A/N: There is some swearing done on behalf of one of the minor characters in this chapter; it's not excessive, nor is it entirely out of context, but it's there nonetheless. Just letting you know in advance…
Russell Insurance, East Side Slums, November 25, 1983. Joseph had seen the writing on the wall and spared his boss the pain of having to give him a pink slip by resigning before the Thanksgiving holiday. Aaron was sorry to see his employee go but he knew the young man would be alright. Joseph was in his early thirties, a bright, hard worker and without a wife or children; he'd find some temporary, seasonal work until after the New Year before landing something more permanent without much difficulty. Aaron also assured him that he would give a glowing recommendation to any prospective employers when they called.
Leroy helped his father after school that Friday, moving Joseph's old desk across the street to the tailor who'd bought it. He did it quietly and without assistance, taking the plain, white envelope of cash in exchange for his cargo; he made his way back across the street to the office to unobtrusively place it on his father's desk. Leroy didn't stay, he just left the money there, threw on his jacket and went home while his father lingered absently over the coffeemaker. He and his mother both knew how hard this day had been for his father, and they had agreed to make things as easy as possible for him.
Aaron missed dinner that night, scaring Rose out of her wits. Leroy set out to look for him around 11 that evening but he didn't have to travel far; he found him slumped in the stairwell between the fifth and sixth floors, discombobulated and with the heavy scent of liquor on his breath. Without a word, he draped his father's right arm across his broad shoulders and hauled him up onto his feet before half-leading, half-carrying him up to their apartment. Rose instantly recognized her husband's inebriated state and swiftly helped him out of his jacket, handing it off to her son before bustling her wayward husband into bed.
The small family never spoke of that day ever again.
Metropolis, April 20, 2009, 10:47 AM. Arthur Cheswick paced behind his desk, waiting for the phone to ring. What the hell, Chloe?! he thought to himself, recalling the eagerness for the job his college friend had displayed just a few months back. Don't you ever check your voicemail anymore? For crying out loud!! He resumed his pacing.
Maybe I should call her again? It went straight to her in-box on Friday—perhaps something happened to her phone and she didn't get the message? He stopped in his tracks, pondering this latest development. No, the Chloe Sullivan I know would have a back-up phone just in case. She got the message, she's just making me squirm. UGH!!
The telephone on his desk rang out loudly, making him jump into the air before lunging for the phone. As best he could manage he answered in a composed voice, "Good morning, Metropolan News Magazine, Arthur Cheswick speaking."
"Artie!" Chloe's voice rang out from the other end of the line. "How are you?"
He stared at the computer screen before him, mentally noting her overly cheerful tone. Oh she is going to make me pay through the nose for what happened in February…Playing right into her hands, he responded, "I'm very well, thanks for asking. I take it you got my message?"
That's right, play it cool, Artie, just like I knew you would…"Oh yes, I did, and I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner."
He brushed her words off with a wave of his hand. "No no, it's quite alright, I knew you'd call when you could. So…have you given our offer any thought?"
"I have."
Arthur waited on the other end of the line for an elaboration; finding none, he moved the phone away from his ear and shook it before checking to see if it was still working. "Are you there? I think our connection went out."
"No, it didn't," she informed him simply.
"Well…?"
"I won't be taking the job."
He started coughing violently. "WHAT?!"
Chloe didn't need to be in Metropolis to picture his reaction; she'd spent enough nights working alongside Artie in college, putting the school paper to bed, to know how far his eyes would be bugging out of his head right now. All part of my plan…she thought to herself, grinning madly.
No, she can't be serious, she can't be doing this to me, this job is what she wanted…if she really means it we are in some seriously deep sh—…
"Artie, you still there?"
He took a quick sip of water as his mouth had gone completely dry with the news. "You know I hate that nickname…and yes, I'm still here. If you don't mind my asking, what changed your mind? You really wanted to be a part of the team back in February."
"Ahh, yes, well that was before I realized that the team consisted of sexist-adulterist pigs."
Damn you Ryan!! In an overly cheerful tone all his own, he replied, "Well rest assured, Ryan Ringgold was the lone bad apple in our basket here and he's been taken out of the equation, so how about it? The editors here are still impressed with your writing, and I know personally how dedicated you are in your current position at the Tribune, not to mention how much you want to be back in Metropolis again…are you sure there's nothing I can say that might change your mind?"
Chloe paused on the other end of the line, as if giving his request careful consideration. "You could try apologizing to me for so readily taking his side in all this…I don't know what kind of bull he fed you about me after our interview, but I'm your friend and you should've known me better than to trust a word he said!" she exclaimed through clenched teeth, her resentment finally getting the better of her.
