Chapter 9: Be Mine
MPOV
Oh, good fucking Christ. Bloody fucking Christ, how could this have fucking happened? Just because fucking Rube doesn't have anywhere to be tonight doesn't mean the rest of us fucking don't. How could he have done this to me? How could he have fucking done this?
I stared down at my Post-It that afternoon after lunch. Everyone else was off doing their thing and fucking Rube had decided it would be a fun idea to call me in and give me a nice stack of about four reaps to do before the end of the fucking day. I stared at him and could feel the frustration mounting in spades.
"Uh, Rube, I can't do this one. I have plans tonight and I won't get there on time if I'm-"
"I don't want to hear it. You know today's one of out busiest. Besides, I'm sure whatever it is you have to do isn't that fucking important anyway." Rube countered in a warning tone.
He was agitated, I could tell. What caused this bloody change? He switched personalities like they were underwear or some shit: one day he's a bowl of fucking rainbows and the next he's out to rip you a new asshole. The last three days he was actually being semi-decent to us and today it was like someone had shoved a very large spiked rod up his ass.
"You don't understand…" I started, sitting in front of him to try and plead my case.
"I do understand. But this is your job and nothing is more important than your job. No excuses." He was firm and respectable with a 'fuck with me and I'll kill you' attitude.
"I am so viciously fucked, do you know that?" I asked him.
"I don't care if you're fucking a supermodel, Mason, get the job done." He was immovable.
Get the job done. Yeah, right. Here I was the one chance I had to prove that I wasn't just like every other bloke on the street and he gives me reason to act the asshole. God, this was so screwed up. I couldn't let this happen.
"Fine, you know what? Just bloody fucking fine!" I yelled as I grabbed my coat and headed for the car.
The second I walked in the door I ran into Daisy, dressed in an impeccable white and red pantsuit. She looked like a candy heart. I smiled warily at her and turned to go upstairs when she turned to look up and open her mouth.
"That's George's room you're going up to…I don't think she wants you in there."
"She…doesn't care, Daisy. I've got things to do and I left something upstairs."
"Oh come on, Mason. Don't lie to me. Why are you going into her room?"
"Leave me fucking alone, Daisy, I have a lot to do today and this isn't helping…" I moaned before charging upstairs, going into George's room and shutting the door.
She has to have one of those bloody cards…. I dug through the drawers and everything I could find before I finally pulled out the small piece of cardboard. Score. Then it took me another ten minutes to hunt through the rest of the debris for the phone. I dialed quickly and tapped a finger nervously on the dresser as it rang a few times.
"Happy Time Temp Agency, how may I help you?"
"Crystal? Thank god, I really need to talk to Geor- err, Millie please."
"She's left for the day, may I take a message?"
"Left for the day? Where's she gone?"
"Something about an appointment, may I take a message?"
"No, it won't do any fucking good." I yelled and slammed down the phone.
So viciously fucked…so very, very fucked…I tore through the house in hopes to find anything that would help me before I stopped to lean against the chair. Daisy was in her room, thank God, so I didn't have to listen to her. My first reap of the afternoon was in an hour and I had no way of getting hold of George. She was going to kill me. I was going to bloody kill myself…again.
The first reap was clean, thank God. Some poor sap trying to make a 'love potion' from instructions in a magazine…turns out he was highly allergic to the cinnamon in it. If I wasn't in such a crappy mood I would have found it astoundingly funny, but every minute took me closer and closer to what I was dreading most.
How could Rube give me a reap tonight? How? I mean, I had the whole thing planned out, right? See, there was going to be a candlelight dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants in the fucking city, wine and good food, then go out dancing, really show Georgie-girl that I wasn't just some recently sober fuck up. I had it planned out, man, and I never plan things out. This just proves why.
OPOV
Roxy had taken the day off early. Her reaps had been early this morning and it was really sad: some couple had stayed the night at a hotel and decided to take a dip in the private pool. Turned out the girlfriend had a little more planned and tried to drown her lover, but ended up crushed beneath him in the shallow end. Damn, it was a shame.
