Late February 1989
Tom's POV
I took the first flight out to San Francisco to have a conversation with my dear friend, Russel Buckins. I wanted to kill him.
I was suspended from Jump Street because of an article that he wrote which exposed my entire department. Everyone was livid with me, and my career was on the line. I was determined to bring him back with me so he can clear my name to the review board.
I had called Mickey from the airport when I landed at San Francisco with the request to pick me up later tonight. I didn't plan on spending more than a few hours here at the most. She was kind enough to agree, and I finally went to the hotel that I was told he was going to be at.
From the airport, I took a cab to the hotel. When we pulled up, I could barely believe how massive it was. From the outside, it looked like a castle. It was a beautiful building with great architecture.
The garden that surrounded the hotel was ravishing and the greenery was bountiful with colorful plants and flowers. The only trees I recognized were the Douglas firs, because they were the largest. I wished I had time to further explore the gardens, but I knew I didn't. I'd just have to come back someday soon.
The cab driver asked me if I was part of the wedding, because there was some big wedding that they have been having parties for at the hotel all week. I told him that I wasn't. I haven't even heard of the name of the girl getting married, but my mind was on one thing: finding Russell. I told the cab driver to keep the car running because I would be right back.
I was able to slip into the hotel, and it's as massive on the inside as it is on the outside. My mouth was agape as I admired the hotel, I've never seen anything like this in Metro. The interior was lavish with oak and rosewood panels, there was a baronial fireplace, teak floors, and glamorous lighting fixtures I've never seen before. I bet that they're original. Even the people were high class. Everyone was dressed like they were going to meet the Queen of England. I looked down at my drab jeans and felt completely underdressed.
As I was looking around, a man asked me, "may I help you?"
My focus snapped to him and I walked up to him. I lied and said, "I'm here for the party."
The older gentleman wearing a white tuxedo looked me up and down and said, "have you an invitation?"
I cleared my throat as I tried to think of an excuse. "Invitation? Hey, you know what, I left it in my hotel room."
I tried to walk past the man but he put his hand on my chest to stop me. "Most unfortunate. I could look through the guest list, Mister, uh?"
Before I could answer, an older man from the nearby staircase called out, "Robert Wendell, is that you, boy?"
His voice was high and excited as he came trotting down the stairs and over to us. "Oh, it must be fifteen years if it's a day. Come with me. We'll say hello to Elizabeth. She will be thrilled. It's absolutely uncanny how closely you resemble your grandfather."
Who is Elizabeth? You know what, I don't care. Thank God this senile old man thought he recognized me. Through the praise, I smiled cheekily at the man who was about to throw me out of the hotel. He did not look pleased.
"Yes, it's the same face," he said. His voice sounded like someone from a Disney movie.
"You know, I get that all the time," I said and followed the man. He was my ticket to finding Russell. As he dragged me away, I asked, "listen, by any chance have you run into a guy named Russell Buckins?"
He completely ignored my question and he stopped to point at a man who was wearing a black tuxedo, carrying a drink and talking to people as he walked past. "Oh, excuse me, Wendell, that's George Woodhouse."
I recognized that name. I glared at Woodhouse from across the room and asked, "George Woodhouse, the idiot congressman?"
"Oh, let's not be snide, boy, it's his wedding too. Actually, I heard him give a speech at his alma mater last month. He was almost coherant."
This guy was not going to help me at all. For a seemingly rich family, they need to get this poor guy a pair of glasses. He kept walking but I stopped in my tracks and turned the other way. I hoped I could pick up the stench of complete and utter betrayal and follow that.
I walked through the crowd inconspicuously, trying to look at every face to see if it was Russell. I was having no luck, but I found a room off to the side so I went over to see if he was hiding out in there. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a blonde woman wearing a sparkly blue dress.
"Robert Wendell, is that you?" She asked. I paused and she continued, "it's Louise from day camp, remember?"
