Liz shook her head. “You handled yourself like a pro and that’s what counts — not how many years experience you have. I rescind my statement. You keep it up and you will be the best. How’s that?”
“More truthfully put,” Jessie said. “Thanks, but I don’t plan to spend my life jumping in step. I hope to get a librarian job soon.”
Liz nodded and both women rose simultaneously. “Ready for lunch?” Liz asked.
“I can’t,” Jessie said. “I have to work on registration and I dread it. Greeting customers and selling passes, even helping with the health questionnaire is okay, but entering data about the participants into the computer is nerve wrecking. I’m a complete klutz. Every time I press a button, I’m terrified that the whole history is going to disappear before my eyes.”
“Nonsense,” Liz replied. “Computers are simple. You just need some tutelage.”
“Easy for you...a programmer to say. I spent too many frustrating hours at college getting through my assignments.”
“Look, you need a computer. How many times have I told you that? You’re going to be a librarian. You’ll live on the computer.”
“And how many times have I told you that I can’t afford one, let alone want one?
“You need a computer, Jessie,” Liz repeated. “And I can find you an excellent used system...cheap.”
Jessie sighed. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Lunch tomorrow? I won’t be here but you can set the time. My job is flexible.” Jessie waved from the registration desk as Liz left the building. She turned to watch Anne sign off the computer leaving the big box with the intimidating screen for her to sign in.
****
Climbing up four flights of stairs was a mini workout in itself for Jessie, especially with three over-stuffed grocery bags in her arms. It was always a game trying to stick the key into the lock and open the door of her apartment without placing the bags on the floor. This time she lost. One overloaded paper sack struck the floor upside down and Jessie groaned. Just as she opened the door and managed to shove the groceries back into the bag, the phone rang.
“I’m coming,” she yelled in frustration. She shoved the sacks on the kitchen counter and grabbed the receiver. “Hello,” she shouted into the phone.
Liz’s voice was hesitant. “Hi. Ah, you sound—”
“Cranky?” Jessie finished Liz’s sentence for her.
“Some.”
“I just did battle with my groceries that’s all. Thought you were meeting me for lunch Tuesday?”
“Sorry,” Liz said. “I...met someone.”
“You did? A guy?”
“Of course a guy. Would I be excited over meeting a girl?”
“You just hurt my feelings,” Jessie teased. “Tell me all.”
Jessie had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before Liz cut in. “His name is Kent Morgan and he’s a gorgeous blue-eyed blond.”
“Okay,” Jessie stressed. “So does that mean no more lunches with me?”
“Of course not. I’ve still got time for my pal. Anyway, we had a date last night. He was at the office when I got back there on Monday. He’s a computer technician. He was working on mine when I walked in.”
“Oh. How compatible. So, did you have lunch with him?”
“No, not that day, but he was back yesterday and he asked me to lunch. Then at lunch he asked me to have dinner with him. Then we saw a movie.”
“And then?”
“He’s a gentleman, Jess, but he did kiss me goodnight.”
“Ooh. So, what now?”
“Well, he didn’t ask me out tonight, but he said he’d call.” Liz drew a long breath and changed the subject. “Hey, I’ve got a great deal for you. You can’t pass it up. This computer is the best buy of the century. And I’m taking you down to see it tonight. So, be ready in an hour.”
“Liz, I told you before. They’d have to be giving it away.”
“They practically are, and only because I’m on the inside track. My friend, Ross, isn’t making a cent on it. He’s doing it for you.”
“Don’t you mean, you? Ross likes you.”
“Yeah, I know that. And I’m taking advantage of him, right? Be ready.”
Liz hung up before Jessie could object further. Two hours later they were in the computer shop. Two hours later they were home dragging boxes up the four flights of stairs, while Jessie apologized for the out-of-order elevator.
“Leave everything,” Liz panted. “Tomorrow night I’ll come over and help you set it up. But, I’ve got to get home now...Kent might call.”
“He can leave a message.”
“I know, but I’m anxious, okay?”