She stood in front of the mirror in her apartment with all her clothes laying out on the bed. It had been twenty years since her last date and she had no fucking clue what to wear tonight. She'd met this guy one other time, on a reap for God's sake. He must think I'm some kind of bad luck charm, or something…
Finally she decided on a black dress, kind of fancy without the 'I'm really desperate' look to it. For some reason she was nervous. On the one hand she really liked him, but on the other she was a reaper and reapers couldn't date the living. Sure, the inevitable one night stand would happen, but an actual date or relationship was out of the question. And Rube was adamant about that.
MPOV
The afternoon went by way too fast. Three reaps, a cappuccino, five calls to the restaurant, and getting pulled over for speeding made the day start off just as every one should Damn, I hated Valentine's Day. It had never gone right for me when I was alive, and hadn't since I died so why should it start now? I could remember trying to make cookies once for this girl and almost burned down the house, then she went of and shagged my best friend. That was only the start. But this time I had made a decision to do things right and look at me.
I took the ticket from the cop and looked down at it. Bloody fines…and he had the nerve to tell me to 'have a nice day." I'd have a nice day when I saw someone run over his scrawny ass.
Thank god, I still had a couple of hours and George would undoubtedly be off doing her reaps . This gave me enough time to sit and plan out what would probably be my one chance to impress her. I mean, she dated a country club kid and he fucked her over so that had to give me a leg up, yeah? I stopped for moment and took a moment to think, yes really think. That was bloody brilliant!
A smile wormed its way over the scowl I wore and I coasted into the driveway of the house. A few phone calls later I plopped myself down on Georgie's bed with that beautiful guitar and started to play.
RPOV
Mason had royally pissed me off, and I was already stressed out enough. Today was The Day. I mean, I wasn't nervous or anything, but I really wanted things to go well. Rosslyn and I had plans to meet at Chez Mortal, but for a very different reason tonight. This was the first time I'd see her as something more than just a friend and that scared me shitless. Not because I was afraid of seeing her any other way, but because this would be the first time in a near century that I'd put myself out there completely with nothing to fall back on. Surely she'd see that.
I stared down at the formica tabletop and silently prayed that I wouldn't make an ass out of myself. The last first date I had been on had ended with me making an ass out of myself and I really didn't want for that to happen again. Usually when my train of thought started heading this direction I'd feel the urge to go outside and have a smoke, but today was different on many levels.
I had woken up with the realization that most probably feel after divorce. I was completely alone in that bed as I had been since I died and had been since before I died. Today though, it hurt for some reason. My left had felt odd, like a part of it had been taken away and I was feeling the after effects of its loss. My heart, too, was mourning a loss that hadn't been dealt with in ages. Today just sucked. Well, it did for now anyway.
Kiffany had earned a lofty tip from me for that hour I spent just staring off into space, and she met my eyes with a knowing smile. For some reason all of the women who'd known me for years thought that Ros and I should have 'gotten together' years ago. Apparently she was perfect.
My mind wandered as I walked outside and headed for home. I put together my pipe and lit it, taking a few drags. The familiar walk to my apartment let me go on autopilot and I found myself thinking back to the picture of Lucy and Rosie that I had back on my dresser. My mind's eye lingered on Lucy's once beautiful face, but then her features changed. Black straight hair turned into auburn ringlets, the petite frame turned into a taller more curvaceous one and dark brown eyes turned into brighter hazel ones. Lucy's likeness became Rosslyn's in that picture in my mind. Suddenly a simple memory of Lucy coming outside to yell for Rosie turned into Rosslyn stopping down to scoop my daughter into her arms before turning to look at me. In my mind, I was awed at the audacity of my thoughts, but my heart warmed at the idea. She would have made the perfect wife.
