Bittersweets_Terry and Alex

by Suzanne Jenkins

  “Let him,” Vince said. “He’ll soon find out we have a glut of young lawyers in the mid-Atlantic.”

  “Jesus, Vince, chill out,” Paul said. “Your attitude is starting to scare me.”

  “I lost a good attorney today,” he snapped back. “All because she forgot where the hell she worked.”

  “You could have bent the rules,” Paul replied. “I’m sorry I said anything. You’d probably never know they were together until you got the wedding invitation.”

  With that, Vince pointed to his door. “Get out, will you? We have work to do.”

  When the halls were clear after five thirty, Alex carried the rest of Terry’s boxes out to the car. There was one more box of books he’d get the next day, if he was still employed that is. As the day had progressed, staying in touch with her on the phone while she walked through the grocery store on FaceTime with Harry, Alex’s anger grew at Vince. He’d wait until he got home to research, but he was pretty sure some laws had been broken that day and he intended on finding out about it.

  Forgetting about his own apartment until he pulled into the parking spot behind Terry’s house, he’d have to clear that out the next day. Stressors creeping up on him had the potential of destroying his peace, so he completed an exercise he learned in rehab, a one week hospital stay courtesy of the US Army right before his honorable discharge. Not many of his friends and family knew the truth; he came close to having a complete mental breakdown when he returned from Iraq, the sight of death too much for his gentle soul. The technique was to allow only one task to concern him at a time. Staying focused helped him hold it together.

  Right now, he had to empty his car of boxes belonging to Terry, the woman he’d decided with whom he’d spend the rest of his life. He planned on telling her that evening that he wanted to marry her, just in case there were any doubts.

  Piling the boxes on the porch, he was preparing to knock when the K bus pulled up in front of the house and Benny got off.

  “Looks like someone’s moving in,” he said smiling. “We’ll get you a key.”

  “Thanks,” Alex said.

  “I’ll help you carry these up,” Benny said, sniffing the air. “Something smells good!”

  “She’s cooking Polish tonight, enough for the whole house, she said.”

  “Yum!” Benny jiggled the key and gave the door a push.

  “We’re home!” Benny yelled, grunting under the weight of the box he’d picked up.

  Alex could hear the door open on the third floor, hear Terry’s light quick step to the hallway in front of Benny’s doorway.

  “Hello!” she said, flushed and excited, and Alex saw that she was happy, pleased that he’d come home to her.

  Leaning over the box, he gave her a kiss. “How many more?” she asked.

  “There are six more on the porch,” he answered, “but I’ll get them.”

  “I’ll help,” she said. “I haven’t been to the gym in a week.”

  “Gym, yuck,” Benny said. “Exercise, yuck.”

  “I’m teasing, I’m teasing,” she said. “I hate the gym.”

  “I agree,” Alex said, pointing to the living room. “Just stick the box right in there.”

  They’d have to get more bookshelves, Alex thought. Unless she got another job which required her to have her own law library.

  Running back down the stairs, he grabbed another box, while Terry, chatting with the neighbor, Mrs. Dell, held a box on her hip, explaining that she’d be bringing dinner over in ten minutes.

  “Just give me time to get this stuff off the porch and I’ll be right back with your dinner. Enough for Mr. Dell, too.”

  She followed Alex up the stairs, and he could see by her smile and her body language that she’d already recovered from the slights of the day.

  “You’re unbelievable,” he said. “No regrets?”

  “Oh, no. Not a single one. I have so much to tell you, I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Now I’m dying of curiosity,” he said.

  “I’ll dish this food up and deliver it, and then we can sit and have our dinner. In the meantime you can relax. I got a six pack of what I remembered you said was your favorite beer.”

  “No way,” he said, going to the kitchen and opening the fridge door. “You did! Yes, it’s my favorite, and I just have to be careful not to drink the whole six pack in one sitting.”

  “Next time, I’ll just buy one bottle,” she said, and they laughed.

  “I need to get out of my suit,” he said, going to the bedroom.

