Just Another Damn Love Story

by Caleb Alexander

  “It is the same,” Marjorie told her. “You can’t run around this world thinking that everything and everyone should be the way you want them to be. You’re looking for perfect in an imperfect world.”

  “You thought that John was perfect.”

  “Marjorie waved her hand dismissing the statement. “Ah, who cares about that loser!”

  “Mother! You thought the world of him last week!”

  “Forget about the past, dear!” Marjorie told her daughter. “Look to the future. Let us look to our Sterling. So what, he has a child from a previous marriage. As long as he is a responsible man, and as long as he does the right thing for the child, then there is nothing to worry about. And from what I hear, he loves that boy. In fact, he loves him enough to dedicate a multi-million dollar learning center in his name. Sterling is a winner, dear!”

  “Mother, being rich doesn’t mean that he’s a winner!” Kimberly protested. She shook her head and exhaled. “I’m not ready to play step mom.”

  “You played step mother with John’s brood,” Marjorie reminded her.

  “I don’t want to go through this whole baby momma drama thing again!” Kim told her.

  “And who says that you will?” Marjorie asked.

  Kim shook her head and rose. “This is not my life! This is not how I pictured my life to be! Everyone is running my life, manipulating things, making decisions for me! I control me! I’m taking my life back.”

  “Oh, Kimberly!” Marjorie said. “Stop being so melodramatic!”

  “Heads up!”

  Kim turned in the directions from which the voice came. It was her father.

  “Catch!” Thornton told her. He tossed her an old, well worn, catcher’s mitt.

  “Dad!” Kimberly shouted, catching the mitt.

  “Thornton!” Marjorie shouted. “How many times do I have to remind you that we have young ladies? They’re not little girls anymore, and we didn’t have a son.”

  Thornton smiled, as he bounced a baseball up and down in the palm of his hand. “How about a game of catch, Kimmie? For old time’s sake?”

  Marjorie leaned in toward Kimberly. “I don’t think your father ever got over not having a son.”

  “Poppycock!” Thornton told her. “I have two daughters, and I’ve never been happier or prouder.”

  Kim smiled, and headed out of the front door and into the front yard with her father. Thornton walked to one side of the yard, while Kimberly took up a position on the other side. Thornton tossed Kimberly the ball, and she caught it.

  “Thanks for rescuing me,” Kimberly told him.

  “We all need a little rescuing sometimes,” Thornton smiled.

  Kimberly threw the ball back, and Thornton caught it.

  “I see you still have that great arm,” Thornton told her.

  “Dad! My arm never was that great. You just made me feel like it was. You always had a habit of that.”

  “Of what?”

  “Of making me feel like I was really special,” Kimberly told him. “Maybe that’s why my standards are so high. I’m looking for a guy who’ll make me feel as great as you made me feel.”

  Thornton smiled. “Any luck?”

  Kimberly shrugged. “Sterling had a habit of doing the same thing. Always encouraging me, and making me think that I was better at something than I really was, or making me think that I can do anything.”

  Thornton lifted an eyebrow. “Oh really?”

  He threw the ball back to Kimberly and she caught it.

  “Yeah. He was always telling me that I can eventually start my own clothing line, or design for a major company. He was always challenging me to believe in myself and my abilities.”

  “Sounds like a great guy,” Thornton told her.

  “He was in some ways,” Kim admitted. “And in other ways, he turned out to be nothing more than a great big liar.”

  “Oh, well, we don’t need to talk about him then,” Thornton told her.

  “Good!” Kimberly huffed. She threw the ball back to her father.

  “I saw a really great show the other night on the Discovery Channel,” Thornton said, catching the ball. He threw it back.

  “Oh, yeah?” Kim said, catching the ball. “What was it about?”

  “It was about the books of the Bible,” Thornton told her. “Can you believe that Mary Magdalene wrote a Gospel?”

  “I read about that in USA Today once.”

  “Can you believe that Judas Iscariot wrote a Gospel?”

