by Mia Moore
“I don’t have a clue of the financials, Mr. Dunwoodie.”
“Barry?” he nodded to one of the men. Barry Heller was from Accounting. He was holding a stack of files.
“Got it, Mr. D.”
“Barry will be going as well.”
“Going?”
“Going. Yeah. Pack your bags, make your arrangements Erica. You’re going to Africa on Sunday.”
It was the best of news; it was the worst of news.
Chapter 38
She went back into her office, annoyed. Annoyed at life, and at herself. She closed the door to her office and sat behind her desk with a huff.
Here she was, not even 30 years old, and a woman in a male dominated profession, and was just handed on a silver platter the career coup. There wasn’t another 30 year old on the planet who was a Project Director of a job of this scope. There would be thousands of workers on the site, hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment, hell, billions invested, and she was the person who had to make sure everything came together.
The faith of the client, the confidence of the Board and Dunwoodie… this was the crowning achievement of her career and she knew it.
And yet…
She felt… she felt what?
She smacked her palm on the surface of her desk. Damn it anyway! She should be ecstatic! She should be on the phone to all her friends, her parents, her favorite professors from school bragging and squealing over this! This is a time for celebrating! Exciting as anything she ever accomplished in her life!
Oh for God’s sake!
It was just the sex, girl. He’s got an awesome body, he’s great in bed, he’s a nice guy, sure.
But seriously, this is the guy? This guy is the man you’re going to fall in love with?
A cop? Some kind of urban cowboy?
She tapped her fingers on her desk. They both came from two completely different worlds for starters. And lived in different worlds now. Let’s at least try to be honest here, Erica. How could they even talk about their day at work? He’d have spent the day chasing and catching all kinds of bad guys, pumped up on adrenaline day in and out. Maybe, maybe he’d get a promotion to Detective or something, but it would just be another version of cops and robbers, right?
Right.
Where was she going to be in five years? If she’s spearheading a change in manufacturing right now, what sort of projects would this one lead to? She glanced at a copy of ‘Engineering Times’ on her desk that had a headline about how entire cities were now being built in nations. Entire cities—talk about a mega project. Or reclamation of toxic landfills all around the world? How much would Buckley understand about what she’s doing, what she does for a living?
She sighed. He would wind up holding her back. She’s going to spend her entire professional life building things, big things that will make the world a better place.
While he plays cops and robbers.
But isn’t he making the world a better place?
It’s not the same!
No, it isn’t… you’re building things, he’s helping people.
She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands.
Chapter 39
At midnight, Tim Buckley was signing out for end of shift. He gave a nod to the sergeant at the desk and left the station house and headed to the parking lot. What the hell? Erica was leaning against the front end of his Mustang. He quickened his pace.
“Hey girl, is this a pleasant surprise or is something wrong?” The look on her face told him that this wasn’t a good news visit. He reached out and took her in his arms.
She twisted out of his grip and stood off. What the hell?
“What’s the problem, Erica?”
She had her hands on her waist looking at him. Damn woman was pissed off about something.
“You’re the problem, Buckley.”
“What?”
“You came into my life, and today, today which should have been the best day of my life has instead been one where I’ve been going around like my dog died or something! Thanks a lot!”
He knew his mouth was hanging open and he didn’t give a damn. “What?” was all he could get out.
Her mouth was set. She was dressed like she just came from the office, and it was after midnight. “I just got the biggest promotion anyone could ever expect in my field! I was just named Project Director for a multi-billion dollar contract! I am Queen Bee of engineers!”
“And this has you pissed off. At me.”
“Damn right.”
“Makes all the sense in the world. Would it help if I say I’m sorry? About what, I haven’t got a clue, but I’ll be sorry for your promotion if that makes you feel better.” He’d be laughing right now except the look on her face showed that this was no damn joke. He crossed his arms, leaned against his car and waited.
She stared at him from about four feet away. Her hands flexing into fists and opening. Her chin jutted out and her lips made the thinnest possible line. He watched her face slowly fold in on itself. Her hands now came up and cupped her face. “Oh, Buckley, you made such a mess of things, damn you!”
Fuck this shit. He stepped off from his leaning post and took her in his arms, his hands firmly on her hips. Gathered into him, she took her hands away from her face and gazed into his eyes, her own now wide. “Oh, Buckley…” she barely whispered his name.
In a flash, her eyes went steel hard. “Damn it!” she said, and began to pound on his chest with her hands. “Damn it! Damn you!” She was beating on his chest now. It was starting to sting. He stood there and took it.
Girl definitely had some shit to work out.
Then the psycho woman stopped beating on him and stared at him wide eyed again, this time they were brimming. “Oh Buckley!” She threw her arms around his neck and snuggled in.
And began to cry.
And not a dab at the corner of your eyes sniff-sniff cry either. Nope. This was a full blown, honking, snotting, hiccupping harw-harw as Momma would say. This was bad.
