CHAPTER 47: Office Surprise

 

"I'll see you later, darling" said Jeremy Saint, kissing Barbara Dubois on the cheek before she headed for work. She was staying over at Jeremy's house more and more these days and he loved it. She was such a sweet, joyful girl who brought out so much more of him when they were together. He felt less uptight, more confident and, well, the woohoo was incredible.

As he waved Barbara goodbye, he noticed a woman...a policewoman no less judging by her prominently displayed SCPD badge on her belt...hanging around at the end of the road he lived on. He'd seen her a couple of times before, usually here to meet John Action before their work shift. Jeremy grabbed his briefcase and headed off to work but along the way he stopped and chatted with the policewoman.

"Are you here for Action?" said Jeremy.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" said the lady with a scowl.

"Oh, sorry, I meant are you here to meet John Action? I assume you're a colleague" said Jeremy, correcting himself.

"Ah, I see, yes, I'm here to meet John Action"

"Well he's running a bit late this morning you see he didn't get in from his date until late last night and...well....she's still there with him so...."

"OK, buddy, spare me the details" she said, putting up her hand to stop him from saying more.

Jeremy looked back towards Action's house and he saw the front door open and out stepped Action, in uniform, and his girlfriend. They too kissed and walked off in separate directions. Yes, Jeremy thought, love was in the air around Foundry Cove these days.

Jeremy made it in to Dewey, Cheathem & Howe's offices on time and he went to his desk, where his colleagues were gathered having a conspiratorial chat.

"Hey, Jeremy" said one of them. "Have you checked out J.J. Gotcha's new secretary yet?"

"No I haven't...is she nice?" Jeremy replied.

"Oh man.....nice doesn't begin to describe her. She's F.A.B. hot!" said his colleague, enthusiastically.

"What I wouldn't give to go on a date with her!" said another.

"Hubba hubba!" said a third. "You should DEFINITELY check her out!"

"Alright, alright...settle down guys! She's probably nearly 60, weighing 250lbs and eats junior staff for breakfast and you're setting me up for a joke. Now I've got to get these reports to Gotcha so, ha, I'll be prepared for anything his new secretary has got." Jeremy picked up the files and shook his head in disbelief at how his workmates had tried to fool him about Gotcha's secretary.

But he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"Bianca?" said an incredulous Jeremy.

"Yes Jeremy...or should I say, Mr Saint?" she replied. She was wearing a blue skirt suit which hugged the contours of her body...no wonder his colleagues were all ga-ga for her.

"Erm...what? Do you work here now?"

"Yes. I responded to an ad I saw in the newspaper and landed the job" she replied matter of factly.

"But you knew I worked here?"

"Yes. Is that a problem? I thought we were both level with each other now...unless?" she asked, probing him.

"No unless....I'm just surprised at seeing you here, that's all. You made it clear how you felt about me and I told you I'd moved on"

"And are you still seeing her? This new woman?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact...we're doing great, thank you" he said, a little defensively.

"I'm glad. But I want to let you know I'm approaching things here strictly professionally. So there should be no awkwardness from either of us."

"Agreed. Erm...this is for Mr Gotcha" he said, indicating the file. She walked to him to take the file...her perfume wafted intoxicatingly towards him and her hands brushed against his as she took the file. Jeremy cursed under his breath...she said she was being "strictly professional" but he suspected she was acting provocatively towards him.

He went back to his office where his friends were all having a laugh. "So" said one of them. "250lbs and nearing 60, eh?"

"You're welcome to her" said Jeremy, sitting down at his desk.

"C'mon man, you can't turn your nose up on that goddess upstairs, can you?"

"I can...remember, I've got a steady girlfriend who...incidentally...is way, way hotter than Bianca"

"Wooo, you're on first name terms with her now?" said his colleague, teasing him. Damn...why did Bianca have to come and work here?

He put Bianca out of his head for the rest of his work day and was relieved when it was time to leave. He had a date with Barbara at one of their favourite events...the Spice Festival. He raced to San Myshuno as he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could.

"Hmmm so good to see you!" said Barbara, giving him a big hug. She didn't want to let go.

"You too" he said, grateful to be in her arms. "Let's get some food!" he said, enthusiastically.

They headed off to the festival and tried out various dishes. "How was work?" asked Barbara.