  “Get out of here!” Kimberly said. “What would he have to write about?”

  “Well, it turns out, according to this gospel, The Gospel of Judas, that Jesus went to Judas, and told him that he was going to turn him in to the Romans. In fact, the gospel says, Judas didn’t betray Jesus, he turned Him in because Jesus asked Judas to. Can you believe that?”

  Kimberly shook her head. “That’s crazy!”

  “Yeah!” Thornton said nodding. “Jesus gave Judas a commission, and Judas carried it out. Crazy how life works, isn’t it? And up until this gospel was found, we all vilified Judas as the ultimate traitor. But now, scholars are re-examining his role. If this gospel is true, then Judas sacrificed his good name for all eternity, to carry out God’s instructions.”

  “Wow,” Kim lowered her glove and walked to the same side of the yard where her father was standing. “You should have recorded the show for me.”

  “It’ll come back on,” Thornton told her. “And I’ll record it then. We can sit down with a bowl of popcorn and watch it together. It’ll be like old times. You and me, and a giant bowl of popcorn in front of the TV.”

  “I look forward to that,” Kimberly told her father.

  “That is an amazing story,” Thornton continued. “Just goes to show us, we don’t always understand God’s plans for us, but we just have to be ready to embrace the challenges that He places in front of us.”

  Kimberly nodded.

  “I didn’t raise my daughters to run away at the first sign of trouble,” Thornton continued. “So I know, when God places some new or difficult challenge in front of them, they’ll step up to the plate. Running away from challenges, is running away from God’s potential rewards and blessings.”

  Kimberly exhaled and rested her head on her father’s chest.

  “Forgiveness, Kimmie, is a wonderful virtue,” Thornton said, caressing her head. “When we forgive others, it gives us permission to go on with our lives and find our own happiness.”

  “How can you trust someone who deceived you twice?”

  “It doesn’t matter what he does for a living. Perhaps he didn’t tell you about that because he’s been hurt by women only wanting to date him for his money? But I really don’t even think that the fault lies with him on that issue, Kimmie, because he did tell you his real name, didn’t he?”

  Kimberly nodded.

  “Did you ever say anything to him about not wanting to date a man with kids?” Thornton asked. “Did you happen to mention what you went through with John and his kids and their mothers?”

  Again, Kimberly nodded.

  “Was this after you two had fallen for one another?”

  Kimberly nodded.

  “So, feelings were already involved, and he was scared that you would cut him off completely once you found out.”

  Kim nodded.

  “Which you did, once you found out.”

  “Oh, Daddy!” Kimberly said, wrapping her arms around her father. “I’m so confused about this whole thing.”

  “I can’t give you the answers that you seek, Kimmie,” Thornton told her. “This is your life, and you have to make the right decision for you. I’m here to listen, and to give you fatherly advice, but in the end, you have to make the final decision because you have to live with it. But no matter what you decide, just remember this; it takes a lot more energy to be angry with someone, than it does to just forgive and move on. Don’t carry around that kind of baggage, Kimmie. Anger, or hatred, or bi
tterness, it's all corrosive. Don’t keep that inside of you.”

  Kimberly nodded. “I won’t, Daddy. I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Wilson strolled into Sterling’s office. “Time to snap out of it.”

  “Snap out of what?” Sterling asked.

  “Everyone says that you’ve been moping around here lately and acting like a real asshole.”

  “Really?” Sterling asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  “Yeah. I’ve seen the moping, but I can’t tell if you’ve been acting like an asshole, because to me, you’ve always acted like an ass.”

  “Real funny.”

  “See, you used to laugh when I insult you.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Sterling, call her.”

  “I tried that for three weeks, remember? She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

  “So, you’re just going to give up?” Wilson asked. “The Sterling that I know isn’t a quitter. And if you’ve become one, then we all may as well pack up and leave. This is too tough a business for quitters.”

