Song for the chapter: Communication ~ The Cardigans
SAGE
"You can't pull shit like this again!" I growl angrily into my phone.
"It won't happen again, I promise, Sage." Birdie responds after a long sigh. "The interview went longer than expected and I lost track of time. But at least nothing happened, right? That's what's important."
"What's important is you following through. Two hours. Two hours until you felt like picking up the damn phone to check in. If you do this again, any hope you have of sharing custody is out."
"I don't need a lecture, Sage. I'll call Obie later if he's not still mad," she tells me.
I shake my head before leaning back into my chair. "That's the difference between him and me, he doesn't stay mad long."
Joanna comes around my office desk, massaging my shoulders before bending over me to give me a kiss on my temple. My anger ebbing away with her touch and calming scent.
"I'll make it up to him." Birdie promises.
"We'll see." I end the call and toss my phone on my desk before pulling Joanna around and onto my lap, nuzzling her neck.
"I'm not defending her, but...there's an obvious learning curve to consider. Parenting doesn't come as natural for everyone like it does for you and she's having to re-learn in a way how to shift and manage all these new responsibilities. It can't be easy."
"I'm not expecting perfection, but if she's the one insisting that she wants to do this, I expect her to at least show up and if she can't, then she can and should make a call. It's that simple." I start to give her throat slow kisses.
"That's fair," she says breathily.
"Thank you for being there for Obie. I'm glad he had the sense to call you when he couldn't reach me."
"You're welcome, I was happy to pick him up. I hadn't had lunch so I was able to leave early. It all worked out." She cups my face, kissing me lightly.
We look ahead of us when there's a knock at the door. Tanner walks in with a smile on his face. "I seem to have a knack for interrupting you two."
"No interruption." Joanna stands and greets him. "Tanner, right?"
"Yes, it's lovely to see you again, Joanna." He takes her hand kissing it, my eyes narrowing at his overly friendly greeting. "Do you have plans tonight?"
"Oh." Joanna retracts her hand, looking back at me, her face flushing. "I'm with Sage, thought it was pretty obvious..."
Tanner barks out a laugh. "I meant for you to join us. We're having dinner together and I'd love to get to know the woman who melted my friend's ice cold heart better."
Joanna smiles cordially at him. "I'm an open book, but what do you want to know?"
Tanner's eyes briefly shift to mine before he grins, placing his hands in his pockets. "Well, for starters. What do you do? Are you from Chicago? And what are your intentions with my friend?"
"You don't need to answer him, Joanna." I stand and approach them.
"It's fine." She looks over her shoulder and then turns her attention to Tanner.
"I'm an accountant for MC-Accounting, going on my second year there. I was born and raised in Chicago. And as far as my intentions with Sage..." She turns to look at me and smiles when I wrap my arms around her. "I'm enjoying getting to know what a great guy he is. One of the best people I've ever met and I'm head over heels about Obie."
"Obie is a pretty awesome kid. Sage is...passable." Tanner gestures with his hand. "He's no spring chicken of course, so I apologize for my straightforwardness, but how old are you?"
"Tanner."
Joanna squeezes my arms still around her waist. "I'm twenty four. And Sage is thirty one right?" She looks back at me and I nod.
"Turning thirty two next month." Tanner interjects while I throw a glare at him. "Quite a gap."
Joanna shrugs. "I suppose. But in my culture, gaps are a common thing between couples." Feeling pride in her ability to hold her own against Tanner, I place a kiss on the back of her head.
Tanner folds his arms now. "Considering the circumstances, I assume the topic of children has come up." My head snaps up to him. What the hell is he doing?
"Sage had a tough break when it comes to fatherhood, but he's made the best of it. I'm sure you know the experience left some wounds that are not completely healed and he has no plans of adding more children in the picture."
"Tanner, what the hell?"
Joanna slides out of my arms. "It's okay, Sage. Tanner is just looking out for you." She gives us a tight smile and I struggle with keeping my hands down at my sides instead of unleashing them on my old friend. "I've got to go though. I'm meeting with a client, who's a high priority so I can't be late. I'll call you later." She leans up, kissing my cheek. "Tanner, good talk. Rain check on dinner."
He nods and moves out of her way when she reaches for her bag. She lifts it over her shoulder and turns her head slightly but not completely looking back at me before she walks out of my office.
"What the fuck, man?"
"Hey, she passed with flying colors if you ask me." Tanner grins back at me. "Cool as a cucumber. A young cucumber; I hadn't realized how young she is. But she seems very mature. And she's obviously fond of Obie, so that's a plus. Trust me, when it comes to certain topics, it's best to rip the bandaid off."
I shake my head. A part of me wonders if I should tell him about the monumental 'L' word she said to me the other night as I was leaving. She was basically asleep when she said it, but it was clear as day. I haven't even brought it up to Joanna yet so I decide against it.
