The Return of the Man in Blue

by C. S Luis

  “Oh, that sounds like a challenge,” Michael joked.

  “See you tomorrow, Michael,” I finally said laughing.

  “Same time tomorrow, John.” Michael grinned, and I waved at him.

  “Goodnight you two,” I said, looking over at Claudia. I stopped laughing and gazed at her attentively. I couldn’t help it. I wanted her to have my full attention and know that she was special always no matter what, especially now when I knew I had to leave her soon.

  “Goodnight, sweetheart,” I softly said as she looked at me; her deep brown eyes were sparkling back at me from that soft glow of her bronzed features. God, she was so gorgeous and beautiful.

  “Goodnight, Mr. Slater. See you tomorrow,” she whispered as I closed the door and watched Michael’s car pull out of the parking space. I waved, watching their car pull into the street. I then took the check from my pocket, gazed down at it, and ripped it into a million tiny pieces before I got into my own car and drove away.

  16

  Birthday Surprise

  Claudia

  It was Wednesday morning when we came into the office. I pushed Michael to hurry; we managed to get into the office. He carried the cake, and when we entered, Mrs. Wallace was already there, just as I had told her to be. Yes, it was very early. I had gotten up early because I knew Mr. Slater was an early bird, and he would catch us if we didn’t get one past him.

  “Hurry up, Michael; he’ll be here soon and see us,” I instructed Michael who stumbled, hurrying to open his office.

  I grabbed the keys from him after realizing his hands were full. I didn’t want him to drop the cake.

  “Claudia, it’s okay. Don’t worry so much, sweetheart,” Michael calmly said. God, he didn’t understand this was very important to me.

  “I want everything to be perfect, Michael. Can’t you understand that?” I said for the fifth time. I had made it my duty to know everyone’s single birthday, and Mr. Slater was no exception. And I wanted it to be perfect.

  “It will be okay. He’ll love anything coming from you,” Michael very patiently said with a smile.

  “You didn’t mention this to him, did you?” I scolded him, and he made no attempt to reprimand me. He simply entered his office and put the cake on his desk. I was in charge again.

  “No, of course not,” he simply said very quickly.

  “Mrs. Wallace, is everything ready? Did you call the order in for this afternoon?” I asked her, coming out of the office.

  “Yes, miss,” she answered.

  I looked back at Michael who was saying, “You sure are the party planner, sweetheart.” He seemed surprised by everything that was going on.

  “Michael, of course, I want to make sure everything is perfect for him,” I scolded him, rolling my eyes and reentering his office.

  “Of course, and it will be, but I think you’re stressing out for no reason…relax,” he simply said, scratching at his head. But it didn’t surprise me.

  Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez entered. I saw them as they stood at the doorway; they looked prepared.

  “Claudia, we’ve got everything ready, and as soon as the bell rings this afternoon we’ll have Sam and Thomas set up the tables,” Mr. Claypool said. God, I sure could depend on him.

  “Thanks, guys,” I said smiling. Michael smirked, nodding his head with that ridiculous grin on his face and then merely looking over at me, and he realized I had everything set. I think he thought I was getting overworked about everything, but I could also sense that he was impressed. This was important to me, and now he was starting to realize it far more.

  “You’re good at this,” he said.

  Mrs. Wallace smiled, nodding her head. “She sure is.” Thanks to her, the order had been sent out, and thanks to Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez everything else was ready for Mr. Slater’s surprise party.

  Then, just as we all were standing around getting things organized, the man of the hour entered the interior office. Mrs. Wallace had no time to warn us. Michael and I were standing by his desk as Mr. Slater appeared at the entrance behind Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez. Michael and I made an attempt to hide the cake, blocking his view.

  “Good morning, everyone. I didn’t realize we had a meeting this morning. Michael?” Mr. Slater asked; he was dazzling, wearing a black suit and red tie. He smiled immediately when he saw me. I could tell he was happy to see me, and he was surprised.