It was a shame that she never saw marriage in life. Whatever man had the right mind to get to her first would have been lucky. Ironically in her time twenty-six was grounds for being called an 'old maid' whereas now she was just a young woman with nothing to tie her down. That always got to her, the fact that if she had lived in this time she wouldn't have been thought odd to wait to marry. Then again, when she had been alive she wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to marry anyway.
I wanted to surprise her tonight as no one ever had. She deserved only the best and I wanted to give it to her. Between fighting off vicious souls and having to deal with my bullshit she deserved something nice. I had calls to make and plans to decide on. I just hoped it would be good enough to really not make me look like a jackass.
OPOV
Roxy pulled up at the restaurant William had said to meet at when it struck eight on the nose. She was beautiful that night, anyone would have said so. Her hair was down, falling in waves to her shoulders instead of being pulled back as I always was and she looked incredibly feminine in the dress she had picked out earlier in the day. Yes, she was a reaper with no Post-It, no agenda and butterflies in her stomach the size of UFOs.
William greeted her with a rose once she walked into the elegant wooden doors of the restaurant. He wore a simple black suit, but his smile upped the wattage of his attractiveness. Her heart did a weird flip-flop move as she took the rose and he kissed her hand. This was definitely not her scene. Yeah, she liked him and had since she'd met him the first time but this fancy shit didn't do anything for her aside from looking like a lady.
MPOV
I was running later than I had planned. Granted yes, I had a reap in twenty minutes and still had to get dressed for the night, but I still had two stops to make. One was to the restaurant where I had planned to eat with George. The other was the new surprise.
I ran up the front desk of the restaurant and was met with an downcast look by the wanker in the fancy coat, "Hi, I had a reservation tonight at nine. The name was Mason and it was for two? I need to cancel it, but my date's still going to be coming here tonight, an I want to leave her something, yeah?"
He looked annoyed, "So, you want us to cancel the reservation, but keep an eye out for your date."
"Yes."
"And give her something?"
"Yeah."
"And what would this something be?"
I pulled out a pile of yellow Post-Its from my pocket and a pen. It only took a minute, but I tore the top one off and handed it to the man who looked from it to me with an annoyed, but slightly intrigued look on his face, "there, this should be all. Her name is George and she's blonde with brown eyes. She'll be alone and here around nine, yeah?"
"Yes…sir." The man said and put the Post-It does beside him. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. It was bloody unbelievable that people looked at you funny when you were trying to do something romantic. This though, would have to be trusted that he'd really do it, and to make my point a little easier to understand I slid a fifty dollar bill his way and he smiled a knowing smile before I left on my other errand.
I left the car running as I ran in the building and talked to a few friends for a moment. Yes, it took greasing a few more palms but, by god, I would do this right. I didn't know why I felt like I had to do this right, but I really did.
I think I got to my reap bloody seconds before it happened. Thankfully it was easy to find and my girl was the only one around. Sad, being hit by a car, but things like that happened. Shit, I was still late. I changed in the car into a pair of black jeans and a Stones shirt. Hopefully this would make a statement, not the clothes, but the act. I was fucking scared out of my wits on this one.
OPOV
Dinner had gone well and the glasses of wine were starting to make Roxy a little more relaxed. She laughed like she hadn't in days with William and she felt good about things. He was sweet, patient as hell, kind hearted and handsome to boot. Secretly though, she wondered what exactly was wrong with him.
"So, you like being a cop?"
"It's a change…I was a meter maid before that."
He burst out laughing, "a meter maid? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, it was a suck-ass job, but it paid the rent. I only had to deal with assholes on a daily basis, get chewed out for bullshit reasons, and get told I'd make a better cop for over five years before I decided to switch it up."
"Well, you do a good job. But man, did you luck out the other day when I saw you…some poor guy was attacked by the drug dogs after you left. He was smuggling something and the damn near ripped off his head…killed the guy."
"Wow…that's a shame, isn't it?"
"So…I was wondering something…"
"Hm?"
"Would you like to go out again after tonight or are you just never going to answer your phone again?"
"I…sure." She couldn't believe herself.
"Good."