Jeremy froze for a moment...he'd forgotten about Bianca's presence at the office until now but he didn't want to bring her name up at this point.

"Oh, same old stuff...and you?"

"Busy...we had a kid's party to cater for today....oh boy, the cleaning up we had to do afterwards but the kids were so happy and joyous so I didn't mind that much" she said, smiling. Jeremy looked at Barbara and thought "there's no contest here....Barbara is the best!"

They ate, talked and laughed...then Jeremy said, "hey, let's have a sing-song! I've been practicing..."

"Oh no, what is it now?" said Barbara, then she yawned. "It's been a long day and I don't think my voice is up to it tonight but you go ahead...I'll watch and cheer you on"

Jeremy belted out the song with gusto, but he was no Frank Sinatra. "I thank you" he said at the end and he looked to Barbara...who had fallen asleep.

He looked at her laid out on the couch, looking so peaceful there, that he didn't resent her falling asleep during his performance. As a matter of fact, he wasn't great but he didn't appreciate how tired she was. He sat down next to her and stroked her hair as she dozed until a couple burst in to the room.

"Oh sorry, man" said a trendily dressed young man in the company of his hippie girlfriend. "Are you using this room as we'd like to have a sing?"

"Oh sure, go ahead, we were just resting and need to get going....Darling" he said to Barbara "we need to go. These people want to sing now"

"What? Wait...oh no, I missed you singing!" said a disappointed Barbara as she woke up.

"No matter...let's get you home" said Jeremy.

"No....I feel so bad! Let me make it up to you" she insisted.

"But you're tired"

"I feel better now I've had a little rest....in fact, good enough for this night not to end....yet" she said, coquettishly.

"Did you have anything in mind?" said Jeremy, taking the bait.

"Well....I think I left my earrings at your place last night...maybe we could go and look for them?"

"I think I saw them next to our bed...." he stopped himself. He'd said "our" bed. His mind was projecting. Barbara picked up on this.

"Oh it's our bed, is it?" she said, putting her arms around him.

"Let's go look for your earrings" he said, taking her by the hand and taking her back home with him.

CHAPTER 46: Natural Healer

 

A day off for Julia Epstein...she hated them but she also respected the Sabbath so she begrudgingly went along with it. But what to do? Julia took her glass of water to drink and stood on her front porch watching the world go by as she pondered how to spend her free time.

"Good morning, lovely day" said a woman walking by Julia's house.

"Yes, it is" replied Julia.

"This house is new...I haven't been for a walk around the Cove for a while so I hadn't noticed this place before" said the lady, looking with keen interest at Julia's house.

"Yes, it's a new build...I've been here a couple of weeks." replied Julia.

"Oh nice....by the way, my name's Katrina"

"Julia"

"Nice to meet you, Julia, and I hope you like it here...I mustn't linger; I have a hairdresser appointment soon because later on my boyfriend is taking me somewhere special! I'm so excited...I love it when men spring surprises, don't you?"

"Not particularly. I hope you have a pleasant time..." said an unimpressed Julia....ugh, boyfriends, girlfriends, dating, lovey dovey stuff...Julia treated them with disdain.

Julia went back into her home and wondered what to do next. She turned on the TV.

"Oh Brad...how could you leave me for HER?"

*CLICK*

"Oh darling....I can't live another day without you!"

*CLICK*

"In these ever changing times we look into the hot topic of today: The pill, mini skirts and the sexual revolution"

*CLICK* and off. Ugh, everywhere there's sex and romance...Julia couldn't stand it.

She had to find somewhere to spend this day that was the least sexy, least flirtatious place in Willow Creek.

Willow Creek Archive

Julia entered the library and approached the librarian.

"Well hello there" said a rather over enthusiastic young man who was the librarian.

"Hello. Would you tell me where your medical and science section is?" she asked.

"Sure...it's right over here" he said, guiding her to the correct bookshelf. "And if you need any further assistance, then just call for Kengo"

"Kengo?"

"Yes, that's my name"

"I don't think I will require assistance"

"If you change your mind...I'll be right over there" he said, with a wink.

Julia sighed and proceeded to scan the shelves for any books on medicine, taking them and putting them in a pile on a nearby desk. She was satisfied she had quite a bit to be getting on with after a few minutes perusal.