Jessie gave Liz a hug and thanked her, even though she was still wondering how Liz had talked her into buying the computer. She had had to dip into her savings left her from her dad’s will. She wondered if she shouldn’t have put it against her student loan instead. But Liz was a good sales person, and Jessie had to admit that she needed to improve her computer skills if she ever hoped to get a librarian job.
****
On Thursday, Jessie was much relieved to see the elevator back in working order. When she entered her apartment, the circle of cardboard boxes on her living room floor made her cringe and reminded her that Liz would soon be by to bring the computer alive. From this day forward she wouldn’t be alone. Even when the screen shut down, the intimidating computer would be sitting there just waiting for her to turn it on so it could spurt forth the information of the world. And Jessie wasn’t quite sure she was ready for such an adjustment. But to save time she began opening the boxes and lining up the information pamphlets so Liz could begin right away.
Just as the hunger pains were beginning to get to Jessie, Liz walked in with a large pizza that immediately filled the apartment with its delicious odour.
“Great,” Jessie said. “You brought food. I was just about to collapse from hunger.”
“Say no more. But you’re in charge of disbursing it.”
“I’ve got wine,” Jessie said.
“Good,” Liz replied, “but let’s not drink too much. I need to keep my head straight in order to hook this thing up.”
Jessie took the pizza to the kitchen counter where she opened it and got out plates for serving. She popped the cork on a bottle of red wine, while Liz flipped through some directional brochures.
“Looks simple enough,” Liz mused. “Ross did all the work anyway. All I have to do is put in a few disks.”
Jessie brought the pizza and wine over to the coffee table and they began devouring the food. Later Jessie moved some furniture around in order to accommodate the monitor and CPU. A sturdy, wooden table brought from home came in handy now, as the computer needed a strong base to sit on. Jessie moved plants and knick-knacks off the table, then she and Liz dragged it towards the far wall next to the window.
“You want plenty of light,” Liz said, “but not direct light on the screen. It’ll kill your eyes.”
After attaching the stand to the monitor, they placed it on the table and arranged the CPU underneath. Jessie pulled a bunch of wires out of a box and shook her head. They reminded her of Christmas lights. Every year at home before the tree went up, it had been her and her dad’s job to untangle and straighten out the sets of lights. Only on that last Christmas had she done it alone, her dad being too ill at the time to help her.
“My God, Liz,” she said. “Do you even know what to do with all these cords?”
Liz laughed. “Bring them here and I’ll sort them out. It’s not as bad as it looks. Okay, this black power cord is for the CPU. The white one goes into the mouse hole. This round grey one is for the keyboard outlet, right here.”
Jessie plugged it in following Liz’s instructions.
“The ivory monitor cord goes there,” she continued. “And the black and red ones are for the speakers. Simple.”
They sat back and Jessie was relieved to see the orderly fashion emerging from the earlier
mishmash of wires and plugs. She was thankful to have Liz straighten out the complicated procedure.
“Cheers.” Jessie clinked her glass with Liz.
“To the world of cyberspace,” Liz added then downed the wine.
Jessie filled the glasses with wine again and carried the leftover pizza to the counter top, while Liz put in the program disks and booted the computer. Instructions flipped up and Liz clicked the mouse expertly. Jessie watched until Liz finally turned to her. “It’s ready,” she said with a satisfied smile. “Let’s do some browsing.”
Jessie sat beside Liz at the keyboard, and Liz coached her on what-to-do-now- that-it’s-on. Liz continued to insert disks and info necessary to connect her friend to the Internet. Then for a little demonstration on what was available, she tuned into a chat line for singles, or supposedly singles, or the lonely and looking-for-someone-to-talk-to kind.
Liz giggled at one response from someone called Zorro, and she encouraged Jessie to type a message back and answer Zorro’s question as to what her name was.
Jessie typed in her name and asked Zorro why he used the legendary name.
When the answer came back, I’m brave, charming, cunning and romantic... the girls looked at each other and smirked.
Liz typed in, Gotta go now, and shut the computer down.
