Finally Getting Love Right

by Jamie Nichols

  “Yea, come on Kylee. Charlee.” Liz said, obviously knowing what it was about, pushing them into the yet again open elevator.

  When the elevator closed and had started moving, Sam turned to Pepper. “I wanted to talk to you about last night. I could not tell if you really wanted to move in or if you said yes because you felt pressured and were just being polite.” Sam finished pushing the down button.

  “I really want to move into the cottage, Sam. I was just a big mix of emotions last night.” She replied as they walked into the elevator.

  “Ok then. Now that that is settled. Will you be telling Kylee and Charlee or shall I?” Sam teased.

  “Can I tell them?” Pepper asked.

  “Of course you can!” Sam replied.

  They stepped off the elevator together giving off an over excited vibe. There was a quiet tension between them. When they reached the other girls it was apparent that they were all waiting to see what the two of them had talked about. Pepper grabbed Sams hand as well as Liz’s.

  “I have some news. I will be moving into Sam’s guest cottage as I have been evicted from my own apartment.” There was a twinge of pain in Peppers voice as she said it.

  “I am sorry to hear that.” Kylee said in a concerned tone.

  “Don’t be. There is nothing I can do about it. I am just glad that Sam was caring enough to help me.” Pepper replied with a smile. “So what are we doing down here Sam?”

  “How about we do some exploring?” Sam said.

  “Sounds fun to me.” Liz stated.

  “Me too.” Pepper, Kylee, and Charlee replied in tandem.

  Sam decided to show them the one place she knew, the ballroom. When they had reached the doorway, Sam slowed her pace. The girls had kept walking because unless they knew where to look they never would have noticed the doorway. There was a long velvet curtain hiding the ballroom doorway.

  “Girls, I want you to see something before we go too far.” Sam said stopping with her face toward the curtain. When they had turned around and joined her Kylee stated the obvious.

  “Why do you want us to see a curtain?”

  “Kylee. I do not want you to see a curtain. You have to learn to look beyond things.” Sam said sliding the curtain aside to reveal the doorway. There was a resounding gasp among the girls.

  Sam slid the key into the keyhole and turned until she heard it click. She had the girls close their eyes as she escorted them one by one into the pitch black room. After she escorted Charlee, who was the last one, into the ballroom she closed the curtain again and shut the door. She quietly flicked the lights on and walked over to where the girls stood.

  “Ok, now turn around and open your eyes.” Sam said. She knew they would be just as amazed as she had been when she first saw it. She wasn’t expecting, however, just exactly how Kylee and Charlee reacted.

  “I want to get married here!” They had said it in sync startling each other. Everyone just laughed at them.

  “Whoa. Hold on a second.” Sam began in a mean tone that caught everyone’s attention. “You two can get married here after I do.” She finished in hysterical laughter. It took a second for the joke to sink in. When it finally did everyone else joined her in laughter. After a few seconds more of laughing they decided that they would just explore later and join the men at the pool.

  “How about one day we all come back and play 007. We can sneak into the hotel and explore it all. We can dress up in black and try not to be seen?” Liz joked as they made their way to the pool.

  “Sounds like a plan Stan.” Kylee said winking at them.

  They spent the remainder of the morning playing volleyball and splashing around in the pool. Sam was slightly amused at how ‘manly’ the guys were trying to act. When 1 pm rolled around the group went back to their rooms to get ready for lunch.

  Sam was almost ready to go meet her friends for lunch when the phone in her room rang. She grabbed her shoes and walked to answer the phone.

  “Hello?” Sam answered the phone.

  “Hello. Miss Samantha Lee?” an older woman’s voice said sweetly.

  “Yes, This is she.” Sam said as she slid her shoes on.

  “This is Mr. Ames’ personal secretary. He has requested you to meet him in his office in 5 minutes.”

  “Ok. I will be right down. Thank you.” Sam said hanging up.

  She grabbed the master key and stuffed it in her pocket. Before she reached the elevator, she stopped by Liz’s’ room to fill her in. She asked Liz to round up everyone in the lobby and she would meet them there. Liz was trying desperately to be inquisitive but Sam let nothing be known. Sam walked away with a smile on her face.

  Sam waltzed into Georges’ office in a very informal fashion. She did not bother to knock or even say Hello. She just walked right in. The secretary turned her nose up at her when she walked in. Sam decided that it was simply because she was jealous.

  “I am here to see Mr. Ames.” Sam stated.

  “Mr. Ames is expecting someone. Surely you don’t think that is you. He would not give you the time of day.” The secretary was certainly an unhappy old broad. Sam brushed her tone off and replied with, what she thought was, a witty remark.

  “I assure you that is all but plainly obvious that I am the one he is expecting since you yourself just a few minutes ago called my room and told me to come down here.” Sam raised her eyebrow slightly.

  “Oh. Well. Go in then.” She snooted.

  “Oh. I will.” Sam shot back. She wasn’t trying to be mean about it but she knew it came out that way.

  “Sam. I hope my secretary didn’t give you too much trouble.” George said walking over to greet her while he shot a glance at the secretary.

