Unforgettable by Linda Barrett (story reading .TXT) 📖

his call. That ten o’clock connection had become a nice habit. He reached for his cell, but it rang before he could connect. Jen.

Smiling, he answered it. “Hi sweetie. I lost track of time.”

“I figured. You must be elbow-deep in breaking points and turning points and drama.”

“Hey, you really listened!”

“Oh, yeah. And another turning point is coming up. Matt’s last day is Friday. Liz’s, too. Feel like joining the gang for our private farewell party?”

As if he’d miss it. “Maguires?”

“The scene of many crimes.”

“I’ll be there, but not sure exactly when.”

“Crunch time?”

“Something like that.”

“You wasted the day with me yesterday. You should’ve been working.”

“Listen up, sweetheart. No time spent with you is wasted. Remember that. I’m used to pulling all-nighters.”

Her laugh was as light as a moonbeam. “Like we were still in school. I remember us cramming for exams, testing each other…

“Keep remembering the good stuff, Jenny. I’ve still got deadlines, projects, and a new curriculum for the fall to finalize. It’s all good. And being here, with you again…what can I say? It’s everything.”

“I-I…

“Shush. No pressure. I’m a patient man.” He hadn’t known just how patient until now. He’d give her all the time she needed to find the real Jen, the girl she’d turned her back on years ago.

“I’ll say only one thing,” Jen began slowly.

Her tone of voice put him on alert. “And what would that be?”

“I-I’m glad you came back. Our ending was…rough. But we’re adults now. Whatever happens between us this time won’t be so emotional.”

He tried not to laugh. Where did she get her ideas? “Is that right, my Henny-Penny? Are you saying that love is totally rational? Logical?”

“Oh, don’t put words in my mouth. I didn’t say anything at all about love. It’s just-just… oh, forget it.”

But he wouldn’t forget her confusion, her effort to avoid sharing that deepest of all emotions. “You do realize you’d put every songwriter out of business if love were a purely rational thing. But still, you’re giving this man some hope. I think my next play will be called, The Courtship of Jennifer Delaney. It will be an opus, running 568 pages and taking ten hours to present.”

“You’ll lose a bundle on that one!” she said, amusement in her voice. “Not worth it.”

“Let me decide about that. Sweet dreams, Jenny.” He almost danced around his apartment after disconnecting. Pushing The Sanctuary aside, he pulled over Straight from the Heart. There was no one like Jennifer Delaney for a bit of inspiration. If Steve Kantor wanted to see a play instead of a novel, he’d get a play. With renewed energy, he began to read. Soon his fingers tapped the keyboard, and by three o’clock in the morning, he’d shaped the first act.

No matter how long it took his logic-only love to listen to her heart, he’d be waiting.

##

At her crowded table in Maguire’s, Jen glanced at her watch for the third time and then looked toward the door—again. If Doug didn’t show up pretty darn quick, he’d starve. Tonight’s send-off for Matt and Liz had morphed into a party of friends who’d taken up three tables and had already scoffed down platters of wings and meatballs, not to mention beer. And now the wait staff was taking dinner orders.

“Oh, well…” she murmured, “his loss.”

“Talking to yourself?” asked Alexis, “Or to the guy who just walked through the door?”

Jen swiveled around, spotted Doug, and felt her tension ease. “It’s just that he said he’d be here,” she protested, “said he wouldn’t miss it…”

Alexis laughed and patted her arm. “Man, you’ve got it bad. Doug seems like a great guy. I hope it works out for you.”

“Thanks,” said Jen, watching Doug weave his way through the tables. “But I’m not sure…”

“Typical,” Alexis replied with a dismissive wave. “You should have seen my sister after meeting John, who is now her husband. What a wreck she was. almost-walking-into-walls kind of wreck. She was up, down and sideways. But I’ve never seen her happier than now.”

“Really? Lisa and Mike were different,” Jen said, ruminating. “Crazy about each other from Day One. It was only later…because of us…”

Alexis squeezed her hand. “Forget it. Live in the present. And speaking of presents…here’s yours. Hi, Doug.”

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, after greeting the crowd in general. He slipped into the booth across from Jen, leaned over and kissed her quickly on the mouth.

She responded as naturally as if they touched every day. Oh, God, this is too easy. What am I doing? Is it just a habit? How will I know? Stop! Stop thinking. There’s no rush.

“What a week,” continued Doug, smiling at her, “and the weekend looks almost the same…except…for this.” He whipped out a pair of tickets. “A gift from the theater management. Red Sox game tomorrow night at 7:05. Wanna go?”

“Of course, she does,” said Alexis.

“I’m right here, girlfriend.” Jen rolled her eyes at Alexis before turning her attention to Doug. “I’d rather watch my brothers play in their summer league, but since that’s out, I’ll settle for Fenway and the Red Sox.”

“Knowing your family, maybe one day, your brothers really will play at Fenway Park.” Doug grabbed a lonely fry and popped it into his mouth. “Cold, but I’m hungry. Worked through lunch. No finger foods for me tonight.”

“You’re too late anyway,” said Jen, “but now you’re in luck. Bonnie’s here to take your order. Maybe she’ll feel sorry for you and rush it.”

She listened to him chat up their usual server, creating an instant rapport, and was amazed at the amount of food he wanted.