“Sounds promising doesn’t he?” Liz teased.
“I suppose you’re going to go home now and chat him up again,” Jessie said.
“Listen to you already,” Liz said sweeping her long hair back from her face. “I’ve no intention of carrying on an online romance. I’ve got the real thing.”
“Did Kent call you last night?”
“No. But he will. Anyway he’s coming back next week to check some more computers. I’ll see him then, and I’m sure he’ll have an explanation as to why he hasn’t called. He spends a lot of time with the karate thing so he says.”
“Maybe there’ll be a message when you get home.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Jessie gave Liz a hug. “Thanks for your help, Liz. I hope it’s worthwhile.”
Liz’s eyes bugged out. “Come on. Already you have a pen pal... and you haven’t been connected for more than an hour. That’s fast work. Maybe he’ll turn out to be more than a pal. He does sound promising, even though a bit vain.”
“Well, I’m not having much luck in the real world attracting males,” Jessie answered. They both laughed and Jessie followed Liz to the door. She said goodnight to her and returned to stand in front of the computer. Spontaneously she turned on the computer and sat down by the keyboard. While all was fresh in her mind she went through the exact steps Liz had taken to connect her to the earlier chat line. She typed in, Are you still there, Zorro?
She sat back and eyed the screen. A message popped up. Who’s this?
It’s Jessica, she typed.
Welcome back. You left in a hurry. I thought I’d lost you with my list of attributes. I’m really not a vain rogue. It’s just my sense of humour. What’s your excuse?
My excuse for what?
For not telling me about yourself.
Jessie squirmed. She was uncomfortable with the stranger and she didn’t even know why. She could tell him as much or as little as she pleased. She could fabricate a person if she wished to. She could have made up a name like he did. But she hadn’t. She’d always been the truthful kind. Not very imaginative she supposed. Perhaps it was why she loved books and reading. Writers always made things seem so much better or prettier or more exciting. She admired writers and had been drawn to the library at an early age at school. Basically Jessie was shy. She tended to draw away from life — even as an adult.
She typed, I’ve hardly had time to tell you anything. That was my friend who said we had to go. She was leaving to go home and she shut down the computer because I just got it, and I guess she thought I was through with it for the night. She helped me set it up.
But you weren’t through with it, were you, Jessica? Since you came back online.
I was curious.
That’s good. Now are you going to tell me about yourself?
Jessie stared at the message. She froze, then typed, It’s late. Gotta go.
Without further hesitation she shut down, rose, and backed away from the computer. She picked up one of the glasses, still full of wine, on the counter and swallowed the contents. The wallop bounced off her toes then flowed upward, causing her face to feel like an instant sunburn. She stared across at the computer and wondered foolishly what had compelled her to get online again and chat with Zorro. Was she so desperate for love? She thought of Kent Morgan. Blond, blue-eyed...he sounded delicious and he was real. Liz had a real guy, not a message popper on a machine. She envied Liz.
****
The first thing Liz did when she entered her tiny apartment was check the messages on her answering machine. Nothing! No message from Kent. She kicked off her shoes and flopped on the dark blue sofa. Kent Morgan had really gotten to her, and it wasn’t just his good looks and great body. He had an easy way about him and a good sense of humour.
Liz gazed at the baby blue carpet that covered her living room and also her bedroom. She imagined herself standing in bare feet wearing a long, denim skirt with a white ruffle at the bottom. Kent would be standing beside her, bare-chested, tanned and muscled. They would sway to some country CD. Then he would sweep her into his arms. She closed her eyes and envisioned his face. That smile and those great teeth, and the way he’d kiss her, not too demanding, but full of promises. She shivered in the heat and rose to throw off her tank top. Liz liked being nude. She wandered around her apartment naked from the waist up. She couldn’t see all the fuss about women going topless. If she had half the nerve that the girl in the magazine article had had, she would be strutting around topless in public too. But as bold as she tried to appear sometimes, Liz was not quite courageous enough to defy the laws and land in jail. She giggled out loud and thought of Kent. Now what would he do or say if she should be arrested walking around with her shirt off?