I decided to keep up with the charade. Anything to keep myself from getting kicked out. If they want Robert Wendell, I'll be Wendell. "Day camp, right. I don't—"
She interrupted me, "it's okay, it's been a long time. I never would have recognized you either if Mr. McKenzie hadn't seen you. How's Harvard?"
I didn't even notice her in the lobby when I was talking to that old man. Her dress was so sparkly, I thought it could be seen from space.
I held my wrist in front of me and said, "great. Harvard's great. It's a good school."
"I've heard. And Monica?"
I figured that Monica was a girlfriend of the real Robert Wendell so I said, "Monica... actually we broke it off. Things didn't work out."
"Things didn't work out with your schnauzer?"
Shit. Who names their dog Monica?
I just went along with it. "Right." She stayed silent, but I finally sighed in defeat and walked up to her, "I have a confession to make. I'm not Robert Wendell."
She laughed, "no kidding. Robert's a head shorter and fifty pounds heavier. But, you do look a lot like his grandfather."
"Hmm," I said. I offered her my hand and introduced myself properly, "Tom Hanson."
"How about you don't give me away and I won't give you away?"
"Okay." We were in a room away from the action so I asked her, "so, what are you doing in here? You don't like parties?"
"This seems more like a circus."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Say, speaking of circus, I'm looking for someone."
"You're not just crashing a party?" She asked.
"No," I said honestly. Her eyebrow raised with an expression that told me that she didn't believe me. I said, "no, no I am really. Maybe you've seen him. A big guy, big mouth, probably sneaks half the buffet back to his hotel every night?"
Her jaw almost dropped. "Russell? You're a friend of Russell Buckins? I love that guy."
At last, someone who actually knows who he is. A smile that was a mixture of contentment and red hot anger spread across my face as I asked her, "do you know where I can find him?"
"Yeah, he should be in the parlor. Do you play pool?" She asked as I followed her out of the room.
"No, not really," I said.
"I think he's in there playing with a few other guys."
Maybe I can hit him with the pool stick.
I followed Louise all the way to the room, and I could hear Russell's obnoxious voice leaking out from the door. I clenched my fists and walked into the room and he cut his conversation short and turned around to look at me.
Russell was dressed in a fancy tuxedo like every other snob in this entire hotel. He looked surprised to see me, but not upset. If only he knew what I was going to do into him, he would have second thoughts. "Thomas, old chum. What are you doing here?"
There were other people in the room, but I could not care less. As soon as I saw his smug face, the rage I've been holding in ever since I found out about the article boiled back up and I let it all out with a mean right hook. My fist punched his fat face and he fell to the ground.
I was shaking my hand out as he looked up at me from the ground and said, "fraternity handshake. Oh, I love this guy."
I bent down to grab his legs and I started dragging his fat ass out of the room. Louise stepped out of my way as Russell continued to talk without trying to get up, "can't wait to catch up on old times."
I had his legs in a death grip as I pulled him down the hallway, and I didn't even bat an eye when I saw the staircase. I kept going, and his body was bouncing down the steps and he shouted over the music that was playing, "woah, you didn't like the article, huh?"
I was too angry to answer. I just kept going down the stairs and dragging him behind me like a sack of potatoes. That's all he was to me: a giant lump with no regard for anything but himself. We were passing people on the stairs, who were pressing themselves up against the wall to avoid being in my path of fire.
"Wait, just let me explain! Tommy, damn it! I let you explain when I caught you watching my sister in the shower!" He shouted.
As soon as we reached the end of the stairs, I dropped his legs and I heard him let out a sigh of relief. I wasn't done. I grabbed the back of his jacket and shouted in his ear, "get up!"
I got Russell up to his feet and he cried out, "come on, man! I just wanna explain!"
I gripped his jacket and balled up the fabric in my fists. I physically pulled him through the lobby of the hotel, and noticed that everyone around us was staring. I guess that makes sense, we were causing a pretty big scene.