GPOV
He was late. Well, that was nothing new, Mason was always late. I swear, he would have been late for his own reaping if someone hadn't found him first. I had taken the time to dress up, too. Okay, so Daisy had helped me out a little and I ended up lying to her and telling some story about Dolores taking me to some party to meet a guy. I mean, though, this was some serious girlie shit and he wasn't there to appreciate it.
The guy at the desk eyed me. Hell, I must have looked better than I thought. My hair was curled for the first time in my life and I wore an actual dress, nay, 'a little black dress.' This was sexy, and I knew it, so where the fuck was Mason?
"Excuse me, ma'am, but are you…George?" the guy at the desk asked.
I turned, it had been almost fifteen minutes and no one had even talked to me, let alone try and seat me. I nodded and he motioned for me to come over so I did and leaned against the marble of the desk, "yeah?"
"A Mr. Mason, I believe he was your date for the evening left this for you." And he handed me a Post-It.
Shit, Rube made him break our date so I could do a fucking reap? No way, this is bullshit. I looked down, but it wasn't Rube's writing. It was Mason's now familiar scrawl, but the layout was reminiscent of our reap Post-Its. Did he take one down at Rube's order for me? No, Rube would never do that. It was probably against some rule and we all knew just how straight arrow Rube was so that was out of the question. Something was amiss though, there wasn't a name on my Post-It. Yeah, this was definitely not Rube's doing.
The Highball
113 W. Mansfield Ln.
E.T.D. 9:30
What the hell was that? Yeah, this was just a little weird. No name and I had fifteen minutes to get there. What was going to happen? Was the whole place going to go up and I had to take every fucking soul in there? Christ, this was NOT what I had envisioned for the evening.
The Highball was a grungy little club on the west end of town. It had every bit the vibe of a Rock 'n Roll hellhole; Mason would love it. I got a few looks as I sauntered in the door with my little dress, high heels and curious eyes, but no one said anything. It was crowded for such a crappy little place, especially on Valentine's Day. My watch read nine twenty-five. I had five minutes to find my reap, but had no name and nothing to go on. So, I sat down and ordered a drink in hopes that someone would keel over and I'd get their soul then.
A young guy dressed in a vintage Beatles t-shirt got up on their little stage and signaled for everyone's attention. I say signaled, but all he really did was whistle really loud and everyone turned to make sure nothing was on fire. I had actual hopes that someone was. He stood up there and looked actually a little lost amongst the torn curtain and microphone. If I hadn't been so preoccupied with my reap it would have actually been funny.
"Okay, guys, we have an old friend of mine playing tonight. He's never been in front of an audience before, so be nice to him. Oh, he also wanted me to tell his lady friend that this was the big surprise." The guy announced, leaning down into the microphone and some larger biker-esque looking guy brought out a pretty ragged looking barstool.
The lights dimmed for moment and I snuck a look at my watch in the fading light, nine thirty on the dot. So where was my reap? Everyone looked fine aside from the slightly intoxicated looks they all wore. Where was my reap? I turned back to the stage, who knew, maybe he'd have a heart attack or something and that would be that.
I froze when I saw the familiar, lanky figure coming out. The same tousled, brown hair I looked at every day was combed slightly down and instead of ratty jeans and a torn t-shirt there were black pants and a Rolling Stones shirt that actually looked somewhat decent. It was Mason. My heart actually stopped and had I not been dead I would have feared for my health. Oh my fucking god…
He tapped at the microphone nervously, "Te-testing one, two, three…can you all hear me all right?"
There was chorus of "yes" throughout the audience. I'm sure I mumbled something but I don't remember. He sat on the ragged barstool and slid the strap of a guitar, the guitar I had gotten him, around his neck and positioned the mic to where you could actually hear him.
"So, yeah, this is my first playing and um…this is actually a surprise for my date tonight. So, Georgie, this is my way of asking you to…be my valentine." Mason struggled to get the words out and was blushing bright red. If anyone looked a little closer they might have thought he was gay, but my presence and him staring in my direction gave everyone cause to not heckle him.