Best to play it safe. She didn’t know Kent well enough yet. She’d be better off not trying to shock him by being rebellious or even by thinking about it. She wanted him to be around for a long time, maybe forever. Why hadn’t he called? She stared at the phone as if through concentration she could make it ring. No such luck. Sighing, she grabbed up her tank top and went to the bedroom. He’d call tomorrow. What she needed now was a good night’s sleep. Maybe tomorrow night she’d be with Kent.
*****
Despite her earlier hesitation Jessie returned to the chat line on Friday night. It seemed to be drawing her like a magnet...Zorro was drawing her. It was crazy and careless, but she wanted to talk to him again. Even though he disturbed her, in other ways he intrigued her.
Liz had not called her all day, and she naturally assumed Kent Morgan was keeping her busy. The night was a hot, sticky one for May and Jessie sat in front of the computer wearing a red satin teddy. She sipped cola from an ice-crammed glass.
Zorro had lightened up some when she tuned in, and Jessie found herself relaxing. When he asked her what she did for a living, she told him willingly.
He replied, You must have a beautiful body, hard, firm...I’ll bet you could go at it all night.
Jessie felt the heat rush up her face and cooled it with the side of the ice-cold glass. She wondered if he meant what she thought he meant. And she didn’t think he was talking about aerobics.
You shock me, Zorro, she replied, her fingers trembling on the keyboard, for he really had sent a wave of embarrassment through her body.
I’m sorry if I sounded rude, but you sound beautiful. I got carried away.
I’m hardly that.
I’d say you’re being modest. And I’ll bet you are a beautiful lady. I can feel it coming from your fingertips. Describe yourself.
Ouch! That’s hard. But, okay...here goes. I’m five three, with red hair and brown eyes.
He m
ade an emoticon indicating a wink. Red hair! Wow! I’m getting excited here.
Jessie’s face heated up again, this time even a little sweat ran down her cheek. She brushed at her damp forehead and didn’t know what to reply. She thought it over a moment then typed. It’s not what you imagine. My hair is short and straight, kind of bobbed. I’m hardly what you’d call sexy Again she wondered what she was doing online chatting with this stranger, especially about such personal stuff. But it was kind of like the old poem about the Spider and the Fly. Jessie was entranced by Zorro. He already held some kind of spell over her.
Bobbed is good, he wrote. What do you weigh?
Jessie was being pushed and she didn’t like it. You’re being far too curious and too secretive. I’ve told you much more than you’ve told me. What’s your REAL name, Zorro?
He came back fast with, Gary Burke, and surprised her. He was finally opening up to her.
Okay, Gary Burke, what do you do?
I’m a security guard.
Surprised again Jessie kept on. And where does security guard, Gary Burke work and live?
He came back with, Where do you live, Jessica? You tell me...I’ll tell you.
Jessie’s heart raced and warning bells went off in her head. She backed off. It was nice chatting with you, Gary, but I have to go now. I’ll try and connect tomorrow night, will you be around?
Ignoring the fact that she hadn’t answered his question, he typed, I’m always around for you, Jessica.
Jessie relaxed after signing off. So he had frightened her a little. But it really wasn’t him in particular. It was just computers and strangers. She had never been the type to reply to personal ads or even go to bars to try and pick up men. It all seemed a little too risky to her. It was probably why she hadn’t taken her brother up on the blind date with his friend.
That had turned out a mess and Alan wasn’t really speaking to her even now. But she had felt uncomfortable about it so she backed out. Now, here she was talking to a stranger who was getting more personal all the time. Was there really any difference? Something inside her said there was and she gave herself permission to believe that Gary Burke was an all right guy. Maybe in time she could begin to trust him. So he was a little crude around the edges, maybe he was just hiding shyness, like her. He had asked her earlier if she liked fishing. She told him yes, recalling the many times she had fished with her dad and brother in the old days. She missed male companionship. She actually missed her brother.
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