Harter Union: Part Eight, Chapters 4 & 5

Not much had changed in Baldwin since I left except it was expanding north, had a new school building and stoplight at Ames and Sixth Streets. Heather still lived in our old apartment like Wendy said and my old Jimmy sat in the parking lot, which explains why I never received money it. I parked and walked upstairs. I paused before knocking and ran my hand through my hair. I knocked and seconds later the lock unlatched and Heather opened the door, still as beautiful as ever.

“Oh my God! Jefferson?” she asked, her eyes lighting up along with her smile.

“Hey, babe,” I said, also smiling.

“Come in, come in. What are you doing here?”

“I moved back. Well, actually I live in Lawrence. Things didn’t really work out in New York,” I said as she ushered me over to the couch.

“Good. I’ve missed you and I always wondered why you never wrote me back.”

“I was extremely busy with work, my social life and my book,” I said.

“Oh, you’re writing a book?”

“Uh, no. I wrote a book. The Amazing Brayton Arnaz. It’s been out for a few months but it’s certainly no bestseller,” I said and realized how much I wanted to take her right here on the couch. “I would’ve actually stayed in New York but my fiancée cheated on me with my best friend so, for some reason, I came back here.”

“I’m glad you did,” Heather said putting her hand on my cheek. “I’ve missed you something awful.”

“I did, too…” I started to say but was interrupted by a baby crying in the back bedroom.

“I’m sorry,” Heather said getting up from the couch. “Joel is up.”

I got up from the couch and followed her into what used to be my room. “Joel? You have a son?”

“Yeah, he’s four months old,” Heather reached into the crib and brought up a cute little baby boy.

“So are you married or…” I asked.

“No, Joel is the product of a one-night stand and I don’t know who the father is. He keeps me up all night and working every day but I love him and that’s all that matters,” Heather said and cradled Joel in her arms as he quieted down.

“Joel. Huh,” I said. “That’s what I…”

“What you wanted to name your first son, I know,” Heather said. She stepped closer to me and looked up at me. “Do you want to hold him?”

“Yeah, sure. I guess,” Heather handed Joel to me and I very nervously and carefully cradled him. I looked down at him and smiled at Joel who tried reaching up at me. “Wow, this is kind of cool.”

“You look very natural holding him,” Heather said.

“Thanks, I think.” I replied, chuckling nervously.




“I need to get to bed,” Heather said. We had stayed up until almost one talking about what had happened in our lives. We put Joel to bed and I went to Lawrence and got some Chinese food.

“Yeah, I should get back to Lawrence. I was wondering if you’d do something with me tomorrow,” I said.

“Of course.”

“I need to go to Topeka tomorrow and I don’t want to go alone.”

“What are you going to do?” Heather asked.

“A couple things I really should’ve done a long time ago. I was thinking,” I quickly the subject, “if Joel is four months old, you would’ve had to be pregnant before I left Baldwin,” I said.

“I was. It was my own secret. No one even really noticed until I entered my final trimester. It was hard but it was worth it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“When I found out you had already made plans to leave and I didn’t want you to stay because of Joel.”

“I understand. Get some sleep. I’ll be here around noon to pick you up. We’ll make a day of going to Topeka,” I smiled.

“Yippee,” Heather joked. I walked to the door and unlocked it. “Wait! Since it’s late, you can stay here if you want.”

I looked at Heather and her sparkling eyes. “No, I need a change of clothes and I probably need to feed Shadow and I think it’ll be easier on both of us if I go home and we wait and see what’ll happen between us.”

“Since you left, I’ve stopped sleeping around and going out with Wanda which is why I had to quit Baker. You were all I wanted. I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize it.”

“It was my fault, too. Wasting my time with Maggie and Melissa when all I needed was right here,” I said. Heather began hugging me. From the bedroom, Joel started fussing and then crying.

Heather sighed angrily and pushed away from me. “Go. Maybe this was never meant to be. I’ll see you tomorrow, Jefferson.”

Heather went around the corner to the bedroom and I opened the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Heather.” I left the apartment and stood outside the door for a few second. “I love you, Heather,” I said softly. I slowly walked down the stairs and outside. I got in my car, started it and drove away.




Chapter Five
Heather, Joel and I were in my car heading to Topeka on Highway 75. “Again, thank you for coming along,” I said.

“No problem. Besides work and the grocery store, I don’t get out enough so this is like a Hawaiian vacation,” she smiled.

“We’re going to a cemetery. I probably should’ve told you that,” I chuckled. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Another twenty minutes passed and we entered the cemetery. We parked and got out. Heather carried Joel as we trudged through the rows of stones. We stopped at one and I kneeled down beside it.

“Who’s this?” Heather asked.

“My best friend, Randy. I haven’t been out here to see him since the funeral. Everything that’s happened in Baldwin and New York made me realize that I took his friendship for granted—took everyone’s friendship for granted—and I’m never going to do that again,” I reached over and touched the headstone. “I never got a chance to say I’m sorry, Randy,” I wiped away a tear and got up.

Heather took my arm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, there’s one more I need to visit. She’s over this way.” We walked through more rows and stopped.

“Here she is.”

“Who’s this?” Heather asked letting of my arm and shifting Joel to her other arm.

“My grandma. I’ve never been out to see her. One, because my family didn’t tell me, and two because I’m a horrible person,” I said.

“No, you’re not. You’ve been having a very busy life and I’m sure she understands,” Heather said as I kneeled down. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

I reached up and felt her fingers. “Hi, Grandma. I am so sorry that I never visited but I’m sure you’ve seen what’s gone on in my life,” I looked back at Heather and smiled. “This is Heather, my best friend and soul mate. She means a lot to me and I’m sure you would’ve loved her.”

“Do you want to be alone, Jefferson?” Heather asked, trying not to cry.

“Yeah, if you could come back in half an hour…” I gave Heather my car keys and stood up. “…I should be done here.”

“You take your time. I’m in no hurry. I’ll meet you down at the gate,” Heather kissed my cheek and started walking away. I turned back to my Grandma’s headstone and sat down cross-legged. Heather walked a few feet away from me, stopped and turned around. She smiled and a tear ran down her cheek. “Welcome home, Jeff,” she said and continued walking away.

The End

Harter Union: Part Eight, Chapter 3

Aaron, Wendy and I were sitting around a table in a coffee shop in Overland Park. “Sorry we couldn’t have dinner or anything Jeff,” Wendy apologized.

“Oh, no I understand. You’re all busy with work and that’s fine. I’m happy with my job at the moment and I’ll probably look more into jobs with writing if I ever want something new,” I said rubbing my thumb on the side of my Styrofoam cup.

“As long as you’re happy,” Wendy said.

“So what’s everybody been doing since I left?” I asked. “Like Kepler, Sam, Heather and Wanda.”

“Sam and Wanda still work at Baker; Kepler has actually become a professional bum and has been living in his parent’s basement for the last four months or so,” Aaron explained.

“Heather’s the big one,” Wendy began but she was interrupted by a curly-haired blond girl who looked in her early twenties.

She came up to the table very nervously and giggling. “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt,” she said.

“No, that’s perfectly all right,” I said.

“Are you Jeff Franklin?” she asked.

I glanced at Aaron and Wendy’s reaction and smiled. “Yes, I am.”

“You wrote this?” she showed a copy of my book and I looked at it and then back at Aaron and Wendy.

“Yes, I did. I hope you enjoyed it.”

“I’m still reading it but it’s wonderful. Could you do me a favor and sign my copy?” she sat the book down on the table and took a pen from her purse.

“Certainly. What’s your name?” I asked.

“Meghyn. M-e-g-h-y-n.”

I signed the book on the first page: To Meghyn – Thanx, Jeff Franklin and bordered it in a box shaped like Kansas. “There you go, Meghyn and thanks for stopping by.” Meghyn continued giggling and walked away.

“So what about Heather?” I asked toward Aaron and Wendy.

“What the hell was that?” Wendy shouted.

“A fan,” I smiled smugly.

“You wrote a book?” Aaron asked.

“Sure. Hasn’t everybody?” I shrugged.

“Jeff?” Wendy began sternly.

“Alright. Yes, I wrote a book, The Amazing Brayton Arnaz. I started writing it as soon as I arrived in New York. It was released a few months ago to good reviews after a five-city book tour and a five minute interview with Katie Couric on The Today Show,” I revealed.

“Katie Couric?” Aaron asked who a sound of skepticism.

I nodded with my smug smile. “Now what about Heather?”

“You really should see her for yourself but she is really trudging her way back up after hitting rock bottom,” Wendy said.

“What happened?” I asked with a worried look on my face.

“She should really tell you. She lives in the same apartment in Baldwin. She works at the Kwik Shop,” Wendy sighed.

“I’ll go see her sometime this week,” I said and drank the last of my coffee.

“I got to go,” Aaron said. “I have to catch a flight to Chicago early in the morning.”

“Ah, the life of an executive administrator,” I said. “Anyway, thank you guys for coming. It meant a lot to me. I’ve never told anyone this but after Randy died I never really had any friends but I still keep that photo of you two, and Heather and Kepler framed on my desk next to my New York friends. Thank you for being my friends even though I may not have been the best one.”

“You have been a perfect friend, Jeff and nothing can change our opinion of that,” Wendy said. “Except you should’ve told us that you wrote a book.”

“I’ll see you guys later. I’ll call you from Chicago, Jeff,” Aaron said and got up to leave.

“Okay, I’ll see you,” I watched Aaron walk off and looked back at Wendy. “All right, and now for my serious question,” I said ominously.

“I thought Heather was your serious question,” Wendy smiled.

“No. Do you know how Melissa is doing?”

Wendy’s eyes looked away from me and darted around at the various people in the shop. “For about a week, Melissa was all mopey and down but then she started working in a doctor’s office—just doing billing and things like that—and she began dating one of the doctor’s, they fell in love and married. He brings in the money and she spends it so you know that marriage won’t last but she says that’s what she wants,” Wendy revealed.

