by Marie Jem
“Hey, honey. How are you? Haven’t heard from you in a while. How is everything?” she asked.
“Hi mom! I’m doing good, how are you and dad doing?” I asked.
I had been so busy with Alex that I hadn’t been able to chat with my parents, but they seemed to understand, especially my mother. She wanted to invite Alex and I to dinner on Friday night. Alex nodded, his eyes beaming. She was so excited that we would be joining them for dinner.
“Oh, honey, that’s wonderful. See you both on Friday night,” she hung up the phone.
“Looks like we have a date Friday night, baby,” he smiled. “Your parents are really nice, Claire. I miss mine sometimes. I’m grateful that Melissa and I live in the same state, at least,” he said, with a sad look on his face. “Maybe one day you and I will visit my parents in New York. They would love you, Claire,” his eyes lit up.
“That would be nice. You know, I’ve never been to New York, but have always wanted to visit,” I confessed.
“Well then, I promise to take you to New York one day and show you everything,” he said, kissing me. “I love you,” he added.
“I love you too, Alex,” I replied. I did love Alex. I had fallen deeply in love with him, more than I had ever imagined I could. Everything about him was perfect. The way he carried himself, the way he treated those around him, the way he treated me. I couldn’t help but think that all the wonderful things that were happening were just too good to be true. I wished the knots in my stomach would just untie themselves. I had begun to lose my appetite due to a premonition of something horrible ahead. I didn’t want to talk to Alex too much about my feelings because I didn’t want to concern him. It was probably all in my head and would go away soon. There was nothing a good bottle of wine couldn’t fix.
“Wine?” I asked Alex.
“Sure, baby. I will get it for us. You look like you can use a little wine tonight,” he chuckled.
“Yes, I can. Very badly,” I replied.
I sat on the sofa with my feet up on the ottoman as Alex poured two glasses of wine. I drank my first glass rather quickly. Alex looked surprised, since I normally sipped slowly. I was about to pick up the bottle to pour another glass, but Alex stopped me.
“Uh, maybe you should take it easy. Take a few minutes and then I’ll pour you another glass, okay?” he looked concerned.
“Okay,” I whispered. I began to feel a bit lightheaded. I shouldn’t have chugged that glass of wine as if it were a glass of water. “Could you get me glass of water please, Alex?” I asked.
“Sure, baby. You okay?” he looked concerned.
“Yes, I’m fine. I just feel thirsty,” I replied.
Alex returned with a large glass of water and I drank the entire glass to dilute the wine. A few minutes later, my heart started beating fast and I began to sweat. Alex noticed that I wasn’t feeling well.
“Hey, are you okay? Looks like you’re having a panic attack,” he said as my breathing quickened. Alex kept trying to calm me down as he had done that one time at his house when I had the panic attack on his roof.
“Yeah, I’m okay, Alex. It’s just an anxiety attack.” I began to feel a bit better as my heart rate slowed down to a normal beat.
“Baby, are you sure you’re okay? You’re beginning to concern me. You didn’t eat a bite of your food. You downed the glass of wine, and now a panic attack. You can talk to me, baby. Tell me if something is not right,” he pleaded.
“I’m fine, really Alex, I promise. It was just a minor episode. I get them every once in a while. Maybe I’m just tired. I should probably go to bed a little early tonight,” I replied.
I remembered the laundry that was in the dryer from the night before and took it out and started folding. Alex followed me into the laundry room.
“What are you doing, baby? Marcia will do that in the morning. Put them back in the dryer and she will take care of it. Go to bed, baby. I’m just going to make a quick phone call and I will be up shortly,” he said as he kissed me. I went up the stairs and brushed my teeth before I crawled into bed. I tossed and turned and was unable to fall asleep without Alex next to me. He came upstairs about thirty minutes after I did and I heard him turn on the shower. After he showered he came to bed and found me awake.
“You’re still awake, baby?” he asked.
