“I am sorry, Sheila. It is against my beliefs to let anybody work for free. I am afraid that you will have to clear out your desk and leave right away.” John stood and turned away. He then briskly walked into his office and locked the door from inside. He was almost like a young boy who was letting go of his best friend. John dropped on his sofa and turned on the television. He switched to the channel about that city-destroying monster and put the volume up. Outside, Sheila sat there quietly. She knew this day would come, but that did not make it any less dreadful. A few tears rolled down her face. She sat there for a few more minutes, hoping that the office door would open. She was hoping that John would come out and ask her to say. An hour passed and the door never opened. All that came from the door was the noise of some stupid television show about a giant monster that was let loose in the city.
She wiped her tears, got up, and collected her things. She wanted to say goodbye but decided against knocking on the door. She left the tablet, a gift from John on the table. She picked up her stuff, touched the door as if to say goodbye, and left without saying a word.
Two Months Later
It had been almost two months since Sheila had said goodbye to him. Despite the time gap between that event and now, John was still upset about it. Sheila offered to work for free and even pay for her own expense. But John would not have that. He could not have that. If someone was spending time on their job, they should be getting paid, and he would not have it any other way. A few times, he almost picked up his old fashioned landline and called her. Perhaps to ask her out for dinner, or maybe a movie. John would not do that though. Something in his head made him decide against it.
John also knew that she would never call him. John hated it if someone did anything that he did not ask them to do. Sheila was several things, and one of them was that she was professional through and through. John always wondered what he would do if she called him up and asked him out for dinner. Would he say yes? Would he go out with her? What would be his reaction to such an invitation? John had no answer. He continued to stare out of his office, looking down on the busy streets of the city of Primer. He must have been doing that when his phone rang. The mobile phone, not the land line.
John noticed that it was an unknown number. He answered the call.
“This is Russo. Who is this?” said John, answering the phone call.
“John?” said a voice on the other side. John recognized the voice right away. It was an old friend from his college years.
“Nancy?” asked John, allowing the caller to confirm their identity.
“John, you remember my voice.” said Nancy.
“How could I possibly forget it, Nancy? How are you?” He asked. He was a bit bewildered by her call.
“I am good. I was in Primer on business. I checked the college directory and it told me that you live in this city. If you are free, perhaps you could take me out for dinner. Catch up on old times.” said Nancy.
John thought about it. He wasn’t doing anything anyway. At that instant, John also realized that he hadn’t been with anyone for almost two months. Perhaps a date with an old college friend was not a bad idea.
“I am free today. Where should I pick you up from?” asked John.
“I have a meeting at the Aubrey Plaza. It will be over by five. Could you be at the Plaza’s lobby by five thirty?” asked Nancy.
“I know that place. It is four now. I will be there. See you soon.” said John, looking at the clock.
“Okay. See you, John.” said Nancy, and the call disconnected.
John stepped away from the window and sat on his chair, thinking about Nancy. John met her for the first time about four years earlier, in his second year at university. He was taking part in the college play, playing one of the minor supporting characters. John did not enjoy taking part in such events. Despite his best efforts, John ended up in the play, as he had to fill in for a friend who had fallen sick at the last minute. By the time John reached the rehearsal arena, he looked like a guy that was about to puke. He was sitting alone on one of the audience chairs, waiting for his turn to come, when someone tapped him on his shoulder.
“Are you John Russo?” The girl asked, as she stood next to his chair.
“I am John.” said John, getting up and shaking her hand.
“Hi John. I am Nancy Shaw. I am playing your character’s partner in the play. You are standing in for Ben, aren’t you?” she asked.
“That is right, Nancy. Ben is down with the flu and I am forced to replace him.” said John, not even bothering to hide his disappointment with his job.
“I take it that you are not too happy about this, John?” said Nancy, taking the seat next to him. John returned to his seat as well.
“It’s that obvious, eh?” said John.
“Well, the way you are talking and the way you are sitting gives away your entire mood about this. It is not that bad, you know.” said Nancy.
“I don’t even know what this play is about. I don’t know you either. I don’t even go and watch plays, and it is just plain ridiculous that I am going to star in one.” said John.
“I think you will do just fine, John. You look like the sort of guy who has a natural knack for this sort of thing.” said Nancy, going through the many pages of the script which was in her hand. She went through several pages, and finally pulled out three pages that were stapled together. She handed them over to him, and John took them.
“This is the script. Fortunately for you, John, we are on stage for only three minutes, and we have a total of twenty lines between us. Eighteen of them are mine. Your character in the play is supposed to be angry about something. Just channel your anger toward the play, and you will do just fine.” said Nancy.
John laughed upon hearing that. It was the first time he had laughed since coming for the rehearsal. Nancy laughed with him.
“That sounds like a plan, Nancy. Of course, if you keep putting things in a better perspective like this, I may not have much anger left for this drama to bank on.” said John.
John returned from his memories and was back in his office again. He looked at the time, and it was already four-thirty. He only had half an hour before he had to be at that plaza. John quickly freshened up, took the elevator to the basement, got into his car, and started driving to the plaza. John had no difficulty in making the thirty minute drive to the plaza. Having parked his car in the basement car park, John took the stairs to the lobby, and settled on one of the waiting chairs.
John started staring at the huge wall clock occupying much of the space behind the reception desk. He thought that the clock was telling him that time waits for no one. As John was wondering about the workings of the clock and how it kept ticking every second, he was reminded of the human heart which too keeps ticking until the person leaves the earthly realms.
John must have been lost in thought about that huge clock, when there was a tap on his shoulder. John looked up to see Nancy standing next to him. For a couple of seconds, John was slightly taken aback. The last time he saw Nancy was almost two years ago on the graduation day. Back then, she was a little on the heavier side, almost pudgy. She had short hair, and average taste in clothes.
