out? What happened?” Kylee asked as they walked into the living room.

  “I came home to him cheating on me in my bedroom. He tried to bully me and told me that I couldn’t make him leave. So, I called the cops and had them both removed.” Sam said calmly.

  “If I were in that situation I would not be so calm right now.” Kylee said.

  “You know how it’s been between Will and I. It had been falling apart for a couple of years. I cried once and got it all out. I’m ok now. I am definitely a lot happier now than I was a few days ago.” Sam replied.

  “So you went and bought new furniture?” Kylee asked.

  “No. I had this furniture in storage.” Sam said looking toward the door to see if anyone else was coming yet. This was not something she wanted to explain especially not to one of her best friends.

  “Why did you have furniture in storage? Wouldn’t a normal person have sold their old furniture or just used it in their house?”

  “A normal person would have but we both know I am not normal.” Sam said referring to their inside joke, that they had become friends because they were both outcasts.

  “That is true.” Kylee said laughing. “ But seriously why did you have furniture in storage?”

  “It is from a different time in my life.
You will recognize the furniture when you see it.”

  “Ok then, let’s see it.”

  “We have to wait for the rest of the party to get here.” Sam said. Just then there were several knocks on the door.

  “Come in.” Sam yelled at the door.

  There was giggling as Liz, Charlee, and Pepper walked through the door. They were arm in arm as the started skipping toward Kylee and Sam. Sam thought they looked like they had a plan up their sleeves. Liz always got a mischievous look in her eyes when she was planning something.

  “Hey guys, what are you three planning?” Sam asked.

  “ Oh, nothing. You wanted us here and we are here.” Charlee said with a smirk on her face.

  “I know all of you very well. You are definitely planning something.” Sam replied.

  “ok. You caught us. We do have something planned, however, you won’t find out until tomorrow.” Liz commented.

  “I am not in the mood for surprises.” Sam said as she stared off into space.

  “You don’t have a choice.” Pepper replied.

  “Fine. Can we get to work on doing what needs to be done now?” Sam replied snapping out of her daze and jumping up to walk into her room.

  The girls followed her into a mess of a room. The movers had not put anything together. They had left all the furniture piled in one corner. It left her room feeling half empty. It honestly looked like she was just moving in or had just used the room for storage.

  “What happened in here?” Pepper asked curiously.

  When Sam had called the girls she had only told them she needed help in her room. She had not been in the mood to divulge all the details over the phone. Sam really didn’t want to tell them at all, but she knew if she did not tell them they would keep asking questions until they eventually found out. When it came down to it Sam was not ashamed of what had happened with Will and then with George. She just couldn’t bear to answer the initial question of what took her so long.

  “It is a long story. The bottom line is, I need help reassembling this room. With the size of the bed we should all be able to jump around with plenty of room.” Sam laughed. “This bed is a major upgrade.”

  “If it is such an upgrade then why did you have it in storage for so long?” Kylee prodded.