Cancelled (14 page)

Alex swiped her face with the back of her hand, giving a hollow laugh. “You wouldn't understand.”

“Not if you don't explain. That is true.”

Alex shook her head. “It's a girl thing.” She rose from the table and grabbed a glass off the counter. Filling it with water, she gulped the first quarter. “You want anything?”

“No, I'm good. Anna stuffed me.” Johnathan twisted around in the chair to see her behind him in the kitchen. “What's a girl thing?”

“You joked the other day about being engaged by July. I kinda bragged about it to Tiffany. But then you came home drunk. And we had that fight. And then you left. Suddenly, I had to not just deal with arguing with you, but with her judging.”

“She said something about our disagreement?”

“No, nothing like that. But trust me, she was judging. She was thinking about how miserable I would be and gloating. In her mind.” Alex pointed to her own forehead, and jutted her chin out. The expression was too much for Johnathan. He began to chuckle.

“Really? I had no idea women could speak telepathically. That explains a great deal.” Johnathan scooped his wonderful girlfriend in his arms. Alex resisted.

“You know, I don't care if you are angry with me. We can't have a future if you leave because we disagree,” she said. Alex's shoulders remained hunched into herself.

“I'm shouldn't leave, you're right. I wasn't thinking clearly.” Johnathan leaned in and rested his chin on her shoulder, speaking softly in her ear. He wanted her to turn around and accept him. “I have a lot on my shoulders right now, and I want to tell you all about it, but I don't know when is the right time.”

Alex shifted under his arms and Johnathan relaxed his embrace. As she turned to face him, he enjoyed the sensation of her hip bone lightly rubbing against him. He held her gaze as she studied his face.

“The family stuff with the money?” Alex tucked both of her lips in before continuing. “I mean, I can't imagine a betrayal like that by my own mother.” She finally clasped her arms around his neck in exchange.

It was so easy. Here was a perfect opportunity. All he had to do was tell her. Tell her about the baby. But they were so close to reconciling. What if she didn't forgive him? And still, what if the baby wasn't even his? He'd absolutely walk away for the sake of Alex instead of playing Daddy to a little girl entirely unrelated to him. He didn't owe the universe for Anna.

He chickened out.

“Yeah, family drama. There's a little more, but until I know how it's all going to play out, I don't want to add extra strain on us.” He lifted her hands from behind his neck and kissed them, pleading for her to understand there was more.

“It's okay you'll tell me when you're ready. I trust you. I think we have enough to deal with.” Alex smiled, and nuzzled her head just under his chin. Johnathan closed his eyes and gripped her into a tight hug, feeling guilt wash over him.

Finally, he pulled away. He took a moment to truly look at Alexis Marie Rodriguez
—
from her toned legs in black leggings to her perfectly pear shaped body in a loose printed dress. Her neckline always captivated him, that delicate bone drawing a line to her soft shoulders. Of course he knew it was a clavicle, but knowing the medical term didn't make it any less mysterious–a shallow indentation responding to her every breath.

Resting upon her face, he saw the pain behind her expression. “Why were you sitting in the dark?”

She pulled out of his arms and placed her glass from earlier into the sink. “I got home about five minutes before you. You weren't here, and I had hoped you would be. I just sat down for a minute to wallow. I was going to turn on the lights.” Opening the cabinet full of mugs, she pulled one down and held it up, a silent question asking if he wanted tea. Johnathan nodded and reached above her head to pull down the canister of tea bags.

“I texted you all day. You didn't respond at all.”

“Tiffany had my cell phone.”

“Why would she have your cell phone?”

“I was upset. She—she saved me from myself.”

Johnathan crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against the opposing counter top. “What were you going say?”

“I was going to apologize.” Alex removed two tea bags from their wrappings and placed one in each mug. “I should have asked you before just imposing Tiffany on you. I want you to live here, too. Not feel like a guest.”

“So you were going to apologize for what you did wrong, just like I apologized all day long for what I did wrong?”

“Yeah, but you were drunk and an ass I might add. And you left. Did you forget that little detail?” Alex slammed the faucet on with more force than necessary and filled each mug, before placing both in the microwave.