He took a few seconds to tune and I was already enraptured. This was Mason? He came up with this? He was…going to play…for me? Okay, so play for me in front of a room full of people, but play for me nonetheless? No shit?
"Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now
Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
But I don't know how
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
Today was gonna be the day
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now
And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
You're my wonderwall
You're my wonderwall"
God damn…
RPOV
The cemetery was actually kind of romantic. No, it really wasn't. I leaned against the same headstone we had been meeting at for close to sixty years, smoking my pipe and looking down the hill. I took the time to wear a suit, slick my hair back and shine my shoes just as I had way back when I had gone on my first date when I was still a kid. Now, I just looked like a lawyer who had nowhere else to be on Valentine's Day.
The wind was cold and I pulled my coat closer around me. She wasn't late and I had no cause to look at my watch. I had gotten there about forty-five minutes early because of my nerves. Granted yes, I was always early but this was a whole new dimension of crap. What am I doing here?
I saw her before she saw me. She was all legs in that blue dress and her hair that was always curly fell straight against her face. She was a vision. I couldn't stop staring and had I not had hold of my pipe it would have fallen to the ground.
"Hey, stranger…" she greeted me as she closed the few feet between us.
"Hey, Ros." I answered back, trying not to let my eyes wander over her. But damn if that wasn't the most evil thing she could have done to me. I'd never looked at her like that since I'd known her and there I was ogling her like she was a piece of meat.
"What's the matter, you look shocked?"
"I just…you really look beautiful tonight."
She blushed and for some reason that made me happy. I had made her blush for the first time out of something I'd said rather than it being a situation that made her or both of us uncomfortable. My eyes wandered over her; over the blue dress she wore and the black trench that hung so gracefully off of her shoulders down to the heels that made her just a few inches taller. I was stuck.
"You don't look so bad yourself. So what's the plan, man?" she asked nonchalantly, pulling out a cigarette and lighter.
"Dinner? Dancing? Hell if I know."
"Dancing could be fun…but 'hell if I know' works too." She lit the cigarette and took a few drags, leaning her head back to watch the smoke waft up toward the sky.
"You're in a good mood tonight. Is the lack of work making you feel a little better than normal?"
She shook her head no and turned to look at me, "no, why?"
"You just seem…I don't know, different."
"So do you."
"How so?" I turned to face her.
"The last few days you've just been different. What with the whole being really upbeat which I've never seen you like that around your group, the wedding ring thing and…you…asking me out…" she faltered at the end and her eyes met mine in the same, slow and deliberate way they always did when she meant to ignore a topic.
"Why is that weird?"
"You asked me out on a date, Rube."
"Okay. And?"
"You've never done anything like that before."
"I told you…I came to terms with a few things.."
"But why choose now when I'm here for that, huh?" suddenly her voice changed and it was softer, as if she were trying to keep it to herself.
"Why not?"
"You're making me nuts, you know that, right?"
"How am I making you nuts?"
"Because we're friends."
"… I don't even know what to say to that, Rosslyn."
"We're friends and you asked me out. We're friends and reapers and you asked me out."
"Okay. So, you never had a problem when we'd go out and eat before, but now that I've come to terms with losing my wife and daughter you can't handle it anymore?"
"That's not it and you know it."
"Well what is 'it' then?"
"It makes me feel…I don't know, weird."
"Explain."
"Fuck…I don't know. Like there's something…I don't know, more between us or something."
"Is that why you're acting so weird, Ros?"
"How am I acting weird?"
"You asked me 'what's the plan, man' for god's sake. I have never in my afterlife heard you utter those words in that order. Or is Mason just getting to you that bad?"
"Well, you're parading around not wearing a ring, acting all happy and whatever around me then you ask me out…what am I supposed to think?"
"What do you think?"
"I think I'm crazy."
"How do you think you're crazy?"