“If she would’ve stayed with me then she would have the same thing only love would be involved,” I mumbled.

“I honestly think you dodged a bullet with Melissa, Jeff. You are much too good for her,” Wendy said.

“Thanks.”

“Now for my serious question,” Wendy began. “Have you ever thought about us?”

“Yes…”

“And…?”

“Progression. See how it goes from there,” I smiled and took Wendy’s hand. She smiled and looked longingly at me.

Next:
Harter Union comes to an end as Jeff reunites with Heather.

Harter Union: Part Eight, Chapters 1 & 2

I slid the pizza into the oven and closed the door. I wiped my brow and exhaled. “All right,” I began speaking to Dan, “those three pizzas are in and you all should be able to handle it from here on in,” I wiped my brow again and went through the back door of the kitchen, through the storeroom and into my office. I sat down in my chair and leafed through all the pamphlets, brochures and order forms that King Pizza has done business with within its 32 years of existence.

I was the new manager of King Pizza, a local Lawrence restaurant that was owned by Jonathan Tierney. Jon wanted to retire after owning and managing King Pizza for all 32 years. I was the new manager and was instructed to run everything exactly like Jonathan Tierney did for 32 years.

I had been living in Lawrence for a month now but I never went out and did anything. I came to work in the morning, went home at night, lived off my King Pizza income and saved the modest income I got from my book. I would go home and write on my second book or watch television. I hadn’t tried to contact anyone from Baldwin and strangely, no one from New York had tried contacting me.

“Mr. Franklin?” a girl knocked on my wall.

I looked up and saw it was Alexis. “Please call me Jeff. How can I help you, Alexis?”

“I’m throwing a sort of party for my friends and was wondering if you’d like to go,” Alexis said, smiling sweetly at me.

“Oh, probably not. I don’t do well in those types of situations. I wouldn’t know anybody and I would probably just be a bring-down,” I admitted. “Besides, everybody there would be between the ages of 18 and 24 correct?”

Alexis shrugged and lazily nodded.

“I’m 32. You don’t want an old fogy like me ruining a party. I appreciate the invite and maybe next time.”

“All right but it’s going to be the shindig of the semester,” Alexis coaxed.

I smiled and watched her leave. I sat back in my chair and resumed shuffling through the mess.




I slowly climbed the stairs to my apartment. As I neared my floor, my neighbor Christine, left hers. “Hi, Jeff,” she said as we passed each other on the stairs.

“Hi, Christine,” I said happily. I turned my head and looked at her leaving. She was the one highlight in my life now. I actually looked forward to seeing her either coming or going. Beyond that, my life was very empty.

I entered my apartment and Shadow walked over to me. “Hello, Shappy,” I kneeled down and petted him. My apartment seemed bigger and lonelier tonight than any other night. I went to the kitchen and opened the freezer. I grabbed a bag of pizza rolls, dumped a bunch out onto a plate and shoved the plate into the microwave. I walked out of the kitchen, down a couple of step and into an unused room off to the side that had Shadow’s food, water and litter box in it. I poured him some hard food and plopped half a can of turkey and gravy cat food on a plate and Shadow began munching it down.

I went back into the kitchen and grabbed the cooked pizza rolls out of the microwave and headed toward the back bedrooms, past the guest bathroom and linen closets. My bedroom was the smaller room because what was supposed to be the master bedroom was now my office. My bedroom was small but offered all the comforts of a bed, dresser and cable TV. I unlocked the door to my office and walked in. I turned on the CD player and it started playing a Dave Matthews Band CD, which I all but forgotten about while I was in New York.

I went into the master bathroom, went to the bathroom, and put on some pajamas. I sat at my huge mahogany desk and turned on my computer. I pulled a red notebook from a drawer and began looking through the note I made for my next novel. I opened the computer file, scrolled to where I left off last and began typing.

Chapter Two
Every Sunday morning I would jog. I would park in the Visitor’s Center parking lot at the University of Kansas and jog down 15th Street from Iowa Street to Wakarusa Drive, an equivalent of two and a half miles, up and down steep hills and then after resting and stretching, I would either jog or walk back. Since being back in Lawrence, I had joined a gym and began working out. I hadn’t really lost any weight but I had gained some muscle tone.

The rest of Sunday was filled with shopping, going to Wal-Mart or the grocery store. It had been a routine for nearly two months and I hadn’t wavered from it at all. I was totally lazy for the entire weekend except for my Sunday errands.

I was walking through Target slowly and just at everything on the shelves. I wasn’t really paying attention to anything but heard a voice behind me, “Jeff?”

I stopped and turned around. It was Alyson wearing a red shirt and khaki pants with a Target nametag. “Alyson?”

“What are you doing back here? I thought you were in New York,” she said running up and hugging me.

“I was. I decided to come back,” I loosely hugged her and then backed away from her.

“Couldn’t handle the rush of the big city?” she laughed.

“No, nothing like that. New York just didn’t suit me,” I smiled.

“Have you told anyone else from Baker that you’re back?”

“No, none of them work at Baker and I just don’t want to randomly appear at their house so…”

“Well, Wendy,” interrupted Alyson, “is head chef for a restaurant in Overland Park, the Golden Truffle, so she’s doing well. Nathan knocked up some girl and they got married. They live in Ottawa now.”

“What about Aaron, Heather or Katie?” I asked.

“I wasn’t very close with them so I really don’t care. Oh, and Jason was arrested in St. Louis for breaking and entering and is serving six months in a prison near there.”

“Nice. I always figured he’d end up in jail sooner or later,” I sighed. “So you work here? I figured you would’ve moved up to something else like office secretary or something with customer service.”

“No, I chose the glamorous life of stock person,” Alyson smiled.

“So do you live in Lawrence? Are you seeing anyone?” I asked, now wondering why I’m keeping this conversation going.

“I live off of Sixth Street with my boyfriend, Chandler.”

“Chandler?” I questioned. “Like the Friends character, Chandler?” I was trying not the laugh.

“Yes,” Alyson said very seriously.

“I honestly don’t believe I have ever heard of anyone actually named Chandler outside of that television reference,” I said.

“Well, it was great seeing you Jeff. We should get together sometime. I have to get back to work.”

“You should. I’ll see you around,” I smiled at her, enjoying a little too much that I possibly insulted her. We both turned around and I rolled my eyes as I quickly pushed the cart out of the aisle and around the corner.




Only Aaron and Wendy had their names listed in a phone book. Aaron lived in Bonner Springs and Wendy lived in Lenexa. I sat in my office at home with their phone numbers in front of me contemplating whether or not to call them. As I opened my phone to dial, it suddenly rang. I looked at the ID and answered. “Hi, Kate!” I said ecstatically.

“Hey-hey, Kansas! How are things back home?” she said loudly.

“You don’t need to shout. We’re not talking on tin cans,” I laughed. “It’s all good. I still love it here. I have a crappy job at a pizza place but I still make good residuals off my book so I’m doing good.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I had my foot surgery so that’s one reason I haven’t called yet,” Kate said with a smile over the phone.

“Well, that sounds like fun. How are you doing?”

“Great. I’m going back to work tomorrow but I’m still limping around.”

“That’s good. How’s everyone doing?”

“Oh, everyone is great. Dustin and Annie have moved into an apartment in SoHo and they are acting like a newlywed couple.”

“Sweet. I’m sorry I’m missing that.”

“I’m sorry I’m not,” she chuckled, which made me smile bigger. “Dustin is so cute with his son and Annie is working as a sales rep for a comic book company.”

“A comic book company? Damn, I should’ve stayed with her,” I joked.

“Everyone said they would call you later this week but I have to go and try to play catch up with my student’s lesson plan,” Kate scowled over the phone.

“Well, I’m home between ten at night and ten in the morning so they can call anytime during that time,” I said.

“I’ll let them know,” said Kate.

“I have a problem,” I began. “There are a couple of people I used to work with at Baker and I want to call them but I’m not sure how to go about it.”

“You press the numbers on your phone and press ‘send’.”

“I hate you. No, Kate, you know what I mean.”

“Call them and say that you are back in Kansas and want to catch up. If they were good friends they will be happy to see you and get together,” Kate explained.

“You always know the right thing to say,” I said. “I have to go make some phone calls and do some writing so I’ll talk to you later.”

“All right, Kansas. Good-bye,” Kate said with a hint of singsong voice.

“Good-bye, Kate.”

“I miss you, Jeff,” Kate said suddenly.

“I miss you, too,” I replied. My phone clicked and the line went dead. I wiped the screen on my pants leg and got a confused look on my face. “She called me Jeff.”

Next:
Jeff reunites with Wendy and Aaron and tries to learn what happened to Heather.

Harter Union: Part Seven, Chaper 9

Movers were carrying out my boxes and furniture as Kate and I looked on. “So you’re having all your furniture and stuff trucked halfway across the county?” she asked.

“Yeah. I got everything all set up. I have an apartment ready for me in Lawrence, several job interviews so I should be all set. I didn’t think I would get all this done in a week but here I am,” I smiled at Kate who looked at me disappointed. “What?”

“I still don’t want you to go,” she said softly.

“I have to because trucking my stuff halfway across the county is expensive and I can’t get that money back now. Nor the money I used to rent the apartment in Lawrence,” I laughed. “Besides, there are people in Kansas that I really want to catch up with.”

“Old girlfriends and such?”

“They were girls and friends but never, unfortunately, at the same time,” I sighed.

As one of the movers took the bedroom nightstand out of the front door, Annie came in and stood completely still. “Hello, Jeff,” she said.

“Kitten,” I replied without hesitation.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Kate patted me on the back and headed out the front door. Annie said ‘hello’ but Kate said nothing.

“I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here?” Annie asked.

“Not really,” I said.

