Weekends Required (Danvers #1)(21)
He seemed to have lost all of his poise and polish this weekend and was in high school trying to control his hormones, or as they said back then, ‘having a boner all weekend long.’ With a grimace, Jason stood up and jolted Claire out of the fog that she’d been in since his announcement of the weekend work requirement.
~~~
Claire looked up as Jason rose from the desk and began packing his suitcase. She wondered how to broach the subject of the weekend work again without angering him and jeopardizing her job. You have until next weekend to work something out with him, just let it go for now and worry about it later. Claire stood and packed her side of the desk up and walked quickly towards the connecting door.
“Claire.” Hearing her name, she turned to look at Jason inquiringly. “I told Harold that I would be downstairs soon. He and the other guys are in the room at the back of the house and with Liz gone right now you should be in the clear if you’d rather leave and avoid saying goodbyes.”
Overcome with relief and gratitude, Claire said a heartfelt, “Thank you, I really appreciate it,” and quietly left the room.
Even though she felt sure that Harold and Liz didn’t know what had happened last night, she was still grateful to avoid seeing them when she left. She quickly gathered her clothing and toiletries and was soon packed. When she heard Jason’s door close, she allowed an additional ten minutes and quietly left her room. She made her way cautiously down the stairs, relieved to see that the foyer was indeed empty. She wasted no time in loading her items in the car and heading down the drive.
Claire felt almost as if she were fleeing, the relief was so great when she made it down the driveway and was back on the road. To say she was puzzled by Jason’s behavior was an understatement. Upon awaking this morning, Claire instantly imagined the talk between Jason and herself concerning the previous night. She fully expected a condescending lecture at the very least and a termination of her employment with Danvers International as the worst-case scenario. Claire was hesitant to think that Jason had decided to let the matter drop.
She didn’t know what she would do if Jason pushed the issue of her quitting the job at Partiez Plus. The extra income barely covered her mother’s medication each month. He also mentioned working on the weekends for the next few months. Luckily, the bachelor parties were usually later in the evening, so she didn’t foresee that being a problem; however it would limit the amount of time she could spend with her mother on the weekends. Claire noticed an approaching rest area and stopped to give Louise a call.
Hearing Louise’s voice on the other end of the line always brought a smile to her face. “Hey Louise, how are you doing today?” asked Claire.
“Oh honey, I’m doing just fine; these old bones are still getting me around and the ticker is beating strong,” laughed Louise.
“I’ll be hearing you use that same line twenty years from now Louise,” said Claire with a smile.
“I don’t know about that honey, but I hope to be saying it tomorrow; one day at a time at my age, you know?” She had a similar exchange with Louise on every call.
Truthfully Louise never seemed to age, she still looked the same today as she did when Claire had first met her. “I was going to come over for dinner. Can I bring anything?” inquired Claire.
“Honey I don’t need anything; I’ve everything I need to make the homemade spaghetti you love.”
“Oh Louise, you don’t have to do that, but I would be more than happy to eat it! How is mom doing today?” Hearing the pause in Louise’s voice, Claire knew this was not a good day for her mother.
“She’s fine honey, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you. Give her time today; she’s been a bit confused.”
Sighing, Claire said, “That happens so often now, maybe I should talk to the doctor again about possibly changing some of her medications. The last one he added seems to be making her worse.”
“I don’t know if that will help honey, I think the good lord above controls most everything for us down below,” replied Louise. She said her goodbyes to Louise and started back on the road wanting to stop at her apartment for a shower and a quick nap before going to her mother’s for dinner.
Chapter Nine
When she finally arrived home, Claire pulled into her parking spot and turned to retrieve her suitcase from the back seat. As she was straightening up she heard a voice that made her inwardly cringe. “Claire, you’re back! Old Billy has scored those Neil Diamond tickets that I told you about.” No, No, NO! Please lord haven’t I been through enough this weekend? Please, if you make him go away I promise I’ll go to church every Sunday, be kind to old people and donate something to charity that I’m not counting on my taxes.
As Billy smiled down at her Claire wondered why the universe seemed to be against her this weekend. She’d not made it to her apartment in weeks without being accosted by Billy as she was leaving the car. Could he actually be in his apartment waiting for her every day? No, surely even he had more to do than spend hours watching for her arrival.
“Hey Billy, how’s it going?” asked Claire with a tight smile.
“Did you hear what I said about the Neil Diamond tickets?”
“Er... Yes, I heard that but I’m sure there’s someone you’d rather take than me Billy, maybe Melissa in 4B; she loves concerts,” supplied Claire hopefully.