Between You and Me

by Lynn Turner

  “Doctor Finnegan Kane and Doctor Simon Faulk,” she began. “This is Gordon Oliver.”

  A man about Finn’s age and stature appeared on the smaller screen.

  “He heads PlaceMATS, a leading manufacturer of materials in Santa Clara, California. He’ll be in charge of producing the artificial skin and sensors for your smart limbs.”

  The man nodded and Finn and Simon mirrored his greeting, and the camera panned again.

  “Here is Anthony Vargas of SymBionic in Conroe, Texas, one of the biggest suppliers of robotic parts Stateside. He’ll be producing all moving parts for the limbs.”

  Anthony was a round, balding man of medium build. He looked pissed, but it turned out to be his resting face. Finn held back a chuckle, nodding his greeting, and Simon nearly choked next to him. Finn kicked his comrade underneath the table and the camera panned again.

  “Rounding out the team,” Emanuela said, “is Alexandra Martinez. Her plant based in Tijuana, Mexico will assemble the components into the final products. The safe and climate-controlled storage facility is also located there.”

  Finn and Simon nodded in welcome at the soft visage of the bronzed, middle-aged woman who appeared on the smaller screen.

  “Well done,” Philip said.

  For the life of him Finn couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. Emanuela was amazing, that much was clear, but she had simply introduced a few people. That didn’t merit high praise and a pat on her shoulder. He scowled and decided it was as good a time as any to say something-anything-to draw Philip’s attention elsewhere.

  “Will there be difficulty getting our products certified Made in the USA since they’re to be assembled in Mexico?” he asked. “I know the label doesn’t ensure quality, but that’s the way things are perceived by the nation at large.”

  “You can take this one, Em,” Philip said.

  Fuck’s sake. He’s coddling her! Finn folded his arms across his chest.

  She seemed confused for a second before she caught herself. “Thank you. I’m going to redirect to Mr. Brian Richards—”

  “Just Brian,” he said, interrupting in his typical manner.

  Finn’s jaw tightened to stop himself from smirking. Ah, Brian the asshole.

  “Brian.” Emanuela humored him. “As the head of our financial division, he’s best equipped to explain the marketing side of things. Federal Trade Commission rules can be tricky, but we’ve managed to come up with an approach that will guarantee the best quality of materials and construction possible,” she explained. “Brian? All yours.”

  The camera panned again and Finn almost laughed out loud. Brian looked exactly the way he thought he would. That is, nothing stood out about him. He had an average build, average features and appeared to be average height. There was nothing gripping about his voice. No wonder he’s got a chip on his shoulder. The man lacked charisma. Even now, he was talking and Finn wasn’t paying attention.

  “So,” Brian said, “by contracting the production of individual parts for your products to well-known and respected companies here in the U.S., customers from industry to patients will be confident that what they’re getting is safe and effective. Partnering with Mrs. Martinez to assemble the products saves money and creates job growth in the border region between Tijuana and San Diego…”

  Brian was still talking but Finn’s attention was on Emanuela’s tense face. What’s that about? She cast an apologetic look at Mrs. Martinez, who smiled back but gave Emanuela a quick nod to acknowledge her wordless apology. Whatever it was that Brian had said must’ve been quite the blunder. Finn looked at Philip to gauge his reaction but either he hadn’t noticed or his poker face was better than Emanuela’s. Finn tuned back in.

  “Although the smart limbs will be assembled in Mexico, their individual parts will be made in the U.S., so they will fully comply with FTC standards. Storage is on-site and transport is much more cost-effective from Mexico into the United States than from overseas.”

  Emanuela looked into the LCD monitor nearest her, her warm smile reaching her eyes. Finn read her sympathetic expression and softened his features in response. This was a tedious task, and he knew she was working hard to make it seamless for his benefit. The manufacturers had to be flown in to sign non-disclosure agreements in person, in front of the firm’s business lawyer and a notary. Finn hated to admit it, but he was grateful that Philip had been adamant about including him and Simon in the process. Full disclosure all the way through.