“I heard you were leaving tomorrow and I didn’t want you to go without returning this,” Annie pulled her engagement ring out of her pants pocket and held it out in front of me.

“I’m not taking that,” I said pushing her hand away. “It’s yours. Keep it. Do what you wish to it.”

“No, I can’t I…” she placed it back on her finger, looked at it and smiled. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you are. So are you and Dustin still seeing each other?” I asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“No, we decided that no one would ever accept our relationship so we ended it almost as quickly as it happened. I’m looking for my own apartment but I’m still living with Amber right now,” Annie said. “Dustin’s sorry, too.”

“I know. Maybe doing all this was a bit hasty but I lost my job and trust in my fiancée all in the same day. Within hours of each other. That would drive anyone off the deep end,” I chuckled and pushed aside a box of stuff on the counter to make more room for me to actually sit on the counter.

“No hard feelings?” Annie asked with a bit of uneasiness.

“No. I’m gonna miss you. Tell Dustin I’ll miss him and congratulations on earning full custody of his son. I’m keeping my cell number so call me. Have a good life,” I said.

“You, too,” Annie headed for the door but stopped and turned around. “I love you, Jeff.”

“I love you, too, Kitten--Annie,” I answered. She disappeared behind the front door and was gone. I pulled a picture frame out of the box and looked at it. It was a photo of me, Annie, Dustin, Kate, Shani and Amber sitting in a booth at Sardie’s. I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and forefinger and carefully placed the picture back in the box.

Next:
The final part begins as we learn about Jeff's new life in Lawrence, Kansas. Also, Jeff reunites with Alyson and learns what happened with some of the Baker staff.

Harter Union: Part Seven, Chapter 8

“Yes, sir. I’ll be landing at La Guardia in twenty minutes. It’ll be about an hour before I can get back to the office,” I said talking to my boss on my phone. “My car is waiting at the airport so give me an hour and a half to get there and then we can discuss this problem,” I hung up, sighed and began looking out the window.




When I got to work, I quickly parked my car and ran upstairs. I entered my boss’ office where he was sitting behind his desk. I uneasily sat down in a chair as he cleared his throat. “Jeff, you are quite possibly the best editor we have here at Manhattan-Rooks,” he began.

“Thank you, sir,” I replied not really liking where this conversation was heading.

“And that is what makes what happened even more astonishing,” he said gruffly.

“What do you mean?” I asked nervously.

He tossed a copy of the new Hemenway novel that I edited on his desk. “Page 453, the highlighted portion.”

I took the book and opened it to 453 and read the entire page, stopping after I finished the selected portion. “Oh my God,” I said quietly.

“1.5 million copies went out and 200,000 will be returned to us for destruction, we are asking for a recall of the remaining 1.3 million but in any case, we are losing money. Mr. Hemenway has started legal proceedings for lost wages and has terminated his contract. We have also had seven church groups attack us for your one little mistake.”

“That’s…pretty bad,” I said with my hand covering my mouth, still looking at the mistake.

“Bad doesn’t cut it. We have consulted with our lawyers and decided we need to take action to ensure that this never happens again.”

“What? It’s one mistake. It can be fixed. We’ve made mistakes before and always pulled through.”

“Those mistakes didn’t cost us a multi-billion dollar contract deal!” he slammed his fist down on the desk but quickly regained his composure. “I’m sorry, Jeff but I’m gonna have to let you go.”

“You’re firing me? Over a comma?”

“A multi-billion dollar comma,” he said gruffly.




I arrived home and sat my box of personal items from work in a chair. “Annie?” It was completely quiet except for a rustling in the bedroom. I smiled and quietly went to the bedroom door and quickly threw it open and saw Dustin on top of Annie naked in my bed. The door hit the wall which startled them and caused them both to look in my direction.

“Jeff!” Annie shrieked, kicking and pushing Dustin off of her and onto the floor. “What are you doing home?”

“My book tour ended. I thought you would remember that but I see you’re busy doing something else. Or someone else,” I said.

Annie got out of bed with a blanket wrapped around her and came toward me. “Jeff, I can explain everything…” she began.

I glanced over at Dustin who was pulling on his jeans. “You know, I don’t want to hear about this. I don’t care. I am getting sick and tired of… No, I’m not going to stay in this apartment another minute until the both of you are gone! If anyone needs me, I’ll be out contemplating suicide,” I headed toward the front door with little Shadow bounding after me. He didn’t catch up and I slammed the door.




It was almost midnight and I had been sitting on the same bench in Battery Park for most of the evening. Kate walked up and sat down next to me. “She’s beautiful ain’t she?” she asked referring to the Statue of Liberty. I grunted in compliance. “Annie has taken some of her stuff and has moved in with Amber,” Kate said.

“Does this mean it’s over?” I asked.

“That’s between you and Annie, Kansas.”

“I’m going to move back to Kansas,” I said, seemingly out of the blue.

“What are you talking about? You have a life here. You can’t just pack it all up and leave,” Kate said. She noticed my seriousness and softly put her hand on my leg. “What brought on this decision?” she asked.

“In one day, I got fired from a job I loved and caught my fiancée in bed with my best friend. It’s been a bad day,” I said.

“I didn’t know you got fired,” Kate admitted. “Look, I’m sorry but maybe this was a sign that things need to change. One of my students drew this picture and it reminded me of us,” Kate pulled out a folded sheet of notebook paper from her pocket and showed it to me.

I took it from her and looked at it in the moonlight and the dim streetlights. “This is supposed to be us?” I asked. Kate nodded. “Well, this is extremely cute but I thought we came to the conclusion that we would make better friends?”

“I know but I’ve been thinking that maybe we were wrong,” Kate said looking at me with her light green eyes. I could smell the fruit-scented shampoo she used and sighed.

“No,” I shook my head. “I’m going back to Kansas."

Kate moved in close and hugged me. She rested her head on my arm and we looked out over the bay. “I’m gonna miss you,” she said softly.

Next:
Jeff and Annie say good-bye.

Harter Union: Part Seven, Chapters 5-7

“Dustin, what the hell are you doing here?” Annie asked to an inebriated Dustin leaning against the door frame at 3:30 in the morning. “Are you drunk?”

“She’s ruining my life and I wanted to talk to somebody,” he said drunkenly.

“What are you talking about?” asked Annie grabbing his arm and pulling him into the apartment. “What’s Beth doing now?”

The two sat on the couch and Dustin explained. “I hired that lawyer just like Jeff suggested and he put a temporary restriction on where she could go: New Jersey and New York. Well, now we’ve started an actual custody battle and it was going pretty good for me until she said…” Dustin started to cry and Annie tried her best to comfort him. “She said I’m molesting him.”

“What? How can she do that? She knows that you are a model father.”

“So we’re now going to have a hearing to judge my character but that could take forever and in the meantime, I don’t get to see my son,” Dustin began crying harder and laid his head on Annie’s shoulder while she cradled him. “The hearing starts Monday so will you come with me?”

“Of course. You can count on me to be a character witness or whatever you need to help get you through this,” Annie said. She raised Dustin’s head with her hands and carefully wiped the tear streaks from his face. They looked into each other’s eyes; Dustin took Annie’s face into his hands and kissed her. Annie kissed back.




Chapter Six
Kate was sitting behind her desk in her classroom during free-study period and reading my book. A little girl walked up to the desk. “Miss Haskell?”

Kate closed the book but held her place with her thumb. “Yes, Sarah?”

“I know him,” Sarah said pointing at the book. Kate looked at the back cover of the book with my picture on it. “He’s been in here before.”

“Yes he has, Sarah.”

“Is he your boyfriend?” Sarah asked with an innocent giggle in her voice.

“No, he’s just a really good friend,” Kate smiled.

“Oh. Well, I drew this picture for you anyway,” Sarah laid a piece of notebook paper on Kate’s desk. It was a drawing in crayon of Kate and me holding hands in front of a red and pink heart.

“Well, this is very nice, Sarah. But why did you draw a picture of me and Mr. Franklin?”

“You two look good together,” Sarah replied.

“Oh, well, thank you, Sarah. I’ll treasure it forever,” Kate said folding the paper and slipping it into the book.




Annie and Dustin were driving back to the city. “Thank you for coming with me. We really made headway to getting a quick hearing. Too bad I can’t see my son,” Dustin said.

“It’ll all work out in the end, you just have to wait it out,” Annie moved her hand onto Dustin’s leg. “You’ll see.”

“I never knew one girl could be so evil,” Dustin said shaking his head. “No wonder I don’t date anymore.”

“Not all of us are bad. You need to give us more of a chance. Do you want to come upstairs and I can fix us some dinner,” Annie offered. “I’m a little lonely without Jeff here.”

“Sure, that sounds nice,” Dustin smiled.




Chapter Seven
“You know,” began Shani biting into an Egg McMuffin, “we should probably invite Annie to join us for breakfast. She might be kind of lonely since Jeff isn’t home. Plus, she is right down the street.”

“I’ll give her a ring; see if she’s up…” Kate took out her cell phone and called the apartment phone which rang in both the kitchen and bedroom.

Annie reached over in bed and picked up receiver. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Kate. Did I awake you?”

“Yeah, but I should be getting up anyway. What’s going on?” Annie asked groggily.

“We’re all at McDonald’s eating breakfast. Wanna come?”

“No thanks. I’m not really hungry. Maybe some other time.”

“All right, Annie. We’ll see you later,” Kate hung up her phone and put it away. Annie hung up the phone in the apartment, rolled over onto her side and looked at Dustin lying in bed next to her. She pulled the covers back up over her, wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes.




“I love you, too,” Annie said to me over and slowly hung up the receiver. Amber came in right after.

“Was that Jeff?” Amber tittered.

“Yes,” Annie smiled uneasily.

“This is, what, day five of his tour? Where is he?” Amber asked.

