“What? That’s crazy talk. See, this is what I mean about silence being too loud. Sometimes it gives you too much time to think about things that don’t exist.”
Vicky shook her head, “You’re wrong Sandy. He won’t look me in the eye. He won’t even let me touch him. On the rare chance we get to lie in bed together, if I try to rub his arm or lay close to him, somehow he manages to break the contact.”
“Maybe you’re right but only about the needing to talk part.”
Vicky gave her a shaky smile then closed her eyes and thought back to a happier time in her life. She was nine, the sun was warm on her face, and shining brightly just like today. She could hear her mother’s laugh as she pushed Vicky on the swings. It was if she were standing right there next to her. Vicky began to sway on the swings just as she did on that day with her mother.
*****
Jason was in a staff meeting with his entire department heads. He barked at everyone. The goodwill and patience he received from his staff was wearing thin. When the meeting was over, Franklin lagged behind.
“How you holding up?”
“I’m good.”
“You’re sure? Maybe you should take a couple weeks off. I can handle things here until you get back.”
“Can’t…I just have way too much to do.”
“Jason, you didn’t take much time off after…”
“Franklin, I’m FINE.”
“Alright, you’re fine and I’m sure that’s why you bit Sanders’ head off and mine just now.”
“Well, maybe if he came better prepared I wouldn’t have had to bite his head off.”
Franklin knew Jason was in pain but he didn’t know how to reach his friend. “Maybe. Why don’t we go grab some lunch.”
“I can’t. I told you I’ve just got too much to do. And, I’ve got to call John Lucas.”
Jason’s cell phone rang. He looked at it, saw that it was Vicky, and pressed the ignore button.
“From what I’ve seen and heard in the papers the court of public opinion seems to be turning in your favor.”
Jason gritted his teeth, “Yeah, but at what cost? They talk about me and Vicky like they knows us. They don’t give a shit about our loss or pain. They’re just trying to sell papers.”
A moment later his office phone buzzed, “Mr. Rutherford, your wife is on the line.”
Exasperated, Jason rubbed the back of his neck, “Is it an emergency?”
“She didn’t say so sir.”
“If it’s not then, tell her I’m in a meeting and take a message.”
Franklin thought that was unusual. He’d never seen Jason not make her his priority. “So, how is Vicky doing? I haven’t seen her lately.”
Jason started looking at a file “She’s holding up.”
“Well, if you don’t mind I’d like to hitch a ride on your jet when you leave tonight. I didn’t book a flight.”
“I’m not flying out tonight. I’ve got so much to do that I’ll probably have to stay the weekend.”
Franklin gave Jason a hard look. “Jay, there’s not anything here that you can’t handle from home. Don’t you think you should be home with your family…with Vicky?”
“This place isn’t going to run itself. My mother and Shirley are there with her.”
“That’s good but she needs you.”
“Franklin…I really don’t want to discuss the needs of my wife right now.”
He threw up his hands as if surrendering, “Fine. We won’t talk about her. She’s your wife.”
“I’ve got to make this call can I catch up with you later?”
Jason was putting him out of his office. Another first. Franklin took the hint. He nodded to Jason but also decided not to fly to Atlanta tonight. He needed to keep a close eye on him. Jason was going through much more than he was willing to admit.
It had been a long day. Jason was sitting at the bar waiting for the bartender to bring him his drink when he smelled a familiar scent of perfume and a familiar hand touched his shoulder.
“Hi Jason.”
He turned around to see Bridget Reed.
Albeit surprised, he spoke to her. “Hi. What are you doing here in Minnesota?”
“Surprised? Well, I’m surprised to see you too. I’m here for the opening of Edward’s new foundation. It’s here on Sunday. I just wanted to come over say hi and offer my condolences. I’m so sorry about your loss.”
His smile faltered and his entire body stiffened. It didn’t go unnoticed.
“I’ve been sitting over in the corner wondering for the last fifteen minutes if I should say anything considering.... But, then I thought that was foolish. We’ve known each other forever.”