  At that moment, Finn couldn’t have repeated what Brian said if he was asked because Philip’s hand was on Emanuela’s arm and her attention was diverted. The gesture wouldn’t have put him on edge if Philip’s hand hadn’t remained on her arm the entire time he spoke…and she wasn’t leaning into him.

  What the hell?

  Finn watched her nod and search for something briefly, her brow creased in mild consternation. Then Philip handed her something. What is that? Finn wondered, and then he recognized the small object. A pen?

  He grunted because he couldn’t curse. Simon cut his eyes at him in question and Finn shook his head dismissively. This is taking forever. Just get on with it.

  Emanuela scribbled some notes and then excused herself during Brian’s too-long speech. Finn made a mental note to ask Simon for his annotated version later.

  “If there are no further questions,” Philip said at last, “we’ll get the signing underway.” He surveyed the room and the monitors to confirm that no one had anything to add. Satisfied, he addressed the pair on the screens. “I’d offer you gentlemen some refreshment if you were here.” He smiled. “It’ll just be a moment.” He turned his earnest attention to Mrs. Martinez in a private conversation to the side.

  Finn had already disengaged. The others were talking amongst themselves, so Simon turned to his friend with avid curiosity. “How long has that been a thing?” he asked, too low for anyone but Finn to hear.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t give me a hard time. You were in a good mood this morning, then all of a sudden you got antsy, you couldn’t keep still, and you’ve still got that constipated look on your face. I can multitask, you know. Your fidgeting and your attitude got worse every time a certain lovely lady showed up on our screen.”

  Finn didn’t say anything. He bit his lip in agitation and shifted in his seat.

  “What I couldn’t seem to figure out during this little show,” Simon said, undaunted, “is why? I can’t imagine she’s done anything in the short time we’ve known her to cause you any upset. And then I realized it isn’t her. It’s you.”

  Finn cut his eyes at his friend, his expression flat.

  “That was jealousy on your face, plain as day,” Simon said.

  Before Finn could respond, Emanuela returned with a slight, gray-haired woman who carried a clipboard and file. “Okay,” Emanuela said. “What do you say we go ahead and make it official?”

  Cheers erupted around the table and Finn was caught up in the moment right along with everyone else. A year ago, this was a fading dream. Finn had hoped to get this far, and here it was, happening right before his eyes. He felt many things in that moment; grateful, relieved, vindicated. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. He thought he would feel content. Where was that emotion? Watching Emanuela shake hands and congratulate her colleagues brought the feeling of longing back that he seemed unable to escape at just the thought of her. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

  “Maybe it wasn’t just jealousy,” Simon said, squeezing Finn’s shoulder again.

  He didn’t push any further and Finn offered him a small smile of gratitude.

  “I’m so sorry.” Emanuela was speaking to them now.

  A few of the others stayed behind, finishing their refreshments and talking in hushed tones. Philip was speaking with all three manufacturers near the mini bar.

  “I know this isn’t how you’d prefer to spend your morning. Thanks for being patien
t with us and the formality of it all,” she said with a smile.

  “No, thank you, Emanuela!” said Simon. “This has been a very informative and rewarding process. It’s intriguing to see all of the moving parts of this machine working together.”

  Finn would have agreed in any other instant but he wasn’t feeling like himself, so he attempted a halfhearted smile. Emanuela’s smile seemed to falter in response, but Philip and the new manufacturing team drew their attention away to offer congratulations and farewells before they took their leave, and then it was just the three of them again.

  “I need to wrap a few things up here, but feel free to call me if anything comes up,” Emanuela said.

  “It was so good to see you again, Emanuela!”

  “It was great to see you, Simon.”

  “Take care.”

  Emanuela smiled after him and then focused her uneasy gaze on Finn. “I can call in a few hours, after I’ve finished up here.”