Now, she looked like a completely different person. Her hair was longer, and it was decorated like a fountain with water spewing out with no compliance to gravity. There was something about her eyes, perhaps she was wearing contacts. They were green in colour, making her look even better. She was wearing a business suit that looked less like office wear and more like what a model would wear in one of those sales ads. John could not help but notice that she had also lost some weight. All in all, she was looking fabulous.
“John, are you okay?” asked Nancy.
“Hey! Sorry, I was lost in thought for a few seconds. You look…ahem…different. I mean, you look seriously hot.” said John, like a guy who had no control over his thought process.
“Thank you for being so honest, John.” said Nancy.
“I was only stating the obvious, Nancy. How are you doing? I don’t have much of a plan for the evening. I know a few places in the city.” said John, standing up.
“I am staying at the Morton Hotel for the night. We could have dinner there.” said Nancy.
“That sounds nice. I have my car parked in the basement. We could take the stairs or elevator.” said John, walking with her toward the general direction of the plaza’s exit.
“Let’s take the stairs. We have so much to catch up on.” said Nancy.
The two friends reached the basement in a few minutes. It was already half past five, and Primer city’s traffic was just picking up. Morton Hotel was only a mile away from the Plaza, from which they had left a minute ago. For a city of its size, Primer had one of the best traffic management systems in the country. The drive, despite all the vehicles and so many people juggling the many lanes to reach home, was a comfortable one. Ten minutes later, John had parked his car, and they were both sitting in one of the restaurants on the third floor. John ordered dinner for both of them and the food arrived quickly. As they ate their way through the evening meal, they resumed their conversation.
“John, I heard that you now work as a private detective. I knew you were pursuing a career in criminal investigation, but I did not think that you would become a private detective. I assumed you would work for one of those insurance fraud companies. The rest of your classmates are doing that, aren’t they?” she asked.
“That is true. That is what most folks did who studied with me. I did not want any of that. I did not tell anybody that I wanted to be an actual private detective. I feared that some folks might find it laughable. There aren’t many private detectives around, but I wanted to be one. If you are feeling a little violated for me not sharing that with you, I owe you an apology.” said John.
“You don’t owe me any apology, John. I understand. I may never have been your girlfriend back at the university, but I was your friend. I always thought highly of you. Speaking of girlfriends, how is Shannon?” asked Nancy.
“My girlfriend at the university? I don’t know. We broke up a few months after graduation.” replied John.
“What happened? Was it you or her?” asked Nancy.
“It was both of us. We had been together for such a long time; things had simply run its course. We still exchange an occasional email and send New Year’s gifts. Last I heard, she was working in the city of Mentis.” replied John.
“That is a far place. I always thought that you two would go on to get married, perhaps have a couple of kids. You always gave off a vibe of the type of guy who would like it nothing better than to settle down in life. At least, that is the impression you gave when in college.” said Nancy.
“I have a confession to make about that, Nancy. That was all just a ruse of mine to hide my real intentions of being a private detective. In hindsight, I always wanted to break up with her. I just wished to avoid unwanted attention toward myself. When folks realize that I am some boring guy, they just leave me alone.” said John, raising his eyebrows and bobbing his head like he won an award.
Nancy laughed loudly.
“That was pretty smart. You definitely had me fooled, and almost everybody at the University. Kudos for that, John.” said Nancy, tapping him softly on the shoulder. John smiled in return and laughed with her.
“Come on John, what are you holding back?” asked Nancy, placing her hand on his hand.
“What do you mean?” John asked, he did not pull his hand as it remained connected with hers.
“There is something different about you, John. You are not that same guy I remember from college. Come on, John. What is going on?” asked Nancy.
“Nothing is going on Nancy. I am doing just fine. Everything is just as it should be” said John.
“John. I know you. You could even say that I am one of the few friends you had in college. I know something is bothering you. Is everything okay with your Dad? I remember when you told me about that loud discussion you had with your father regarding your secretly pursuing a degree in criminal investigation. You told me about that. Is that all settled now?” asked Nancy, her voice telling more than the words.
“That was a long time ago. My parents made peace with that a long time ago. That has never bothered me. It did not bother me back then, and it hasn’t bothered me since then either. Rod took care of it for me. Do you remember Rod?” asked John, trying to change the subject.
“That guy who wanted to be a lawyer? How is he?” asked Nancy.
“He is a successful lawyer, and he works in this city.” stated John, becoming happy that he had managed to change the conversation.
“That is good to know, John. I see what you did there. Trying to change the topic. Stop doing that, and just tell me, what is going on with you? If it is not your parents, what else is it? Did you have a break up with a new girl you may have met in this city?” she asked.
“It is not girl trouble, Nancy. Stop with all these thousand questions.” replied John. By now, Nancy had pushed her chair a little closer to John. John was aware of this, but he decided to do nothing about it.
“It’s not your parents, and definitely not your friends. It’s not girl trouble, and that leaves only one thing, something is wrong with your job. Looks like I should have been a detective. How about that?” asked Nancy. She was sitting right next to him now. John gave a huge sigh.
“What do you want me to say, Nancy? There are some problems with work, but it’s complicated. I don’t want to bore you with, well, boring details about my job.” said John.
“That’s what you think of me. I am not even your friend now, is that it? Is that what this is all about? I mean nothing to you. In fact, I think I may have made a mistake of trying to catch up with you. There was this guy at the conference who was totally coming on to me. I gave up on that to catch up with you. This is what I get in return. Thanks a lot, John!” There was anger in her eyes as she pushed her chair away from him. She stood up, nearly knocking over her water glass.