  “Anyone feel like I’ve been too harsh on them lately, I’ll gladly accept their resignation,” Sterling told him. “Pass the word.”

  “I got a better idea. How about you stop being a dick, and start being the Sterling that everyone knows and loves? How about we go out, hit the town, find some honeys, and then hit Atlantic City for the weekend? How about I hook you up with a real cutie pie, so that you can start the process of picking up the pieces and moving on? If you’ve really given up on Kimberly, that is?”

  Sterling exhaled, and slid a brochure across his desk for Wilson to look at. “The new Gulfstream business jet.”

  Wilson lifted the brochure and flipped through a few pages. “Nice. Have you called them already?”

  Sterling nodded.

  “So you’re serious this time, about getting a private jet?”

  Again Sterling nodded.

  “What does one of these set you back for nowadays?” Wilson asked.

  “About forty million,” Sterling told him. “At least in the configuration that I want.”

  Wilson whistled. “That’s a lot of pennies out of the piggy bank.”

  “I need it.”

  “You don’t need it, you want it,” Wilson corrected him. “It’s more convenient for you. But at the end of the day, when the FAA says that planes aren’t flying because of the weather, your ass is still going to be stuck like everyone else.”

  “Yeah, but how often is that going to happen? I’m going to enjoy the convenience of flying out whenever I need to, and not having to go through those ridiculous airport lines and screeners. I won’t have to deal with baggage claim, or lost luggage, or be subject to the airlines latest whim.”

  Wilson nodded. “Expensive habit. I’d rather pick up something cheaper, like top notch Cuban cigars or something.”

  Sterling cracked a smile.

  “Holy miracle!” Wilson shouted, pointing toward Sterling. “I can’t believe that the vampire actually smiled.”

  “How’s the executive search going?” Sterling asked.

  “Slow. But Gianna is doing a stand up job.”

  “Of course,” Sterling nodded. “We both knew that she would. But that doesn’t stop her from emailing me everyday asking about her replacement.”

  “Too bad.”

  “Too bad what?”

  “Kim would have been perfect for the position,” Wilson suggested. “She has a business degree. She’s in the industry. She’s also a talented designer. She vibes with the company really well. She would have been perfect for the position.”

  Sterling leaned back in his chair. “You love torturing me, don’t you?”

  Wilson shook his head. “I’m not torturing you. You’re torturing you. Pick up the phone, and call that women. If that doesn’t work, grab your keys, and go and stand outside of her apartment.”

  “Oh, yeah right! You can really see me doing that?”

  “Why not? Because you’re the great Sterling Williams? Pride will make you lose the one you love if you’re not careful.”

  Sterling slid Wilson another brochure. “This is the new Bombadier jet.”

  “That’s one’s nice too.”

  “And this is one from Dassault, and this one’s from Embraer.”

  Wilson lifted the brochures and began to flip through them.

  “I’m thinking about grabbing a plane for the company to use, in addition to my personal one.”

  “Now you’re talking!” Wilson said, taking a seat. “I could get used to flying in one of these.”

  “A minute ago you thought it was a waist of money.”

  “That was before I knew that I would be relaxing my ass on some of this fine Italian leather.”

  Sterling threw his head back in laughter. It was the first good laugh he’d had in weeks.

  *****

  Laquisha stormed into Kimberly’s office. “Finally, you decided to come to work!”

  “Laquisha, you know that I’ve been going through some things,” Kimberly told her. She sniffled, and pulled some tissue from a nearby Kleenex box and wiped her nose.

  “Your personal problems, have nothing to do with me or with this company!” Laquisha told her. “If you having boyfriend problems, you take care of that shit on your personal time!”

  “Laquisha, I took some personal days off, because I had accrued that time. I took sick leave off Monday and Tuesday, because I was sick, and I had sick leave days that I hadn’t used yet.”

  “When I made you a manager, I didn’t know that you would stop working, and start loafing and taking days off!”

  “Start loafing? I haven’t been loafing! I had sick leave, so I took it? Why is that a problem?”

