by J. A. Rawls
“No, dad, not my thing, I’m not an outdoors type. Jake does some when he’s home, but I can’t keep plants alive.” She took a deep breath, “Dad, I bet you’re wondering why mom and I came over this morning.”
“Well, I never gave it much thought. I figure you were here to see me, since your mom,” he glared at Jana, “couldn’t keep her mouth shut about my cancer. I knew you’d come.”
“Let’s not go there dad. I’m really angry with you for not calling me. I’m not a little girl any more who needs protection. I can handle the bad stuff just like any other grown up.”
“I know honey, but it’s hard for me to think of you as other than my little girl.” He took her hand in his.
“Dad, we need to be serious here. I have something to say and I want you to listen and, if possible, I’d like you not to say anything until I’m done.”
“I can’t talk? That doesn’t seem fair,” he teased.
“Dad, I need your word you won’t interrupt.”
“Okay, I agree. I’ll listen and when you’re done hopefully you’ll let me talk.”
Liza took a deep breath, “When mom called me the other day and told me you had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, I was angry. Why angry you ask; because you didn’t call me.” Pausing to see his reaction and finding none, she continued, “You have always avoided telling me anything unpleasant. You tended to leave it to mom while you were married, but since you aren’t married any more, you should have called me.” Reclining in her chair, she took a drink of her ice tea. “That’s off my chest, let’s get down to business.”
“That wasn’t it?”
“No, I’m not done. No!” She held up her hand like a stop sign to keep him from continuing. “You promised you wouldn’t talk,” she scolded him and laughed. “Okay back to the business at hand; I want you to change the legal documents you had drawn up that left mom in charge of your company. I want you to put me in charge. I’ve worked for you both since I was sixteen and I know you’ve been pleased with my performance. I know how the business is run and I can handle it dad, I know I can. To help, I’ve asked mom to be an on-call consultant, but the oversight of your company would fall to me.” She waited for him to respond.
Craig looked at Jana, “Do you agree with her?”
“Absolutely, Liza is more than capable of handling this, and I won’t be that far away if she has any problems. You have a strong senior staff and they will help her when needed. If she has questions, I’m but a phone call away.” Her eyes met Craig’s, “And it does still keep the business in the family.”
“But, Jana, you agreed to do this. I see no reason to make this type of change,” Craig crossed his arms and stubbornly raised his chest in defiance.
‘Dad, don’t talk to mom like I’m not here,” Liza snapped. “I want you to do this for me. It’s what you’ve been promising me for years. By giving this to mom, you’re telling me I’m not ready.”
“Liza, that’s not what I’m saying. You’re ready, but you don’t live here. Your mom is here all the time.”
“You’re wrong dad, I do live here. I moved into mom’s condo yesterday and I intend to stay here to help you-if you let me. Of course if you don’t want me to work for you then I’ll go to work for mom until Jake gets back from Iraq.”
“You’ve moved here, but why?”
“Because mom asked me to dad, is that so hard to understand? She feels she needs my help to run your business. Why don’t you think so?”
“I just didn’t think you’d come.”
“You didn’t ask me, so how would you know?” Liza gritted her teeth and continued. “Look, dad, you need to decide, do you want my help or not. If not, that’s fine I can deal with that. If you do, you need to put it in writing.”
“I’m sorry honey.” He sighed; his shoulders fell, “I know I didn’t handle this well. I’ll do whatever I need to set this right, I promise.”
The doorbell rang and Liza looked at Jana and smiled. “Actually, dad, you don’t have to do that. James is at the door with the documents you need to sign.”
“How do you know that?”
“Dad, get real. Mom called him last night; told him what we wanted done and invited him here today. She had him make the changes needed to the documents you had drawn up.”
“You were pretty sure of yourself young lady,” her dad squeezed her fingers.
“Dad, just so you know. If you’d have said no, I’d have never spoken to you again,” forcing a smile, she squeezed his fingers in return.
“Liza, you know I love you and I’d never hurt you. I wanted to settle this quickly and because you weren’t here I opted for your mom.”
“Thanks a lot,” Jana replied snidely.
“Jana, you know I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Yea, right; you, as usual, took advantage of me and the sympathy I’d have for your problem. But, we don’t have to go there any longer since you’re going to make the changes we know you should have made to begin with. Even James said he tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“Let’s welcome James and get this over with.” Craig’s housekeeper led James onto the terrace.
“Good morning everyone, I hope I’m not late.”
“No James, you’re right on time, can I get you something to drink?”Craig was the ever ready host.
“No, thanks; I have an engagement with my family. I need to get this completed as quickly as possible.”
As James laid out the papers, Craig signed them.
“Craig, I’ll have these notarized and back to you in the morning with copies for Jana and Liza as well.”
“That’s fine James,” Craig stood and shook his hand, escorting him to the door.
“What do you think mom, do you think he’s mad at us?”
“Us no, me yes; your father doesn’t like it when I get him to do things he doesn’t want to do. He’s feeling like we ganged up on him.”
“Don’t you think he knew this is exactly what we’d do?”