Jason recovered and gave her that lazy half smile that drove her crazy.
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
Bridget tossed her blond hair over her shoulder, “Really?”
Jason took a long sip of his drink.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
She took the stool next to him and crossed those long sexy legs. She smiled coyly “Well…I don’t know. With everything that happened between us, I thought maybe you hated me.”
“I could never hate you Bridget.”
Bridget knew that losing his son and dealing with the on-going custody battle with the Carters splashed over the papers every day was the reason he looked so strained. Looking at him and just being next to him solidified the fact that she wanted Jason back; there was no question.
However, with everything that was going on in his life she would need to adjust her plan. Now would be a good time to change tactics. Jason looked more like he needed a friend than a lover. Tonight, she’d be a friend. Hopefully, later she’d become a lover. Bridget knew if she could get Jason back in her bed, she could win him back.
Bridget caressed his arm.
She gave a hearty laugh, “Good because after all we once meant to each other, I’d hate to think that we couldn’t at least be friends. Speaking of friends, you’ll never guess who I ran into last week at the club?”
He took another sip of his drink “Who?”
“Remember Ross? When we were about eighteen or nineteen, he was the guy who had that space between his teeth large enough to drive a Mack truck through.”
Jason couldn’t remember.
“Oh come on…you remember him. He tried to eat that soup at Sally Westing’s party and we all watched to see how he would sip it through that space between his teeth.”
Jason finally remembered. The memory caused him to laugh out loud. “Oh yeah, Ross!”
“Well, I saw him last week at the club and he’s finally gotten his teeth fixed. But, I still found myself watching him as he sipped his soup to see if it would dribble down his mouth like it did at Sally’s.”
Jason kept laughing. It felt good to laugh.
“Have you eaten dinner yet, Jason? Because I haven’t and I’m starving.”
“Actually, I haven’t eaten all day. I could eat something.”
“Good. Let’s get a table.”
A call was coming through on his cell. He looked at the screen. It was Vicky. He debated answering it but ended up clicking ignore…again.
Bridget and Jason left the bar area, grabbed a table, and spent the next couple of hours laughing and talking about old times.
*****
Vicky was in bed with Angel curled up next to her debating whether to call Jason again. She’d called him earlier but his assistant said he was in a meeting and would call her later. He hadn’t. Well, he’d left her a message letting her know that some things had come up at work that required him to stay over the weekend. But, he’d said he would call her later.
She watched the clock. It was getting late but she decided to try him again. This time it went straight to voice-mail. Vicky didn’t want to leave him another message. She’d already left him a couple. Instead, she fell asleep with the phone next to her head waiting for his call.
Jason was tired but made it into the office early Saturday morning. He was probably the only one in the building. He sat down at his desk and just looked at all the papers on it. It was impossible to focus.
He raised his head and stared out into space. Jason wasn’t quite sure how long he’d been like that until Franklin walked in.
“Jason, I need your signature on these documents.”
“Franklin, its Saturday. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Apparently, doing more than you. I’m working.”
“I thought you were flying out to Atlanta yesterday.”
“Something came up so I postponed it until later in the week.”
“I don’t need a babysitter Franklin.”
“Why do you think everything I do is because of you?”
Jason laughed “Because it usually is. You’re either trying to keep me out of trouble or getting me into it.”
“I see this morning you want to be a comedian. Anyway, April called. She wants to get together this weekend.”
“So, how are things going with April anyway?”
Franklin shook his head.
“You…do...NOT want to hear about me, April or my problems.”
“Actually, I would. You’ve always been there for me, let me return the favor.”
Franklin did not want to talk about his disastrous love life. It showed all over his face. Franklin took a seat across from Jason, “So far, nothing is going on between us. We’ve just been doing a lot of talking and we’ve gone out a few times for dinner.”
“Jay, right now April and I are just enjoying each other’s company. Nothing much has changed between us since the last time we talked. Well, that’s not exactly true. Sandy and I have decided to take a break.”
“I hate to hear that but you know I’ll support whatever it is you decide to do.”