"Everything's under control. Everything's fine," I said to everyone as I pulled Russell out of the hotel.
I threw open the door and pushed him out as hard as I could. All I was seeing was red, and the longer I looked at him the angrier I got. As he stumbled over the entrance steps and crashed into the car parked right outside, I shouted, "explain!"
"I can't. You're right," he said defeatedly. I ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder to flip him around so he was facing me. He continued, "you're right. I was up against a wall and I needed a story."
I grabbed the collar of his jacket and brought my face close to his. Through my gritted teeth, I said, "you used me. You didn't care what it did to my department or to my career."
He sighed, "it don't mean I don't love you, Tommy."
He is my worst friend. I grabbed him again and began to drag him to the taxi cab who was patiently waiting for me, with the meter running.
"Tommy, wait a minute." He got out of my clutch and said, "I stink, okay? I'm the stuff you scrape off your shoe. I'm pond scum. I know that."
Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.
He continued, "it's a chemical imbalance or something, but believe me, I never meant to hurt you, man, and that's the truth."
Until I was welcomed back to Jump Street, I didn't care what he had to say. I took a breath and said, "fine, then you're gonna come back with me and you're gonna explain to the review board that just suspended me, that you're a conniving slug who sold me out for a few lousy dollars."
"Hey, I made five grand on that article."
He should not have mentioned that.
I grabbed the back on his hair and gripped it tightly in my fist. I got up in his face and shouted through my gritted teeth, "get in the cab!"
"I can't!" He whined while I was pulling him by his hair closer to the car.
"What do you mean you can't?" I nearly shouted in his ear. I had steam coming out of my ears, I was so mad at him. There is no word to properly explain how livid I was.
"Tommy, I got important business here. Look, just gimme two days, would ya?" We reached the cab but he pulled his head out of my grasp and I let him go. He stood up straight and looked at me with a rare sincere look in his eyes. "I swear, I'll come back. I'll clear your name."
Russell somehow always manipulates me into doing stuff I don't want to do. Exhibit A: wrestling a bear. Exhibit B: getting a tattoo. I could go on and on. I wasn't going to let him manipulate me this time. I knew what I needed him to do, and I was going to make him do it.
"You're gonna come back with me now," I said firmly. My patience had reached its end, and I could not believe that I was having this conversation with him.
"Tommy, I'm doing a major expose on George Woodhouse, the damn symbol of beauty parlor politics. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This piece could make my career."
This man does not care about his career. I could see right through him. I asked, "what are you really up to, Russell?"
"Tom, I told you, you know, I'm just doing an article." He was slowly backing up from me as he spoke.
"Come on, I know you. You got that hungry look on your face. What is it, you got like kinky pictures of Woodhouse? Is that what it is?"
"No, no, no, Tom, you got me all wrong, man. I'm a new man. I'm changing."
"Russell, you're gonna come back with me now, or I'm gonna go in there and tell them what kind of journalist you really are," I threatened.
"Tom, if you do that then I won't say a thing to your review board."
I stared at him deadpan. I slowly walked up to him and stated firmly, "Russell, you know I'm a trained police officer. If you're not in my office in two days, I will hunt you down and perform voodoo rights on your internal organs."
His face soured and he said, "oh, what a revolting image. All right, I'll be there, I'll be there. You got my word."
I wasn't satisfied, but at least I knew that Russell would come through for me... I hoped. I turned around and headed back to the cab. I said, "I don't know what you're up to, Russell, but I pity these people. You got two days!" I swung into the cab and slammed the door closed.
I adjusted in my seat and told the cabbie, "just take me to the airport, all right?"
I figured that I'd call Mickey again and let her know that I'll get to the airport a little earlier than I originally expected. Maybe talking to her and listening to her voice will calm my nerves.
The cabbie began to drive away from the hotel and said, "must be something, huh?"
"What's something?" I asked.