Not because her cat died. Not because her own Momma died. No, because she got a big deal promotion. He held her and nodded to himself.
Erica was looney tunes.
He held her tighter into himself until she settled down.
When her breathing leveled out, he took her by the shoulders and gazed at her. She’s wearing makeup to work now! His eyes wandered up and down checking her out. She’s wearing a suit with a skirt too? And heels? To work? Didn’t she tell him that she went to work dressed as dowdy as she could? What the hell was up with this? Never mind. Let’s get to the problem.
“Erica, what is with you?” he said it as softly as he could.
“I spent the afternoon in a doctor’s office. I’m juiced up with every anti-biotic known to man. I’ve been stuck with so many needles, my arms—both my arms—look like a case of the measles.”
“What, you’re sick with something?”
She shook her head. “No. These were all immunization shots, to keep me from getting sick.”
“You’re not making a lot of sense.”
She closed her eyes and nodded. “I’m working my way up to it.”
“Just spit it out.”
She looked at him directly, strength and anguish battling in her eyes. She sucked in a breath. “I’m leaving. In four days. On Sunday. I’m leaving the country, and I’m leaving you. Probably for two years. Probably…” Anguish won. “Forever, right?”
His head snapped back. “Oh man…”
She nodded, again her lips were thin.
“You told me we had six months! Why did you move it up like this? I thought we had something here!”
“It wasn’t me! I wasn’t given a choice!”
“Erica, we’re not ready for this!”
“I knoooww!” She started bawling again.
This time though, he didn’t take her in his arms. “What do you mean you don’t have a choice? You could always say no. Just in case you haven’t hea
rd, slavery’s not legal in the United States.”
“It’s not like that! If I said no, the client would cancel the contract, and I’d lose my job!”
She reached out for him, but this time, he pushed her hands away, shock registering on her face.
“So you don’t want to quit, right?”
She nodded.
“So you have a choice, right?”
“Come on, Buckley! It’s not much of a choice! What if I did quit, and it doesn’t work out for us? Where would I be then?”
“It’s not like it’s life and death, Erica. You’d be able to get another job.”
“And start at the bottom again? Are you nuts? I’ll never have this chance again in my entire life!”
“Yeah, but at least you’d have a life…” his voice faded as he looked over her shoulder. He brought his lips together as he stared off. They stood in silence until he smiled, then chuckled.
“What’s so damn funny?”
He scratched the side of his head. “I’ve been here before,” he said almost sighing.
She folded her arms. “You’re not making any sense now.”
“I need to tell you more about me, I guess.” He looked around. “I didn’t expect to tell you this in a parking lot at midnight though. I thought we were going to have more time.” He sighed. “But things are different now.”
She waited in silence.
He pointed his finger at her. “You do have a choice. You think that your job is your life. Your life is your life… your job is just the way you pay your bills.”
She closed her eyes and opened them. “It’s different for me. This is a career, a profession. Me being an engineer is a big part of who I am.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Well, what would happen if you got hit by a car? How much would your profession mean to you then? What if you slipped in the shower and fell down and hit your head? How much would your profession mean to you then?”
“Those are accidents, they happen to other people.”
His nostrils flared. “Oh really?”
“Yes, really. What’s your damn point?”
He stepped into her. “I’m one of those other people. Anyone could be one of those other people you damn fool.”
She waved her hands at him. “Would you start making some sense!”
“I was married before,” he said.
“And?”
“We met in college, and got married right after I got hired by Black Rapids P.D. eight years ago.”
“And it didn’t work out?”
He didn’t even hear her. “I was so proud. So was Tanya. She was a nurse. We were going to have a great life. But I had to pay some dues, you know? It’s pretty competitive to advance. If you want to become a sergeant and move up like that, you got to study like crazy. I wanted to become a Detective, so I had to get into plainclothes.”
“Well that’s what you’re doing now…”
“Yeah, I know. And I’m in line for the promotion to a Detective too. My career’s going great.” He took a breath. “Now.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “But back in the day, I was grabbing all the overtime I could, making any and every arrest I could, because I had to show the powers that be that I was a go-getter, y’know?”
She shrugged. “So?”
“Tanya was on my ass over spending so much time at work. She understood that I wanted to move up, and we were going to start a family.” He looked at his shoes. “We even decided to start one. Hell, we’d been married a few years, and had been together for almost seven, it seemed like a good thing, right?” He looked up at her. “Tanya was asking me, when she was a couple of months along, that after the baby came, I’d be around more.” He smiled. “I said ‘hell yeah, who gonna teach our son how to be a man?’, you know?” He hung his head. “And I would have too.”
She stepped closer to him, putting her hand on his arm. “What happened, Tim?”
His head shot up, his eyes black coals. “An accident,” he spat it out like a curse.
