When Love's at Work

by Merri Hiatt

  “What does your brother think of her?” Courtney asked.

  “Mostly that she’s an airhead and he doesn’t take anything she says seriously.”

  “Well, that’s good, at least,” Meg commented.

  To lighten the mood and to change the subject, Courtney inquired, “How’s the Garden Party shaping up?”

  “Good,” Pure started. “Actually, it was a huge mess for a while, but now things are all smoothed out. It’s tomorrow.”

  “Wow, that came up quickly,” Meg remarked. It seemed like Purity just started working on the project.

  “I kissed one of the board members tonight,” Purity blurted out.

  “What?” Meg and Court said in unison.

  “I hope it was that cutie Alex,” Courtney added.

  “It was,” Purity said and then regaled them with her woes about the Garden Party and Alex’s humor at her dismay. She recounted the words she’d flailed at him and that she told him she quit. Pure’s friends listened intently to the part where Purity apologized and they touched hands. Meg’s eyes sparkled as the scene unfolded and Courtney urged her to get to the kissing already.

  “Well, well, well,” Court said, when Pure was finished with her tale. “Purity and Alex sittin’ in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g…” she sang.

  Meg joined Courtney for the rest of the refrain. “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Pure with a baby carriage!”

  Purity couldn’t help but join them in the camaraderie. “I don’t know about babies, but there was some serious k-i-s-s-i-n-g going on.”

  “Isn’t it taboo to get involved with a co-worker?” Courtney asked.

  “Well, technically, Alex doesn’t work for The Kids’ Place, he’s a board member. They don’t get paid, but yeah,” she answered. “I think it is frowned upon.”

  “True love will always find a way,” Meg said.

  “Always the dreamer,” Courtney commented as she gave Meg’s shoulder a gentle shove.

  “Just because you’ve never been in love, you shouldn’t knock it,” Meggie replied.

  “I’m not knocking love, I’m knocking you for the googly eyes and that faraway look you get when you talk about love,” Courtney explained. “I don’t see that look on Pure’s face when she’s in love.”

  “That’s because I’m jaded,” Purity replied. “I think I’ve only had the look Meg gets one time and then I got burned. That turned me into a realist.” She reached over and gave Meg a hug. “Meg can be the dreamer for us all. We need someone to remind us that love will find a way, dreams really can come true, and the sun will come out tomorrow.”

  “The sun will come out…” Courtney began to sing.

  “No! Stop!” Meggie put her hand over Courtney’s mouth. ‘I hate that song.”

  “How can you hate that song?” Purity asked, with a gleam in her eye.

  As Meg began to answer, both Court and Purity began anew. “The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun…”

  “I’m leaving,” Meg threatened, as the two women burst into laughter.

  Their giggles died away and after a brief pause Purity said, “Well, I guess I can go home. Angela’s going to take care of everything.” The idea definitely didn’t sit well with her, but her mom was an adult and had all her faculties, so it was her decision to make and she had made it. She wondered what her brother would think about all this.

  “Come on, I’ll drive you home,” Courtney offered.

  “I’m fine to drive,” Purity began.

  Courtney interrupted her almost immediately. “You know I’m a night owl, Pure, and I’m used to staying up ‘til 3 or 4am every night. You’ve had a long day, topped off with an unexpected family emergency. I’m driving you home.”

  “Listen to Courtney,” Meg said. “If you don’t, I’ll whack you over the head with my bag and we’ll drag you to Court’s car. Either way, you’re not driving tonight.”

  She had good friends, Purity thought, as they made their way to the parking garage.

  What was it Tapestry always said? Your friends are your family of choice. These friends surely were.

  Chapter Six

  In five minutes the Garden Party would begin. Everything was in place. The dark green linen tablecloths were a wonderful backdrop for the brightly colored flower centerpieces. Tapestry made grapevine wreaths laced with berries and greenery and wrapped them around the slats on the ecru chair backs. It gave the illusion that the tables and chairs were part of nature’s plan.

