"A Single Yellow Rose" – Chapter Thirty-Seven
Saturday night…University Hospital Christmas Ball, Penthouse Grill, Titan Publishing BuildingMimi was stunned.
Even with Belle putting a strangle hold hug on her she still didn't believe it. It couldn't be right… something had to be wrong. It couldn't have been her name that Dr. Evans just called out.
"Meems…congratulations!" Belle beamed. "I can't believe its you…well, yes I can!"
"I-I don't understand," Mimi said, as Belle finally released her and stepped away so that Chloe, Philip and then Shawn could offer her a hug as well.
"Yes it was your name she called," Shawn said, taking in the dazed look on Mimi's face. "Everyone is waiting for you…go on."
Mimi smiled at her friends as Shawn gave her a gentle nudge towards the dance floor. The applause continued as she made her way alone across the dance floor. Reaching the steps to the stage and feeling everyone's eyes on her, she prayed that she wouldn't trip on the way up.
Marlena enveloped her a warm hug before handing over the plaque. "Congratulations sweetie."
"Thanks Dr. Evans."
Mimi watched as Belle's mom left the stage before she looked down at the plaque quickly reading the words embossed there. The wood warmed in her touch and she lightly traced her fingers over the metal plate before looking up and out over the room. She spotted her friends clapping loudly for her and in the far back of the room she saw Brady applauding as well with Heather sitting close to his side. But as her eyes darted quickly around the room, she couldn't find the six-foot plus, blond hair boy she was searching for as the cheering faded away. 'Knock it off Mimi,' she berated herself, 'he's long gone by now. Probably half way across town in that fancy new truck of his."
"Oh…I was just checking to make sure Dr. Evans called the right name," Mimi said with a small smile, finally noticing that they were waiting for her to say something. "Well…I'm speechless and anyone who knows me knows what a feat in it's self that is."
She waited for the gentle laughter that rippled through the crowd to end before she continued. "I would first like to thank Mrs. Horton for being such a wonderful inspiration to all us that volunteer at the hospital and especially for all the help she gave to me and my family this past summer. I am truly honored that I've been added to the ever growing list of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she continues to watch over and guide with her generous heart."
"Also, I would like to share this honor with my fellow candy strippers…they are a great bunch of people and especially my best friend Belle Black who got me involved in this whole thing in the first place. I was hesitant at first but she told me that I needed to be a part of this organization more than it needed me and she was right." Mimi again looked down at the plaque she cradled in her arms. "But this evening… it's nice to know they need me too. Thank you very much."
Acknowledging the applause again, Mimi nodded her head and headed for the steps when Nancy Wesley came hurrying across the stage.
"Oh Mimi dear…no, no, no…you can't go anywhere."
Stepping back when Nancy grabbed her arm, Mimi caught herself before she tripped over her own feet. "Mrs. Wesley! What is going on?"
Nancy pulled Mimi back to the center of the stage, snatching the plaque out of Mimi's grasp and waving away the applause. "Okay everyone…we will be returning to the dancing now but I thought it since we are celebrating the holiday season it would be appropriate to start with a 'Snowball' dance."
"Now, for those young people out there who don't know what a 'Snowball' dance is let me explain. It is started with one couple alone on the dance floor and then they separate and each finds a new partner. Then those two couples split to again find a new partner and so on and so on…like a snowball… hence the name."
Mimi glanced at Chloe's mom, trying to keep a smile on her face but a feeling of dread settled over her as Nancy continued. "And I think it would be wonderful if our honoree here…Mimi…and her escort lead off our 'Snowball' dance!"
Closing her eyes against the applause that again filled the room, Mimi quickly opened them again as she started feeling faint. It was bad enough she was standing here center stage knowing that there would be no escort joining her for a dance but she wasn't going to pass out right here in front of everyone.
*****
"Shit! Now what she is going to do?" Shawn said, floored by Mrs. Wesley's announcement.
"Oh Shawn…poor Mimi," Belle said, her gaze going back and forth between the shocked look on friend's face and the gang seated around the table. "Maybe you should go up there."
"Honey, everyone knows you and I are here together. How is that going to look if I go out there as Mimi's date or escort…or whatever Mrs. Wesley said."
"But we can't just leave her standing up there! We've got to do something!"
"Where's Reed when we need him?" Philip said, his concern for Mimi's obvious growing discomfort increasing as the seconds ticked by.
"Or Brady even…he could dance with her," Chloe said, looking around at the tables that surrounded where they sat. Looking over she saw that Philip was again staring at her with a formidable expression on his face. "What? It's the truth…he did ask her to the ball tonight and I know he would do it."