“Oh no…”
“Oh yeah. And not one of those tragic ones either. A stupid accident. The kind that never happens. She was five months along, barely showing. I was working a four to twelve, and she was off. She took a bath.” His eyes got far away. “She loved that bath tub… it was one of those big old fashioned ones that stood on some kind of feet. Damn thing weighed a ton, but she could get in and soak right up to her neck.”
Erica was barely breathing.
“They figure she snagged her foot on the shower curtain or something getting out. Just enough to trip her up. They figure she then slipped, and went over… she cracked her head on the corner of the sink… and was out cold before she banged her face into the floor… she hit her head hard enough to give her a brain hemorrhage… it must have been a big one… she was dead and cold when I found her…” A single tear glistened against his ebony cheek. “Yeah… so… I’d go and be a cab driver to have her back.” He reached into his back pocket and took out his badge, flipping open the leather case. “I’d throw this in the sewer in a minute and spend the rest of my life digging ditches if that’s what it took to have her back.” He looked at his badge. “This fucking thing don’t mean so much to me anymore, you know?”
“Oh Tim…”
He flipped the badge and put it back in his pocket, nodding. “Yeah. I know. You sure surprised me with your news… and I guess I kind of blindsided you back.”
He stepped back to her, and held out his arms. “C’mere.”
Erica stepped into his arms and was enfolded. She laid her head against his chest. She could hear the steady thrum of his heart.
“I loved that woman, Erica. It wasn’t till she was gone that I really understood how much I loved her. I got some news for you girl.” He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back so she could look up at him.
He was smiling. “You’re having such a shitty day ‘cause you love me and don’t want to admit it. You’re going to say goodbye to someone you really love, and it sucks.” He bent his head and kissed the surprised O shape of her mouth. Pulling back, he said, “And I love you as much as I’ve ever loved anyone. That’s why we’re both messed up from this opportunity you got.”
Her mouth was now hanging open. “I do? I’m in love with you? Is that it?”
He looked at her with a quiet smile and nodded.
“Oh my god! I do! I love you Buckley! Oh nooo!” she started to cry again and laugh at the same time.
As they held each other in the night.
Chapter 40
“So what are you doing now?” She had Sherri on speaker phone as she was packing her luggage. She’d been packing all day. Her flight was leaving the following afternoon.
“I managed to get out of the office and do some shopping—you wouldn’t believe the list of things I had to make sure to bring! Botswana’s doing pretty damn good as a country, but they have yet to move into the Wal-Mart era!” She struggled with the last bag. Dunwoodie told her to bring enough clothes and supplies for a month. On the other hand, her contact in Botswana had emailed her telling her that if there was anything she’d need, they could have it brought in and not to worry.
She had met Mr. Tebogo when she gave the presentation for the clients on Sustainable Manufacturing and Industrialization. Everyone in his entourage deferred to the 72 year old Minister of Economic Development. He was thrilled with her brief and told her that she was going to create a legacy on his behalf.
She sat on the edge of the bed. “Well, that’s it. I got nothing to do now until my flight tomorrow afternoon,” she said to the phone on her night table.
“Buckley’s not around?”
“No. He said he needed to go with his Dad on some important family business. He said he’d be back today, but I haven't heard from him yet.” She sighed. “We had a great night together after we both wised up and realized that we’re the best thing that’s happened to each of us,
and then he leaves town for three days!” She shook her head at the absurdity of it. She also smiled at the night they spent together.
“Well, why don’t you guys come out to The G Spot and say good bye to the gang then?”
Now going from the absurd to the absolute crazy. She and Buckley were in love yet her going away party would be at a swinger’s club. Oh what the hell. “Okay.” She smiled to herself. “I mean, in a weird way, it’s because of The G Spot that Buckley and I got together in the first place.”
“That’s great. If you can’t make it, let me know, okay?”
“Okay.” They said goodbye and she ended the call.
As soon as she hit ‘End’ her text message beeped.
Just got in, your phone was busy. Give me a call when you get this- B.
She called him right away and he picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hi yourself! Everything alright? How’s your Dad?”
“It’s all good. He had an old family friend he needed to see and insisted that I come with him. I didn’t want to at first, but I’m glad I did. So where are you? At the office?”
“No, I’m home. I just finished my packing.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Honestly, this is the first full day I’ve been away from work all week! I’m sorry it’s been so hectic for you with your Dad, but to tell you the truth, I don’t know how much we would have been able to see each other anyway.”
“Yeah, I figured that.” She could hear his smile through the speaker. “I love you, you know... and that’s all that matters. We’ll figure out the rest.”
“Do you really believe that? I’m worried that this is just going to wind up fading. I’m going to be be six thousand miles, and an ocean and continent away! For years!”
He was silent for a moment. She could hear him breathing. “Sometimes, baby, you just got to believe. I do. You just try, okay?”