  Solitaire Blues, Chance’s band, began playing, adding to the Garden Party’s atmosphere.

  Sheila Martin approached Purity. “Everything is set.” She handed Pure a list of the afternoon’s schedule. “We ended up with three kids willing to read poems, two bands, Gothic Marvel and Peanut Butter Express, two single mom’s and their children and one blended family who will recount stories of how The Kids’ Place helped them during hard times, and Nancy Glass is going to perform a dance she learned in her performing arts class.”

  “Perfect!” Purity exclaimed. “Sheila, once again, you’re amazing.”

  The scent of Marsha Persimmony’s vegetarian appetizer made Purity’s stomach dance. When was the last time she had eaten? Pure excused herself and quickly made her way to her car to grab a granola bar to tide her over. She always kept a few in the glove box just in case she didn’t get a chance to eat a real meal. It wouldn’t look good for the events coordinator to be eating on the job. Time had gotten away from her today. Pure ate quickly and her stomach settled down after receiving the nourishment.

  Pure’s eyes scanned the crowd. She tried to assure herself that she wasn’t looking for a dark-haired board member with a searing smile and kisses that made her toes tingle. It didn’t work. She felt the sting of disappointment when she realized Alex McCallister was not among the partygoers. He had said he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it, something about a flood in the men’s locker room.

  Purity had teased Alex about the high prestige of being a board member when she heard the news. His laughter at her comment was still warm in her heart.

  The event went smoothly and when Wendy Gallagher spoke about how much it meant to her that her children had a safe place to go after school and how that eased her mind because she lived in a high crime area, there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen. Her children, Joy and Madison, were six and eight, respectively. The thought of the two children being home alone, or out on the street until their mom could get home from work. was one of the reasons The Kids’ Place was a necessity in the community, not a luxury.

  Meanwhile, Alex McCallister and Judd Broadstreet were knee-deep in water in the men’s locker room. The two men were trying to get the toilets to stop flushing. The water was swirling at a fevered pitch, with liquid spewing everywhere. Lucky for them the toilets weren’t clogged; however, the water was not receding. The more the pressure increased, the higher the water around their legs rose.

  “This is not working,” Judd said, out of breath from all the plunging.

  “We’re going to need to call a plumber,” Alex agreed. “The longer we wait, the worse it’s going to get.”

  Judd waded his way back to the counter to grab his suit jacket. He figured his pants were ruined, although he did have an excellent dry cleaner. His shoes were a total loss.

  “I’ll make the call,” Judd said, wondering how much this would set their budget back.

  “Damn!” Alex muttered under his breath, tossing the plunger into the water. He was not a plumber and didn’t know the first thing about toilets, drains or flooding. He followed the same route Judd did, taking a towel from the rack on his way out.

  Alex was wringing out his shirt when he saw Charlie Mankins, a teenager about 16 years old with a wicked sense of style and a brain that was smart as a whip.

  “Hear you got yourself a flood in there,” Charlie said, approaching Alex.

  “It’s a hell of a mess,” Alex responded, sha
king Charlie’s hand.

  The force of the agitated water could be heard, even with the locker room door closed.

  “Mind if I take a look?” Charlie asked.

  “Be my guest.” Alex opened the door and walked down the short ramp and back into the cold water.

  “Might be a good idea to shut the water off,” Charlie said, his common sense stating the obvious.

  In his hurry to stop the overflow of water, Alex hadn’t thought about simply turning the valves off. He consoled himself with the fact that Judd hadn’t thought of it either.

  Charlie found the water intake valves and turned them off. The water stopped flowing.

  “Well, I feel pretty stupid,” Alex remarked.

  “No need,” Charlie replied. “It’s funny how sometimes you never think of the most obvious things when you’re right in the middle of a crisis. It’s like your brain cells go on vacation or somethin’.”

  Alex put a hand on Charlie’s back. “You’re a good man to have around in a tight spot, Charlie.”