I'm not a complete idiot and know there's a difference between 'I love you' versus the 'Love You' she said to me. But that didn't stop me from being on cloud nine the rest of the night.
"While I appreciate your help, I think I could have brought it up myself. We've been doing good talking about different things on our own as they come up, but you just fucking threw us in to a damn fire."
"Relax, if anything I just helped segway you into the next phase of whatever is going on with you, two."
I hope he's right and he didn't actually scare her away.
__________
Glancing at the clock it's around two in the afternoon, when I decide to call Joanna.
"Hello?"
I smile at the sound of her voice. "Hey, how's your day going?"
She sighs. "Good, busy. The meeting with a high-profile client went longer than I anticipated. She's leaving soon and I finished her taxes just in the nick of time. And then we got busy talking about personal things actually. She's reconnecting with family and old friends and an ex-boyfriend. She asked me for advice with her love life." Joanna chuckles.
"Oh? What kind of advice?"
"She's afraid to tell her old boyfriend how she wants to try to give their relationship another chance."
"What did you tell her?"
Joanna's quiet on the other line for a moment. "Obviously, I'm no expert but I kept it simple. I told her it's better to say how she feels than always be left wondering what if," she sighs. "She said she gets the vibe he still has feelings for her too, so I said she should definitely go for it. Anyway, now my usual work load is in need of my attention."
"Have you had your lunch break?"
"No time, but don't worry, I'm eating as I go." I pull my phone away and open the picture she sent me of what looks like a half-eaten chicken wrap. "One of my coworkers ensures I eat something everyday." She chuckles.
"Mark?"
"Yes, Mark. Why?"
I ignore the uncomfortable gnawing of suspicion growing in my gut. "That's nice of him to look out for you." I clear my throat and decide to switch the conversation. "Tomorrow's the big day. Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am. Eight weeks have gone by quickly," she says. "How often do you do these boot camps?"
"Twice a year. At the first of the year, because there's a lot of desire to start out a new year doing something different, better and healthier. Then we do one in September before the crazy Holiday season begins, giving people a head-start to making better choices." I inform her.
"How do you measure the success of them? Do you get a surge of new memberships when these happen?"
I smile, enjoying that she's interested in my work. "Yes, there are spikes for sure. A lot of word of mouth as well. But I mostly measure it by the number of participants who achieve their personal goals and continue with the lifestyle changes they make."
"I don't want you to think I was snooping, but that day you asked me to help with your Quickbooks, I noticed your reserve account for another facility, are you expanding?"
Leaning back in my chair, I look up at the ceiling. "I don't mind that you saw that, and yes, I'm hoping to open another gym within the next year." I pause for a moment. "How do you think you've done overall?"
Her sweet laugh fills my ear. "I think I could have done better, but I like what I've learned and I have seen changes both mentally and physically. I never thought I'd enjoy weight lifting as much as I do. Although, that could do more with having the best hype up coach. Even if I don't win in any of the categories...I think I won in a completely different way."
The wide smile on my face should probably hurt. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Taking in a deep breath, I sit up on my chair. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for Tanner this morning."
"Don't worry about it.
"No, he came on too strong. And I want to clear up some of what he said. It's true becoming a father the way that it happened left a sour taste in my mouth, at first, but I don't regret having Obie. I never have. It was hard and stressful and in the beginning I admit it did make me feel negative towards having more kids in the future and I shared that with Tanner when Obie was still very young. Things are different now and I wouldn't be opposed to having more children, you know when the time comes...if that's where life goes..."
Shaking my head, I swallow my sudden nervousness with the silence on the other end of the phone, but I let out my breath slowly when she begins speaking.
"I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you, Sage. Doing it on your own while working and going to school, it's understandable why you would be turned off to the idea of having more kids. But anyone who spends a few minutes with you and Obie can see you were meant to be a father."
Her voice sounds muffled when I hear her say in a quiet tone. "Yes, I'll be there soon." There's some rustling sounds on her end. "Sorry, I have a meeting to go to, but just so you're aware. Obie texted me asking if I could come by tonight and help him with some Spanish. I told him I'd check with you first. Since you have plans with Tanner tonight, I wouldn't mind hanging out with Obie, if you're okay with that?"
"Of course. Thanks for helping him."
"Anytime. See you later."
_________________
"Hola, Camíla. Mi nombre es Obie. ¿Cómo estás?" (Hi Camila, my name is Obie. How are you?)
"Muy bien!" I hear Joanna respond, clapping as I walk in through the front door. "Okay, so how do you respond when she says: Hola Obie, estoy bien, gracias. Y tu?" (Very good/ I'm fine, thanks. And you?)
"Uh..."
I come around to the opening of the living room and find Obie rubbing his chin in concentration before his head lifts, eyes lit up. "Okay, so depending on how my day is I can say: Bastante bien, which is very good, right?"