There were some items of interest in the books she chose, but a lot was what she already knew but on the other hand the library was a refuge from all the romantic talk that seemed to be doing the rounds right now....or at least she thought it was a refuge.

"Hello again" said Kengo "I hope you've found what you're looking for"

"What I've found has been satisfactory" she replied.

"Can I just say that's it's a pleasure to have a young, intelligent, attractive lady around here" said Kengo, trying to flirt.

"Why?" came Julia's deadbatted reply.

"Well....you see....it brightens the place up for one thing" said an awkward Kengo.

"Maybe you should open the curtains more" replied Julia.

"Erm...I'm just going to put these books away now" said an embarrassed Kengo now and he got up to leave.

Julia sighed again...she couldn't focus on these medical books so she put them away and went for a walk down the road to Municipal Muses, the museum. She walked around some of the general exhibition but nothing was grabbing her attention.

However, she noticed a piano outside and felt a little tinkling of the ivories could lift her mood. Sitting down at the piano she started on a few warm up pieces before launching into Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

The music soothed her and she enjoyed the feeling of being able to make music...shutting her eyes to the world, she became lost in the piece.

"So anyway the husband walks in and Barry's there with his pants around his ankles" came a man's voice.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" came some laughter.

"Well, it's not the first time Barry's gotten himself into trouble with a woman he just met in a bar" came the voice again. Julia opened her eyes and saw a group of people having a ribald chat right near her. "And can you keep the noise down, lady, I'm trying to tell a story here!"

"That 'noise' as you call it, is Beethoven"

"Well tell Beethoven to knock it off!" said the man, laughing at his own joke, and his friends all joined in as well.

Every time Julia tried something today, it backfired. The rowdy group got noisier and noisier whenever she tried to play so she gave up and began to walk off. The group of rowdies went and sat down in the museum garden and as she was about to leave, Julia saw a little boy sitting on the ground, looking at a book and with a tear in his eye. She felt awkward but something inside her stirred and she couldn't leave this sad little boy on his own without finding out more.

"Excuse me, boy, what is the matter?" she said, rather formally.

"I'm sorry, lady, I didn't mean to disturb you...I'll go" said the boy.

"No need...that's not what I meant. I mean, what troubles you? I am a doctor by the way so if it's something medical I could help?

"Oh, actually...I'm not sick or hurt...actually it's my homework. There's so much of it, it's due in tomorrow and I don't understand any of it! My teacher says if I get this wrong again I'll be put on detention all week."

"Surely the extra time you spend in detention will help you understand your work better?" said Julia who, when she was at school, would welcome any opportunity for extra study time.

"But I don't learn anything in detention...it's full of rough kids who flick rubber bands at me, or kick the back of my chair..."

Julia was moved, by her standards, to the boy's plight. She hated seeing education go to waste. "Hmmm, well, can I help you understand your homework a bit better?"

"I dunno lady, there's an awful lot of it!" said the boy.

"I see your first problem...you look at your homework as one huge pile. What you need to do is break it down into easier to manage sections. Math first, then English, then science and so forth. Tackle each part individually and don't worry about the rest for now."

"I see" said the boy, who could see the wisdom in Julia's words.

She found a place for them to sit and she helped him with each bit of his homework, prompting him to think, breaking down the problems bit by bit so he could understand better and making small suggestions here and there. After an hour, his homework was finished and he seemed as if his cares had been lifted from him.

"Thank you so much!" he said, his face beaming. "Are you really a doctor?"

"I am" said Julia.

"Gee, you're the prettiest doctor I've ever met!"

Normally Julia would recoil in horror at someone complimenting her on her looks but this kid was innocent and was trying to say thank you in his own way. She smiled.

"Well, you're a very smart kid...now remember, break down your problems bit by bit in future"

"Thanks, I will, I got to meet my mom now...bye!"

She felt a bit better for helping the boy and she went home more encouraged. Just before she went into her house, she saw Jeremy Saint wave to her so she walked over to see what he wanted.

"Hi, Julia, I've got a question to ask you and would like your input" he said.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, as you know I've got a girlfriend now..."

Julia's heart sank...not more relationship issues!

"...and anyway" Jeremy continued. "I want to treat her this weekend to something special. You know, something a bit romantic"

"Jeremy, you should know by now that I DON'T do romantic. Maybe Summer would be a better person to ask."