"Louise Samperton. Back there with your friend."
I looked back and saw the blonde I was talking to earlier walking back into the hotel arm in arm with Russell. "That's Louise Samperton?"
"Yeah, worth twenty mil if she's worth a dime."
My jaw dropped as I darted my head from the cabbie to the hotel. That's why Russell wanted to stay. He wants to break up her engagement and marry her for her money. She seems like a sweet girl, so she doesn't deserve that from someone as sleazy as Russell Buckins.
"Bring me back to the hotel," I ordered the cabbie.
He chuckled and turned around. "All right."
He parked in front of the hotel and I gave him money and I didn't ask him to stay around this time. I ran back into the hotel and I combed through the lobby until I could hear Russell's voice as clear as day.
As soon as I had my eyes on Russell, I ran full force from behind and jumped onto his back like a squirrel. He grunted but he stayed on his feet, like a giant tree. I hooked my ankles together in front and wrapped one of my arms around his neck. He tried to wiggle me off, but I was clinging on tightly.
My cheek was pressed onto the top of his head to keep him from moving. I saw Louise standing beside him and I said, "hello, again."
"Hello, again," she said. She was so poised and sophisticated, I couldn't see her falling for someone like Russell. He was going to break up their engagement for his own personal gain, and I was not going to let him do that.
Russell's voice was strained from how tightly I had him in a choke hold and he asked, "what are you doing here? I thought you went to the airport."
I answered in his ear angrily, "I changed my mind, Russell."
I tightened my grip and he groaned. "Ugh, you want an egg?" He held up a deviled egg up to my line of vision.
"No."
"Well, shall we go to the other room?" He asked, but I didn't answer. He just started walking with me still attached to his back.
I jumped off when we reached the other room. Louise went outside to dance with her father while I stood beside Russell next to a piano. I finally calmed down enough to have a civil conversation with him. "So, you're doing a story on a girl who's worth $20 million."
"No, I'm doing a story on her fiancé," he corrected. Bullshit.
"Uh-huh... you know, Russell, if I find out that you're here to break them up, I'll sew your eyelids shut."
His head swung to me and his eyes bulged. "Hey come on, what kinda guy do you think I am?" I took a breath to answer, but he stopped me, "don't answer that, okay?"
"I think you're the kind of guy looking for a meal ticket," I told him and walked away. He finished his drink and went outside to meet with Louise, and I went to the bar. That's exactly what I needed right now, a drink.
It was an open bar, so I ordered a beer. The music that filled the air was a soft trumpet that was both soothing and relaxing, but I felt anything but that. A man who I recognized as Louise's dad came up to the bar and ordered a vodka straight.
I looked over at him and saw that he was taking the seat next to me. He greeted me and I asked, "how are you doing?"
"You know, if it weren't absolutely ridiculous, I might think your friend is trying to move in on my daughter."
I looked up at him and got a little nervous. He knows his daughter better than anyone, and if he can tell that Russell is trying to make a move on her, does that mean that she's reciprocating the feelings? What did Russell do? I asked, "she would never go for him, would she?"
He shook his head, "never."
"Good." I brought my attention back to my beer.
He took a sip of his vodka and asked me, "so, who are you? I mean, half this group thinks you're Robert Wendell, the other half thinks you're some sort of secret agent."
"Actually, I'm just a cop, sir." I offered him my hand. "Tom Hanson."
"Oh, pleasure." He took my hand and said, "good strong right hand. You know how to throw it too."
"Not well enough. He got up, didn't he?"
Mr. Samperton laughed, "still, it's a pleasure to meet a young man with passion and with red blood coursing through his veins."
"Yeah, but you know what gets me? He ruins my life, I come here, I smack him... he still gets his way."
"Hanson, from what I've seen, a guy like Buckins just needs a man like you to set him straight."
I nodded along. "Or to stop him." I grabbed my beer and held it up. "Here's to it."