  Standing at the stove, Terry divided bacon and fried cabbage and potato pierogis into containers for the neighbors.

  “I’ll be right back,” she called out.

  Stopping at Benny’s first, he’d left a note on the door to leave his dinner on the kitchen counter. He was in the shower. Next, she ran down to Earle’s, who was waiting at the door with a big smile.

  “My dear, this is my favorite food!”

  “Did my dad call you?” she asked. “He has a big mouth.”

  “Oh, don’t be angry at Harry. He wanted to talk paint. He found more at the Salvation Army. Pierogis just slipped into the conversation.”

  “Oh, okay, I won’t be mad. Say, will you watch for me? I’m going to run this over to the Dell’s.”

  “Of course,” he said.

  Their neighborhood wasn’t particularly dangerous, but it was the city, and young women shouldn’t be out after dark alone on Mount Pleasant Avenue. He stood in the doorway watching her cross their lawn and go between the privet hedge, across the driveway to the Dell’s front lawn.

  “Mrs. Dell,” she called.

  The front door opened right away and an appreciative Mr. Dell took the food from Terry.

  “I can smell it across the street!” A tenant called out.

  “We’ll remember you next weekend when you play the drums until midnight,” Mr. Dell said.

  “I’ll stop playing at nine if I can eat with you,” he yelled over traffic.

  Terry laughed, running home. “You men work it out among yourselves,” she said.

  Locking the door with Earle looking on, Terry said goodnight. Alex was waiting for her at the top of the stairs, wearing her Michigan sweatpants again and an old long-sleeved T shirt.

  “Well, I’m officially unemployed,” she said, pushing the boxes in the far corner. “I’ll deal with these tomorrow.”

  “Tell me what happened,” Alex said.

  “Let’s eat,” she said, moving into the kitchen. “Vince called. He said he had second thoughts. That Paul had given him hell.”

  “Wow,” Alex said. “That’s certainly validation for you.”

  “Is it? I felt such relief once I got home today. That office sucked the life out of me. Even telling me what to wear; I’d had enough and didn’t know it. It was a gift, firing me like he did.”

  “He fired you when you refused to stop seeing me,” Alex said. “And not before offering you a partnership. It was all the talk today that you’d passed up a partnership.”

  “They better not have talked about that!” she said, her eyes flashing.

  “The alternative wasn’t mentioned that I know of, unless people were sparing me,” Alex replied. “There was a lot of chatter, wondering why you left. I felt awful.”

  “I hope this isn’t going to be a problem for us, Alex,” she said, placing silverware on the table. “I’m telling you, it was a gift. I already have a list of calls to make tomorrow, including legal aid to veterans. Most of them are run by charities like the Goodwill. They operate on grant money and donations, and the attorneys work pro bono. They’re paid a stipend based on a scale of the type of case.”

  “Wait, you’re an experienced criminal defense attorney. You can get a job with any of the big firms on the eastern seaboard. Why would you take a volunteer job?”

  “I’m not saying I would do it forever, full time. I just want to do it. It’ll keep me frosty while I look.”
>
  “Oh, okay,” he said, chuckling. “You were scaring me there for a minute.” She placed a plate of food on the table in front of him. “That looks good! What possessed you?”

  Sitting down across from him, she looked out the window. There were solar lights around the perimeter of the yard so when she looked out it wouldn’t be at a black hole.

  “Like I said, when I got home, I was just happy! I can’t explain it. I knew I wanted to cook a nice meal for you. That was my number one priority. And I wanted to have coffee with my dad. You can imagine how rare it is to spend any time with him during the week. I changed clothes and drove over there, and we went grocery shopping together! It was wonderful. I’m going to do it every week from now until I find a full time job again.

  “The pierogi are frozen. I didn’t make them,” she admitted.

  “I would have never known,” he said. “They’re wonderful.”

  “There’s a pound of bacon in the cabbage, by the way,” she said, smiling. “So, tell me about your day.”