“Yeah, can’t sleep,” I replied. He started kissing me softly, his hair still very wet from his fresh shower. His body was still so warm from what I knew was the very hot water he liked. Alex removed every item of clothing from my body and made love to me until I was tired enough to fall asleep.
“Sweet dreams, baby. I love you,” he said.
“I love you too, Alex. More than you know. Goodnight,” I replied and was grateful that sleep had finally found me.
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The phone rang early in the morning. It was the guard at the gate calling because Marcia had arrived to clean my condo. Alex greeted her when she came to the door as I got up to get ready for work. Alex and I had agreed to carpool that morning, since he did not have any early surgeries scheduled for that day. I was glad I wouldn’t be driving, since I had the anxiety episode the night before. Alex came upstairs to get ready as well. I decided to toast bagels, so we could have breakfast before we headed out. As I made my way downstairs, I introduced myself to Marcia. She was a very beautiful older Hispanic woman with dark hair and porcelain skin.
“You must be Marcia. I’m Claire. It’s so good to meet you,” I said as I extended my hand and shook hers.
“Hello Miss Claire, so nice to meet you also. Please let me know if there is anything special you need me to do today. I can do laundry, wash beds, and iron clothing. Whatever you need, please tell me,” she said.
“If you can just clean thoroughly today, that would be great. Whatever you feel needs to be done, please go ahead and feel free to do so,” I replied.
I toasted three bagels, so Marcia could have one as well. I also brewed coffee, so we could all wake up. Alex came downstairs when he was ready and we ate together. Marcia said she had already eaten breakfast, but would eat her bagel later on. “Babe, maybe you shouldn’t have coffee this morning. I don’t think caffeine is a good idea, since you’ve been having anxiety attacks. Remember the episode last night?” Alex warned. “Doctor’s orders,” he added.
I put my mug back down. He had a point, caffeine would trigger my anxiety and I definitely did not want to have an episode at work. I ate half of my bagel and drank plenty of water to wash it down. We got up to leave for work and I reminded Marcia about the bagel and coffee. Alex showed her how to lock the front door when she was ready to leave, so we wouldn’t have to give her a house key.
“Have a good day,” she said as we headed out for work.
“I really like her Alex. She seems like a very nice lady,” I said.
“Me too, she’s been cleaning my house for years. It’s hard to find someone you can trust at home when you’re not there,” he explained. “You feeling better? I was worried about you last night. Maybe you’ve been drinking a little too much coffee lately, Claire. Caffeine isn’t good for your nervous system. Neither is alcohol, but wine is better than the other hard stuff. I was thinking we should do yoga together tonight, but on second thought, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate and keep my hands off of you, so it’s probably not a good idea,” he joked. I needed a good laugh before we got to work.
It was just my luck that Taryn parked near us in the parking structure. I recalled my encounter with her the day before. She liked to purposely call me by the wrong name, knowing I didn’t like it, so I had twisted her name a little bit as well.
“Good morning, you two,” she looked me over from head to toe as if she wanted to claw my eyes out. “You look nice today, Alex,” she said as she undressed him with her eyes. She was really getting on my nerves. Alex was dressed in his usual attire, which was scrubs, there was nothing different or special with the way he looked that day. She really wanted to irr
itate me and it was working. She was winning, but I didn’t want to give her the benefit or the slightest pleasure.
I just smiled and looked at Alex and said, “He does look nice doesn’t he? He always looks nice,” I smiled at her, then looked at Alex again and smiled at him. He gave me a look that told me he knew what I was doing.
We slowed down, so Taryn could go ahead of us. Alex seemed to have sensed that Taryn and I shouldn’t be around one another anymore that morning.
“That was very interesting, Claire,” he said.
“Yes, it was because that woman is a very interesting woman,” I replied. Alex laughed, “We have to keep you two apart from one another, don’t we?” he asked.
“Oh, Alex, can’t you see? She just wants to jump your bones,” I noted.