“He’s laid-over in Las Vegas for today so he’s out gambling. He’s won $700. He’ll arrive in San Francisco early tomorrow,” Annie said softly and disenchanted.

“What’s the matter? You don’t seem happy to hear from him.”

“I guess I’m just a little lonely for him, Amber.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

“Can I talk to you?” Annie asked.

“Of course.”

“Come in and shut the door,” Annie pushed her work off to the side as Amber shut the door and sat down. “You’ve been in love, right Amber?”

“Of course. Obviously it didn’t work out but I have been in love once or twice,” Amber chuckled.

“Have you ever been in love with two people at the same time?” Annie asked.

“Well, I don’t like where this is going. Jeff’s only been gone five days and you have already fallen in love with someone else?” Amber shook her head.

“I still love Jeff but there’s someone else,” Annie said starting to tap a pen on her desk.

“Who is he? Does he work here?”

“Amber, please. I’m confused. What should I do?” Annie begged.

“Well, what has happened between you two? A date? A hug? A kiss?”

“I slept with him,” Annie said shamefully.

“Oh, Annie,” Amber stood up and headed for the door. “I can’t help you with this. You’re gonna have to figure this out yourself. Do you want to stay with the man who you love and who adores you, or do you want to throw that away for something that may be lust?”

“I don’t want to lose Jeff but I don’t want to hurt Dustin either. Aw, crap!” Annie hand quickly covered her face.

“Dustin? Oh my God you are playing with fire. Look, I wash my hands of this. Both are wonderful guys but only one gave you that ring,” Amber left the office and Annie took off her gold engagement band and looked at the inscription: To My Kitten~Everlasting Love.

Kate watched lazily as an airplane flew overhead during recess. She immediately thought of me and sighed. She looked back at the playground and her class. She smiled seeing the young children run and climb. She looked back up at the sky but the airplane was gone.

Next:
Jeff makes a mistake at work then catches Annie and Dustin together.

Harter Union: Part Seven, Chapter 4

Annie and I continuously hugged in the terminal of JFK airport as Dustin, Amber and Kate looked on. “I have to go, love. I’ll call you as soon as I arrive in Miami,” I said, then kissed Annie on the nose. “You three take care of her, all right?”

Dustin shook my hand, “Congratulations, buddy. I know how long you’ve wanted this.”

“I’ll take care of Annie, Jeff. You have a good time on your tour,” Amber hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“I honestly never thought it would come to this, Kansas. I never thought you would actually get a book published but seriously, what do you have to say that’s important?”

“I love you, too, Kate,” I smiled. “I got to go, guys. I’ll see you all in two weeks,” I grabbed my carry-on luggage, hugged and kissed Annie one last time and dashed down the corridor while everyone shouted congratulations at me. I looked back, waved and smiled.




Dustin and Amber walked through the hallways of Manhattan-Rooks briskly while he held a cup of coffee and she held a bottle of fruit smoothie. “So you’re finally going to court over this?” she asked.

“Yeah, I have to drive down to Jersey for it but hopefully by the end of today, all this will be over,” Dustin and Amber stopped in front of his office. “I’m gonna ask for full custody and try to force the state to make her get a job.”

“Well, good luck and I hope everything works out for you. I have a meeting in fifteen minutes so I’ll see you this weekend maybe,” Amber walked quickly down the hall and disappeared around a corner.

Dustin sat down at his desk and began reading through a manuscript that was lying on a stack of papers.




Annie, Shani and Kate sat outside a coffeehouse on Bleecker Street. “We need to do this more often,” Annie said setting down her cup.

“If those damned men wouldn’t come along then it would be fine but they’d come along a like every other man, they would ruin it,” Shani said.

“A little bitter about something?” Annie snickered.

“She’s just saying that she doesn’t need a man to make her happy. Right, Shani?” Kate asked.

“Well, I don’t need a man in my life but it seems more fulfilled that I’m making Jeff happy and that I know someone loves me with all their heart,” Annie said.

“Aww,” the other two girls said in unison.

“So how’s the third grade, Kate?” Shani asked.

“I’m still alive. I’m having them draw their favorite person or activity and then having them write a paper on it. I love making them write stories or reports.”

“I think there’s a time in everyone’s life when they want to be a teacher. Mine was actually in high school because of Mrs. Parker. She was the one who encouraged me to be a writer and look where I am now,” Annie said.

“You’re a promotions executive for a publisher. Your job has absolutely nothing to do with actual writing. Your fiancée does that,” Kate pointed out.

“Well, then I can live vicariously through him,” Annie smiled. “The point wasn’t me being a writer, it was being a teacher.”

“And you didn’t do that either so shut up,” Kate said.

“Now I know why we don’t do this very often!” Annie yelled, tossing down a crumpled napkin.




“She kicked me out of our child’s life for the entire pregnancy and the first ten months of his life. I offered to help but she refused my help, refused to add my name to the birth certificate and when she finally realized that babies cost money, she sued me for back child support and still refused to let me see my son,” argued Dustin to the judge at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold, New Jersey. “I’m paying my dues and I more than deserve a fair share of seeing our son.”

“Miss McFarland, do you have anything to say?” asked the judge.

Beth stood up at the podium and began speaking. “I have given Mr. Randall, Dustin, plenty of chances to see his son,” she began. Dustin tried to control his reaction and looked back at his lawyer, Charles Sperber. “The few times I have let Mike go to his father’s house, he comes back with bruises or scratches all over…”

“He’s a boy! Of course he’s going to have bumps and bruises!” Dustin shouted.

“And,” Beth said forcibly, “when Michael came back from his last visit, he said that Daddy touched him. In a private spot.”

Dustin gasped and began shouting. “That is a blatant lie! She is lying!”

“Order! Order, Mr. Randall. In light of these new allegations and developments, we will adjourn for today and reconvene Monday morning at ten,” the judge banged his gavel and Dustin lowered his head to the table.

“She's lying…” mumbled Dustin.

Next:
Kate reveals feelings for Jeff as Dustin goes to Annie for comfort.

Harter Union: Part Seven, Chapter 3

Annie was over at Dustin’s apartment getting things ready. “Thanks for letting me keep him here. I saw it and I had to get it for Jeff because he has wanted one for so long.”

“Sure Annie. It was fun. It was a pleasure having him,” Dustin handed a small gray and white kitten to Annie. “Jeff isn’t going to hit us or anything for celebrating his birthday is he?”

“Well, I can’t make any promises…” Annie smiled at Dustin. “How’s Michael doing?”

“He’s fine. I got that lawyer that Jeff referred me to and he was able to keep her in Jersey and we’re having a hearing over all this soon so everything should be worked out within a month.,” Dustin explained.

“That’s good. I’m sorry you have to go through all this because of a one-night stand,” Annie softly touched Dustin’s arm.

“It could be worse but this experience has made me more cautious about dating pretty much any other girl,” Dustin said.

“You haven’t dated any other girls since Mike was born. You can’t blame all other girls because of one evil one,” Annie said.

“I’m just looking for a good one and if that means decades of unbearable loneliness I am willing to go through that,” Dustin chuckled. “Besides, all girls I find perfect are either taken or don’t want to date me.”

“Like who?”

“You’re engaged and Kate won’t date me,” revealed Dustin.

“Well, maybe if you would’ve told me before you coerced me to go out with Jeff; we could’ve had a chance. And Kate’s kind of a fruitcake so I think you dodged a bullet with that one,” Annie laughed which made Dustin smile. “You’ll find the right girl, Dustin. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, I can’t even promise that it’ll be this year but you have a good job, good friends and a beautiful son and you don’t need a girl to come along and possibly screw that up,” Annie hugged Dustin and opened the apartment door.

“I’ll see you at Sardie’s,” smiled Dustin.




We all sat at a table in Sardie’s and I had just found out that this was also a birthday celebration. “You all keep in mind that I am against this 100 percent,” I said and downed the rest of my glass of wine. “And now I hate you all.”

“Says the person who polished off a bottle of wine and ordered the most expensive thing on the menu,” Dustin said.

“I said that I’m against the evening, not against you all paying for this,” I laughed and hugged Annie.

“Okay, it’s presents time,” exclaimed Kate. “Here you go, Kansas. Open mine first.”

Kate handed me a wrapped box that was a little heavy. I tore it open and saw it was a CD player and radio that could be installed on the underside of a shelf.

“Thank you, Kate. I’ve always wanted one for my office. Thanks.”

“Here Jeff, Shani and I went halfsies on this,” Dustin passed a huge box to me. I opened the box to reveal tennis equipment; a tennis racket, tube of balls, wristbands, a headband and a visor. “Now you can stop whining about not playing tennis.”

“Thank you, guys,” I said.

“I’m gonna go out to my car and get your present. I’ll be right back,” Amber got up, crossed the restaurant and exited through the door.

“Kansas, I’ve always wondered, what happened to your hand?” asked Kate, referring to my scarred left hand. I quickly debated whether to make something up or tell the truth.

“When I was working at Baker a rack of dishes got lodged in the dish machine, I succeeded in pulling it out but ended up scarring my hand in the process.”
Amber came back in and handed me a good-sized box. “Sorry, I wasn’t able to wrap it.”

I opened the box and looked inside. It was hardbound editions of Lord of the Flies, Lolita, The Grapes of Wrath and Catcher in the Rye. “What are these?”

“Those are original first editions of those books. You can get anything off eBay,” Amber said. “Annie chipped in a little but she got you another present.”

“And that’s at home,” Annie said. “So I’ll give it to you later.”

“Whooo-ooo!” exclaimed Shani and Dustin.




Annie and I arrived home and I was completely exhausted. We both collapsed on the couch and I forcibly removed my shoes and socks. “Tonight was wonderful but I’m glad it’s over,” I sighed.

“You still need to open my gift,” Annie said.

“Oh yeah. Where is it?” I asked.