Mr. Samperton and I clinked glasses and sipped our drinks. He graciously tipped the bartender for our drinks, and we went on our separate ways. My way, was to find Russell. And I found him in the first place I looked: the pool room.
As soon as I walked through the door, Russell called out, "eh, I just got a brainstorm, Tommy. I'm gonna take all these swells bowling. They're gonna love it, and then I'll show them really how to have a good time."
Bowling is the best way to distract me, but not now and not today. I kept marching up to Buckins and he began backing away from me. If he knew what was good for him, he would have minded his own business.
"You did it, didn't you?" I asked angrily.
"What?" His voice grew higher as he played dumb.
"These people are fixing up for a wedding, and then the slime king reared his ugly head."
"Hey, man, I don't know what you're talking about. You been drinking?"
I shouted, "you make me sick to my stomach!"
"What kinda thing is that to say?!"
I continued to walk up to Russell like he was backing away from me. "Don't play games with me, mister, because I know you're after that twenty million."
"Hey, that's not true!"
"Liar!" I screamed.
Russell and I became separated by the pool table and he said, "Tom, look man, you're wrong about me."
Russell Buckins always has been, and always will be a slime-ball who will do anything for a lousy buck. That includes breaking up seemingly happy couples, and selling out his closest friends. I didn't believe him for a second.
I leaned against the pool table and said in an angry yet low voice through my teeth, "don't try and tell me you didn't break up this wedding, because I am capable of uncontrollable violence!"
My voice rose to a shout at the last few words, and I jumped over the corner of the pool table to approach Russell. He stumbled back and fell to his back against the green felt of the table.
He held his hands up in surrender as I towered over him. My face was frozen in a look of anger that I couldn't wipe off. He said, "look, man, I may have said something to put the groom's situation into perspective, but believe me, Tom, I did it for the noblest of reasons."
"Uh-huh," I nodded without believing him. My hair was in front of my face, but I didn't care.
"I'm in love with Louise," he admitted.
"Don't make me puke."
"No, Tom, I swear it's true. I love her, and you know, I think she likes me too."
"Okay, let me ask you a question. Louise comes to you without a dime, You still want her?" I asked.
Russell's voice was finally mellow. He replied calmly, "yeah, but she doesn't, Tom. Can I help that?"
I released my grip on him and took a step back. I said, "you're a dead man, Russell."
I didn't care for what he had to say. I marched out of the room and let the door slam behind me. I quickly checked my watch and saw that it was past seven o'clock, and I had promised Mickey that I'd be at Metro by now. I needed to let her know that I wasn't going to be there, but it might already be too late. I asked around for a phone, and finally found one in one of the rooms.
First, I called Jump Street because the chapel is near the airport so I hoped she was still there. A voice I didn't recognize answered, so it was probably another officer from one of the other teams that I don't work with much. I said, "hey, it's Officer Hanson. Is Gregg there?"
"I don't think so but let me check," he said. Then I heard him call out, "yo— is Mickey still here?" I heard some muffled answer before his voice returned to the receiver clear as day, "no, she left a couple hours ago."
"Okay, thanks for checking," I said and hung up. Damn it. I dialed her apartment number and hoped that she was there and hadn't left yet. Her phone rang and rang until her voicemail picked up. I grunted before it started recording my message. "Hey, Mick, it's Tom. I, uh— I got caught up over here in San Francisco so I wasn't able to make the flight. I know you probably hate me. I am so sorry... but, um, I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow. Lo— um... Bye."
I hung up and turned around to see Louise. She asked, "who was that? If you don't mind me asking."
"That was... no one."
Louise chuckled. "It can't be no one. Your girlfriend?"
"Y-no, no. Just a friend of mine."
"Oh. What's her name?"
I squinted at her softly. "How did you know she's a her?"
Louise smiled softly and answered, "I just know."
"Her name is Mickey."
"Nickname, I imagine."