  “That’s what my mom always says.”

  “Your mom’s right. Now, let’s get out of these wet clothes. I think we owe you a new pair of shoes and a pair of pants.”

  “You, too,” Charlie said.

  The clean-up crew was hard at work and within two hours the area where the Garden Party had been held looked undisturbed by human hands.

  Purity and Sheila were in Pure’s office toasting their success and putting paperwork, invoices, and programs in stacks to be dealt with tomorrow.

  Pure headed down the hallway to use the restroom and saw a light on under Alex’s office door. She tapped lightly and then opened the door, saying, “Anyone home?”

  There stood Alex in his white shirt, navy blue and white striped tie, suit jacket, white boxer shorts and nothing else.

  “Is this the new attire for board members?” Purity asked, not able to stifle a giggle.

  “Very funny.” Alex scowled. “I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to leave here without being seen. Got any ideas?”

  “Well,” Purity began, amused at the scene, “if you were a girl, I’d say just tie your suit jacket around your waist, but um… I’m not sure that works as well for a man.”

  “You’re enjoying this way too much,” Alex said, walking toward her.

  Purity was extremely aware of Alex’s lack of clothing and her great desire to wrap her arms around the virile man standing before her.

  “I think I’d better leave you to your own devices,” Purity said. “Besides, I have to use the restroom.” She quickly made her way back out the door. “Good luck,” she proffered through giggling lips.

  “You’re deserting me in my hour of need,” Alex countered at the doorway.

  Purity’s answer was a melodic laugh. It was becoming Alex’s favorite sound.

  He watched Purity walk down the hallway to the women’s restroom. He considered following her, then resisted the lascivious pull of his groin. Instead, he shut his office door, pulled on his still-wet slacks, socks and shoes and began cleaning off his desk before he headed for home.

  When Pure returned to her office, Sheila had her things gathered and was ready to leave.

  “Thanks, again, Sheila,” Purity said sincerely. “I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.”

  Sheila beamed at the praise and knew that Pure’s comments were earnest. And, the raise Purity had gotten her, and several other staff members, showed that she backed her words up with action. She hadn’t had a boss with integrity in a long time.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Purity said as she retrieved her belongings and headed out of the office into the hallway.

  The strains of Heart’s Magic Man could be heard and Purity checked the display on her cell phone to see who was calling.

  “Hey, bro,” she said, answering the call.

  “Hey, sis, long time no speak,” Bobby replied.

  “Are you in town?”

  “Yeah, I just got in. I’m headed over to the hospital to see mom. I can’t believe she’s having surgery tomorrow.”

  “What? Ang said she wasn’t having surgery and was going to be discharged.”

  “I don’t know about that. She called and said mom was having carotid artery surgery at 7am tomorrow morning.”

  Purity’s left hand clenched into a fist as the fingers on her right hand held her cell phone in a death grip.

  “She never tells me anything; then, if she does bother to tell me something, it’s inaccurate. I am so sick of this shit, Bob!” Pure tried to restrain her anger, but it seeped into her tone and spilled over in frustration.

  “I know. You have to consider the source, Pure. Ang has always been like this and she’s not going to change. We just have to learn how to work around her psychotic tendencies.”

  “You’re going to bunk at my place, right?” Purity asked, changing the subject.

  “I don’t want to put you out,” Bobby began, knowing Purity would interrupt him.

  “Don’t be silly. I have a whole bedroom just sitting there going to waste and I haven’t seen you since last Christmas. Please, please, please stay with me. I’ll make blueberry pancakes and home-made bread drenched in sweet cream butter.” Pure knew Bobby’s weaknesses and used them against him.

  “Okay,” Bobby said only slightly reluctantly. It would be good to catch up and. if he was lucky, Meg Silvers might come over for a visit, too. Ever since he saw her last Christmas, visions of her face and lithesome figure had appeared in his dreams, both day and night.

  “Do you remember how to get to my place?”