“No, she doesn’t, baby. She’s just being nice,” he replied.
“Men are so blind,” I mumbled.
“I heard that,” Alex grinned as we walked into the elevator. “Claire,” he said as he pressed a red emergency button and stopped the elevator, setting off an alarm, “have you ever had sex in an elevator?” he asked as he pushed me against the wall of the elevator, his lips less than an inch from mine.
“Alex, you better get this elevator moving again. Did you forget we’re at work?” I asked, pushing him away. He began to laugh as he canceled the hold on the elevator.
“I was just kidding, baby. The look on your face was priceless, though,” he added, laughing. When the elevator stopped on my floor, I began to step out as Mark stepped into the elevator.
“Oh, good morning, Alex. Morning, Claire,” he looked surprised to see us together that morning. The strange looks he gave us assured me that he had heard the elevator alarm ring when Alex had stopped it.
“Good morning,” I said as I made my way out of the elevator as quickly as I could and hurried to my department. Just then a text came in from Alex.
We should have done it in the elevator. Maybe, next time. I do accept rain checks, by the way. Have a great day. Love you.
Get to work, Alex. I love you too.
Laura greeted me that morning warning me that Taryn was in Walter’s office. “She just barged in, as usual, without even looking at me or anyone else. I guess someone didn’t get laid last night,” she made me laugh out loud. “Hey, Claire, are you losing weight?” Laura asked as she had probably noticed that my clothes were very loose on me.
“A little bit, I guess. You know, my appetite hasn’t been normal lately. I hardly ate at all yesterday,” I replied.
“You hardly touched your lunch. We need to feed you. What’s for lunch today? Do you have a taste for anything special that might put a pound or two back on you?” she asked.
“This is not a good time to ask, since I ate half a bagel before I left the house,” I replied. “I will definitely let you know later on, though,” I promised. Just then, Walter called me and asked if I could see him in his office. I wondered what he could want. I knew Taryn was still in there speaking with him.
I knocked, then opened the door to Walter’s office and had a seat on one of the chairs around the corner conference table. Taryn glared at me, “Good morning,” she said with a cold voice.
“Good morning,” I replied.
“Claire, do you remember those files I asked you to personally deliver to Taryn about a week ago?” asked Walter.
“Of course,” I replied.
“Did you forget to take them to her office?” he asked.
I looked directly at Taryn when I replied, “No, I did not forget. I took them to Taryn’s office and hand delivered them to her personally,” I clarified. She continued to glare at me with her wicked look. I was wondering where her broomstick was.
“Taryn says she never received them,” Walter replied. I wanted to scream she’s a liar, but kept my cool.
“Hmmm, she must have forgotten, but I personally hand delivered those files to her,” I said glaring at Taryn. I wanted to slap her so badly, but I knew I had to stay calm. It looked as though she wanted me to get angry and make a fool of myself, but she had no idea whom she was dealing with.
“I’m so sorry if you’ve misplaced the files, Taryn. If you’d like I could help you look for them. Why don’t I follow you into your office right now? I’m sure we could find them pretty quickly. Walter, let’s all take a walk and help Taryn with those files. What do you say?” I looked at Walter and he knew exactly what was on my mind.
“That’s a great idea, Claire. You know, I’m always misplacing things in my office as well and you always find them for me,” he said, smiling. Walter stood up and motioned for Taryn and I to follow him. Taryn looked pale because things weren’t going as she had planned to sabotage my job. She wasn’t going to get away with that. I knew she was lying through her fake white teeth and I would prove her wrong and Walter would be there to witness it.
“Oh, I have to run to a meeting right now, though,” she replied, nervously. “Maybe this afternoon you both could come and help me look,” she looked at Walter, but he declined her request.
“No, no, I’m really busy this afternoon and so is Claire and I know those files are important. Your meeting can wait,” he replied, giving me a wink without her noticing.