I nodded, "yeah. Short for Michelle."
"Beautiful name," Louise complimented.
I let myself smile a little at the mere thought of her. "Yeah. She—she's pretty... pretty cool."
I noticed Louise studied my face for a moment and then she asked, "how'd you two meet?"
"We work together," I answered. I chuckled softly at the fond memory. "It was so funny—she really didn't like me when I started working with her and our boss made us partners. She grew to love me."
"That's cute."
"What can I say? I'm irresistible," I joked.
"And how long have you been dating?" She asked.
I felt my face get red. My breath halted in my throat and even my palms got a little sweaty. I somehow got nervous even though Louise has no idea who she is. I scoffed, as if it was a preposterous question and I quickly said, "we aren't."
Louise looked a little surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed—"
"No, that's okay."
"Just from the way you were talking about her—"
"Yeah, no. I'm dating someone else. Mickey is one of my best friends. She was actually supposed to pick me up from the airport—" I checked my watch again "—now."
"But you're here."
"But I'm here. I was hoping to catch her before she left but she didn't answer."
"That's a shame. Hopefully she catches your message in time."
"I hope so too."
"Tom, can I talk to you for a second?"
I nodded and we walked out of the room together. Louise fetched her jacket and we made our way outside. She told me about how her engagement with George had broken off that night, and she was more than relieved. I could see that she was genuinely happy about it. I was glad that she was happy, but then she told me that she wanted to marry a man like Russell.
I was flabbergasted that she liked him back. After she told me that, I knew exactly how to exact my revenge on Russell for putting my career in jeopardy. And that was to get his girl.
I was careful about admitting my plan in case Russell was listening to us somehow. She loved it, because she would be given a chance to tell her father about her love for Russell, a man who Mr. Samperton did not exactly approve of.
When we knew that Russell was watching, Louise and I decided to amp up our act and seal it with a kiss. It was just like being undercover, I was acting. I closed my eyes and pictured her to be someone else and kissed her back. I wish I could admit that it was Jackie who I was picturing... but that would be a lie.
Later, I tried to find Russell but after asking around I found out that he left. It took me a while to figure out where he was living, but I finally found his place and knocked on the door. When he opened it, I welcomed myself in. He was wearing a striped robe over his pajamas.
I said, "I had to take a cab. Why'd you leave me there?"
"I couldn't find you. So, what'd you do at the Samperton's last night?"
I walked over to his bed. I knew exactly why he was asking, because he saw me kissing the girl he claimed to love. I decided to act nonchalant about it. It was going to drive him up the wall. "Nothing much."
He closed the door and said, "you know, I forgot to ask you... how's Jackie? You two sounded pretty serious."
I sat on his bed and sighed. "Jackie's fine, and it's not serious."
"What about that one girl... Officer Sweetheart?"
I frowned because the only other person I've really talked with Russell about from work is Mickey, but I've never referred to her as Officer Sweetheart. I remembered that she was at that bar with me and Russell and that bear a couple years back, so maybe the nickname originated from that night. I don't remember that night at all.
"Who?" I asked just in case I was wrong.
"You know, the one with that bodacious body and great ass. One of Charlie's Angels. You used to talk about her a lot."
He makes me sick. I raised my voice and said, "don't you ever talk about one of my friends like that again. In fact, don't talk like that about another woman ever."
"Don't have a cow, Hanson," he said.
"Well, then how kind of you to ask," I said sarcastically. "She's absolutely swell."
"Lookit, I think tomorrow morning, we'll get up early, have a little breakfast, then I'll take you to the airport, huh?"
"I'm not leaving without you," I reminded him firmly.
"Come on, Tommy, I'll be hot on your heels. Look, I been thinking, it's a good idea to get a head start back there, you know? Grease the wheels of the review board, tell them what a—"
I finished for him, "slime-ball you were for burning your best friend?"
"That's right, but you should tell them first."