"Maybe you should have kept him on a short leash so he would be right here to do whatever you asked."
Chloe's face hardened. "You know…this is really getting old Philip."
"Will you two knock it off?" Belle said hotly. "Mimi is our concern here. Damn it Jason! Why did you have to throw a tantrum and walk out of here just when Mimi needs you-"
"Wait…" Shawn said, placing one hand on Belle's arm silencing her and the other pointed across the room, "…look."
*****
Mimi felt a desperation overtaking her as the applause started to fade away. The music began and she was still standing next to Mrs. Wesley feelings a hundred pairs of eyes on her.
"Mimi darling," Nancy leaned over and whispered through her smile. "This doesn't look good. The music is starting…where is your date…locked in a bathroom stall?"
"Actually, I don't have a…" Mimi turned to look at Nancy. "The truth is…well, I came here tonight alo-"
"Well he here is," Nancy singsonged in a sweet voice for the benefit of the crowd before dropping to a harsh whisper that only Mimi heard. "…finally."
Spinning around, Mimi's jaw dropped open before she quickly snapped it shut, watching as he stepped from the crowd to make his way across the dance floor. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, he raised his open hand and waited. Blinking back the hot sting that signaled the forming of tears, Mimi looked down into his beautiful green eyes.
"Jason," she whispered.
"In the flesh," he responded.
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you to join me so we can dance."
"W-why are you doing-"
"Just get your butt down here Miss Lockhart," he commanded softly.
Mimi felt Nancy give her a nudge from behind and she moved to the steps, stopping to gather the skirt of her dress in one hand as she placed her other hand in Jason's. A small gasp escaped her lips the moment their fingers touched, a jolt of electricity ran up her arm and quickly spread through out her body until it settled into a warm glow in the pit of her stomach.
Having to look at her feet as she continued down the steps, Mimi didn't see the strained expression on Jason's face as he too felt a powerful emotion flowing through him as he curled his fingers around hers and led her out to the middle of the dance floor. Turning her in a dramatic circle, he waiting until they made a complete rotation before pulling her close to him, feeling her twitch as he slide his hand across her bare back.
"Sorry…my hands must be cold."
Thankful for the excuse he offered for her jumping the moment he drew her close to him Mimi could only nod in response. "Why did you do that?"
"Well, I figured if 'King Kiriakis' can do it so can I."
Mimi shook her head as she realized Jason thought she was talking about how he started their dance by repeating the opening of Philip and Chloe's dance from the Last Blast. "No…that's not what I meant…" her voice trailed off as she listened to the beginning of the song.
"Oh my," she said with a small giggle.
"What?" Jason asked looking down on her.
"It's 'Nsync…" Mimi glanced up through her lashes, "this song…it's by 'Nsync."
Jason rolled his eyes but was unable to stop his answering smile to the one Mimi was struggling to contain. "It figures…my punishment continues."
But when he gazed down at her his smile faded away as he turned her in a slow circle. Pressing her even closer to him, Jason held back a groan as her breasts pressed against his chest and she smoothed her hand over the nape of his neck. His gaze locked on her full, lush lips and cautiously he lowered his head. 'Should he do it…should he give in to the temptation and kiss her right here in front of everyone', he thought. 'What would she do…probably knock him across the room with a right hook knowing Mimi.' Dropping his head even lower, he watched as Mimi's eyes widened to large circles. 'God, if she licks her lips…I'm lost,' Jason thought but watched as instead she gently bit on her bottom lip. Aligning his cheek with hers his lips hovered near her ear.
This is the time of year that we learn to give
And the greatest gift is in learning to forgive
And we will have the best time we ever knew
If you forgive me…And I forgive you
Closing her eyes, Mimi listened to the words of the song hoping that Jason was doing the same. 'He was going to kiss me…I know it,' she thought. 'But where would that put us…right back where we were the night of the Homecoming game.' There was so much she wanted to say she had no idea where or even how to start. "I thought you…umm, we…we all thought you left."
"I did." Jason whispered against her hair.
Closing her eyes against the sensations the feel of his breath on her skin was creating, she struggled to respond. "W-why…why did you come back?"
"I just went out to get some fresh air."
"Oh."
Her simple answer hung in the air as they continued to dance.