  “Ah, meeting?” Michael looked speechless. I panicked. He was going to ruin everything. Michael could never improvise. He was horrible at it.

  “Yeah, isn’t that why everyone is here?” Mr. Slater again asked. I had to act quickly; Mr. Slater’s eye gazed over at me with a smile.

  Whenever he asked, he always glanced at me as if I would give it away. He was wondering why Michael was acting strangely.

  Above us, the bell rang, but we were in the principal’s office, so the noise in the halls didn’t apply to us. At once, I rushed over to Mr. Slater and grabbed his hand. Michael blocked the cake, remaining glued to his desk, unable to pull away.

  “No meeting, Mr. Slater,” I said for Michael while eyeing him. “Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez were heading to the cafeteria to give out detention slips, right guys?” I narrowed my eyes at them.

  They uttered something about being late and looked at their watches and dispersed out into the hallway.

  “Oh,” Mr. Slater said, but I could see he was smiling, “I guess I’d better get going too.”

  “No, Mr. Slater,” I said, still hanging onto his hand. He looked puzzled at me, but strangely he liked the attention he was getting from me. I could tell.

  “Would you do me the honor of walking me to my class? Please,” I emphasized the word please. I sounded childish. I knew that, and it was a sure bet Mr. Slater thought so too.

  But nevertheless, he did me the honors, and comically pulled out his forearm.

  “Shall we, Miss Belle?” He grinned.

  I giggled, and we left the office. I glanced back at Michael while pointing to the cake. He looked confused, but didn’t he always? He nodded and closed his door behind us.

  As we walked into the hallway, we moved around students who were used to seeing me with staff instead of them. I think they were jealous when they saw me with Mr. Slater, but it was something I had become accustomed to. He was my very best friend, and as the thought left my mind, my grip of his arm did as well. I think he sensed that because I saw the smile on his face reappear.

  “Claudia, I know what you’re trying to do,” Mr. Slater suddenly said as we came closer to the hallway where my class was.

  “What do you mean, Mr. Slater?”

  He stopped at the end of hallway, and the bell rang in the distance. The teacher was closing the classroom door, but when she saw me with Mr. Slater, she left it open to await me.

  Mr. Slater narrowed his eyes at me; the smile on his face hadn’t vanished.

  “You’re throwing me a surprise party, aren’t you?” He suddenly asked.

  “What? Me?” I innocently tried to say. He smirked and lifted an eyebrow.

  I frowned and gasped, disappointed. “So, what gave it away?” I asked him sadly. He started chuckling; his laughter was like music to my ears.

  “Well, I figured you would do something like that,” he plainly answered.

  “Am I that predictable?” I uttered while glancing up at him. He put an arm around me and pulled me near.

  “No,” he said. “That just means you’re a very thoughtful and sweet girl. I always expect nothing but the best intentions from you.”

  Mr. Slater always had the best answers; he made me smile, and it made me warm all over to be his friend.

  “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll act surprised,” he offered. I laughed.

  “So just to be sure, when am I expected?” He asked jokingly.

  “When all the students are gone for the day. Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez are supposed to bring you to the cafeteria right after the last bell,”
I said as we walked into the hallway where my class was. We were standing right outside. I could see the teacher glance over at us but continue her lesson without stopping.

  “Ah,” he said with a grin, gazing in my direction again; he sometimes had a way of making me blush when I talked to him. I wondered if he realized that. He was a very handsome man, and there was no mistake for why I was the envy of female teachers and even students.

  There had been quite a few times we had lunch together in his office, and a few times he had turned down lunch with coworkers like Ms. Stephens to have lunch with me. Never had he turned me away. And I think the women were starting to dislike me because of it. But Mr. Slater was my friend, and I treasured his company so much that when I did see him talking with others, I was jealous myself.

  Especially if those others were women.

  And there had been a few times I had shunned him because I thought he was interested in them rather than me. I know it was childish, but I couldn’t help it. I guess I was selfish to want his full attention all to myself.

