Meeting Again (by Walt Whitman)
Irene had asked Helena to think before she did anything and Myka told the Brit she trusted her decisions. Those were the only two things Helena needed in order to act. Now Pete was driving her across town to Ted Grayson's office on Lexington Avenue. Pete insisted he accompany Helena and she only gave in because he was slowing her down. She texted Claudia, who did as she was instructed and only then did the techie begin pacing the room about whether or not she should tell anyone.
Myka was inundated with work as soon as she got back to her office. She smiled when she saw the huge bouquet of white roses on her desk with a note that read – "I miss you already. Love, Helena." She organized what needed to be done first and then decided she would visit Helena to thank her for the flowers. She was going into the elevator when Irene joined her.
"Have you been upstairs?" Irene asked.
"No, I just thought I would …stop in," Myka said, blushing because her inner thoughts were so naughty.
"I can't read your mind, Myka," Irene whispered teasingly and made Myka blush even more.
The door opened and Irene waited to see what Myka's reaction was going to be. Claudia reacted like a proud parent and Eileen couldn't wait for Sui to share his experiences with them.
"I know she doesn't want to be disturbed, darlin', but I need one signature and if your boss would do these things electronically like the rest of the 21st century does, I wouldn't have to be here," Bridget explained.
The man, whom she did not recognize at all, had explained that Ms. Wells was in, but couldn't be disturbed.
"Bridget?" Myka said, pleased to see her friend standing there.
"Oh my God!" Bridget said, rushing to kiss Myka. "You look wonderful! Look at you, all tan without any tan lines, I bet," Bridget said, pulling over the sleeveless dress a bit. She was right.
"Bridget!" Myka said, knowing her friend would enjoy this too much.
"Irene, have you ever seen our friend look …less rested?" Bridget teased and Irene smiled. "Hey, do you have any pull with the guy at the front desk because I need Helena to sign this," Bridget said to Irene.
"Who is that?" Myka whispered to Irene. She was surprised she hadn't heard Helena yelling about it.
"Welcome back, Mrs. Bering-Wells," Sui said and Myka thanked him.
"Introduce yourself," Irene said and watched the other two women for their reactions.
"Mrs. Bering-Wells, Ms. Cummings, it is I, Sui Generis," Sui said and Irene smiled when mouths opened, but nothing came out.
"You? Did this?" Bridget asked because she knew Sui was with Irene.
"No, Mr. Generis did," Irene said, more comfortable with the transition.
"I am evolving," Sui proudly announced.
"Well, let me know when you reach the apex and become a woman," Bridget said and made Myka burst out laughing.
"Is Helena in there?" Myka asked Sui.
"She is, but she has asked that all her calls be held and no one be allowed in," Sui relayed and just then Irene heard the sound of the gong being hit inside the office.
"What…is that?" Myka asked, sure she never heard the sound before coming from her wife's office. They could hear the distinct sound of keyboard typing, then tapping on the phone pad …and then the bong.
"That is a gong," Sui said, stating the obvious.
"Well, now we know for whom the bell tolls," Bridget said and Sui corrected her and pointed out it was a gong, not a bell.
"I hope he keeps evolving until he develops a sense a humor," Bridget said.
"Perhaps if he spent some time with you," Irene said, thinking everyone should share in the babysitting.
"Oh no, thank you. I'm getting in touch with my feelings since Sarah and I are in therapy and there's no room left in the apartment. My feelings are ..everywhere," Bridget said exasperated and waving her hands.
"Therapy?" Myka asked.
"Oh yeah, we have to catch up. Short version; I proposed, she said no, I broke up with her, Helena sent Irene to fetch me, how she knew to do that I'll never know, Irene and I talked …she's like the whisperer for The Wells orphans or something, I go to apologize to Sarah, oh look a fellow employee of hers is messing around with Sarah, in-the-bedroom, who stole her portfolio, found the wretched girl thanks to Claudia, I warned her …oh that reminds me, Sui, tell Ms. Wells I have a name for her, where was I? Oh, Sarah apologizes for you know …fucking up, sorry Irene… and then I found a therapist," Bridget finished her laundry list without punctuation.