“Sure he knew, and I think he’s been waiting for us to come here. I believe the old fool did this to bring us all back together. Like a family, if you know what I mean.”
“Why would he do that mom?”
“When he came to my office I got the feeling from his comments that he wanted to get back together, that he was sorry we’d separated. Hell, you confirmed that yesterday, but it’s too late.”
“Is it too late Jana?” Craig asked as he walked back onto the terrace and took his seat.
“Yes, it’s too late. I love you Craig, but not the way you need to love a person you want to be married to. We’re nothing but good friends now, and that’s all there can be. Since this is settled I’ve got bags to pack for my trip.” Jana stood, “Liza do you want to stay with your dad, or go home with me?”
“I’ll stay for a while if you don’t mind. I’ll take one of dad’s cars or maybe I can sweet talk him into giving me a ride.”
“Okay, I’m out of here. Craig thanks for everything, I think you made the right decision. Liza, see you later.” Turning, she walked into the house. It’s good when a plan comes together. Jana relaxed and thanked her lucky stars she had the daughter she did. Packing, all I need to do is pack. I’ll spend a quiet evening with Liza, board my plane tomorrow with Charlie and have a great trip. That’s exactly what I need, concentrating on my job and my company, that’s what’s important right now.
Three
Jana boarded the plane, taking her seat. She didn’t know where Charlie had gotten off to, but she knew he’d arrive soon. Sure enough, she looked up and saw him board. He took his time, flirting with each of the flight attendants as he moved toward her. Laughing and smiling, he sat down.
“So many women, so little time,” he muttered under his breath.
“You’re such a sleaze Charlie, grow up will you,” she laughed, enjoying the respite from all her personal problems. “Where’d you go?”
“I wanted to pick
up a few essentials for the trip. He took several small bottles of alcohol from his bag and put them in the seat pocket in front of him. “These are for later, they’ll help us sleep. I also picked up a few snacks and a great sandwich we can share.”
Jana rolled her eyes, “Charlie, we’re in first class; they feed us more often than they do in a hospital. Alcohol is free and you can get as blitzed as you want.”
“I know,” he whispered, “but this is better because we aren’t supposed to bring it on board; it’s contraband.”
“If they see it they’ll confiscate it.”
“Then we need to start drinking it immediately.” When the flight attendant brought them both coffee and a glass of tomato juice Charlie filled both the coffees to the brim, emptying the first bottle of Kahlúa from his stash.
“You’re nuts. If we get caught I’m going to tell them you’ve been trying to get me drunk since you sat down.” Jana laughed, enjoying every sip of her doctored coffee. “That was great; do you want me to ask for another cup?”
“Sure, it looks like we’re going to be here for a while as they’re still loading luggage. That’s the disadvantage of being the first to board, sure we get to enjoy a drink or two, have coffee, relax a little, but the wait is almost double of those having to wait in the terminal.” He held up his hand, “I know, I know, it’s better to be here than in the terminal, but it doesn’t really feel better right now.” He ran his hand through his hair, a nervous reaction, but he couldn’t help it. He rose and went to the front of the plane, leaned over and whispered to the flight attendant, and then went to the bathroom.
Within seconds, the attendant brought fresh coffee. “Your son is so nice; it must be great to travel with him.”
“He’s nice to travel with, but he’s not my son,” she winked at the young woman with legs up to her neck. “I use and abuse them, and then let young women like you take them off my hands. Are you interested?”
“Well, maybe, but I-I don’t think he’d be interested,” she stammered not believing what she was being asked.
“He’s a man, right?”
“Yes, ma’am, he’s definitely a man.” She blushed, excusing herself with haste, “I have other passengers to get settled.” She walked away talking to herself.
As Charlie took his seat, he opened another small bottle and topped off their coffee. “So, do you still think this is a bad idea?”
“I never thought it was a bad idea, I just don’t want to take the heat if you get caught. Oh and by the way, I think I got you a date once we land with that young flight attendant, the one with the killer legs.”
“You did what?”
“She told me how nice it was to see me traveling with my son. Trust me; I’m not happy that a woman would think that would be the only way an older woman and younger man would travel together. So I told her I use and abuse young men and then turn them loose for others to reap the benefits of my training.” She looked at Charlie, realizing he was speechless, his mouth was hanging open.
“You know I’m reconsidering whether you should be a cougar or not. This is making you crazy. Besides that, I don’t need a date, and if I did I’d make my own arrangements.” Looking aft his eyes fell on the taut skirt stretched tightly across the flight attendant’s derriere, and he smiled to himself. She is a pretty young thing and would definitely be a nice diversion for a couple of days. I’ll definitely see what I can arrange.
“Can I get you anything else before we take off?” the attendant asked Charlie when she returned.
Charlie leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Will you please bring my friend and I each a diet coke; what’s your name?”
“I’ll get that for you immediately,” she whispered back. She leaned forward even more, thrusting out her breasts and the name tag, ‘Anna’. Her pink tongue flicked at her pert lips, “I’m Anna.” She walked down the aisle, swaying her hips just a little more pronounced for Charlie’s visual pleasure.
