Note: Hey everyone on computer land, hope you're having a great day…!
Shout out to my girl Yemi Hikari for her beta reading help, and may I say she is a cultured, knowledgable gal. xo
Rather Go Blind
Chapter Two
Friend In The Zone
"PETER VENKMAN!"
It was Janine. Peter couldn't get himself out of this conversation.
She walked into the room. "What did you do to make Jane upset last night?"
"Sh-She told you…?" He could barely hear himself.
"I just got off the phone with her," said Janine. "She said out of all the dates she's been on, you're one of the top ten worst dates she's ever been on."
"I didn't mean to get her that angry," he began. "I just told her the world would be a better place if everyone had a more traditional family setting."
Janine placed a hand on her forehead. "You told that, to Jane's face?"
Wincing, he nodded. "I said that out loud, yes…"
"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to set you two up?" asked Janine. "I didn't tell her about your other… charming quirks. I told her you were a doctor and that was how she was willing to go out with you. She just got back into dating, and you just had to mess it up, didn't you?"
Even though what he said was a bit extreme, there was a point to what Peter said last night. It truly was impossible to find someone to settle down with if women were so involved with their careers.
"Jane is a girl with strong beliefs, and I respect her for that," she continued. "You are going to call her and give her an apology, or else. No excuses."
The doctor sighed. "Alright, fine… I will."
With Peter's line of work, it was also impossible to find someone who could put up with his odd hours, being on call all the time. He could connect with people like policemen and ambulance workers. It was hard to make a life after work when work consumed most of your life. If you can't connect with a girl later, why not connect now? Why not connect with all the women?
He was soon pushing forty, but what happened if he never got married at all? It didn't matter anyways. He could care less if people saw him as a bitter loner.
A door flashed through his mind's eye, Jim Venkman walking out the doorway. He felt like a little kid again. Christmases all alone, having to fend for himself with no idea if he was going to survive.
He shook his head. No time for a pity party. He had an apology to make.
Or Janine would grill him.
It was a long day at work. Jane managed to get a deadline for a story in, and was grateful her sources called her on time. Gerald, the editor-in-chief was not the understanding type.
Her legs and feet felt sore, so she decided to draw a bath and unwind for the day. The tub was scented with lavender as she played instrumental classical music in the background. She ought to try opera music the next time.
She recalled the phone call she had with her younger sister, Amelia a few weeks ago. Their parents seemed to be doing alright. Their mother doing things with her society bunch and their father with his real estate business.
Her father was glad for her success being a reporter, though her mother preferred if she was in a more tamed field.
She frowned. If only she had a different career, perhaps it would make peace with everyone around her back home.
As she got out of the bath, the phone rang.
A deep, lazy voice was on the other end. "Hello, would this be Ms. Fisher I'm talking to?"
He sounded familiar.
"Yes, speaking. Is this the dumb jerk who took me out on that horrible date?"
"Yeah, about that…" Peter chuckled. "I'm calling to apologize. I shouldn't have been so blunt with what I said and should have used different words."
Jane swallowed. "I thank you for apologizing. It takes a real person to call after doing something like that. There aren't that many guys who'd do that after I had a bad date with them."
"Hey, so even if that night turned out not so great, I hope we can still be friends. Just to make it up to you."
"Of course, we can still be friends. We now know each other thanks to Janine."
If Peter was making an effort to apologize, maybe he wasn't as bad of a person as she thought. From the other things that Janine told her, he did so many great things for others in his line of work.
"If you have time, perhaps you can swing over by the Firehouse and I could give you a tour. See what goes on behind the scenes of the Ghostbusters."
"I'd love to, though I may have to take a rain check for that," said Jane. "I've just been swamped with work."
"Well, if you need anything, let me know," said Peter.
Maybe Jane was wrong about this guy all along.
"Of course, I will. Have a great night."