“In the bedroom. Close your eyes and I’ll go get it,” Annie got off the couch and I obediently closed my eyes and waited for Annie to return. I heard her rustle around in the bedroom and come back out. “You can open your eyes now.”
I opened my eyes to the cutest, little chubby gray and white kitten I had ever seen. He was struggling to get out of Annie’s grip and looked at me with his big green and orange eyes. “Aww,” I said taking the kitten from Annie and holding him close.

“This girl was giving them away and this one reminded me of you,” Annie sat down next to me and petted the kitten. “So what are you going to name him?”

“Shadow,” I answered as the cat began clawing at me to be let go.

“Well welcome home Shadow. I’m sure you’ll love it here,” Annie petted Shadow a couple more times and then I let him go. He jumped on top of the couch and crouched in fear with his nose moving quickly to pick up the unfamiliar smells of the apartment.

Next:
Jeff leaves on his tour and Dustin's court appearance goes badly.

Harter Union: Part Seven, Chapter 2

“Tuesdays With Morrie by way of Stephen King,” shouted my publisher Anthony Clampitt, who was pacing in front of the bay window that looked out over the Hudson River. “It’s a slow starter but we’re planning on this to be huge. We’re having ads and promos made up and we’ve gotten you an interview on The Today Show.”

“Matt or Katie?”

“We’re not sure yet,” Anthony came around to the front of the desk and sat on the edge, clasping his hands. “We do know that after the interview you are going on a five-city book tour to promote it.”

“What? My very own tour?”

Anthony nodded.

“Oh my God! What cities am I going to?” I asked.

“Boston, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago.”

“When is the book being released?”

“On Tuesday in two weeks. We’ve sent it to an editor to look it over and it should be going to the printer by the end of the week,” Anthony said. “And tomorrow, we’ve got someone stopping by for a picture and short biography for the cover.”

“Eee, the cover,” I squealed. I stood up and shook Anthony’s hand. “Thank you. This has really been great.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow so you can know when to expect the photographers and I’ll have an update on the interview,” Anthony clapped me on the back as I left his office and headed for my car.




“Thanks for picking me up, Amber. The doctor has me doped up on some narcotic and I’m unable to drive,” Kate said as she passed Amber her car keys.

“What’s wrong with your foot?” she asked.

“Something’s not right in there and they will probably have to operate. But let’s talk about something better; what are we going to do about Kansas’ birthday?”

“Don’t you remember? Jeff doesn’t celebrate his birthday,” Amber corrected. Kate and Amber got into her car with Amber driving. “Last time we celebrated his birthday, he yelled at me and you don’t yell at Amber.”

“What did we tell you about talking in the third person? Not very cool,” Kate waved her hand at Amber. “This is a big birthday for him. Haven’t you heard? He finished his book and it’s just weeks away from being published.”

“Then that’s what we should celebrate, not something that he refuses to acknowledge.”

“He refuses to acknowledge it because he’s never had a good one but this year will be different because he has good friends, a fiancée, and a published novel. What’s not to celebrate? We’ll just throw in the fact that he’s turning 33.”

“We’ll discuss it with Annie but if he yells at me, I’m gonna injure your other foot,” Amber said.




Dustin tossed his brown paper lunch bag in front of me and sat down. “I have a dilemma,” he began. “I’m editing this book and there’s this scene that is completely worthless but it’s used to help distinguish character personality so I’m not sure how to edit it out.”

“Would it affect the story if it was taken out?” I asked.

“I’m not sure but I made a note to go back and look it over but as of right now, it’s a completely horrible scene in an overall good story.”

“I’m gonna be on The Today Show,” I blurted out.

“What?” Dustin asked with a bite of sandwich in his mouth.

“Plus I get a five-city tour.”

“Back up. Not Good Morning, America but The Today Show?”

“Katie and Matt, Al and Ann, first on your TV,” I sang.

“And this is for the book you wrote?”

“No for a new diet ritual I created. Yes, for my book!”

“Have you told Annie?”

“Not yet. She’s coming home late so I have a romantic dinner planned and when I bring out the dessert, that’s when I tell her.”

“You are too damn romantic,” Dustin said.

“How could such a jerk be so romantic?” I laughed. “Seriously, though, I want to celebrate my book this weekend so we’re all going to Sardie’s and party.”

“All right, I’ll call everybody and let them know.”

“I have to go speak to the boss about my time off,” I got up and left the cafeteria.
Dustin pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “Hello, Kate? I was just talking to Jeff and he wants to celebrate his book this weekend at Sardie’s so we’re not only doing that but we’re also celebrating his birthday. Pass it around.”

Next:
Jeff's birthday.

Harter Union: Part Seven, Chapter 1

After six months in New York, I awoke in my spacious Manhattan apartment to the smell of Hazelnut Mocha Roast emanating from the kitchen. I slowly got up and followed the smell with my eyes still closed. I came up behind a five-foot eight redhead with long hair, glasses and wearing a light blue robe. I wrapped my arms around her, grabbing my ‘I &hearts NY’ mug in my left hand and hugging her with my right. “You know, I never used to drink coffee until you moved in,” I kissed her on the neck then took a sip of the coffee. “Perfect, as usual,” I sat down at the small table in the kitchen which we affectionately called the breakfast nook.

“Did you get a good night sleep?” she asked.

“As always. You already take a shower?”

“Yeah, I used that shampoo you like. The freesia.”

“That’s what I imagine heaven smells like,” I took another sip. “What’s on the agenda today?”

“Well, the team and I are putting the finishing touches on the promos for the new Anthony Conrad mystery and then I need to drive it out to Quogue, Long Island for Mr. Conrad to approve it.”

“I’m sorry. I have to proofread the new Clark Hemenway novel. Rumor has it that this’ll be his best one.” She sat down across from me with her cup of coffee. “Oh, I also need to meet with my publisher to go over my book’s deadline.”

“You need to extend it?”

“No, I actually finished it last night,” I smiled at her.

She squealed, stood up and hugged me around the neck. “You’ve been working on that book since before I met you. I’m so proud of you!” she hugged me tighter. “When’s your appointment?”

“Three.”

“I need to be in Quogue by two so hopefully I’ll be back by eight and we can order some Chinese and you can let me read it.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I polished off my cup of coffee and stood up. I leaned down and kissed her. “I’m gonna go take a shower.”




The redhead in my kitchen was Annie Tescott, my fiancée for three months. We met through mutual friends, fell in love fast and got engaged. We moved in together immediately and have been inseparable ever since.

We both worked at Manhattan-Rooks, Annie worked in advertising and she was nothing like any girl I ever dated and I was torn between asking her out or not. She was originally from Sault Saint Marie, Michigan and had a hint of a Canadian accent that was extremely cute. My best friend, Dustin Randall was friends with Annie and her best friend Amber Selkirk and they devised a plan to get us to meet: a huge dinner date at Sardie’s, which soon became our favorite restaurant.

Working at Baker helped me be more outgoing even though most of my conversations ended up in the gutter. I never told anyone about Maggie, Heather, or Melissa because I didn’t want sympathy for them. I never replied to any of the two letters Heather wrote me because I wanted to move on with my new life.

I loved my new friends and thought they were all unique. Shani Greeley was a very intelligent and very beautiful young black woman who worked for a multi-national corporation as a Deputy CFO and she was also a columnist for New York magazine. Dustin, my best friend, worked in the same department as me and had a four-year-old son, Michael, with an ex-girlfriend who lived in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. He hardly got to see his son because his ex, Beth McFarland, would always come up with some excuse why Michael couldn’t visit but Dustin was too nice and timid to sic a lawyer on her. Amber was an editorial consultant for Manhattan-Rooks, had four books of poetry published and a book of short stories. She’s also a contributor to the New Yorker and helped me meet my publisher and get my book published. Kate Haskell was my favorite of everyone. She was a third-grade schoolteacher who used to work at Manhattan-Rooks. She was my boss for the first month until she became a teacher. She never called me by my name, only by ‘Kansas.’




I was pacing in front of our big bay window as Annie sat on the couch, sipping a beer, eating Oreos and reading my book. “Aren’t you done yet?” I asked with nervous impatience.

“Of course not, dear. You asked me to read a 300 page book in one evening. It’s going to take awhile.”

“Gaar! I can’t stand the suspense!” I said, aggravated.

“Then sit down, Jeff honey. Why don’t you walk to Lio’s and get us some Chinese? When you come back, I’ll be further in the book, we can have dinner and then I can continue reading.”

“Nnn…I guess. I’ll be back in a little bit,” I left the apartment and Annie alone with my book. I came out onto Mercer Street near West Houston. As I got onto Houston Street my cell phone rang--Beethoven’s ‘Fur Elise’. I looked at the screen, it was Dustin. “Hello?”

“She’s doing it again!” he exclaimed.

“Again? Where’s she moving to this time?”

“California.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Every month or so, Dustin’s ex would call him and threaten to move to another state and every time the state would get further away. “Okay, Dustin, this has got to stop. I’m gonna text you the number of this lawyer, Charles Sperber; he’s licensed in New York and New Jersey. He’s expensive but he’s one of the best family law attorneys around. He can at least get a court order to keep her in Jersey because women should not be this evil.”

“Okay, thanks Jeff. And congratulations on your book.”

“Thanks, Dustin,” he hung up and I text messaged the number to him and slipped the phone back into my pocket. I arrived at Lio’s and walked in.

“Aah, Jefferson Franklin! How are you and the wife?” asked the short Chinese man known only as Mr. Lio.

“She’s not my wife yet, Mr. Lio.”

“You need to reel her in, Jefferson Franklin. There's nothing like a good woman to stand behind a good man. Know what I mean?” Mr. Lio’s wide smile and wink made me smile as I pulled out my wallet. “What can I get you, Jefferson Franklin?”

“The usual, Mr. Lio,” I smiled.