  “Hello, Denise. Sorry about the tardiness; it’s my fault,” Mr. Slater said to my teacher, poking his head into the class. She smiled at him with that desperate, lustful glance of hers.

  I frowned with pure envy. I think Mr. Slater noticed it and grabbed hold of my cheek tenderly. I was surprised when he did. But I was also victorious, grinning and knowing the teacher inside was burning under her blouse with jealously.

  “Thanks again, sweetheart. I really appreciate it.”

  I tried not to turn red again, but it was very hard, especially with Mr. Slater’s beautiful green eyes staring deep into me.

  “It was my pleasure, Mr. Slater,” I said, feeling my lip quiver. For a moment, it even looked like he couldn’t look away himself until he took a breath and said, “Well, I’d better let you get to class before I get us both in trouble.”

  I nodded and turned to leave when I realized the teacher was now standing at the entrance greeting Mr. Slater. I rolled my eyes, moving past her.

  “How are you doing, John? Doing anything special for your birthday?”

  Mr. Slater was beside himself; he looked like he couldn’t answer, and I took a seat and watched him from inside the class, and all the other students were busy working on the lesson Ms. Witherson had assigned, something I had already done like a million times.

  “Would you like to have lunch?” She asked. She was obviously flirting with him. I rolled my eyes again and tried to bury my eyes into the textbook.

  Then I heard Mr. Slater speak, “Sorry, Denise, I already promised Claudia I would have lunch with her.”

  I looked up, and he winked at me, and just like that, he left Ms. Witherson feeling embarrassed and vengeful. And she was probably going to take it out on me. She fixed her eyes on me and marched over to her desk, pulling out her lesson plan.

  “Pop quiz time!” She said, narrowing her angry eyes in my direction. I wanted to bury my face into the book. Everyone else moaned and began to complain.

  “This is going to be a big part of your grade. So I hope that all of you have paid very close attention in my class.”

  She looked over at me again.

  17

  Birthday Surprise

  John Slater

  It was early Wednesday morning when I walked into the hall heading towards my office; of course, the very first thing that came to my mind was the thought of Claudia and her plans to throw me a party. God, she was so thoughtful. She put a smile on my face whenever I saw her. This morning was no different. What kind of power did that girl have over me?

  It was something I couldn’t control. It was a delight coming into work; there was a reason, a beautiful reason, and I loved coming in if only to see her glowing smile. I had settled for having her friendship rather than nothing at all. It was hard for a man like me to do that. If only I could stay, I would probably be happy every day just seeing her. I felt alive for the first time in my life. And I didn’t want it to end.

  As I came into the office doorway, and even before I opened the door, I noticed Thomas coming from the other end of the hallway, and he waved at me.

  “Are you running late?” He asked, and I gazed at him puzzled.

  Late? I had never been late in my life, not John Slater.

  “Everyone is already in Michael’s office,” he said, and then he stopped, almost realizing something; he looked like he had just revealed something he wasn’t supposed to reveal. I think I had an idea what that was. Thomas was not much for keeping secrets. I smirked; it was my birthday surprise party. Poor Thomas, he didn’t know how to back himself out of what he’d just almost revealed to me.

  “It must be a meeting,” I helped out, knowing quite well there was no meeting but Claudia getting the troops ready for me. Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez were not in their offices. And I was never notified about any meeting. So there could only be one thing going on.

  I walked into the office and Ms. Erickson greeted me at the door from her desk. I waved at her, opening the door of my office and walking inside to drop off my briefcase. Apparently, Ms. Erickson was at the door when I turned. She was holding a cup of coffee in her hand in front of me, and I nearly stumbled into her.

  “Your coffee, sir,” she very politely said.

  Kindly, I took the cup from her. “Thank you, Ms. Erickson,”

  “Janet,” she corrected me with a dreamy girlish grin.