“You’re such a schmuck,” Jana punched Charlie’s arm.
“I’m just passing time. Besides, you wanted to set me up; why can’t I put something together if I can? Oh, and by the way, why are we going to Frankfurt versus London? I thought our meetings were in London.”
“They are Charlie, but our first meeting isn’t until Monday afternoon and I really like Germany. I didn’t think you’d mind. If you don’t want to hang out with me, we can meet up on Monday morning for our flight to London.”
“That sounds great. Do we have reservations in Frankfurt for the weekend?
“Yes, they’re made, but you don’t have to use them if you make other plans.”
“I’ll let you know after we arrive.” He finished his drink and let the flight attendant know she could take the glasses when she had a chance. Reclining in his seat, he closed his eyes.
Jana relaxed in her seat as well, taking out a novel she’d picked up in the airport. She tried to read but her mind wouldn’t focus. She closed her eyes and laid her head back. Mike, how I wish you were here with me. The times we spent together this past week were ones I won’t forget; definitely a high point in my life. The low point of course was the news about Craig. Damn, cancer. There are going to be some rough roads ahead. Liza will help. She dozed off.
“Jana, wake up, we’ve been in the air about thirty minutes and I need a drinking partner.”
Groggily she opened her eyes and smiled. “What are we drinking now?”
“I have some vodka and some more Kahlúa. Name your poison.”
“I’ll take the Kahlúa. It’s the only alcohol I drink that is good in milk, soda or coffee. It’s one you can drink with breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
“I knew there was a reason I like this stuff too. You trained me well.”
“Stop, just use your boyish charm and get us another soda we can share. What’s for dinner, have you looked at the menu?”
“They have a fish; I think Salmon, and they have filet mignon both with vegetables and small potatoes. Anna said they’d be serving in a while.” He looked at her, “What do you want to talk about?”
“Anna? Making good time, aren’t you? Talk, anything you want, what’s up with you?”
“I guess now’s the time to tell you I can’t sleep on an airplane.”
“Actually you should have told me before we made the plans; I wouldn’t have brought you.”
“Don’t be mad,” he smiled, “I’ve never been able to relax enough to sleep. It used to make Sami crazy when I traveled with her.”
“How is your mom anyway? Is she back from her honeymoon? Did she have a good time? Has she said anything about Mike?”
“I got a call from her yesterday and she and David are back and all settled. She wasn’t going in to the office until Monday so she hadn’t seen Mike yet. I think she was glad to be back though, not sure she really likes traveling so much anymore.”
“I’m glad she’s happy; she deserves it,” Jana said
“Hey, “Charlie said, “it looks like they’re getting ready to serve dinner. Are you hungry?”
“Starved, what are you doing?” Jana watched Charlie get up from his seat.
“See that young man, in the front row by himself.”
“Yes, I see him so what?”
“Well he’s traveling to Germany, alone, to report to an Air Force Base there. He seems like he could use someone to talk to. I’d like to suggest he come back and have dinner with you while I try to get some action going with Anna. Do you mind?”
“I don’t mind,” Jana studied the young man ahead of her, “his name is Marshal. We met while we were boarding the plane. If he’s willing I’m game.”
Charlie proceeded down the aisle and took the seat next to Marshal.
Jana watched as Marshal kept turning and smiling shyly at her as Charlie talked. I shudder to think what he’s telling that young man. Opening her novel, she again tried to read. She noticed a movement to her left and looked up to see Marshal sliding into the seat.
She welcomed him with her most alluring smile. “What did Charlie tell you to get you to change seats?”
“He said you were his boss and all you wanted to talk about was work. He asked me to come back here and see if I could distract you from the job for a while. You don’t mind do you?” He flashed his most charming smile. “I think he really wants to see if he can score with Anna.”
“I think your last assessment is probably right on the mark,” Jana smiled, “but I don’t mind at all. It will be nice to have a conversation with someone whose hormones aren’t in overdrive.”
“Who said my hormones weren’t in overdrive? Don’t get me wrong here, but I need to be totally honest; you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in a long time and I’d love to get to know you better.”
“Really,” she blushed.
“Yes,” he glanced at the watch on his muscled forearm, “we have exactly eight hours to make that happen.” He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.
“Young man, you’re moving a little fast don’t you think?”
“Actually, no, I don’t think so. Life is short, and this may be the only time we have together. I don’t want to let this opportunity get away from me.”
Jana licked her lips, tasting her impetuous friend, “Are you trying to seduce me?”
“Not yet, but it’s definitely something we can work on after dinner.” He smiled taking her hand in his, lifting it to his mouth and kissing her palm, touching it ever so slightly with his tongue.
Jana shuddered; this could be one of the best flights across the pond she’d ever experienced. Gazing at Marshal, she smiled seductively, her non-verbal acquiescence to his plans, whatever they were going to be. Dinner was excellent, for airline food, and Jana was stuffed. “I can’t eat another bite.”
“I’m still hungry,” Marshal said. “I’m going to see if they have any crackers.” He rose and headed toward the galley.