When I arrived back home, Annie had dimmed the lights and set up candles on the dining room table and other places around the apartment. Soft classical music played on the stereo and the smell of freesia wafted through the room. Annie came from the bedroom, stood in the doorway and looked at me. “Welcome home,” she said dressed in a strapless blue gown with her hair up.

“You haven’t been reading have you?” I asked.

“I finished hours ago,” she said slowly walking toward me.

I sat the food down on the dinner table and took Annie in my arms. “You did? And you just let me dangle and worry? That’s not very nice,” I kissed her. “So what did you think about it?”

“Funny, scary, heartfelt and wonderful. I loved it. You have a bright future as an author. Congratulations,” Annie leaned up and we kissed in the glow of the candlelight.

Next:
Jeff's friends plan out his birthday and Jeff prepares for his book's publication.

Harter Union: Part Six, Chapters 6 & 7

Aaron, Nathan, Heather, Wendy, and Kepler came into the Union and stood in the doorway of my office. I had been trying to get some work done before my last day and I hadn’t been home since Melissa rejected my proposal and that was two days ago.

“You have to go home sometime,” Nathan said.

“Only to pack up my stuff. I have to get this work done anyway because you can’t trust Sam with anything because he…”

“Is the best replacement for you. Go home, Jefferson,” said Heather.

“I can’t Heather. If I see her face, I’ll want to kiss it and beg it to take me back,” I said putting away my papers and writing utensils. “You guys obviously didn’t come down here just to try to get me to go home so what’s up?”

“We’re gonna miss you, Bosco,” Kepler blurted out. Everyone looked at him. I stood up and walked over to the group. I hugged Heather and clapped Kepler on the back.

I fished the set of keys out of my pocket and unlocked Darrell’s office. “What are you doing, Jeff?” asked Wendy.

“Darrell has a Polaroid camera in here so I’m gonna take a picture,” I answered and opened Darrell’s top desk drawer. I pulled out a camera and we all went back out into my office. I fiddled with the timer and we all got huddled together and the picture took. “I want to thank you guys for making me belong. You are my family and I will never forget you.”

“We love you, Jefferson,” Heather hugged me again and then everyone else moved in for a group hug. In the middle of our hug, the phone rang.

“That’s probably the schmaltz police,” I said walking over to my desk. “Hello?”

“Hey, I heard you’re leaving Baldwin. Going to that Big, bad Apple,” said the voice on the other end.

“Yep, that’s right. Who is this?” I asked.

“This is Emily and I want to call you on that favor you owe me.”

I looked at the group and apologized. “I’m sorry, guys, I got to take this. I’ll see you all tomorrow though.” Everyone said their good-byes, left and I went back to talking with Emily. “That favor was for keeping quiet about Heather and me and since everybody now knows about that…”

“Favors are non-negotiable so you still owe me.”

“Okay, fine. What is it?” I laughed.

“Sleep with me.”

“What? Don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“Stop making excuses, Jeff. This is a one-time offer so take it or leave it. What’s your decision?”

Emily and I were silent on both our ends as I tried to decide what to do.




Chapter Seven
Sam, Aaron, Wendy, Heather, Katie, Alyson, Nathan, Kepler, Wanda and I were all sitting around a booth in the Café on my last day here. My flight left at 3:45 and it was now eleven in the morning. “I have to get going guys since I have to go through all that security crap.”

“Jeff, can I talk to you in private?” Wendy asked, sliding out of the booth and pulling my arm.

“Yeah, sure,” I slid out of the booth and Wendy and I went outside and stood on the steps. “What’s up?”

“Remember when you took me to the Old Castle Dance?” she asked.

“Of course. It was one of the best nights of my life. Why?” I smiled.

“To me that was the best night of my life and I want to thank you again for that incredible evening and what makes it even more special is that no one else knows about it,” Wendy teared up and started to open the door to the Café.

I stopped Wendy from leaving but just looked at her. I reached over and brushed some hair behind her ear. She opened the door and we went inside. “Look, I’m glad you all love me and want to stay but I need to, nay, want to leave. So as much as it pains me to do so, I must take my leave. Are you ready, Heather?” I asked.

“We understand, Jefferson. Come on, we’ll go,” Heather got up and took my hand.

“Oh, wait. Melissa wanted me to give you this to read on the plane or something,” Sam handed me a piece of paper that was folded over.

“Thank you. Look, you guys have been wonderful. I love you all,” Wendy and Kepler stood up to hug me and I shook the guys’ hands. I put my arm around Heather and led her away from the group. “Take me to KCI, Jeeves.”




Heather and I left Baldwin in my Jimmy with Heather driving. The radio was playing softly but I couldn’t make out the song. “So what does Melissa have to say?”

“I didn’t even open the note,” I unfolded the paper and read over it.

“Read it out loud, you jerk!”

“’Dear Jeff, I am sorry that I wasn’t completely honest with you. You deserve someone who can offer you what I can’t. I cannot have children and I learned that shortly after you proposed to me the first time but I didn’t tell you. I do love you but you need someone who can offer you a chance at a happy family and I cannot offer you that. I do apologize and I wish you all the luck and happiness in New York. Love, Pussycat.’”

“Melissa is barren?” Heather was stunned.

“I can’t believe she put us through all that grief and heartache because of that,” I said folding up the paper and slipping it into my pocket. “That wasn’t important to me and we would’ve had the rest of our lives to show the world how much we loved each other.”

“It was important to her and I’m glad she finally told you what was wrong,” Heather said.

“I was seriously hoping it was a brain affliction.”

“I know.”




Heather and I stood in front of the security gate and held each other. “This is it,” Heather said with her voice quavering.

“We promised no crying,” I said looking down at Heather.

“I have to admit that I want you to stay and be my boyfriend and…” she sighed and we looked into each other’s eyes. She leaned up, closed her eyes and tilted her lips toward mine. I took hold of her chin and turned her away from me. “What’s that for?”

“I want to remember you lying next to me in bed after making love with your Mona Lisa smile, not as some failed attempt at keeping me here.”

“Flight 103 from Kansas City to JFK-New York now boarding,” a woman announced over the PA system.

I gave Heather one final hug and headed down the long corridor. She leaned against the wall and watched me leave. She had tears rolling down her face as she waved in my direction. “And off you go…” she said, her voice cracking.

I never looked back.

Next:
Part Seven begins. We meet Jeff's new girlfriend and are introduced to his new friends. Jeff also finishes his first book.

Harter Union: Part Six, Chapter 5

“How come whenever I take a shower with someone, I come out feeling dirtier than when I went in?” I asked coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

“It’s probably because of what we did in the shower,” Melissa laughed. “So was last night everything you expected?”

“And more,” I hugged her and kissed her neck. “I have something to tell you.”

“Why does this seem like bad news?”

“No, no. It’s good news. Great news actually but I’m not sure how you’ll take it.”

“What is it?” Melissa asked.

“How about we put on some clothes and then I tell you. All right?”

“That seems fair,” she smiled.




Nathan and Stephanie entered the Union together and rounded the corridor past Sam’s office and into the kitchen. Wendy, Wanda, Aaron, Sam and Katie stopped what they were doing and looked at the couple. Nathan quickly waved and the two scuttled to the dining room. “And those stares are because Alyson left me!”

“Or it might be because they all know that we were having an affair,” Stephanie said. “And I want to talk to you about that. It was fun being together at first because we were trying to hide it from co-workers, friends and Alyson but now, I feel that if we continue what we’re doing, it’ll grow old and what happened between you and Alyson will happen to us.”

“What? It doesn’t have to! We’ve only just begun. We can just have some flings then after a couple of months we can breakup,” Nathan stammered.

“Eh, the notion of Alyson actually catching was a lot better than the sex ever was so…”

“What are you saying? Are you leaving me?”

“Yes. I’m glad you’re taking this well. Trust me, this will be best for both of us,” Stephanie kissed Nathan one last time on the cheek and she left the dining room and headed for the restroom.

Nathan stood in front of the soda machines, completely still and his mouth agape. Sam came out of the kitchen with a red cup and filled it with Pibb. He looked at Nathan a couple of times and then finally spoke, “She break up with you?”

“Y…eah.”

“She could’ve at least waited a week,” Sam said taking a sip of his Pibb. “Oh, well,” he shrugged.

“Oh, well? My girlfriend just broke up with me one day after my fiancée breaks up with me!” Nathan shrieked.

“Come into the kitchen with me. Now, I haven’t been here very long but everyone believes that you were a lot cooler before you were dating either girl. Right, guys?” asked Sam when he walked into the kitchen.

Everyone agreed and Nathan leaned against the counter. “Thanks, guys. Hey, does anyone know what this employee meeting with Jeff is about?”

“No but he’ll be here about one. Him and Melissa got a hotel room last night so Jeff’ll probably be in a really good mood,” Sam sat his cup down and resumed slicing carrots.

“Look, Nathan, we all like you and, to a point, Alyson but the two of you together was nearly unbearable. We wanted to kill the both of you. Well, at least her,” Katie revealed.

“I’m her best friend and roommate and even I loved it when she never came home,” Wendy said. “And Stephanie just seemed like a little slut.”

“Guys, I’m right here,” Stephanie said, just entering the kitchen.

“Not like we care,” said Sam.




Melissa and I stood in front of the hotel room and kissed. We parted and Melissa smiled at me. “So what’s this surprise you have?”

“Well, it’s kind of a two-part surprise. I put back in my application and resume at Manhattan-Rooks Publishing, the company in New York I had to reject after becoming stranded in Baldwin and I ended up getting rehired for the same job but for more money,” I said. “I’m moving to New York so what I guess I’m saying is that I’ll be making a lot more money and I’ll be able to support both of us…” I got down on one knee and took out a ring box. “Melissa, my little Pussycat, will you marry me?” I took out the ring and placed it on her finger. I smiled at her and kissed her hand. “Come with me to New York and we can finally be together and maybe start that family we’ve been talking about.”