  “Janet,” I repeated while attempting a smile.

  “I made a fresh pot this morning,” she very sweetly said, but I just wanted to get out of there and see what was going on in Michael’s office. I was eager to see what was in store for me. Her thoughtfulness had me overwhelmed with happiness.

  The phone rang and she hurried away to get it. I turned back around and placed the cup on my desk and started on my way out again.

  I hurried past her as she said, “Sir, you have a call.”

  I stopped and merely said, “Take a message.” Then I hurried out before she said another word. In fact, I wasn’t going to give her a chance. Smiling big, I walked down the hallway after my brief escape.

  I heard their voices as soon as I entered the interior office. Mrs. Wallace’s eyes widened when she saw me, and she tried to say something, but she only smiled, noticing me stop at the entrance at Michael’s office.

  Michael and Claudia were standing by his desk as I appeared at the entrance behind Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez. Michael and Claudia made an attempt to hide the cake by blocking my view. But I had seen it; it was quite obvious what they were up to. I tried not to laugh. God, I had to love her for thinking of this weak man. He already had no control of his feelings for her. What a sweet girl. Sometimes she just tortured me with kindness; it was so much.

  “Good morning, everyone. I didn’t realize we had a meeting this morning. Michael?” I said, gazing at their faces, stirring them to full alert.

  I immediately caught sight of Claudia’s beautiful face; her brown long hair cascaded down her petite slender back. She was glowing like always, a pleasant delight every morning. Claudia was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and flowered top that was layered with a loose blouse. She was wearing her favorite red Doc Martins. She liked red, so I wore my only red tie with a black suit, and I’m sure that she had noticed it. I smiled immediately when I looked over at her. I tried to be surprised, but it was her that always did that to me.

  “Ah, meeting?” Michael looked speechless.

  “Yeah, isn’t that why everyone is here?” I again asked. Poor Michael. I had him backed into a corner because I had come into the office. But I couldn’t help it; I would still act the part of a surprised man. I gazed over at Claudia, waiting to see what she would do or say to me.

  Above, the bell rang, and the hallways were noisy for a moment before they cleared, and there was silence again.

  Then Claudia rushed over, catching me off guard; in fact, it delighted me, and when she touched me I didn’t know what to do. She
took my hand into hers, and I thought I would simply die a happy man right there and then.

  I noticed Michael blocking the cake when she had moved away from the desk; he seemed to remain glued to his desk, unable to pull away. I was having a hard time trying not to laugh or ruin Claudia’s obvious surprise as Michael had instructed me. He was playing his part quite well. I didn’t want to ruin it for her. And besides, she looked like she wanted me to accompany her by the way she took my hand into hers and pulled me. In fact, she led me.

  “No meeting, Mr. Slater,” Claudia said for Michael, eyeing the grown man for not speaking up. I nearly laughed again, trying to keep a straight face behind my half smile.

  “Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez were heading to the cafeteria to give out detention slips, right guys?” Claudia said, narrowing her eyes at the two adult men. How did she have so much control over these weak men, especially me?

  They uttered something about being late and looked at their watches and dispersed out into the hallway. They were fools just like me, another weakening mess faced with the pretty petite Spanish beauty at my feet.

  “Oh,” I made an attempt to speak and smiled. “I guess I’d better get going too.”

  “No, Mr. Slater,” Claudia said, still hanging onto my hand. I wanted to grip it but didn’t dare. I let her take hold of me instead. Although, I made it clear I liked the attention she was giving me, looking down at her with the widest smile I could muster. There was no doubt about that.

  “Would you do me the honor of walking me to my class? Please,” Claudia said. Didn’t she realize her dark eyes had a power over me to do whatever it was she wanted me to do? I would jump from the highest building if she wanted me to. Her invitation was all I needed, and I was walking by her side. Her gentle caress and that warmth tortured me repeatedly.

  So I pulled out my forearm for her and simply said, “Shall we, Miss Belle?”