I don't want to light a fire unless it will warm your heart
I'm playing no holiday songs I need you to sing your part
And baby if I can have just one wish to come true
I don't want to spend one more Christmas without you
Without you
It's so hard to believe we're staring at the end
When all we think about is starting up again
Whatever we lost when we were apart
We'll find it all alone in the dark
"Jason?"
Feeling his heart pound as she said his name, Jason fought to keep his hand laying flat against her back when all he wanted to do was caress her warm, soft skin from her neck to her waist. "Yeah?"
"Why did you do this?"
"Do what?"
"This…why did you…rescue me…"
Because you looked so sad…because I didn't have the courage to ask you to dance myself… because I've wanted to have you back in my arms again ever since the play ended…the reasons raced through his mind but he couldn't get any of the words but one to form past the huge lump in his throat. "Payback."
Mimi pulled away so she could see Jason, a look of shock on her face. "Pay…excuse me…did you just say payback?"
"Yeah…well no matter what you said to my father about the play I know I never would have been able to pull it all off if it hadn't been for you. You did all those extra rehearsals for me, those tricks you taught me for remembering my lines and my marks on stage…"
"Jason…it wasn't really that big of a deal."
"Yes it was…to me…you kept me from looking like a fool…so I figured I owed you one."
Mimi felt her heart tumble to her feet as he spoke. "So you did this to keep me from looking like a fool?"
"Well…what are friends for?"
"Friends?" Mimi whispered, her eyes locking onto his.
"Yeah…I mean after everything that has happened between I'd like to think that we are still friends."
Mimi forced a smile she didn't feel and prayed that Jason couldn't see it for the fraud it was. "Right…sure…friends."
I don't want to light a fire unless it will warm you heart
I'm playing no holiday songs I need you to sing your part
And baby if I can have just one wish to come true
I don't want to spend one more Christmas without you
Without you
"Hey," Philip said as he watched Jason and Mimi dancing alone in the center of the floor, "aren't they suppose to be separating or snowballing or what ever it is?"
"Maybe they are finally getting things worked out between them," Chloe said.
"Not the most private place for a conversation," Shawn added, "and your mother doesn't look to happy about the fact they are still the only ones dancing."
"Who cares?" Belle chimed in, "let's just hope that the two stubbornest people in the world are finally admitting that they really do care about other."
There's nothing more that I want from you
Then to lie here together and stay here forever with you
There's no one I ever knew
That I wanted to spend Christmas with…more than you
"We are being stared at out here all by ourselves," Mimi said, her voice cool and detached. "I think we need to find other dance partners."
"Well…there's Reed over at the edge of dance floor chomping at the bit…or would you prefer if I went and found Brady for you?" Jason said.
"You just had to do it didn't you?" Mimi abruptly stopped dancing and stepped out of his arms and Jason tried to ignore the bereave feeling that filled him. "Just had to get in one last dig…but considering all that has happened I guess I can't really blame you. And for the record I plan on asking your father."
"My father? Why?"
"Because he's being honored tonight for all he had done for the hospital and Salem, not to mention the entire country. You should be proud but for the life of me I can't understand why you seem so angry at him."
Jason his hands deep into his pockets. "You don't know him like I do."
"Well I still plan on asking him so if you will excuse me…"
Stepping to the side, Mimi started to move past Jason when his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "Mimi …wait."
She stopped and stared down at his hand until he let her go but she waited. "I just wanted to say…I hope you get everything you really want for Christmas this year. Weather its the shopping spree or a trip or one of those boy singers…"
"Well, that would take a miracle now wouldn't it?"
"It's the season's of miracles…isn't it?" Jason said softly.
"Mimi slowly nodded. "I guess it is…I see you later…friend."
I don't want to light a fire unless it will warm you heart
I'm playing no holiday songs I need you to sing your part
And baby if I can have one wish to come true
I don't want to spend one more Christmas without you
I don't want to spend
I don't want to spend
I don't want to spend one more Christmas without you…
*****
After thanking Dr. Welles for the dance to the song that followed Mimi made her way back to the table to find only Shawn and Philip standing nearby in a deep discussion.
"Hey Mimi," Shawn called over, "nice dance out there."
"Yeah…tell Jason I don't appreciate him stealing my signature moves," Philip added with a grin.
"I'm make sure I pass that along to my friend," Mimi muttered, sitting down. "Where are Belle and Chloe… ladies room?"
"Where else?" Shawn said.
Reaching for her purse, Mimi traced her fingers over the swirled design of the red sequins, her mind racing with everything Jason had said to her while they danced. Closing her eyes against the memory of being held in his arms, the word 'friends' reverberated in her thoughts. After everything…is that all there is left…just friends?