  “Well, I’m officially no longer a clerk,” he said, frowning. “I really liked clerking for you. Do you think you can take me along on your next job?”

  “Ha! Yes! I’ll do my best to get a two-fer-one,” she answered.

  “What does Vince have you doing?”

  “Tomorrow I have to go to court for jury selection of one of Paul’s trials. I’ll have to read the file tonight.”

  “Okay, well I won’t make a peep,” she said. “I’m going to peruse the employment sites. I updated my resume already. Now I just need to plug it in.”

  “Can I infringe on your wisdom?” he asked.

  “Of course. Paul’s cases are always the same stuff; rich people who take advantage of poor people. You’ll feel the cadence before long.”

  “I hate that,” he said.

  “Well, soon you’ll get your own cases to try and they’ll be the scutwork.”

  “I was afraid of that,” he said.

  “Don’t be. I was the low man for four of the five years I was there, and I’m telling you, those cases are the most interesting. You have to dig deeper and try harder. I’ll help you, but I don’t think you’ll need it.”

  “So, tell me what you think of everything that is happening. A lot of changes in a few days,” Alex said, taking her hand. “Before I forget, you look lovely tonight.”

  “Why thank you,” she said. “I feel happy. Maybe that’s why.”

  “I like you in that sweater,” he said, a wild look in his eye she’d come to recognize. “A white, fuzzy sweater, ooh la la!”

  “Ha!” she said, laughter covering her excitement. “You’re flirting with me.”

  “Yes, I am,” he said, getting down on his knees and crawling over to her. Pointing at her breasts, he said, “May I?”

  “You may,” she whispered, trying to relax. “I’d better pull the shade down though.”

  Reaching up, she grabbed the cord and pulled. Alex grabbed the bottom of her sweater and pulled it over her bra. For being slender, she had large breasts. Wearing a plunging bra emphasized her cleavage and he couldn’t resist.

  “I want to plant my face right there,” he said, pointing.

  “Do it,” she said.

  He inserted his fingers in the cup of her bra and gently worked her breast out. “They need to be unleashed.”

  Leaning forward, she reached under the sweater in back and after a few false tries, got the clasp undone.

  “Wow,” he said, running his hands over them. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “They’re huge!” she said. “As soon as I’m done having kids, I’m going to get something done about them.”

  “Maybe I can talk you out of it, because they’re wonderful. When you’re dressed for work, they don’t seem so big.”

  “I spend a small fortune on my bras,” she said. “A woman in court can’t afford to have her boobs making their own statement. I keep them trussed up from nine to five.”

  “That sucks,” he said. “But I guess I can see I wouldn’t have gotten much work done if I knew what they looked like set free.”

  “Oh boy, I’m glad we aren’t recording this. It’s almost a comedy.”

  “Pull your pants down,” he whispered. “I want to eat your pussy.”

  “Oh my God,” she said, flushing with a combination of excitement, embarrassment and intense desire.

  He’d never used that term, or any slang words for her body, and as wayward as it seemed, coming from him it set her on fire. She stood up and fumbled with her zipper, her hands shaking so badly, he helped her, gently lowering the zipper, pulling her jeans and her underpants down together in one movement. He pulled them off her feet one at a time. On his knees, he buried his face right there, and with her standing up, her knees got weak, she realized where that phrase came from.

  “Sit back,” he said, gently pushing her in the chair. “Now spread your legs apart so I can see you.”

  He kept making eye contact when he told her what to do, and it was almost too much, she could see the desire he had for her, and watching his face as he spread her apart, gently probing and opening her, she started to shake uncontrollably.

  “I’m taking you to bed,” he whispered, helping her stand.

  He picked her up in his arms, carrying her into the bedroom, and laying her on the bed. Turning the bedside light on, he pulled it closer so he could see, he said he wanted to look a little more, and she was at the edge of that feeling where her toes were going to curl, she could feel it in her thighs and in her shoulders, his fingers reaching inside her was all it took and she started to come, unable to control what was happening to her, crying out, almost guttural, it was so intense.