  “I’d like that,” he said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  ****

  “Are you okay, Finn?”

  Emanuela was having an unappetizing lunch in her office. It was the first chance she’d had all day to talk to him alone. She sensed that something was up after the meeting, but she was forced to put this conversation on hold for a pile of paperwork a mile high and what amounted to a scolding from her boss.

  “Quite honestly, I’m not sure how to answer that.”

  Dread crept into her throat, but she tried not to let it become evident in her voice. “I—can you just tell me what’s wrong?”

  Ordinarily, she would be up for the challenge of using her exceptional powers of perception to figure it out. Deep down, she knew the root of his anxiety because she felt it herself, but right now her heart was beating too loud and her head hurt too much so he would have to word it as best he could.

  “Please,” she said.

  He sighed. “What was that, between you and Philip?”

  “Oh, you saw that?”

  “It was kind of hard not to.”

  She bristled a little at his tone. “I thought it would be…I don’t know…a show of good faith, to defer your question to Brian. I laid into him at our last meeting and I don’t usually do that, although he tends to deserve it…” She was rambling “Your question, ideally, would have been better answered by him instead of me. I overstepped by letting Brian take your question after Philip delegated to me and he embarrassed us as well as Mrs. Martinez.”

  “I don’t think I understand—”

  “Brian is great at what he does,” she said. “But he doesn’t have the best bedside manner. It was totally inappropriate for him to mention that we’d be saving money by contracting with Mrs. Martinez’ company. It implied that we wanted to work with her merely as a means to an end and not for the quality of the services she can provide. Had I simply answered the question like Philip intended, this wouldn’t have happened. We’ve apologized, of course, and our partnership with her still stands, but it’s just not a great foot to start off on.”

  “Emanuela. God, I’m so sorry,” he said. “I feel like a complete ass. I noticed an awkward moment between you and Mrs. Martinez but I confess I wasn’t paying much attention to what Brian was saying.”

  “You were watching me.”

  “I was. And Philip.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Finn—”

  “I don’t want to text you. I don’t want to call you—”

  “Finn! I know the past two weeks have been…difficult. The time apart is wearing on me, too. How are other couples able to navigate long distance relationships when we can’t even survive thirteen days?”

  “Emanuela…”

  “Because we aren’t a couple and this isn’t a relationship.” She scoffed. “You’re about to break up with me and we aren’t even together.”

  “Emanuela, I don’t want to do those things because I want to see you. I want to hug you and kiss you and hold your hand—things normal people do when they’re dating.”

  She sobbed. He’d almost given her a heart attack.

  “See?” he said with an exasperated sigh. “Right now—right now I should be holding you.”

  A burst of laughter ripped through Emanuela’s body. Even to her own ears, it sounded broken. Beautifully broken. Like wind chimes in a storm.

  “Emanuela?”

  “Come to New Orleans with me.”

  “What?”

  “I’d planned to go with Allie, but she’s booked from now until eternity, so I’m asking you. Come with me. I was going to ask you anyway but now just seemed like a good time to bring it up.”

  “When?”

  “Two weeks from now. It’s only a weekend, but it’s the whole weekend. It’s more than we’ve had altogether so far and I’m really…I miss you.”

  It was quiet for what felt like an eternity, and she was sure Finn was trying to think of any obligations that would keep him from seeing her.

  “Okay,” he said at last.

  “Okay?” She knew what Okay meant but she needed to hear it again so she could play it over and over in her head, so that it was real.

  “Nothing could keep me away.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Finn spotted her before she saw him. She was off to the side, out of the way of the crowd of passengers swarming the baggage claim conveyor belts. Emanuela leaned against a white pillar, glowing and beautiful in her yellow sundress with her hair down in soft waves, the way he liked it. Her eyes were searching. She’d arrived the night before. He’d texted her when he landed fifteen minutes ago and now he smiled. She was looking for him. He was halfway down the escalator when her eyes finally found him.