  “Not at all.” Sam said sarcastically.

  “Are you ready to eat then?” He asked.

  “I am.” She said.

  “Great. Before we go though..” George pulled her in for a passionate kiss.

  They dined at Rita’s Bar and Grill located down by the docks on the lake. When they had all finished eating, George had to argue with the guys to get them to go golfing for the afternoon. Sam knew they were not really going golfing. She was careful not to lead anything on to them, however.

  Sam had convinced the girls rather easily to spend the afternoon at the spa. They chatted continuously about the two upcoming weddings. They all were treated to manicures, pedicures, massages, and other various spa treatments. When they went to pay for it, however, they were informed that everything was on the house. Smiling, they emerged from the spa only to be greeted by the guys smiling from ear to ear.

  “You are all being treated tonight. Ladies your dates know your plans for tonight. Have fun now.” George said smiling.

  The rest of the girls looked surprised. Sam was glad to be on the giving end for once instead of the receiving end. She watched the others walk off in all different directions before turning back to George. He wasn’t dressed up in his suit and tie as he had been earlier. He was now wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He looked like he was actually trying to fit in for once.

  “Shall we?” He said with an overly toothy grin.

  Sam took his outstretched hand. They headed to his suite for dinner. When they arrived, there was a table in the middle of the dining room. It was set for yet another candlelit dinner for two. They ate in near silence. When Sam was done eating, she excused herself to the bathroom. She splashed some water on her face before heading back out to face him.

  “Ok, I give up. Why the silence?” Sam said as she walked back toward the table.

  “I am not sure actually. I was going to ask you the same thing.” He answered laughing.

  They laughed for hours after that. All it had taken was Sam to break the ice. ‘You would think that he didn’t know how to talk to me anymore’ she thought to herself. George lit a fire in the small fireplace that was in the center of his living room. Sam decided to take the opportunity to lay her head in his lap. She had needs to after all. To his di
sappointment, however, She had fallen asleep in his lap within a matter of minutes.

  .

  CHAPTER 6: THE BEST IDEA IN THE WORLD

  Monday after work Sam arrived home only to receive a frustrating letter in the mail. The letter was sent from someone who apparently wanted to remain anonymous. It was only a short paragraph long but it had the most disturbing details within its words.

  Sam shuddered as she read:

  Samantha Lee, I have known Will for some time now. I thought it best that you be informed that he is married to Elle. He has been married to her for almost 10 years now. They are scam artists. You are not the only girl that he has led to believe she was only his ex-girlfriend.

  Anonymous

  Even though what the letter informed her of meant that she had been with a married man, she just didn’t care anymore. Sam decided that it was good ammo if she ever needed it though. Even if Sam wanted to care she didn’t have the time to think about it. Pepper was going to be there in a matter of minutes. Today was move in day. It turned out that once the possibility came up that she could move out, Pepper had realized just how bad she needed to move out. Now, Pepper couldn’t wait to get out of her apartment. When there is a knock at the door, she assumes that pepper has arrived early. She was speechless, however, when she saw who it actually was.

  “Don’t you know how to just leave me alone?” Sam screeched when she opened the door. She thought it was an odd coincidence that he just happened to be here when she had just received that letter moments ago.

  “Sam, I know but I want you to have dinner with me please?”

  “No!”

  “Please?”

  “No. But I will do you one better.”

  “How?”

  “I won’t tell everyone your secret.” Sam said pointing toward her ring finger.

  “How did you find out about that?” Will asked angrily as his face lost color.

  “I have my sources. Here is the deal, Will. You are going to sign a binding contract stating that you will stay away from me, that you have absolutely no claim to anything I own or that we purchased together, and that if you do either of those things I will press charges that you will plead guilty to. If you sign it at the courthouse I will drop the charges that I do have on you now.”

  “Fine.” He was steaming mad.

  “8 am at the courthouse. Not a minute late!” Sam said slamming the door in his face. She took one second to feel sorry for him. Just as fast Pepper was there with everything she owned.

  It took exactly 2 hours to move all of Sam’s boxes into the basement and all of Peppers into the cottage. Jeffrey was there so Sam didn’t bother to help unpack. With the looks they were giving each other she figured they wanted to be alone.

  The next morning Sam and her lawyer, Mr. Parker, met Will at the courthouse. Mr. Parker was a tall, lanky, and nerdy man. He was very nice though and always got things done for her. It only took 10 minutes to legally file a notarized copy of the contract. Now, Sam could officially take her life back and move on. She was excited.

  When she got to work it was already full of life. The day breezed by. Sam’s classes went 100 times better than she had expected. Maybe it was her mood, or maybe it was they were just that good. George surprised her after work. He wanted to see her house and just spend time with her. When they got to her house they were greeted with dinner already on table.

  “What’s this?” Sam asked Pepper.

  “Well, George left a message on the machine after you left saying he would be by tonight, so I just thought we could have dinner together.”

  “Smells delicious!” George said sniffing the air.

  “I’d say so. Let’s eat!” Sam said as she was starving.