He glanced at her when he was finally done. “What? What?”

“Is my expression so readable?” Jen asked with a laugh. “You’ve ordered enough for five people.”

“Tomorrow’s lunch is in there. I won’t have to waste time making something.”

He looked so pleased with himself, she wanted laugh. But she also wanted to know more. “So, are you drowning or just totally immersed?”

“Totally immersed and feeling great. But always thinking about the deadline. This baby opens in three short months. September 14th, to be exact. Mark it in your calendar!”

She’d engrave it in her memory. “Looks like no summer vacation for you, that’s for sure.”

“There’s always next year. This play’s more important now.”

“I understand that,” she said, nodding, but then teased, “so you won’t be jealous when I’m at the Cape? I usually take long weekends, which seem so short! In fact, the whole summer always seems to speed by every year. I guess I like the beach!”

“Time’s a funny thing, Jenny. It’s elastic. It speeds by when you’re happy and busy, and crawls when you’re miserable. When I first got to New York—hmm….someday, I’ll tell you how slow motion feels.”

Their lighthearted conversation darkened. She’d thought he’d forget about her with all the new challenges he’d faced in the Big Apple. She’d told herself what they’d had was a puppy love. But the longing in his gaze at that moment put a lie to that.

“Wow,” she whispered ruefully. “I knew it would be tough. but my idea wasn’t meant to….”

His smile returned as though it had never disappeared. “Right now, I have an idea you’re going to love.” He stood and called out to the couple of honor, urging Matt and Liz to the table.

“How about you guys plan on a trip back here for opening night of The Sanctuary. It’ll give all of us something extra to look forward to —an excuse for a big reunion.”

Jen watched her girlfriend’s smile grow while Matt nodded. “If we can swing it, we sure will.”

“Oh, we’ll swing it,” said Liz. “I’m excited about Kentucky, but I’m determined not to lose touch with my friends here. My mom still has friends from her childhood, and that is one attribute I want to emulate.”

“Oh, Liz, I’m so glad,” said Jen. Impulsively, she squeezed her friend’s hand. “We’ve got to find time.”

“No, Jennifer. We’ve got to make time. Laziness is out! My mother said it takes effort. ‘Don’t stand on ceremony. Pick up the phone,’” she always told me.

“She’s never heard of email?” asked Matt. “Texting’s even better.”

“She had plenty to say about that, too! Nothing replaces a phone call or a real visit. So your idea is perfect, Doug. We’ll be here.”

Jen watched the couple walk away and chat with others. Tears stung her eyes, which surprised her.

“Jenny! What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing. I’m just an idiot.” And now he’d have questions. The guy was totally tuned into her.

“You won’t lose Lizzy, sweetheart. You heard her.”

“I know. It’s just…” Well maybe he deserved the truth. “I’m not Liz.” She could barely get the words out.

“And?” he replied softly, his tone neutral.

She glanced up. “Tuned in” was barely the right expression. He was laser- focused on her. “I admire her attitude. She’s brave to go so far away. Despite everything, I-I still don’t think I could do it,” she whispered, as tears threatened once more. And if she couldn’t, she’d disappoint him again.

In an instant, he stood next to her. “C’mon.” He pulled her up and held her close. “No one’s forcing you, Jen. I’m certainly not. And think about this: if that confession is upsetting you… you’ve actually opened yourself to possibilities.”

Had she? For a long time, the idea of leaving her family had been a closed door. She’d slammed it shut and thrown away the key. Until Doug had come back. Until she’d opened up her eyes to those around her, like Liz and Matt. She’d hidden her head when other co-workers had relocated, but she couldn’t hide this time. Liz was a real friend. So was the rest of her Friday night crew. “I guess nothing stays the same,” she admitted, “and that gives me a stomachache.”

“I know.”

“Are you a shrink in disguise?” she asked, suddenly suspicious, and suddenly recalling that he’d minored in psychology. “Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself.”

He cocked his head, and a tiny smile emerged. But all he said was, “Don’t give me too much credit, Jenny. You’re not as unique as you might imagine. Everyone gets uptight when changes hit them.”

“And then?”

He nodded at the couple approaching the mic. Matt and Liz. “And then, I guess, you sing.”

She’d been singing all her life, all types of music. But it hadn’t made her a braver person. In fact, it provided cover, keeping her too busy to think.

The opening notes started, familiar and perfect, from the Beatles—and perfect for the couple facing a new adventure—who sang about getting by with a little help from their friends.

Jen took it all in while swirling in a whirlpool of emotion—sadness, joy, regret, anger, disappointment. Her friends had found what she had lost.

Not lost, she corrected herself. What she had rejected.

She studied the man who’d been the boy she’d loved. The man who still set her heart racing, the man who seemed to have the patience of Job, at least with her. But he was also a man determined to fulfill his goals and ambitions. A man who wasn’t afraid of anything, not even of taking another chance on her.

She closed her eyes, wishing she felt stronger, wishing she could talk to her mom. Lucky Liz.

“If my mom were still here, we wouldn’t be in this situation. If my folks were still around…”

“We might not have met,” interrupted Doug. “Stop torturing yourself and move on.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed. “That sounded fierce.”

“It’s time, Jen. It’s time.”

If he only knew how