Rubbing his temple with his fingers, he was exasperated. They were now fighting over who did and didn't apologize.

“Alright, enough.”

Alex twitched at his firmness, but said nothing. She stared at the mugs making carousel turns in the microwave. Johnathan walked back to his chair and sat back down after adjusting it to a 45° angle to face more of the kitchen.

“We're both used to living on our own terms, and that has to change if we have a future together. Otherwise, this isn't going to work. Not now, and not six years from now.”

“Six years?” She still stared at the mugs circling one another, but never getting closer or further apart.

“Dammit Alexis, the ring in the bag is for you! I wasn't kidding around when I said I wanted you for the rest of my life at the hotel. I thought you asking me to move in meant you felt the same. But honestly, I don't know if I'm coming or going with you.”

The microwave beeped.

“There's a ring?” Alex finally looked at Johnathan.

Johnathan sighed. “This isn't how I wanted it to be. We have reservations for an amazing Memorial Day weekend. It was supposed to be perfect and beautiful. Everything this moment is not.” He reached out his arms for her to come to him, and she obediently responded by sitting on his left thigh, with her arm around his broad shoulders. She failed miserably at hiding her smile.

“Technically, you haven't asked me anything yet.”

Johnathan paused. “No, I haven't.” The two of them locked eyes and waited for the other to move. Johnathan only needed to look at the woman he loved to know this was the right moment. Because anything after this wasn't going to work, anyway.

Alex slowly rose as Johnathan shifted to stand up. She returned to the dining room chair they both just shared as Johnathan lowered to one knee.

“Alexis Marie Rodriguez, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes! Of course, yes!” Alex swallowed him in a hug that almost knocked him back. “And we'll get better. We just have to get used to each other. You'll see.”

Johnathan laughed and felt tickling at the edge of his eyes. For everything that seemed so hard lately, there were these moments when things became so simple.

He pulled back, and kissed the tip of her nose. “Would you like to see the ring?”

Alex nodded, with a smug smile. She tucked her hair behind her ears. Johnathan slowly opened the box to reveal Anne Kilroy's 30th anniversary ring. He worried if she'd find a vintage ring to be tacky, but the way her face lit up evaporated any fears he had.

“Johnathan,” she whispered, as he gently placed the ring on her left hand. “It's beautiful.”

He noticed it was a little loose. In fact, he never noticed how truly small Alex's hands were. “We can get it sized to fit.”

She instinctively pulled her hand back and protected it against her chest. “In a few days. Can I at least wear it until Monday?”

“Alexis, you can wear it forever.”

They shared a lingering kiss and a moment of breathing too close. Johnathan couldn't believe in six short months Alexis was his. His intended broke the spell.

“I think our tea is ready.” Her brown eyes still glassy from her earlier crying told him he was expected to get up and finish the process.

“Milk and sugar?”

Alex nodded and found a place on the couch. Johnathan carried both cups of tea to the living room. As he rounded the corner, he saw Alex holding her left hand out to admire the ring in the better lighting.

“When do you want to get married?” she asked, taking her cup by holding the handle and the very top edge of the rim.

Johnathan pretended to mull it over. “Tomorrow?”

Alex nearly spit her tea out, but recovered quickly. “I'm being serious.”

Her new fiancé grinned and snuggled closer to her. “So was I.”

Pulling back, Alex took a careful sip of her hot tea. “You know this isn't going to work.”

“Are you changing your mind?”

Alex laughed. “No, no. This.” She jerked her hand out towards the space in front of her. “Where are we going to put all of your stuff?”

Johnathan took a deep breath and joined in her laughter, feeling relieved she was back to making jokes.

10

T
empers flared in the conference room. For weeks, Johnathan and Eric butted heads over the problems with the Claw. Johnathan advocated for saving the current design, but Eric's genius crept in, pushing for an overhaul. Saving projects from Eric's crippling perfectionism was part of Johnathan's job description.

Johnathan tossed his pencil onto his legal pad, leaned back and put his hands behind his head. Eric had the floor. Today was the same dog-and-pony-show the two of them went through when a project stood “on the bubble.”