  They laughed their way through the meal. Pepper excused herself the second she was done eating. She had a date with Jeffrey to get ready for. Sam and George cleaned up the mess then settled in the living room with a glass of wine.

  “Your house fits you well. I imagined it exactly like this when you told me about the first house you wanted to buy one day.” George said sipping his wine.

  “I forgot I had told you that.” Sam replied with an embarrassed smile.

  “Hell, I had forgotten that you had told me until I saw the painting in the hallway.” George said.

  “I should have gotten rid of that a long time ago. It was just a reminder of how really great life could be.” She replied gulping her wine.

  “Why does it represent that is good to you? It is a painting of the beach house. I would think that it would cause you more pain than happiness.”

  “I never said it made me happy, George. The first few days there were amazing. Those are the memories I take from the beach. I had blocked out all the bad memories until I saw you again.” Sam was surprisingly smiling.

  “I see.” He said puzzled.

  “This may seem like a weird question but will you help me with something?”

  “It is not a weird question but sure.”

  “Here is where it gets weird.” She began. “Follow me.” Sam got up and headed to her room. “I can’t bring myself to go through it alone.”

  George was dumbfounded when he entered her room. He felt like he had been sucked into a time machine. Back to a time when they were together before he left her. He saw exactly what she needed help with before she even had the chance to point it out. He had given it to her the last Christmas that they had spent together.

  “I need your help finding out what is in it. I haven’t had the courage to open it at all since I got home.” She was oblivious to the fact that he had already known that, ‘if she had given it to me I would have don’t the same thing’ he thought as she was talking.

  “Ok let’s do this together.” George said.

  “Ok.” Sam smiled. They sat on the floor in front of the trunk.

  “Before we start can I ask you something?” George said looking her dead in the eyes.

  “What?” She said quietly.

  “Why did you keep this furniture? Better yet, why did you let him sleep in it with you.” He sounded mad but was obviously referring to the bed.

  “Well, I kept it because I love it. He never slept in it though. I have another whole set of furniture. I honestly just switched it out again a few weeks ago.

  “Oh.” He replied obviously relieved.

  They spent the next hour slowly going through the contents of the trunk. Sam pulled out a box of old letters and put them aside. They had promised each other that they wouldn’t read them until either the night before they were married or after 10 years, whichever came first. There wasn’t much else in the trunk really. They found a lot of pictures that the two of them had taken, as well as the blanket she had made him their first Christmas together. They cuddled underneath the blanket and soon fell asleep right on the floor. When Sam woke up she was surprised to find herself in George’s arms.

  “Good Morning.” He whispered.

  “Good Morning.” Sam whispered back. “Are you hungry?”

  “Actually I kind of am.” He said.

  They walked into the kitchen in a giggly but happy mood. They decided to make some pancakes. By the time they were done, the entire kitchen was covered in flour and other baking essentials. They made enough pancakes for 4 people. Pepper walked in and just stared at the mess.

  “I am not cleaning this up.” She said startling the duo.

  “I wasn’t expecting you too.” Sam said still laughing as she herself was covered in flour.

  “Good.” Pepper said wiping off a chair to sit down.

  “How was your date?” Sam asked as she took her plate and a plate for Pepper to the table.

  “It was ok.” Pepper replied digging into the pancakes that had just been laid before her.

  “Just ok?” Sam tried to prod.

  “Yes, just ok. At least that is all I am going to tell you for the time being.” She replied “It is ok I will just ask Jeffrey.” Sam said stuffing a heaping forkful o
f pancakes into her mouth.

  “Let’s clean this mess up.” Sam said to George as soon as Pepper had left.

  “I suppose so.” George said.

  It took them a full hour to clean up the mess they had made. By the time they were done they both needed a shower. Sam took hers first, trying to hurry before the hot water ran out. When she got out George informed her that he had to go.

  “What about your shower?” Sam asked anxiously.

  “I can grab one when I get home quickly. I will call you tonight.” He said as he headed out the door.

  Sam got to work about half hour later than she would have liked to. When she arrived Max said that he needed to talk to her. She quickly said it would have to be after her first class. When she got to her classroom she was surprised to see just how much her beginners class had improved, the hour she had with them seemed like barely enough time to work with each student individually. When class was over Sam went down to her office to breathe before her next class. Max had watched her walk into her office and took the opportunity to go talk to her.

  “Hey Sam.” Max said as he appeared in her doorway.

  “Hey Max.” Sam said.

  “I have a serious favor to ask.” He said timidly.

  “Ask away my friend.” Sam said with a smile.

  “I really need your help to write a song for Charlee for when the baby comes. I have tried but it never comes out right.” He sounded flustered.

  “Ok. I will help you. What have you come up with so far?”

  Maxed grabbed the acoustic guitar that sam kept on her wall. He played a melody that resembled some kind of holiday gimmick song. The lyrics were all over the place. Sam could tell why he still looked frustrated after he played it.

  “What kind of song are you trying to write? Slow or fast? Romantic or sentimental? Holiday or normal?”

  “Slow, sentimental but with a hint of romance, and definitely not a holiday song. I want to be able to belt it out in the hospital. You can’t really belt out a fast song in the hospital.”