  When she was finished, crying out, okay Alex, okay, he stood between her legs and pulled her Michigan sweatpants down, his penis huge and hard, and in a repeat, she was beginning to know his ways, he grabbed it and slid it up and down her body until the head was wet and found the opening it desired.

  Wrapping her arms and legs around him while he crawled up on the bed, Terry hung on him like a monkey baby, and they both laughed, but not for long.

  “I’m sorry,” he grunted. “I’m going to come.”

  And with a little movement, he was like a wild man again, shoving into her, grabbing her rear end and going as deeply as was possible.

  When he was done, he dropped down next to her, reaching for tissues and wiping her off, it was so intimate, she didn’t know what to think of it. He was taking care of her first in every way.

  They laid on the bed together for a few minutes, soon his breathing back to normal.

  “Thank you,” he said, reaching for her.

  “For what?” she asked, confused. No one had ever thanked her for sex before.

  “For this, and for dinner,” he said, hugging her. “I don’t think it gets any better than this.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said. “But thank you!”

  “For what?” he asked, laughing.

  “For what you just did to me,” she said. “I’m under your spell.”

  “Good,” Alex said. “Because I’m under yours, too.”

  ***

  Chapter 8

  December 4th

  Tuesday morning winter arrived. A light dusting of snow covered everything, and traffic on Mount Pleasant Avenue, slowed down to a crawl. The salt trucks were caught by surprise, and rush hour would take the brunt of it.

  “I’ll be worried now,” Terry said, fixing toast and coffee for Alex while she watched the snow falling.

  “No worries. I’ll drive slowly,” he said.

  “Would you consider taking the train?”

  “I need to stop by my apartment after work to empty it out. There’s also one more box of your books I need to get,” he said.

  “Thank you so much,” she replied, pressing up against him. “I’m so grateful to you.”

  “Oh, yeah, for getting you fired, among other things,” he said.

/>   “Stop,” she said, laughing. “We don’t have to rehash that again, do we? I’m looking forward to finding a new job today.”

  “Is that your plan?” he asked, sipping coffee.

  “It is. I’ll send out feelers,” she said, smiling. “Someone from Michigan might know of an opening at a practice in Philadelphia. I went to school with a guy from Philly who practices here. It’s all good.

  “Then I can think about Christmas shopping!”

  “We should probably talk about getting a tree,” he said.

  “Christmas is almost three weeks away,” she replied. “It’s late for shopping, but isn’t it a little early for a tree?”

  “Maybe, but not by this weekend it won’t be. I’m so excited! I feel like a little kid,” Alex said. “Being with you makes me happy, and therefore Christmas is something to look forward to.”

  “Okay, this weekend it’s a tree. I’ll get more decorations from my dad. My mother was a Christmas decoration hoarder.”

  “I’d better give myself some extra time to get in,” he said, looking at his watch. “I’ll call you later.”

  He kissed her. Watching him buttoning up his overcoat and putting galoshes on over his shoes made her smile. Taking his travel mug from her, he picked up his briefcase and leaned over to kiss her again.

  “Have a nice day,” she said. “I’ll have something good for dinner tonight.”

  “Goodbye,” he said, kissing her again.

  She shut the door, and took her coffee out to the living room where she sat on the window seat and waited for him to pull out of the driveway into traffic. The beautiful view of snow falling over the city made her so happy. In spite of everything, she never felt so vital. That wasn’t a word she normally would apply to herself.

  Looking down, she saw his car driving away. It made her sad, missing him already. Connecting with him in such an intensely intimate way, she wondered if that was how all couples in love felt about each other, how amazing, and how sad if she’d missed out on it. Maybe she was a late bloomer but she couldn’t imagine settling for less now that she knew what that kind of romance was like. It was mind blowing.

  Her cell phone rang, and she put her coffee down to run to get it from the bedroom. It was too soon for Alex to be calling her. She hoped he hadn’t been in an accident. Picking it up, she saw Arvin calling on Caller ID.