“Everybody isn’t as lucky as you were when you met Vicky. I knew immediately you were head over heels in love with her.”
Jason took a deep breath, “Sometimes love is not enough. Sometimes you need more than that.”
Franklin nodded, “Hmm…I think when you really know…love is all you need. My problem is I don’t think I’ve ever been in love so I’m not quite sure what it feels like. I’m done talking about my love life. Are you going to sign these or what? Otherwise, this is a wasted Saturday.”
Jason’s phone rang, “Hold on let me take this.”
“Hey.”
“Hi Jason! It’s Bridget. I was calling because I’m here with Michael and Wendy and Edward and Eliza. The gangs all here for Michael’s opening. Well, everybody except for you.”
He heard them in the background of her phone laughing and having a good time before screaming ‘hi Jason’.
He hadn’t spent any time with his old friends since Michael and Edward showed up at his house trying to convince him that he was making a mistake with Vicky. He happily left that life behind and had no desire to spend any time with them.
“Jason? Are you still there?”
“Oh..yeah. Sorry. I’m here.”
“Well, I thought it’d be like old times to get together with all of our friends to see the play Lilly on the Water tonight. I thought maybe it might take your mind off of things for a while.”
“Umm…Bridget that sounds like fun but I’ve got a lot of work to do. And, with everything that’s going on, I need to lay low from the press. Can I take a rain check?”
Bridget had miscalculated. She’d hoped being with his old friends might cause him to miss his old life. However, she hadn’t thought about the press still hounding him.
“Of course; I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. I’m disappointed but yes. And, I’m going to hold you to that rain check. I’ll be here until the Monday morning. Maybe we can do dinner or something before you fly back to Atlanta.”
“That sounds good. Call me when you get back from the play.”
“I’ll make sure I do that. Talk to you soon.”
He disconnected the call and looked up into Franklin’s suspicious gaze.
Jason wouldn’t even look Franklin in the eye. He bent his head to review and sign the documents Franklin had given him earlier. “Remember, we’re not talking about our love lives.”
“
MY
love life, not yours. Bridget? What makes you think
THAT
is a good idea?”
“What makes you think April is a good idea?”
“Sandy is not my wife.”
“Look Franklin, it’s not what you think. We had dinner last night. It was innocent and it was nice.”
“You…had dinner with Bridget…last night?”
“Yes. I did. And, it felt good not to feel any pressure…and laugh. I enjoyed myself for the first time in a long time.”
“Jason, you do know that Bridget is dangerous territory.”
“She’s just a friend.”
“Since when? You were going to ask her to marry you.”
Jason was angry. “Franklin, John Rutherford is in Atlanta!”
“And so is Mrs. Jason Rutherford!”
“You don’t think I know that? That I don’t think about Vicky? Hell…I think about her all the time! That’s all I do. You have no idea what it’s like or what I’m going through right now?”
“Then tell me!”
Jason stood up and knocked everything off his desk, “Tell you what? Tell you that I don’t know if I can keep that bastard Ryan Carter from taking our daughter or tell you that when my son died a piece of me died with him? Or, that I don’t want to look into my wife’s eyes, knowing that she’s depending on me not to let her down again, and I can’t promise that I won’t. So, yes. Maybe it was wrong, but I spent a few hours with Bridget to escape the hell my life has turned into.”
Jason was fighting hard to keep it together and losing the battle. He fell back down into his chair exhausted.
“Did you know I only got to hold my son for about ten minutes before they took him away from me?” His voice broke “He was so small.”
“No, I didn’t. And, I’m sorry is insufficient. But Jason, Vicky doesn’t expect you to carry this load all by yourself. Share it with her. She lost a son too.”
Jason closed his eyes, “You couldn’t possibly understand.”
Franklin sat down too “Maybe I understand more than you think.”
Vicky had just finished reading Angel a bedtime story when she received a text. Angel had fallen asleep. So, she put the book away, kissed her good night, and walked out of the room. However, she left the door slightly ajar.