Thinking back to what she promised her mother she would do tonight Mimi opened her eyes and grabbed a pen out of her purse. Ripping off the back of one of the programs, she wrote a few words and folded the paper in half. In bold letters she wrote his name across the front and laid the note in front of his still untouched dessert.
Rising from table, she paused and fingered the note, slowly tracing his name, almost picking it up again. But instead she clenched her fingers into a tight fist that she pressed against her quivering lips before turning around and hurrying past Shawn and Philip.
"Hey…I wonder where she's going?" Shawn said, watching Mimi walk away.
Another table at the ball…
"So I guess we have to wait until someone asks us before we can dance huh?" Bo said, resting his arm on the back of his wife's chair.
"What's the matter Brady," Hope teased, leaning over and giving her husband a quick kiss, "afraid that no one is going to come for you?"
"I bet I get asked before you do," Bo said, returning his wife's kiss with gusto as the other couple at their table just looked on with indulgent smiles.
"You two are like a couple of teenagers," Marlena said. "Are you sure you shouldn't be sitting over with the rest of Shawn's friends?"
"Shawn sit with his parents?" Bo said in mock horror. "Oh the embarrassment."
"Maybe we should be sitting over there," John said, finishing up the last of his drink before swirling around the remaining ice cubes in the bottom of the glass. "Don't you remember what it was like to a teenager in love?"
"Oh stop it," Marlena said. "The kids are fine and Shawn has been just terrific with Belle in helping her deal with all she has been through since the attack."
"Yes he has," Bo answered. "I was worried at first that he might go after Belle's attacker but I laid down the law from day one. I guess he inherited more of the Horton common sense than he did of the Brady wild temper."
"I know he was so very upset about what happened to Belle," Hope added, "and that he wasn't there to stop it in first place. But I think he has worked through that and has concentrated on Belle-"
Suddenly a cell phone rang out and both Bo and John reached for their pockets. "It's me," Bo said, flipping open the receiver.
"Oh no…not police business tonight," Hope groaned.
Bo silenced her with a gentle squeeze to her hand. "Brady here."
"Detective Brady…this is Officer Thomas…is Commander Carver there?"
"No he isn't," Bo replied, "in fact he and his wife just left. His son isn't feeling well and they returned home. What's up?"
"Umm…well…I was told to get a hold of the Commander but I've tried him at home and on his cell phone."
"Well he should be getting home any moment…what is going on?"
"Oh…umm…we received a courtesy call from the Milford PD. They are on their way to pick up someone on an assault and battery charge."
"And this was important enough to contact Abe about?"
"Well…a couple of plain clothes are heading over to the Penthouse Grill."
"The person is here at the ball?"
"Umm…yes sir. Look I am going to try and reach them and let them know that the Commander isn't there."
Bo looked up at the archway of the room and saw two gentlemen standing there, one of whom he recognized from his rookie days on the police force. "Don't bother Thomas…they're here, I'll deal with it."
"B-but Detective Brady…I-I don't think-"
"I said I got it Thomas…let Commander Carver know that when you get a hold of him." Standing Bo ended the call and pocketed his phone. "I'll be back."
"What is it honey?" Hope asked.
"Nothing important…I'll be back in a moment…excuse me."
Making his way through the tables, Bo reached the two gentlemen the same time as the restaurant manager. "It's all right…I'll take care of this," he said, waiting until the manager nodded and left. "Jay…it's nice to see you again," Bo said extending his hand in greeting. "How's your family?"
"Umm…they're just fine Bo…we are here to see Commander Carver."
"I know…I just got word from downtown but you just missed Abe. I'll help you out if I can. We've got quite a crowd in there…do you think there is going to be any problems?"
The detective looked over at his partner as he took the warrant out of his inner jacket pocket. "Bo…I'm not sure if you are the right person to assist in this arrest."
"What's that suppose to mean? Hey…you've got Salem's finest standing right in front of you."
"Perhaps you should take a look at this," he said handing over the paperwork.
Puzzled, Bo took the paper and unfolded it quickly scanning the familiar wording. Suddenly he froze and he had to read the sentence three times before he actually believed the words written there. "What…what the hell is going on here?"
*****
"She's probably heading to the ladies room to join the crowd." Philip said watching Mimi's departing figure.
Shawn pointed the other way. "Yeah but the ladies room is in the other direct-"
"Stop trying to change the subject Brady," Philip said turning back to his friend. "I want to know where you got those bruises."