He let out a weary sigh. "You're right, I should've given you the benefit of the doubt, we are friends…but, Chloe, you have to understand something. I've known you for fourteen years now, and in the last twelve I've only seen you a handful of times. Sure we keep in touch over the phone and through e-mail and stuff, but it's not the same. With Ryan—well, I worked side-by-side with him every day for the last eight years! I had no reason not to believe him and when he told me that while your writing was impressive your attitude was 'unprofessional'. I thought that maybe all your years as Editor of the Smallville Tribune had made you soft…heck, I wouldn't have even believed him capable of cheating on Deborah if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!"
"Wait, you're the one who caught him in the act?!"
"Yes! Why do you think I was so quick to call you back when the news broke?"
Chloe took a deep breath. "So you admit that you were wrong then? To take his side, I mean."
"Yes, wholly and freely! I screwed up almost as badly as Ryan! Believe me you have no idea how sorry I am …"
She dropped the ruse. "So you need me that badly, huh?"
He noted the change in tone and realized their game of cat and mouse had come to an end. "Yeah, we do. Ringgold fucked up, he fucked up badly and if we don't get someone talented in here to fill the City section vacancy soon then the quality of the 'Metropolan' is really going to suffer…"
She stopped him mid-sentence, having made him suffer enough. "I can start on Monday, May 11th at the salary that was discussed before, and I need 5,000 dollars extra to help me move that quickly cross-country. Do we have a deal?"
Arthur let out a small grin. "And here I thought you were going to make me sweat for it…" he said, slipping back into their old familiar banter.
"Me? Ha!" she smiled at how easily they fell back into synch after not having worked together for so many years.
"Alright, I'll talk to the higher-ups and fax the paperwork out to you later, but I believe we have a deal. And Chloe?"
"Uh huh?"
"Thanks. I know you wanted this too, but you're really bailing me out here."
"Oh I know…and don't think I'm going to let you forget it anytime soon. Bye now!" she replied, hanging up the phone.
He pulled the receiver away from his ear, hung his head and groaned. Knowing her, she'll make my own grandchildren pay for this… he lamented.
Metropolis, April 20, 2009. Jimmy grabbed the vibrating cell phone off the counter that evening and answered it hastily.
"Well, did you take the job or didn't you?"
"What job?" an older woman's voice asked on the other end.
"Mom?"
"James, I thought I taught you better than to answer the phone like that…now who did you think I was?"
"Oh, well, um…I thought, that is…she was supposed to call…"
"She?" Cheryl Olsen asked in an omniscient and motherly tone. "James, do you have a new girlfriend? And you didn't tell me?!" He sighed as he pictured his strawberry-blond and white haired mother sitting down indignantly in a chair in her living room far away in Connecticut.
"Well I'm sorry, but there's no easy way to say 'Hey Mom, I'm dating again'. Besides, I've been busy with work."
"Oh you're always busy with work, that's no excuse—besides, that wasn't so hard, you telling me just now, was it?"
"Umm…"
"No, see, I was right. Now who is she, what's her name, and how'd you meet her?"
"I'm sure you didn't call to grill me about my love life…" he said, desperately trying to deflect his mother's attention, "Now how are you? And Josh and Jenny and Justin and Jill? I talked to Josh a few weeks ago but he couldn't talk long—said he was under deadline—and Jen called about a month ago to tell me about the wedding plans..."
"He's fine, and when aren't you two boys under deadline? I swear, you work too hard, the both of you…now, your brothers and sisters are all fine and I'll tell you more if you want me to in five minutes…after you tell me about this new girlfriend of yours."
The photographer sighed and grabbed a beer out of his fridge before settling himself down on the couch. "Ok, fine. Her name is Chloe Sullivan, she was the Maid of Honor at my friends' wedding last June, and we kept in touch afterward. I didn't see her again until she called me up when she was back in the City in February and we've been together pretty much ever since."
"What do you mean she was 'back in the City'? Where does she live?"
"She lives in Kansas, but she got a job offer over the weekend back here in Metropolis and might be coming back to stay…I thought you were her calling to say whether or not she'd taken the job for sure."
Jim listened as his mother shifted in her seat on the other end of the line. "I see…and what job would that be?"
"She's a journalist, Mom, and she got offered a job writing for the 'Metropolan News Magazine'."
"Oh my goodness! She must be very talented to get a job with them. I hope she takes them up on their offer; but it'll be hard for her, having to move cross-country and find a place…" her voice trailed off as she became lost in thought.
I might as well bite the bullet now…"Actually, I've asked her to move in with me."
Cheryl spluttered into the phone. "But…but…but Jenny and Brian aren't even living together yet, and they're engaged! I haven't even met this woman and you're already asking her to move in with you?! Don't you think that's a little fast, James?"
He thought he would be more flustered by her response but it actually served to bolster his resolve. "Well, Mom, things move a little bit differently here in Metropolis."