"Oh no, that's not what I meant....I want to take her to a concert...a classical concert and as you're a fan of classical music I was wondering if there was something on in town that you'd recommend so I can book tickets"

Julia felt relieved. She smiled and said "of course...well, I'd recommend the Dropov Ballet Company's production of Prokoviev's Romeo & Juliet"

"Provocative Ballet Company?" said a slightly puzzled Jeremy.

"No, Prokoviev...I'll write the details down for you" she said.

Jeremy said thanks and after they had a coffee and a chat Julia went home. As soon as the door shut, her phone rang.

"Hello Julia? It's Francesca here. I'm going to head down to Desert Bloom Park with Rod and Stefanie, I wonder if you're free and want to come down with us?"

"Actually, yes, I could do with a more wholesome scene. I'll meet you there" said Julia.

She met with the Griffith family soon afterwards and it was nice to meet Francesca's husband, Rod, and their daughter, Stefanie. The latter rushed to play on the monkey bars and the play equipment and Rod was happy keeping an eye on her and giving her a push on the swing or a lift to reach up to the higher play areas, leaving Julia and Francesca to talk.

"Let's get some food on the grill because they're going to be very hungry!" said Francesca. Julia and she got some chicken and sweetcorn cobs from out of a cooler box and began to grill them for the family dinner.

"So how's it going?" asked Francesca.

"Awful...just everyone playing fast and loose romantically everywhere I go! I can't get a minute's peace! Is it just me or is this the most sex obsessed generation in history?"

Francesca laughed. "I suppose there might have been a time in Ancient Rome..." she said.

Once they'd finished cooking, they put the plate down and a very hungry Griffith family tucked in and invited Julia to join them. As soon as she'd finished eating, young Stefanie wanted to hare around the park, dragging her dad along. This left the two women to talk some more. They decided to head for the little library area to continue their conversation.

However they were soon joined by a teenage boy followed a few minutes by a teenage girl...one Julia had met before at work; Yuki Behr. The boy seemed uptight and upset.

"Oh don't mind us, we're just chatting" said Francesca, trying to put the boy at ease.

"What's wrong?" said Julia, picking up on the boy's distress.

"It's nothing much...well, it's everything really...I...well....I worry that I'm not popular, with girls" he said, awkwardly.

Instead of getting uptight, Julia was instead moved by the boy's sincerity.

"Well, it's natural for a boy of your age to feel everything is more emotionally charged. It's just your body trying to adjust to the changes going on. Would you like me to expand on this topic? Don't worry, I'm a doctor and she's a nurse" said Julia, matter of factly.

"Geez....well....I mean, from a woman's perspective...and a Doctor's....erm...do I stand a chance with the girls at school?"

"I've learned something in these matters" said Julia. "Work on being the best you can and the rest falls into place. If you're good, and show you're capable, the girls will come to you"

"Wow, thank you Doctor!" said the boy, cheering up. Yuki, on the other hand, was standing by the fire place, sobbing. Julia and Francesca looked at each other and Julia decided to go on point on this one.

"What's the matter, Yuki? Did that rash return? Will I need to book another appointment at the hospital?" she said.

"No...it's not that, Doctor Epstein....It's just that I'm such a failure! My sister, she's doing so well with her music career, she's got all these guys who are into her, she's Miss Popular and she's been approached by Alan Cuffe of Lothario magazine to become a member of the Kitten Club! That's like the hottest, most exclusive club in town!"

"I'm well aware of the Kitten Club, Yuki" said Julia with disdain. She definitely did not like Alan Cuffe, Lothario magazine and young women running around in skimpy kitten costumes. "But why waste your time comparing yourself to your sister? Look at you, I've heard you play the guitar, you are generally what is considered to be attractive to the opposite sex..."

"And did you see the way that boy looked at you! He was trying to say hello" said Francesca.

"Precisely. What I said to him, I'll say to you: Be the best you can. You are not your sister and, frankly, you shouldn't bother with trying to become one of Alan Cuffe's kittens! Ugh!"

The girl cheered up and said thank you to Julia and Francesca. Alone, the two women finished off their dinners.

"You know, Julia" said Francesca "you're a natural healer"