Chapter1- Distant Lover
"So how goes things in the world of Mercedes Jones, Diva Extraordinaire?" the deep voice intoned from the other end of the phone. Marvin Gaye sang softly in the background.
Mercedes lightly chuckled at the question before replying, "It's…everything I imagined it would be."
"…but…?" the caller prompted.
"But, nothing. I love what I'm doing, you know that."
She could feel the side eye coming through her phone before his voice reiterated the fact, " But that's not what I asked you, tho."
"Sam…" she warned.
"Mercedes…" he mocked her tone.
"…"
"I miss you too, babe." He filled in the silence for her.
"I'll never understand why you ask questions that you already know the answer to, Sam." Her tone was playfully scolding.
He smiled into the receiver, "Because I am a man whom loves confirmation, babe. Daily reminders that you miss me as much as I miss you."
"Mhmm, one of these days I may just say something different to surprise you."
He considered her response for a moment, "…nah, never gonna happen, babe. You love me and I love you. Them's the facts, ma'am."
Her laugh was full and robust through the phone receiver, " Thank you for that, bae. I needed that, especially after today."
Sam internally fist-pumped at his ability to make his woman laugh even when she didn't feel like it, before keying in on the latter part of her response.
"Want to tell me about it?"
"No, but thanks for asking. You've had a long day and are probably tir-"
"Mercedes." His tone brooked no argument. "You are my number priority right now. I'm never tired when it comes to you. Now, tell your Sammy what's got his baby so stressed today so he can fix it."
This. This was why she loved this man to no end. Mercedes knew for a fact that her man had to be exhausted. His day began at 5:30 every morning with a two mile jog, followed by a daily 45-minute workout at the local gym. After that, he showered, shaved, and headed over to local Lima campus for Ohio State University for six hours of classes as he worked towards completing his Master's Degree in business management. As if that wasn't enough, he then reported to McKinley High School of the Arts five days a week at 4:00pm sharp to volunteer with whichever glee club needed his help. Her man did not know the meaning of the word rest.
It had been six years since they last co-existed in the same space, and since that time, her star continued to rise in the entertainment industry as Sam figured out the life he wanted to live. His first order of business was to resign from his post as Glee Club instructor as he did not actually have a degree in teaching and enroll in Lima Community College five years ago an obtain his bachelor's in Graphic Design. Of course, he would never leave Mr. Schue totally hanging, so he dropped down to volunteer status in the meantime, helping out when needed. After a chance meeting with a rep from DC Comics during ComicCon in Atlanta three years ago, Sam has been part of the creative consultant team on the recent re-vamping of the Superman/WonderWoman series. Mercedes had always been so proud of him for believing in himself and achieving one of his life-long dreams to work for a major comics distributor, plus, she knew it made him truly happy.
As for their relationship, she realized that achieving her dream of stardom as well as finding true love did not have to be mutually exclusive. She made a special trip to her hometown of Lima nearly two years ago to face her greatest fear- to love Sam Evans fully and allow him to do the same for her. Asking Sam out on a dinner date -and being very clear that it was not as 'just friends', she laid her heart before him and he willingly accepted. The two had been nearly inseparable since then, well , at least in spirit. They hadn't quite gotten the logistics of their respective careers to match up. But, they were working on it. After six and a half years of non-stop headlining, touring, and creating two albums, Mercedes had spoken up and insisted on taking a break and allowing her music to sell itself. Sam was also doing his part in the relationship, finally deciding that he no longer wanted to live apart from his heart. He notified his landlord that he would not be renewing the lease on his townhome in the fall and was tying up loose ends in preparation to leave Lima, Ohio for the last time and join his lady on the West Coast. He was due for some sun, sand, and most importantly, extended time in the presence of his Mercedes. DC had made arrangements for him to cease his remote work from Lima and join their Los Angeles branch as a full time consultant. Yes, God provides, Mercedes mused silently.
"Mercedes…" he sing-songed into the phone.
"Yes, baby?" she replied softly.
"You were gonna tell me about your day."
"Oh, it's nothing really. I had a meeting with the label today about the prior agreement for me to take some time to myself to relax and they are pushing for me crank out another album before doing so. 'Striking while the iron is hot', and all that. But, I'm tired babe and it feels like they're trying to backdoor me into another obligation. I don't want to seem like I'm ungrateful for all they've done for me over the last half-decade, but I also just want to be your woman for a while, not Mercedes Jones, Diva Extraordinaire."
"First of all, you will always be THE Mercedes Jones, no matter what. And you will always be extraordinary. But I get it. You've accomplished so much and I couldn't be happier or prouder about that fact. But, the fact remains that you deserve a break. You're like Beyonce, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown all rolled into one- the hardest working woman in showbiz."