  “It’s a problem because I need people who are going to be here!” Laquisha shouted. “It’s a problem, because you haven’t brought in any new clients in three weeks! It’s a problem, because you stopped producing once you got promoted. And so now, my only option is to put someone in this position who can do the job!”

  Kimberly rose from her desk. “Laquisha, no!”

  “I need someone who can bring in clients, and manage this department and the other advertising executives and reps.”

  “Laquisha I’m here!” Kim pleaded. “I was going through some things, but I’m back on the ball now. Just give me a couple of days to pull in some revenue.”

  “You bring in some revenue in the next couple of days, and you can keep your job as an ad exec. You don’t, and you’re out of here. But you’re no longer a department manager.”

  Kimberly fell back into her seat. “Laquisha, I can’t.”

  “Can’t what?”

  “I can’t walk out of this office and face them,” Kim said. “I can’t pack up my things and move back into the room with everyone else, and have to look at the smirks, and listen to the whispers and the snickers. I can’t go out there as a failure.”

  “Do what you have to do.”

  “Do what I have to do?” Kim said forcefully. “Is that all you have to say to me, after I’ve given you years of service, and brought in millions of dollars in ad revenue for this magazine? Do what I have to do? Is that what all of my years of dedication and hard work boil down to? Is that how this is going to end?”

  “If that’s how you choose to end it.” Laquisha said coldly.

  Kimberly rose from her desk. “You bitch! You pudgy, big lip, bell pepper nosed bitch! I can’t believe you!”

  “Get out!” Laquisha shouted, pointing toward the door.

  “You’re god damned right I’m getting out!” Kimberly told her. She began gathering her personal belongings.

  “Get out now!” Laquisha shouted. “Your shit will be mailed to you. You get the fuck out of this building right now!”

  “I’ll leave once I’ve gathered my belongings!” Kimberly shouted.

  “You’ll leave now, before I call security
!” Laquisha said, lifting the telephone.

  Kimberly snatched the receiver out of Laquisha’s hand, and slammed the telephone back down onto its base. “Don’t make me put you to the test, Laquisha!”

  “What?” Laquisha recoiled.

  “I said, don’t make me pull your card, and see how much you’re really from the streets, as you like to claim you are.”

  “I’m a professional!” Laquisha shouted. “You can just get out of this office, and out of this building.”

  Kimberly continued to gather her belongings. “I’ll leave, once I’ve finished collecting my things.”

  Laquisha folded her arms and shifted her weight to one side.

  Kimberly pulled a drawer completely out of her desk, and began to pile her belongings inside of it.

  “That drawer belongs to the company!” Laquisha told her.

  “I’ll bring it back to the company, as soon as I’ve place my belongings in my car!” Kim told her.

  “What’s going on?” Pamela asked, rushing into the office. “I can hear you two shouting all the way down the hall!”

  “I quit!” Kimberly told her.

  “No, you’re fired!” Laquisha shouted.

  “No, bitch, I quit!” Kimberly said, lifting the drawer with her belongings, and heading for the door.”

  Pamela clapped her hands. “Good for you, girl!”

  “Bitch, you can go with her!” Laquisha shouted.

  “You know what, Laquisha?” Pamela said. “I think I will. I quit too, you fat bitch!”

  “You can take this job, and stick it up the deepest darkest part of your stinky ass!” Kim shouted.

  Kimberly and Pamela stepped out of the former’s office, and was greeted with applause. They strutted down the hall to the whistles, clapping, and cheers of their former co-workers.

  “What are you going to do?” Pamela asked Kimberly, once they reached the elevator.

  Kimberly shrugged. “I don’t know. And you know what, it feels good not knowing, and even better not giving a shit.”

  Pamela hi-fived her.

  “How about you?” Kim asked. “Are you going to be okay?”

  Pamela nodded. “Girl, I got a job at Essence on Monday. I was supposed to put in my two weeks notice here today, but…”