Melissa took her hand back and began crying uncontrollably. She took off the ring and gave it back to me. “I can’t. I can’t do this, damn it!” she grabbed her bag and began leaving the hotel room.

“Wait! What’s going on? Please tell me.”

“I want to marry you but I don’t want to do the ‘family’ thing. I can’t.”

“We don’t have to start immediately. We can wait a year or so to get settled in. As long as we’re together, nothing is impossible,” I didn’t want to resort to begging but was leaning toward it.

“I am so sorry,” Melissa cried as she rubbed my cheek. “I never should’ve tracked you down or slept with you or went back out with you. I am so sorry I played with your feelings.”

“What are you talking about? Why aren’t you going to marry me?”

“I—I can’t tell you. Not right now and…and you deserve an answer but I don’t have one for you. I’m so sorry,” Melissa left the hotel room and ran off to the elevator. I slowly followed her and we had a long, silent journey back to Baldwin.




I was in my office, having a meeting with the staff which was everyone but the new hires and Melissa. “So this is going to be my last week here,” I revealed and everyone started to converse amongst themselves.

“What job is it?” asked Wanda.

“It’s an editing position for a publishing company in New York. It was the job I was leaving for before I became stranded here.”

“What about Melissa?” asked Alyson.

“As far as I know, she’s staying in Kansas.”

“I thought you were going to propose to her,” said Heather.

“I did and she said ‘no’.”

“Well, did she give you a reason?” Heather demanded.

“She said she wanted to but couldn’t. Look, guys…” I tried to interrupt everyone but my voice was drowned out.

“Maybe she was just overwhelmed with the dinner and the hotel so she kind of freaked,” Wendy tried to convince me.

“No, no! Don’t you people get it?” I gruffly stood up and slammed my hands down on my desk. “It’s a pattern with me. The Teflon Kid. Lots of chicks, nothing sticks. I lose! I get nothing! Good day, sir!” I shouted and the look on my face began to disperse the crowd in my office.

“If it makes you feel any better, I would’ve said yes Jefferson,” Heather said as she was the last one to leave my office. I sat back down and finished ordering more pants for the Café before leaving for the Café to fix me something to eat.

Next:
Jeff and Melissa break up and he leaves Baldwin.

Harter Union: Part Six, Chapter 4

Sam was in the office talking with the new hires but was stammering over his words. “So do any of you have any questions?”

“How come I’m the only guy?” asked the only guy being hired.

“More girls apply for this job. Not my fault, that’s just how it goes,” Sam explained. “If you all could start tonight on the dinner shift that’d be great.”

Everyone accepted and Sam stood up.

“Great. We’ll see you all tonight around four,” Sam moved past the new hires and left the office. He stopped at the fryers where Nathan was putting down flattened boxes to start cleaning the fryers and Wendy and Wanda were slicing carrots for the salad bar. “Oh, man I hated that!”

“What?”

“Talking to those people. Why do we need to conduct interviews when the job is pretty much in the bag?”

“Jeff used that time to make sure their IQ was higher than their shoe size,” Nathan said.

“And he still hired all of you?” joked Sam.

“Nathan and I were here long before Jeff, Sam,” Wendy said.

“Really? How long?”

“I’ve been here for ten years and Nathan has been here for eight. Aaron for seven and Alyson for six. Everybody else has been here for three years or so,” Wendy explained.

Nathan began cleaning the fryers by turning a latch and draining the old grease into a bucket. When the bucket was nearly full, Nathan closed the drain and carried the bucket outside to the grease trap. As soon as Nathan left the back door, Alyson entered not even a minute later with a smile on her face. She stopped at Sam, Wendy, and Wanda and leaned on the counter.

“Why are you smiling?” Sam asked.

“I’m not pregnant; I gave Nathan back his ring and told him to go to hell. I also put in applications at several places in Lawrence for a better job,” Alyson revealed without even flinching in her smile.

“Wow, quite an eventful 24 hours. I feel so uncaring. Anything I can do?” asked Sam.

“No, you’ve done enough. Thanks.”




I loved the Eldridge Hotel. Originally the Free State Hotel, it was burnt down by Quantrill’s raiders and completely rebuilt in 1925 and since then has had a truly up-and-down history. Currently it was the only hotel in Lawrence I would recommend since it was a beautiful hotel situated in the heart of downtown Lawrence.

I opened the door to Melissa and my room and invited her in. I laid her bags in nearby closet and held her close to me. “I love you, Pussycat,” I said as I leaned in and kissed her. “Thank you for helping me realize my dream.”

“I’m not doing anything. You’re doing this on your own,” Melissa smiled.

“My dream was to bring the girl I love to the Eldridge Hotel for a weekend stay. Without you, I never could’ve done this.”

“You’re sweet,” Melissa chuckled softly.

“Dinner’s in an hour, downstairs.”

“First dibs on the shower!” Melissa pushed away from me and bounded off to the bathroom. I smiled, went over to the couch and turned on the TV.




Melissa and I walked hand in hand into Shalor’s Restaurant and were seated next to the window. I looked at Melissa and noticed her eyes were darting around the restaurant and her hands were fidgety. “Are you okay?” I asked taking her hand.

“I am so nervous,” she laughed tensely.

I gingerly rubbed her hand and smiled at her. “Don’t worry; I have it all under control. I’ll take care of you,” I pulled her hand over to me and kissed it. Melissa blushed. The waiter came up and asked us what we wanted to drink. “What kind of wine would you recommend?”

“We have a wonderful Kendall Jackson chardonnay that’s just a little sweet,” the waiter suggested.

“That will be fine,” I agreed. The waiter marked that down and walked away. I looked at Melissa who seemed to be lost in her own world. “What are you thinking about?”

“You. I’ve known you for years but there’s still so much I don’t know.”

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“I don’t know…um, have you ever had a homosexual experience?”

I looked at Melissa very seriously and answered, “Yes.”

“What? I don’t believe you. When?”

“I was fifteen. It was with someone I considered a friend, I didn’t like it, I don’t like to talk about it and I do have nightmares about it.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. Any other questions?” I asked.

Before Melissa could answer, the waiter came back with our wine. “And may I take your orders?”

“Oh, my. I haven’t even been looking,” I picked up my menu and started looking.

“Do you need a couple more minutes?” asked the waiter.

“Yes, please,” I said. The waiter walked off and I resumed looking at Melissa. “You have a question?”

“Do you want kids?” she asked.

“Did you know that I offered to be the father of three kids that weren’t even my own? Sure it was only Maggie and Chrissy but during that weird period between moving to Topeka and meeting you, I met Laura. She was seven months pregnant, abandoned and working at a KFC. She was the definition of ‘dead on her feet’. She and her boyfriend moved to Topeka from Kansas City and everything was fine until she got pregnant. He ran off and left her stranded.”

“Are you ready to order now?” asked the waiter.

“I’ll take this,” Melissa pointed to something on the menu.

“The lady will have the tuna almandine and I’ll have the eight ounce steak, well done.”

“All right,” the waiter picked up our menus and left.

I took a sip of my wine and cleared my throat. “I took Laura in and treated her like a queen. She actually treated me like the father even though nothing happened between us. She continued working at KFC and as she was starting her ninth month, he came back.”

“The real daddy?”

I nodded. “I was hurt. I took in her after she was abandoned and was essentially her baby’s daddy and then he comes back, probably said ‘baby, I’m sorry’ and she welcomes him back with open arms.”

“I’m sorry but would you really want to take care of someone else’s kid especially when there is always that possibility of the real father returning?” asked Melissa.

“I’m a man of my word. Oh, well, I’m over it. All it did was help fuel my bitterness,” I smiled. Behind me, someone began playing the piano and Melissa’s eyes widened. “What?” I asked, noticing her eyes.

“They’re playing the piano.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Oh, I’m getting goose bumps,” Melissa shivered.

Next:
Part Two of Jeff and Melissa's date and Stephanie comes to a decision about her and Nathan.

Harter Union: Part Six; Chapter 3

Nathan and Stephanie were lying in Nathan’s bed together and Stephanie was playing with his chest hair. “Do you regret what we did?” she asked.

“No, of course not. Why would I?”

“Alyson,” Stephanie said her name like it left a bad taste in her mouth.

“What about her?”

“She is your fiancée, that’s what.”

“Look, when I proposed to Alyson, at that time it was a good idea. I loved her and she loved me but after a while she just…” Nathan tried to form the right words but couldn’t.

“I know. She kind of became a bitch,” Stephanie said.

“When I first did it,” Nathan began, “it was wonderful but now I’ve realized that proposing to Alyson was a huge mistake.”




Alyson walked into Wendy’s office, sat down in a chair and groaned. “Please don’t do that, Al. I have a lot of work to do,” Wendy said.

“Well, I need to talk to someone. Can’t you spare a minute?”

Wendy sighed loudly and looked at the clock on her desk. “I can’t believe Kathryn did all this work. What is it?”

“Well, my stomach’s been hurting and I’ve been getting sick in the morning,” Alyson rubbed her stomach.

“I’m not a doctor, Alyson, what’s your point?”

“And I haven’t had my period,” Alyson stared hard at Wendy who was finally getting it.

“So you might be pregnant?”

“I’m taking the dinner shift off and going to Lawrence to see a doctor but I’m really scared, Dee.”

“And you have every right to be but Nathan has always wanted children so everything will be all right,” Wendy tried to reassure. “Come on, I’m thirsty. Walk with me to the kitchen,” Alyson and Wendy left the office and headed to the cafeteria.

“The reason I’m so scared is because Nathan and I barely speak anymore. He talks to Stephanie more than he does me,” Alyson admitted.

“Do you think there’s something going on between them?”

“I wouldn’t put it past them but I honestly have no proof,”

“I’m sorry Al but you do know that I’m here—we’re all here—if you need anything.”