"What are you now, my therapist?" she asked desperately and tossed down the butt of her cigarette, grinding it into the grass. I looked at her and tried to keep my face expressionless though I was fighting off a smile inside.
"I just want to know. You're an old, good friend and I want to know why you think you're crazy. This affects me because I let you into my home and I want to understand why, in fact, you may be nuts."
"Things have just been floating through my head lately, okay?"
"Things?"
"Don't fuck with me, Rube."
"I'm not fucking with you."
"Stop it, I mean it. I've just been thinking a lot about things since I got here and…"
"And?"
"I…might stick around for a while."
"That's what's making you crazy?"
"No. It was just a thought I had…why I want to stay is making me crazy."
"Why do you want to stay?"
She bit at her lower lip and turned away from me, looking down at the city's lights. The wind blew her hair into her face and I instantly saw her as an actress that even Daisy would have been in awe of. She was beautiful, that would never change but there we were, fighting slightly about something that was going on between us. Nothing had been said that it was between us, but between us nonetheless.
"You…"
"Me? I'm making you crazy? Didn't we just go over this?"
"Shut up."
I grabbed her hand and turned her to face me. This was different than all the times I had tried to get her to talk to me in the past. There was so much riding on this moment and this 'date' and she thought she was nuts about it. So much had happened in the last week that she had been home and even more before she had come back. I was due to spend some time thinking and the fact that she brought it out in me meant something. Her eyes were on the ground and I caught her chin as I had so many times in the past when she had been defiant toward me. Always it was for her own good, but this time was it really? Or was it for me?
"No, I think you need to shut up and stop thinking so much."
Her gaze flashed up to meet my eyes and we stared at each other, "this is coming from the man who wore his wedding ring seventy years after his wife died? And you say I need to stop thinking so much?"
"Yes I do. So stop."
"Or what? What will it get me if I stop, hm?" she was being defiant on purpose to push my buttons.
"What is it really that's making you crazy, Rosslyn?" I asked her, my voice quiet and I leaned my face down close to hers.
"You had me really worried."
"That's what was making you crazy?"
"And now...everything…you're my rock and now you're changing things up on me. You never thought outside your marriage until now and here we are. It's scaring me."
"I'm scaring you?"
"I'm scaring myself about you. I'm afraid I'll call home one day and you'll have…passed."
I could feel my jaw drop as I looked down at her. She suddenly looked so young. Well hell, she was thirteen years my junior when she died, but at the moment she really did take on a frightened child look. My paternal side fought to get out, but I kept it down with the promise that she'd be protected. Albeit in a different way, but I was determined.
"I'm not going anywhere for a while."
"Good."
"Good."
We stared at each other for a long while, her chin in my hand. A small smile tugged at the edges of her mouth and suddenly we were laughing. We were laughing so hard I could see her fighting for air as she slid out from me and leaned on a headstone. I leaned beside her and again we stood in silence.
After a long few moments, as if on cue, we turned to face each other and she looked up at me with a completely new expression than I had ever seen before. The one she wore was…more intense, no, passionate, no, hell I have no fucking clue. It was different, but good different.
I couldn't stop myself and I pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on my shoulder for a while and I just held her there. She was still my oldest and best friend in the world. I still trust her with everything I had. I still knew that she'd be there no matter what ever happened to me or us. That prompted me to move away and look down into her eyes again. There was that look.
"What is it?" I asked her and she shook her head.
"Nothing, you worry to much."
I smiled and I couldn't tell you how it happened. Her eyes held that mysterious look and something changed. Something big changed.
We kissed. And it wasn't some sissy peck on the lips either. I held her to me like there was nothing else in the world but the two of us and she held be back as well as she could. If I could have I would have picked her up, but I had no desire to move from having her in my arms.
When we broke away we were both breathless and she looked up at me with all-knowing eyes, "That's what scared me."
"…"
"I wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one out of the two of us that was feeling like things were a little different. Now I know."
"Now you know."
"So, stupid question?"
"Hm?"
"Be my valentine?"