"Wait… Sarah?" Myka said, looking around and feeling uncomfortable that they were standing in the middle of the waiting area.
"Yeah. Little bitch. The thief, not Sarah. Sarah got hit with all the publicity about the wedding dresses and then I proposed and it was all too much for her," Bridget said, not feeling uncomfortable at all.
"I am sorry," Irene said, thinking how Helena set that meeting in motion and how it worked out.
"No, don't be! It worked out okay," Bridget said, making sure Irene didn't feel any guilt.
"And are you okay?" Myka asked.
"Oh yes, I'm fine. Of course, I found out after the fact that we were both going to have to talk about our feelings ….oh, Myka! You should get Helena to go. Get the Brit to unleash her feelings!" Bridget kidded.
"What is that noise?" Myka asked, hearing it again. There was typing, then tapping, then the gong.
"Please, Ms. Bering," Sui said, vacillating between her maiden name and married name. "I am sorry, but I don't know what you wished to be called here."
"Ms. Bering is fine, thank you Sui." Myka knocked and opened the door. Irene followed and Bridget after her. Helena was nowhere to be found, but there on the desk was Helena's decoy – a battery operated device that moved to the keyboard and tapped on keys, then moved to the phone and tapped on the keypad and then came back and hit the gong.
"Helena?" Myka called out, but of course there was no answer. She went to the apartment door and opened it. "Why are there yoga mats in here?"
"Oh that?" Irene asked nervously, hoping Helena hadn't seen them. She couldn't have, the woman decided because there was no screeching.
Myka looked carefully around the room and was about to leave when she noticed something. The elevator light indicated that it was downstairs. "She must have gone out," Myka concluded and wondered why she hadn't said anything.
"Well, I'll come back later," Bridget said. "Hey, let's have lunch and catch up. I'm so in touch with my feelings now that I just have to share and share and share," Bridget said, sticking her finger down her throat in mockery.
"Tomorrow?" Myka asked and Bridget said she looked forward to it and left.
Irene looked around the room. "So, Helena didn't say anything about going out?" Myka asked, and Irene jumped. "What? No, no she didn't say anything."
"OK, well I guess we'll see her at the Director's meeting soon then," Myka said, curious of Irene's behavior and even more suspicious as to why Helena would leave a contraption like that on her desk.
"Oh yes, I must go and …. get ready," Irene said and Myka was certain now something was up because Irene Frederic was always ready.
Irene didn't want to worry Myka since she really wasn't sure if anything was wrong. Where could Helena be, she wondered? There was enough work for her to catch up on that would have kept her busy all morning. She parted ways with Myka when they got to the elevator.
As soon as Myka got back to her office, she texted Helena. "I miss you," she texted and an immediate response came – "Me, too." "Hmmm," Myka said, looking at the text and putting her phone down. Now she was sure something was up.
Helena Wells rarely waited to be announced when she arrived anywhere and today was no exception. She put her hand up to the woman behind the reception desk when the woman tried to tell her that Ted Grayson was in a meeting. Helena marched right past the woman, opened the large door, and walked directly inside. Ted Grayson was indeed in a meeting with twenty of his department heads. Helena walked to the end of the long rectangular table, pulled the chair away, pulled up the sleeves of her dress, and leaned over with her hands resting on the edges of the table.
"Well, Ms. Wells, or is it Ms. Bering-Wells? To what do we owe this intrusion?" Ted asked, surprised and yet pleased his nemesis was there.
"Some things need to be dealt with in person," Helena said, glaring down the length of the table at him.
"Well, as you can see, I'm in a meeting," Ted said, feeling brave because of the number of people between them.
"And unless you want to be embarrassed in front of your staff, I suggest you dismiss them," Helena said, without moving. Ted didn't have to say a word; people shot up from their seats. He never felt so alone in his life as they hurried out of his office, suggesting they meet later. Helena never flinched.
"Anything you have to say….," he laughed until he saw the look on Helena's face.
"Who said anything….. about talking?" Helena growled instantly.
Many thanks for reading along.