Joanna nods, her eyes glittering with excitement as he continues. "Or ¡Buenisimo! Which is great...or Asi, Asi, which is so-so." He gestures with his hand. "Or I can say Mal or Malisimo which are bad or terrible, for those crummy days we all have."
"¡Eso es, Obie!" She laughs, holding up both hands to high-five him and he slaps her hands before looking up at me. (That's it!)
"Hola, papá! ¿Cómo estás?"
I chuckle. "Muy bien, gracias. ¿Es hora de dormir, no?" (Very good, thanks. It's time for bed, no?)
Obie's eyebrow lifts. "Um...I know you said you're good, but I have no idea what the heck you said after that."
Approaching him I ruffle his hair and then kiss his head. "It means, it's time for bed, son."
He drops his head. "Oh, alright." He turns to Joanna. "Thanks for your help, JoJo. I can let you know how it goes tomorrow...if you want?"
"I can't wait to hear all about it!"
"Cool." He grins. "Goodnight, JoJo. Dad." He gives us both a hug and heads off to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Turning to Joanna I bring her up on her feet and kiss her. "He loves spending time with you."
"Me, too. He's so intuitive and such a fast learner." She smiles up at me. "I've been meaning to ask when did you learn to speak Spanish? It surprises me each time I hear you and you do it with a very little accent."
"A few years into opening I decided to learn. It's come in handy being able to speak to clients or potential clients who only speak Spanish. Although, I have to admit I'm a little out of practice, but it's been nice being around it with you, Oli and the others." Holding her face and neck, I give her another kiss. My hands trail down her back, cupping her ass, pressing her into me. The soft, quiet moans that pass through her lips travel straight to my groin.
"Whoa!"
We pull apart and try to appear like we weren't doing anything, but Obie's clapping has Joanna laughing. "Way to go Dad, it's about time!"
I give him an unamused smile, but then it's hard not to match his infectious grin. "See, I knew you'd find your beaver. And I'm so happy it's JoJo."
"Beaver?" Joanna chuckles, covering her mouth. "I'm gonna need some context here."
"You know Beavers, right?" Obie responds, walking toward us. "They're one of the few animals that mate for life and Dad's been waiting for his for a really long time." He explains, like it's the most normal conversation to have with a shrug.
I pull at my collar trying to ease the discomfort from the heat of my embarrassment, but when I see the smile on Joanna, it makes the mortification a little better. My phone rings, breaking the moment between us. I pull it out of my pocket and then look at Obie.
"It's your mom. Do you want to talk to her?"
His smile falters and his eyes drop down for a beat before they look back at me and he nods. "Yeah, I guess, so." He saunters over to me, taking my phone to answer her call and sits on the couch to talk.
I pull Joanna back with me to my room to give Obie some privacy. Turning to her, as we walk in. "Sorry, about that—"
Her lips come crashing against mine in an intense kiss. Her hands skim over my arms, up my shoulders and rake through my hair and she tugs at it, deepening our kiss. Groaning, I try to match her intensity and passion, pressing her up against the wall. We pull apart, gazing into each other's eyes, panting.
Her eyes moving quickly between mine. "It scares me how strong my feelings are for you, Sage," she whispers. Her hands wrap around my shoulders, in a tight embrace. "You make me happy."
I smile, nuzzling into the crook of her neck. "You make me happy, too, Joanna." I close my eyes, breathing her in deeply. "For a long time, I thought I wasn't meant to find someone. It's hard to admit this, but the loneliness and the emptiness felt endless. And then I would feel guilty for thinking like that when I had Obie."
She shifts and pecks my lips lightly, then my face and neck. "You shouldn't feel guilty . Everyone needs and craves human contact and connection, on different levels."
"Joanna," I pause, but then decide to bite the bullet. "Last night when I was leaving to pick up Obie, you said something..." I wait, wondering if—hoping she will remember, but the look of confused curiosity on her face tells me she doesn't.
My eyes fall to her lips and I trace my finger on her bottom lip, then her jaw and down her neck. "Oli mentioned you guys had been out drinking when I first got there, so I understand if the alcohol played a part..."
"What did I say?" Her eyes reflect concern.
"Dad! Mom wants to talk to you!" Obie yells from the living room. I shut my eyes briefly hating the interruption, but it's not his fault.
"Coming!" I call out. "Hold that thought." I bring Joanna back to the living room with me.
"I should go. But I'll see you in the morning and we can talk then." Joanna grabs her purse, and then she cups my face, giving me a slow kiss. "Thank you, Sage." She whispers, hugging me and then kisses my cheek before Obie hands me my phone.
"Goodnight, Obie." She gives Obie a kiss on the cheek too and he blushes, walking her to the door. I glance down at my phone, before bringing it to my ear.
"Hey, B."
"Sage, we need to talk."
***