I had seen where Taryn had put those files right after I handed them to her. I noticed her trying to speed up ahead of us, probably with the intention to hide them before we got there, but I had much longer legs.
The minute we walked into Taryn’s office, I opened one of the cabinets I had seen her open when I delivered the files.
“Aha!” I yelled out. “Here they are, sitting nice and pretty. You know, Walter, my parents always ask me to find things around the house that they think are missing and I always find them. It’s like this superpower I have that no one else has,” I joked.
“Claire,” Walter began, “we need more employees like you in this hospital,” then he turned to Taryn, who was crimson with embarrassment, “Taryn, please think twice before making meaningless accusations,” he added, looking at his watch. “Let’s go, Claire. I have a few meetings back to back. Good day, Taryn,” he said and headed out of her office, and I followed, waving at Taryn on my way out. She narrowed her eyes at me, but I just smiled big, revealing as many of my teeth as I could.
As we walked to the elevator to head back to the Administration Department, Walter turned to me and whispered, “That was very good, Claire. You handled that situation as a good leader would. I really didn’t like what Taryn was trying to do, accusing you like that. That woman has an agenda and I don’t like it. She’s a very dirty player. The most frightening part of it all is that she almost always gets what she wants. Keep her close, Claire. Always keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer,” he advised.
Laura had a million questions as I returned to the department. “I will tell you during lunch,” I whispered.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, worried.
“More than okay,” I whispered.
I wanted to text Alex, but I knew he would be in surgery for the next few hours at least. I prayed that I had a big appetite by lunchtime, so I could eat a decent meal. Around noon, I decided I had a craving for the Cuban deli down the street. Laura said it sounded great, so we headed that way.
“What happened this morning, Claire? I was trying to eaves drop, but couldn’t make anything out,” she revealed.
I told Laura what Taryn had tried to accuse me of and how we had all ended up in her office, catching her in her own lie. “Oh my God, I can’t believe she tried to pull something like that. Good going, girlfriend! That was very quick thinking on your part. I’m glad Walter picked up on it and went along with you,” she said.
I ordered a grilled vegetable sandwich and tried to eat as much of it as I could. I tried to eat at least half, but wasn’t successful. I didn’t want to force myself. I would just take it to go and finish it off later on in the day.
Laura and I headed back early, since we had to assist
the physician’s staffing department with work. Alex texted me around five thirty that evening, so I finished what I had been doing and met him by the car. He smiled when he saw me walking toward him. “Hey, I was wondering who that beautiful woman was, smiling at me,” he teased. “Please tell me you ate something today aside from that half bagel this morning,” he said, holding my tiny waist in his hands.
“I had some of this sandwich,” I said, holding up the doggie bag of the remainder of my lunch. Alex frowned. On the drive home, I told Alex what had happened that morning with Taryn and Walter in his office. He was surprised how well I had handled it without losing myself.
“That’s really dirty of Taryn, but honestly, it’s just the way she is, baby. She likes to stir things up. Sometimes, I wonder what kind of a childhood she’s had. Just keep doing what you’re doing, but beware of her,” he advised.
“I know she hates me because you love me. She wants to be me, so she can have you in her bed every night,” I giggled.
“Do you like having me in your bed every night?” he asked.
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t want it any other way,” I replied.
“Alex, where are we going? You took the wrong exit,” I noticed we were going in the wrong direction from my place.
“I’m going to feed you first. Let’s have sushi, baby. I know you always have an appetite for that,” he noted. He was right. I never declined sushi. Alex ordered all my favorite items from the menu. I ate as much as I could, but it was hardly enough. “Claire, what’s wrong, baby? Come on, eat some more,” he pleaded.
“I’m eating as much as I can, but it’s just so hard when you don’t have an appetite. I can’t help it, Alex. I will try to eat a little more and maybe we can take the rest home,” I replied. Alex must have been very hungry, since he almost finished everything on the table. We left the restaurant and headed to my place.