"You got a point." I gave him a fake smile.
"Atta boy!"
I crawled back on the bed and rested my head on his pillow and said, "but I hear there's gonna be another party tomorrow so I'm thinking about staying for it."
He sighed and sat on the bed beside me, "look, what happened with Louise and Woodhouse was fate."
I got up from the bed while saying, "eh, it was sabotage."
"Yeah, but if they were really meant for each other, then nothing would have shaken them apart," he tried to justify.
I opened the door and said as I exited the apartment, "doesn't mean she was meant for you."
I closed the door and headed out. I needed to hail another cab to take me to a motel for the night because there was no way I was going to stay with Russell for another second. I wanted to call Mickey again, but it was so late she would probably be asleep by now. I felt terrible for standing her up. I did end up calling the airline for a refund on my ticket and to rebook another flight, and the next available flight wasn't until the next morning. I wouldn't be able to go home tonight even if I wanted to.
My morning was busy, because I wanted to get done what I needed to before I had to work, even though I was still technically suspended. It was a whole thing, but I pretended to be engaged to Louise just to bust Russell's balls, yet her father approved of us despite only knowing me for a day. Maybe she told him about our plan. Anyway, my plan for revenge was served nice and cold, and I finally came home with Russell, a married man, glued to my side.
I got back to Jump Street the following morning and almost everyone wanted to know what happened with Russell. I told them about my little adventure, and how Russell came through for me at the review board. He took all the blame, and the board even apologized to me for suspending me.
Like I said, almost everyone was interested. I noticed that Mickey hadn't left her desk to say anything to me, and I didn't blame her. I was an ass. I wanted to justify it to myself that I was blinded by the anger I had for Russell that I completely forgot to tell her that I wasn't coming home. I hated imagining her waiting for me at the airport, and how I never showed up. I walked up to her and she barely even looked up from her reports when she beat me to starting the conversation. She asked, "hey. Did you walk back from San Francisco?"
I definitely deserved that.
"Mick, I am so sorry. I tried to call you, but they said you already left. And I called your apartment, and you weren't there either."
"That's 'cause I was at the airport," she said and looked down at her desk. "Not a bad night though, I got to keep the flowers."
I followed her gaze and saw that she had a little vase with flowers in it. Did she buy these flowers just for me? And I didn't even bother to show up? I'm an asshole.
"Awe, man, I feel bad," I said. Then I had an idea of how I could make it up to her. "How about I take you out to dinner tonight? My treat, anywhere you want."
Mickey crossed her denim covered legs and leaned back in her chair. She looked at me and asked, "what about Jackie?"
"What about her?" I asked.
"Would she mind? Your girlfriend doesn't really like me all that much."
"Sure she does," I said, even though I knew she doesn't. "And she doesn't need to know where I am at every minute of every day. You're my best friend and I'm taking you to dinner."
Mickey finally smiled at me. I've been waiting for that ever since I walked though the doors. "How about Le Tarte Tatin?"
I bit my lip and dramatically rolled my eyes. She was going to make me broke if I keep having to apologize to her. But, I was going to treat her like the gentleman that she deserves.
"Did I hurt you that bad?" I asked.
She put her hand over her heart and said jokingly, "getting stood up isn't very nice, Tom."
I smiled back at her and said, "I'll pick you up at six."
"Not a second later," she said and we both returned to our work.
I had quite a rough week. But any night with Mickey was going to be a good night. It gave me the motivation to finish the day, and look forward to our dinner together. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how little I feel about Jackie compared to Mickey. Life just isn't that long, and I was running out of time. It was time for me to pull the reigns and gain control of my life once again.
Next chapter is going to be another Tom original!
Also, my family hates this, but I LOVE finding actors from shows and movies and pointing them out. The actor who plays Mr. McKenzie was Toodles in Hook and Mr. Dawes Jr. in Mary Poppins, and I'm pretty sure that Louise was in Friends!