  “Geeze, Pure, it hasn’t been that long since I’ve been around. Yes, I know how to get to your place.”

  “I was just asking, you creep.”

  “Moron.”

  “Asshat.”

  “Stick-in-the-mud.”

  “Hey, I resent that one. I have not now, or ever, been a stick-in-the-mud.”

  “Okay, I take that one back. I’ll see you later tonight, sis.”

  “Okey dokey. I’ll have the bread waiting for you.”

  They both hung up their phones and Purity filled Sheila in on the latest news about her mother and her psycho sister.

  “Wow. That must be hard. I mean, it’s challenging enough to be dealing with your mom’s health issues but then to not even know if what your sister is telling you is true or not, or not even keeping you informed, well, that just makes it ten times worse.”

  “It certainly does.”

  Alex fell in step with the women. “Good evening, ladies.”

  “Hi Alex,” Sheila said, noting his drenched attire and the squishing sound his shoes made while he walked, but wisely not saying a word about either.

  “Nice outfit,” Purity couldn’t help commenting as her eyes gleamed with delight at his predicament.

  Alex ignored Pure’s comment. When they reached their cars, Sheila said, “Keep me informed about your mom. I’ll be praying for her, and you.”

  “Thanks, Sheila.” Purity said a quick prayer thanking God for Sheila’s presence in her life.

  “Did something new develop with your mom?”

  Purity filled Alex in on the surgery, her brother’s arrival and her sister’s non-communication.

  “I can be at the hospital tomorrow with you, if you’d like,” Alex said, closing the short distance between them.

  Purity could feel herself closing up. The barrier she had built years ago was strong and quickly came to her aid, even when it wasn’t needed. So much time had passed, she wasn’t sure how to stop the wall from keeping everyone at arm’s length any more. Well, not just anyone, men. She wanted to feel Alex’s reassuring arms around her, to accept the solace he so willingly and easily offered.

  She’d never had that in her life and she knew if she wanted it, and she desperately did want it, she needed to open herself up and risk being hurt. She just didn’t know how.

  “I can’t hear you,” Alex said,
trying to lighten the mood a little with a bit of humor. “I know you’re trying to say something.”

  Purity avoided his eyes, glancing down at his feet instead. Water was seeping out of his socks and dripping down his shoes.

  “You know those are goners,” she said, feeling much too exposed already.

  Alex reached out his hand and touched Purity on the arm. “If you want us to have a relationship, you’re going to have to let me in at some point.”

  “I know,” Purity replied, her voice barely audible. She swallowed hard and met Alex’s gaze. “I’m not really sure I can do this,” she paused. “I want to. You’ll never know how much I want to. It’s just… it’s just that I have huge trust issues. Gigantic. Mammoth. Colossal.”

  “Dr. Phil says you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge, so acknowledging it is half the battle,” Alex said rather philosophically.

  “Did you just quote Dr. Phil to me?” Purity replied, eyes wide in disbelief.

  “I like Dr. Phil. He’s full of wisdom,” Alex defended himself.

  “He’s full of something, but I’m not sure it’s wisdom,” Pure said, glad she was off the hot seat for a moment.

  Alex put his hands on either side of Purity’s face. “All I’m saying is that I already care about you a great deal and I’m willing to give you space and time. Are you willing to let me care about you?”

  No one had ever put it like that before. Was she willing to let Alex care about her? If something were to go awry, not only would her emotions be in a jumbled mess, but her job might be in jeopardy as well.

  Purity could feel her spirit leaning into Alex’s body space like a magnet to steel. Was she really taking a step toward him with her barriers discarded? Could it be this easy?

  “Looks like you got caught in a deep puddle,” the familiar voice sent shock waves down Purity’s spine.

  “We had a little trouble with the plumbing in the men’s locker room,” Alex responded, not recognizing the gentleman. He didn’t want to be cordial and polite. He wanted to encircle Purity’s body with his own and prove to her that he wasn’t like every other guy she had known.