She gasped in shock a his declaration, " Now, Sam-"
"I know, I know. You'd never put yourself in the category of such greatness, but I will. You're on your way, Miz Jones. And you already know what you're gonna do about your little problem."
She looked incredulously at the phone before her, " I do?"
Sam shook his head in the affirmative, knowing she couldn't see him, " Yep. And don't worry. Your manager is good at what she does, she'll handle breaking the news to the label and they will understand. After all, they wouldn't want to risk burning out their highest selling artist, would they? "
A small smile formed on her lips, she did in fact know what she would tell the label. She was just apprehensive about how her plea would be received.
"It's scary how intuitive you are sometimes, babe."
"You say 'scary' but I think you mean 'comforting'." He replied smoothly. "Now, enough of this talk, it stresses my baby out. Just believe things will work out how their supposed to okay babe?"
"Yes, baby."
"Good, now, can I please proceeds with the getting on of my mack with my lady? It's late, I'm about to hit repeat on this here Marvin Gaye classic, and you're going to fall even more in love with me."
Mercedes laughed fully at that, hearing the opening chords of her man's favorite tune from Mr. Gaye. "'Get your mack on'? Boy, what have I told you about hanging around with my dad? He is going to suck the youth right outta you."
Sam chuckled at that. "Whatev, that man is a genius when it comes to wooing a Jones woman. I'd be a fool not to listen to him. As a matter of fact…"
Sam hit the facetime option on his phone, smiling when Mercedes accepted the call, "Muuuuch better."
Mercedes eyed him suspiciously though the image on her phone. "What are you up to, Sam?"
He gave her a look of mock indignation, " Me? Up to? Can't I just want to see your beautiful face as I serenade you?" He didn't give her time to respond before increasing the volume playing through his bluetooth speaker. He spoke the words softly as Marvin gave it his all on the live recording.
Distant lover, lover
So many miles away
Heaven knows that I long for you…
Sam's eyes were intense as he took in the contours of his lady's face as she returned his stare just as intensely. The connection they had was insane, despite the grainy wifi connection. Sam had always told himself he had to ease up on the intensity when it came to Mercedes, but his heart wasn't trying to hear that. Instead, he learned that Mercedes was just as intense with her love when she allowed herself the freedom. Marvin continued to lament about a faraway love, the words saying everything that Sam and Mercedes couldn't put into words.
…Distant lover
You should think about me
And say a prayer for me…
Mercedes wanted so badly to close her eyes against the tears that burned at the back of her eyes, but she couldn't force herself to look away from Sam. For what it was worth, Sam was having the same struggle. He didn't think it possible to miss someone so much, but he knew they were almost were there. In a few months' time, he would be able to look into the eyes of his lady from a few inches away instead of a few thousand miles between them. Sam felt himself getting particularly choked up as Mr. Gaye's voice hit a particularly vulnerable crescendo, finally giving in to the urge to close his eyes against the tears. Mercedes let lose a few of her own tears, feeling her heart damn near fill to bursting with love for this man who didn't mind being vulnerable in front of her. As she so often did, she decided to sing back to him…
As I reminisce, oh baby
Through our joyful summer together
The promises we made
All the daily letters
They continued this back and forth until the soulful lament faded into the background. Yes, it sometimes hurt more than anything else, but they wouldn't trade it for the world. This was them, their love. Clearing his throat, Sam managed to crack a small smile.
"I love you, Mercedes Jones. And I can't wait to be with you."
Mercedes voice hitched, not because of his declaration, but she felt the same about him. She glanced at the clock, shocked to see that it was nearly 11pm, which meant that it was almost 2am in Lima.
"Baby," her voice was as smooth as velvet. "It's late there and I know you have a full day ahead of you." Though honestly, she did not want to end their call.
Sam sighed as he, too, glanced at the clock. "I know. I don't want to stop talking to you, though."
Her smile was warm as she looked at him, "Me either. But, you should rest, okay? I love you."
He returned the smile in kind, knowing she was right, as usual. "Alright, alright. I'll go as soon as you tell me you're feeling better."
She couldn't stop the full blown smile from spreading across her face, "I always feel better after seeing my baby. Go to sleep, Sam."
Nodding his head in agreement, he blew her a soft kiss before disconnecting the call.
*So this is just a warm-up for me. It's been a minute since I've written anything. I finally got another computer and my Samcedes muse is alive and well, mostly out of need to correct the foolishment of that series finale. But I plan to make this a series until my muse dries up or takes me in another direction. Hope y'all enjoyed