“I know…Thanks,” Alyson grabbed a cup from the rack and filled it with Diet Coke.

Sam came out from the kitchen and grabbed a red cup. He began filling it with raspberry tea and noticed Alyson crying. “What’s wrong, Al?”

“Promise not to tell anyone?” Alyson asked. Sam nodded and Alyson got closer to him. “I may be pregnant.”

“Okay, well if you need anything, moral support, time-off, you just ask all right?” Sam briefly hugged Alyson, clapped Wendy on the shoulder and headed back to the kitchen. “Man, that kid’s gonna be lucky. Brains, looks…if only everybody could be that lucky.”

“Yeah, Nathan and I do have some pretty good genes,” Alyson sniffed.

“I wasn’t really talking about Nathan,” Sam smiled, raised his cup and went back into the kitchen.




Nathan, Kepler, Melissa Sam and two new workers, Ryan Yoder and Danny Beaumont, were in the Dish Room talking. “So for two hours I was talking to this woman about me wanting to be an actor,” said Sam. “I finally had to hang up when she asked me about my height and weight. I also put in my two week notice.”

“I would, too. There’s just something wrong with someone on Medicare hitting on a telephone operator,” Kepler said.

“I had to find some way to pay the bills,” said Sam. “So, Nathan, what’s going on between you and Alyson?”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, well, what’s going on between you and Stephanie?”

“Nothing.”

“I live next door to you, Nathan! You and Stephanie went in together and neither one of you came out!”

“Whoa, Nathan, are you cheating on Alyson?” Melissa asked.

“Maybe,” Nathan said backing away from the approaching girl.

“You are engaged to her! You said that you loved her and now you screw around behind her back?”

“You make it seem like I’m humping every girl and their mother. It’s just Stephanie and none of you know how it is constantly being around Alyson. She’s a nice girl and good lay but she can get annoying! None of you know what it’s like!” Nathan complained.

“Then break up with her,” Melissa said.

“I can’t…”

“You have no idea,” said Sam.

“I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Look, Nathan, you say you love her but you’re sleeping with Stephanie. Make a decision because after lunch, Alyson is going to the doctor so you may be stuck with her for a long time,” Sam said. “And now, what are your plans for the weekend, Mel?”

“You are not the king of the segue are you, Sam?” asked Kepler.

“Nope,” Sam smiled.

“Well, Jeff and I are going out tomorrow. We’re going to a performance of Mozart at the Lied Center, and then having dinner at Shalor’s in the Eldridge Hotel where Jeff has also gotten a room,” Melissa cooed.

“Sounds like a real romantic night,” Ryan said.

“Yeah. He’s been promising me dinner and a night in a hotel for a couple months but when this Mozart concert thing came to town, which clenched it for him.”

“Well, I hope you have fun. I have to go check on the Line,” Sam left the Dish Room and went up to the Line where Heather and Stephanie were working. “How you doing girls?”

“Fine, Sam. Running out of scalloped potatoes though,” Heather said.

“That’s fine,” Sam glanced up at the clock. “Five more minutes then close her down.” Sam went past the girls and out into the dining room where Aaron was loading up the 2% milk.

“Hey, Sam,” Aaron lifted the full case of milk and slid it into the cooler.

“Hey, Aaron. Say, what do you think of those two new employees?”

“Ryan and Danny? They seem all right. A little quiet but they will come into their own and out of their shell in no time. I did,” Aaron closed the cooler and both started walking back to the kitchen.

“They were the last people hired before Jeff went to his new position and I’m scared of hiring those new people tomorrow and what if I don’t do a good a hiring job as Jeff did?”

“It’ll be fine. It was a little dodgy with Jeff, too but it all worked out okay,” Aaron reassured. “You’ll do fine,” Aaron patted Sam on the back, broke away and headed to the Dish Room. Sam sighed and went into his office.

Next:
Alyson breaks up with Nathan; Sam hires new people and Jeff and Melissa go on a date.

Harter Union: Part Six, Chapters 1 & 2

My fourth year at Baker was the biggest change that had ever happened. After school let out in May, the Union closed for two months for some rebuilding. Baker had approved construction for the Wildcat Café, which was the replacement for the long-defunct Grill. Heather, Melissa, Aaron and I all walked into the dining room, shielded our eyes and groaned in pain. “What is that horrible burning glow?” I yelled.

“I think it’s the fluorescent lights,” Aaron replied.

“Why are they so freakin’ bright?” I asked, grabbing a yellow cup from the rack.

“They must’ve rewired them or something,” he continued.

“They could warn a person or supply sunglasses,” I said filling the cup with grape juice.

“Wow, new carpet and tablecloths,” Melissa pointed out.

I looked at the tablecloths, which used to be a ratty pale pink and are now white with multi-colored lines on them. The carpet, which was an ugly puke gray-green, was now bright blue with small red dots scattered around on it. Clean white linoleum led from the still old and scuffed red tile to the doors of the Café. The walls were a brighter off-yellow and the pictures on the wall were replaced with professional paintings of campus buildings and the stadium. I loved it. I thought they were finally treating us with respect even though I knew it was just for the Café.

I noticed Darrell sitting in the Café with someone else and followed the linoleum to the door. I entered the Café which smelled like fresh-cut wood and plastic. “Hey, Darrell, I love what they did with the place.”

“Glad you like it, Jeff. This is Pat McCollough; she is going to be the Café supervisor from three in the afternoon to eleven at night. You’ll be supervisor from eleven in the morning with the Café opens until Pat gets here at three. I am also going to hire an assistant supervisor to cover the morning and the time you are over here since Wendy has more than enough work to do.”

“So who are you gonna have train back here?” I asked.

“You and Aaron start tonight.”

“Why Aaron?”

“Besides you, he’ll be back here the least but I want everyone trained to work back here in case of an emergency. We open tonight at five so be prepared,” Darrell said.




Aaron and I stood behind the counter in the Café in bright orange long sleeve shirts, khaki pants and blue aprons. We watched Darrell and Pat program the cash register. I looked down at my clothes and then looked at Aaron. “We look like dorks,” I said. “I feel like punching myself.”

“At least it’s standard attire,” Aaron replied.

“There!” said Darrell slamming the register down on the counter. “It should be all set up. We’ll get labels for the keys tomorrow but you can use this sheet in the meantime,” Darrell held up a printout of the cash register keys.

“Are you all set?” Pat asked, grabbing my elbow and shaking it.

It was actually pretty fun and easy working in the Café. We didn’t have that many people come in and we mostly made hamburgers, a few pizzas and a couple grilled cheese. I did, however, miss the Dish Room antics. At about 11:30, we finished cleaning up the Café and went back to the kitchen to remove the gaudy clothes.

“I’m gonna go look at the Dish Room and make sure it’s clean,” I went to the Dish Room and everything was clean. “Man, they don’t even need a supervisor anymore,” I said to Aaron.

“After four years, you’ve finally earned their respect and now it will all be usurped by a new assistant supervisor,” Aaron smiled.

“Darrell is also moving my office into his. The new supervisor will have this one,” I said in a sentimental tone.

“Wow, moving on up.”

“I know. I’m gonna miss you guys,” I said and shut the door to my office.

Chapter Two
“Everybody meet Sam Perry. He is the new assistant supervisor and as of today he will be taking over my office as I move into the new one,” I introduced. Sam was a big guy. He was about two inches taller than me with long curly hair. He already had some beard stubble and it was only 10 a.m. Sam was just a bigger guy. “He will be observing for about a week or so as I ease myself into doing more behind-the-scene stuff so try to treat him with at least half the respect you treated me.”

“So why is Darrell cutting some of your duties?” asked Emily.

“He’s not. Since I am now going to be supervisor to both the kitchen and the Café, it’s twice as much work plus I’m going to be Wendy’s right-hand man for specials and Sam will alleviate some of my extra duties,” I explained.

“We’re gonna miss you, Jeff,” said Stephanie.

“I’m not dying, Steph. Heather, Pussycat, go to the Café and suit up. I need to go over a couple things before you get started. I’ll meet you over there.”

Everybody started dispersing and Wanda came up to me. “Jeff? Is there anyway I could get a cooking assistant?” she asked.

“I am looking into it but it’s too early to tell. Sorry.”

At the time clock, Stephanie pulled Nathan close to her. “Are we still on for tonight?” she asked.

“Yep. Alyson works until eleven and will probably not be done until midnight so she’ll just go home which will leave us at my place all alone, by ourselves,” Nathan smiled.

“Hey, Jeff!” shouted Emily, chasing after me as I headed to the Café. I turned around toward her. “Here,” she handed me a piece of paper.

I glanced at it and then looked back at her. “Your two week notice?”

“I got a new job in Lawrence and I’m also going to be moving in with my boyfriend.”

“Well, congrats. We’ll miss you.”

“I know you will. No more dates with my friends, no more getting locked in freezer, no more back-stabbing.”

“Well, I think we can do without the back-stabbing.”

“Good luck on your new position,” Emily said.

“You, too. I’ll miss you,” we looked at each other for a few seconds. “This feels like a traveler’s ad,” and we parted ways.




Sam, Wendy, Melissa and I were in Sam’s office programming the new freezer alarm. “So what’s this thing supposed to do?” asked Wendy.

“If, for some reason, the temperature in one of the coolers or freezers drop below a certain degree, an alarm goes off to alert us if we’re here and it also sounds over in the maintenance and security building if we’re not here,” I explained. I pressed a few more numbers and closed the front cover. It started making a constant beeping noise.

“What’s it doing?” asked Wendy.

“I don’t know. It’s either adjusting itself or we’re about to level Tokyo.” Suddenly, the alarm went off nearly deafening everyone. I punched in the off-code and the alarm went silent. “Okay, now we’ve leveled Tokyo.”

Next:
Alyson thinks she's pregnant and Sam officially becomes part of the staff after yelling at Nathan for cheating on Alyson.