  Time is such a peculiar thing, the only constant in life, the only thing that can be trusted as fact. It’s when something happened and for how long. Right now, time betrayed its constancy. For a moment, the loud hum of chatter, busy footsteps moving about, wheeled suitcases rolling across the floor, and periodic announcements over the PA system blended into meaningless white noise. Even the pace of his own heartbeat wasn’t certain. It seemed to move faster, pounding in his chest during the crowded escalator’s slow descent. It stopped altogether by the time he reached the bottom. For how long, he couldn’t be sure. Damn time. It wasn’t until his feet touched solid ground again, gravity planting him to smooth, polished linoleum that time picked back up.

  He stood before her moments later, sensing her hesitation. She drew her bottom lip into her mouth as if contemplating how she should greet him. It was a long, nearly unbearable month apart. Though they had shared many intimate moments over the last four weeks, exchanged countless “I miss yous,” and imagined this exact moment countless more, insecurity and doubt had needled at them both, because whatever this new thing was remained undefined. All of that melted away for Finn, who dropped his garment bag to the floor, his eyes never leaving Emanuela’s, and reached for her.

  His strong arms circled her waist and hauled her to him in a bear hug, her feet leaving the floor. Her arms rose to his shoulders and she buried her face in his neck, breathing him in. He did the same, turning his face into her hair and taking a long, slow drag.

  “You smell so good,” he mumbled against her neck.

  He felt her smile. “You too,” she murmured, not moving her face from the cozy nook in the curve of his shoulder. He wasn’t sure how long he held her when her body relaxed against him, allowing him to hold her up. He smiled against her neck and then pecked his way to her ear.

  “Hey you,” he whispered, pulling away enough to look into her flushed face.

  “Hey back.”

  Her tone was in that place just above a whisper that Finn knew took over whenever she was overcome with emotion. The clamor of their surroundings came back to them in full force and they reluctantly pulled apart. He hoisted his bag over his shoulder with one hand and reached for her hand with the other.

  “How was your flight?” she asked, leading them towa
rd the taxi depot.

  “Long. But worth it.” He looked pointedly at her and watched the pretty blush paint her cheeks again.

  The crowds rolling into the Crescent City for the Jazz and Heritage Festival made it difficult to hail a cab on the fly. The exasperated looks on the faces in the long line said it all.

  “This is madness,” he said.

  She just smiled and led him past the throng to the end of the line of taxies on the curb. A 1981 vintage marathon yellow checkered cab sat proudly at the back. Its curved corners and smooth lines stood out among the more modern taxis with their boxy shapes and big windows.

  “Wow,” Finn said. “This is amazing.”

  “I ’preciate dat,” the driver said humbly, putting Finn’s garment bag in the trunk and moving to open the back door.

  Finn waited for Emanuela to slide in and scoot to the other side before ducking into the refurbished beauty himself.

  “This is Morris,” she said as the driver took his seat. “This cab’s been in his family for almost forty years now. We’ve got him for the whole weekend.”

  “Miss Monroe is real generous,” Morris said in his lilting drawl.

  Emanuela smiled at him in the rearview mirror. “Well, you came very highly recommended.”

  “Nice to meet you, Morris,” Finn said warmly.

  He glanced at Emanuela and decided she was sitting too far away. “C’mere,” he said, curving his arm around her waist and pulling her to him.

  They were hip to hip, his long thigh against hers, and they sighed contentedly. He kissed the top of her head and she leaned into him. They were starting to relax into their easy company, any initial uncertainty after so much time apart replaced by the need to be close to each other.

  Finn caught Morris’s smiling glance in the rearview mirror, and then Morris navigated toward the 10 South. Traffic wasn’t too bad during the half hour ride from the airport to the French Quarter, the “Voo ka-RAY,” Morris called it. He entertained them with stories of drunken Mardi Gras passengers, and even weddings he was hired for to escort eccentric couples to the airport on their way to their honeymoon adventures.