"Watch it Phil…you are starting to sound like my mother."
"Look Shawn," Philip said stepping closer and lowering his voice. "I saw how uncomfortable you were about lying to Belle and Jason…well Jason was so busy trying not to look at you or at me the only spot he could find was the tops of his shoes. Now…what happened?"
"Okay," Shawn said, pausing to look around making sure no one was nearby. "I went and found Roger Turner."
"Roger…he's the guy that…that hurt Belle."
Shawn nodded. "Yeah."
"But how did you find him?"
"When we went over to the police station the other day when Belle thought he was following her and I saw his file on my dad's desk. I only got a few seconds to look at it and all I got was his first name and the town he lives in. I already knew he was about our age so I lifted their yearbook from the staff office in school and gave it to Jason. He picked him out in no time."
"So what…you just drove around looking for this guy? Or did you just knock on his front door?"
"No, Jason's got a cousin who lives in the same town and he did some checking and gave us a few places. It took a while driving around but we found him."
"And…"
"And we talked."
"Right…you talked. So what did Jason do…stand back and play referee while the two of you tangled?"
"No," Shawn said. "After we left we stopped to get some beer and I dropped Jason back off at the party. Then I went back."
"What! Why?"
"I didn't think he took me seriously enough the first time." Shawn answered, not realizing that his fingers had curled into tight fists.
"And the second?"
"I think I got my point across."
"You know, all you had to do was ask and I would have gone with you."
"You kind of had your hands full with Chloe."
"Look, I can't even being to understand what is going on with that girl but its minor compared to what happened to Belle," Philip said. "I would've liked to get a piece of that bastard myself."
"I know that Phil…and thanks."
Philip nodded knowing that Shawn understood what he was saying without him having to elaborate further. He had be surprised when his buddy hadn't gone after the guy in the first place and he'd been so full of his own problems that he never got around to talking to him about it. Watching Shawn helping Belle, he just assumed that he was following his dad's advice and letting it go. 'I should of know better,' Phil thought, 'there's no way Shawn would allow anyone to get away with hurting someone he cares about…especially Belle.'
"Hey you two," Belle called as she and Chloe came back to the table. "What are you guys whispering about over there?"
Shawn whirled around at the sound of her voice. "Umm…well…we were-"
"We're holding an informal poll," Phil interrupted him, laying his hand casually on Shawn's shoulder leading him back to the table. "We are trying to decide who is the best looking girl at the ball tonight and we finally agreed that it's a tie between Miss Chloe Lane and Miss Belle Black."
"Isn't that sweet," Belle said wrapping her arms around Shawn.
"What about me?" All four of them turned around to see Jan standing there.
"Yeah Jan," Belle said, "what about you?"
"Well…where do I rate on that list?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Philip deadpanned as he held out Chloe's chair for her while she sat back down.
"Chloe…didn't you think it was just beautiful watching Jason and Mimi dancing out there all by themselves?" Belle said, taking her seat as well.
Chloe returned Belle's quick wink before answering. "Oh yes…considering how long it took them to break away and find new dance partners. They must have been having a very intimate conversation."
"And did you notice that Jason didn't seem to really want to let her go even when she was walking away?"
"Mimi is lucky that Jason saved her sorry ass in time from looking so pathetic since she didn't have a real date to dance with." Jan sneered. "Why didn't either one of you guys run out there to help poor Mimi?"
"Because we knew Jason would do it," Shawn answered.
"So where is the celebrated twosome," Jan asked moving closer to the table, "off doing the wild thing in some corner somewhere…oh, wait…this is Mimi we are talking about here."
"Jan…why don't you just disappear?" Belle said.
"And miss out on all this fun? I don't think…wait a minute," looking down Jan noticed the folded piece of paper lying on the table. "What do we have here."
"Jan that's not yours," Chloe said.
"So what?" Jan replied. "It seems like someone left a private note just lying out here in the open…and look at the name on the front. It' starts with a "J"…close enough to Jan for me."
A hand suddenly shot around her shoulder and snatched the paper out of her hands. "I don't think so," a deep voice said quietly from behind her.
Jan spun around to see Jason standing there. "Well…it used to be that 'Jan and Jason' pretty much meant the same thing."
"Not anymore," Jason replied, "…and never again."
Stepping away from her, Jason offered a quick glance at his friends, noticing they were all watching him intently, before opening the note. Scanning the words written there he felt his throat tighten as he read…
All I really want for
Christmas is you…
if there's any chance at all
I'll be waiting out on the terrace…
to be continued…