“The hydraulic software isn't complex enough to handle the two extra lines, and the code is full of bugs. We're wasting days on testing and retesting the signals. We need to go back to square one and get it right from the beginning.”

Johnathan took Eric's slow down to seize an opportunity. He hopped up and grabbed a dry erase marker and tapped the wall to change the Smartboard. A full drawing of the Claw, instead of slides of individual systems, projected onto the white board. He began drawing circles around the problem areas and putting in minus signs.

“Eddie, how long until you fix the hydraulic software?”

Eddie switched between Johnathan and Eric. Technically, Eric was his boss, but Johnathan was the effective head of the company. Uneasy, he gazed down at his notes. “Two...three weeks?”

“Great.” Johnathan made a minus sign off the side of the hydraulic cables a +3.

“Tang, what about the spotty signal in the gripping mechanism. How long?”

“A week. Tops. I'm almost there.” Tang smiled at Johnathan's flourish. His area of the Claw became a +1.

“Okay, and I can tackle the gross mechanical movement issues.” Johnathan circled the two major joints on the drawing and added +2 for both.

Marker still open, he turned to Eric. “Can we count on you to help all of us? We won't make it without your brilliance.”

Eric stood, flabbergasted. The door to the conference room creaked open and Alex poked her head in.

“I hope I'm not interrupting?” She looked at all of the men who were suddenly sitting up straighter in their chairs and refusing to make eye contact with her.

Johnathan wheeled around. “What's up?”

“Just checking to see if we're still leaving at three?”

Johnathan flicked his gaze to the clock above the door. 2:57. He capped the marker and replaced it in the tray.

“It appears I have promises to keep. Tang, write all this up and we'll tackle the problems on Tuesday. No one think about work this weekend. That's an order.” Johnathan flashed a playboy smile to his crew that couldn't make eye contact with him either. Everyone knew he and Alex were engaged and running off on an electronics free weekend.

“You have our reservations, but only call in an emergency, right?” Johnathan checked with Eric.

“Yeah.” He scratched his head, looking at the fast way Johnathan minimized his concerns about the design into three extra weeks of work. Two if he helped Eddie with the hydraulics. “I guess the meeting's over.”

Johnathan gave a wave of his hand as he was one foot out the door.

Johnathan's 911 hugged the curves of the mountain road down the Appalachians to the wooded retreat. With the top off, he watched Alex relish the canopy of early summer green the deciduous trees offered on either sides of the two-lane road. Nothing provided a true testament to the nastiness of city air than a drive out in the country. He couldn't wait to make it to the small bed and breakfast next to a popular Virginia winery. This weekend was going to be a perfect retreat for him and his future wife.

After checking in and carrying their bags to a private room with floor to ceiling windows on three sides, Johnathan excused himself to use the facilities. He reappeared to see Alex sitting cross-legged on the bed, peering over her laptop. Johnathan flopped onto the bed, slamming her laptop shut.

“And what do you think you're doing?”

“I was just checking the weather before we walk the trails.”

Johnathan shook his head and rolled to his back and off the bed, dragging the laptop with him.

“Nope. We want to know the weather, we stick our hands outside.”

“I really don't see why our phones have to be off. What if there's an emergency?”

“Our families have the number to the front desk. They'll let us know.”

Alex pulled an old college sweatshirt over her head and laced up her hiking boots. Johnathan sensed her still pouting. Pulling her puffier frame into a hug, he swayed slightly with her on the pine planked floor.

Speaking over her head, he explained “I just want one weekend with you all to myself. As soon as we go back, we have a wedding to plan, a company to run, and—” he pulled her back to look into her face. Gently, he kissed the small space between her eyes, over the bridge of her nose. “And, I don't want any interruptions.” He gave her a grin and nuzzled her cheek until he could feel her own mouth widening into a smile.

“I suppose I should count myself lucky. I'm just not used to taking a backseat or cutting myself off from civilization.”

“Come on.” He started to pull her towards the door so they could take their walk. The owner had said there was a bluff just a mile down the Blue Trail that overlooked a deep valley. “It'll be good for you. Trust me.”