"APPARENTLY!" she exclaimed, still very much in shock. "You know, when I was a young woman it was unconscionable to move in with a man until you were married…"
He hastened to cut her off before she launched into a full scale 'back in my day' tirade, especially when it happened to be about her marriage…Seeing as how that went so well, he thought wryly. "Was there another reason you called, Mom? Other than to harass me about love life, that is."
"What? Oh…yes…your sister, Jennifer, she wanted to ask you a couple of questions, but she also wanted to know when you could come home to meet Brian. She should be here in a couple minutes to have me help her go over the seating charts one more time…"
"Hold on a sec, I'll take a look at my calendar…" he got up and strode over next to the refrigerator, where his one concession to full-fledged bachelorhood reigned; it was a twelve month calendar with pictures of half-naked girls surrounded by motorcycles and muscle cars…Man will I be sad to see this go, he thought with a sigh as he flipped through the pages. In addition to his work at the Planet he noted he had a few freelance gigs lined up for the next several weekends. "The wedding's June 12th, right?"
"Yes it is."
"I hate to have to say this, but I don't think I can make it up there before then."
"Don't tell me it's because you're too busy helping your girlfriend move in…"
"Mom, that's enough! This has nothing to do with Chloe and everything to do with the fact that I'm spending the bulk of the vacation time I have coming to me right now to attend the wedding! Now, would you two rather I met Brian before or after he's legally related to us, because I can only make one trip!!"
"Don't take that tone with me young man…here, talk to your sister." Jim heard his mother cover the mouthpiece with her hand as she stood up to pass the phone to her middle child; he also heard her whisper loudly, "It's your brother…he's got a girlfriend, and she's moving in with him!"
"Josh?" the young woman asked after grabbing hold of the phone. Jim listened to the connection go in and out as she moved around the house.
"No Sis, it's Jimmy. So what's going on, how are you? Wedding stuff getting to you yet?"
She deposited her notebooks and charts and walked through the living and dining rooms toward the kitchen, leaving her mother behind. "Oh, you know, not so much…I'm sure the closer it gets to June, though, the worse I'll be…"
"Nah, you'll be great! Everything will go smoothly, I know it, trust me. Say, did you get in touch with my photographer friend up there? Did he get you a good deal?"
Jennifer smiled at her big brother's concern. "Yeah he did, thanks, Jim. Listen, while you're on the phone and before Mom starts hovering again…"
"Oh geez, look, she's my girlfriend and it's my life! If I want her to move in…"
"No, that's not it, now will you just shut up and listen! Gosh, you're almost as bad as Mom!" she hissed into the phone.
His face dropped before he recognized her joking tone, and decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. "You better take that back, or I might have to show Brian pictures of you in your Spice Girls phase…"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"I have the duplicates hidden away here in Metropolis, and should anything happen to me I have friends in high places who will ensure that they go public…" he teased her.
"Fine, you know what? I was going to ask you to play a big part in my wedding, but instead I think I'll just ask Josh; sure it'll look like I hired a hippie to escort me down the aisle on my big day, but it's a heck of a lot less hassle than trying to ask you."
That stopped him cold. "Y-you were going to ask me to walk you down the aisle?"
"I was, but then you threatened me with the Spice Girl pictures, and well…" she stopped her teasing mid-sentence, "Of course I was going to ask you! You're my older brother, not to mention all you did for us after Dad left…if anyone deserves to give me away, it's you." Jim listened to her sniffle on the other end of the line.
Jimmy swallowed down his tears as well. "Oh Jen…I'd be happy to escort you down the aisle."
"Thank you!" his sister exclaimed exuberantly into the phone. "I was so afraid you'd say no…"
"Why on Earth would I say no? It's your wedding day! However, I can't make it back to Connecticut before the Big Day to meet Brian—I don't have enough vacation time to make the trip twice. I'll be there two days before though, does that help?"
"Absolutely, that's great, we all know how busy the Planet keeps you…" she readily agreed. "So, you asked your girlfriend to move in with you, huh? That's big, Jim, that's really big…"
"I know, and Mom was about to read me the Riot Act over it, but I care a lot about her…not to mention that you know I wouldn't have asked her without giving it a lot of thought, and…"
"Hey, I know, you don't have to rationalize it to me, you're a big boy…" she started to remind him, before his concentration was interrupted by the beeping of an incoming call.
"Jen? I have to go…I've got another call coming in…"
"Ok, just don't be a stranger, alright? Pick up the phone and call home every once in awhile…" she joked.
"Yes, Mom," he teased back before hanging up. He hit the TALK button in the same instant to answer the other call, but before he could get a word out edgewise an exuberant voice cried out, "I took the job with the 'Metropolan'!!"
