Caroline and the Greeting Card Convention

Written by Mitch

Email: mitch_work1@yahoo.com

Rating: PG

Genre: Humor/Drama

Chapters: 6

Summary: Caroline, Del, and Richard attend a greeting card convention in Atlantic City for Cassidy Greeting Cards.

Author's note: This story occurs during the first half of season 1. Caroline and Del are going together, but not engaged. Characters' thoughts are in italics.

Chapter 1

"Atlantic City! Man, this is great! I gotta tell Caroline" thought Del. So, he hopped into his beloved Porsche, drove down to Bleeker Street, managed to find a parking space, and entered her building. Too impatient to wait for the elevator, he bounded up the stairs and just walked through Caroline's apartment door. "She never keeps it locked" he noticed.

Del excitedly entered and saw Caroline and Richard sitting opposite each other at the partners desk. "Great news, Care! There's a greeting card convention this weekend" Del declared enthusiastically, as he approached Caroline and kissed her "hello".

"Why is that such great news, dear?" she asked.

"Because it's in Atlantic City, Cassidy Greeting Cards has a booth there, and anyone helping out will have all expenses paid, not to mention being paid for their time. Just think of it, Caroline, a free weekend in Atlantic City!"

"That sounds like fun!" she said, kissing Del again. "But wait a minute. What will we have to do? How much will we have to work?"

"Oh, not much, just a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday. And the hard work, putting up and tearing down the booth, will be done by the guys driving the truck with the stuff from the office. Care, all you have to do is smile, hand out flyers and free merchandise, talk with some fans, sign some cards, and maybe flirt with potential buyers a bit."

"Careful, Del. Maybe I'll find someone to replace you" Caroline kidded.

"Like that's gonna happen!" Del retorted, as they started smooching and groping and Caroline started giggling.

Richard rolled his eyes, thinking "Why don't you two get a room?" Then he remembered "Oh yeah… she has a room. Unfortunately, I'm in it."

******

That Friday, Caroline and Richard were working, when a concerned Del entered her apartment.

Caroline smiled at him. "Hi Del. All ready and packed for our trip this evening?"

"Bad news, Caroline. There's a flu bug going around the office. Audrey and Trevor, two other cartoonists that were supposed to work the convention, won't be able to make it. We'll have to spend a lot more time working than we had planned."

"Can't anyone take their place?" Caroline asks.

"It'd be tough to find someone on such short notice. I mean, anyone can get and hand out cards. And I can handle schmoozing the buyers. But while the rest of the work is easy, not just anyone can do it. Fans will also be attending the convention, they expect to talk to someone that's part of the creative process."

"Oh…" a disappointed Caroline commented. "I guess we won't have as much time for fun as we hoped. That's okay."

Suddenly, Del got an idea. "Hey! Richard…?"

"Yes…?" Richard answered apprehensively.

"Technically, you're part of the 'creative process'. How would you like to go to Atlantic City this weekend?" Del asked.

"Now, why would I want to do that?" he asked, disdainfully.

"Oh c'mon, Richard! … You'll get paid for working the weekend! Meals and your room are free! And after work, you can gamble, drink, see shows – have fun all night long!"

"Del, Del" Caroline said, shaking her head at him, indicating he was taking the wrong approach with Richard. "Richard, you're always complaining that you're short of money, this is a chance to make a little extra. And after work, you can go to your room, order room service, and curl up with a good book, alone."

"Hmm… it would be nice to have a little extra money. Okay, I'll do it" Richard responded.

******

It was Friday evening. Del was happy as a clam, enjoying the two loves of his life, his Porsche and Caroline, during the two hour drive down the Garden State Parkway towards Atlantic City.

"Oh Del, we're gonna have so much fun tonight and tomorrow night. I've never been to Caesars Atlantic City before, is it a nice place?"

"Caroline, you're gonna love it. There're plenty of restaurants to choose from – fine dining, casual, bars and lounges. For entertainment, there's ballad singers and rockers, even a comedy act. The casino is huge. And since you don't enjoy gambling as much as I do, there's the Bellazza, a ritzy salon. Or there're plenty of places to shop – they even have an Andrew Geller."

"Shoes!" exclaimed Caroline.

"That's right! And if we can get away during the day, Caesars has its own private beach. Boy, I'm glad you convinced Richard to go, maybe we can check it out."

"You just have to know how to handle him" Caroline replied. Caroline got to thinking about Richard. "That Richard – so dark, so cynical – always a sarcastic comment ready for any occasion. He complains about everything. And he's always putting his job and everyone around him down, like they're beneath him… But I know him – beneath that dark exterior lies a warm caring man. You just have to dig hard to get to it. When it really matters, he always helps out – even when he doesn't want to. He pretended to be my date the first night we met, so that Del wouldn't think I was a loser. He brought 100 dollars to the drug store to get me out of hot water for taking the condoms, even though he was entertaining a lady friend. And he accompanied me to visit that cute old couple, Vic and Stella, who used to own the partners desk. He's intelligent, he's got that tight ass, and without those glasses, he's kinda cute. And despite his repressed demeanor, he's a passionate man. I can tell by the way he talks about his art. Hmm…" She shook her head, confused by her ambivalent feelings towards her assistant.

******

"Ohh!" Richard said, as he pushed the sleeping drunk next to him off his shoulder for the 50th time. He was definitely not enjoying the three hour bus ride to Atlantic City on Friday evening. Besides the drunk, Richard's attempts at reading were sabotaged by a scruffy young man in his 20's sitting behind him, listening to heavy metal tunes. "My god, a deaf man could hear that boom box" he thought. Frustrated, Richard sighed. "Why did I let Caroline talk me into going to this convention? She always seems to be able to get me to do what she wants. Why is that? I mean, her perkiness and optimism are irritating as hell, she meddles in my personal life, her apartment is chaos, people coming and going all the time, and her work is disorganized. I hate working for her. For the little money I make, I should just quit." Yet, though he often denigrated Caroline's simple art, he actually thought of her drawings' simplicity as elegant, not crude. At times, he thought that little cartoon Caroline showed some sharp insights into the human condition. And though he would never admit to it, he was actually somewhat proud of his role in producing it. Then Richard's thoughts turned to Caroline herself. "She is pretty. I mean, if you like that 'girl next store' kind of look. And she's intelligent – not in book learning, but she has a curiosity about her, so that she always wants to know more about people and how and why things work. Hmm…" He shook his head, confused by his ambivalent feelings towards his boss.

******

Caesars was a shining example of the ambiguity that was Atlantic City. Set in the middle of a bustling modern day metropolis, it attempted to be an oasis of classical imperial Roman antiquity. A four story atrium with imported marble, flowing fountains, and a collection of classic sculptures set the tone. Though they started from different locations and at different times, Caroline, Del, and Richard arrived at Caesars at almost the same moment. And though they each had rooms on the same floor of the hotel, Caroline and Del never saw Richard that night, for they had very different plans before the greeting card convention that was to start on Saturday morning.

******

After finishing his room service dinner, Richard pondered what to do for the rest of the night. He picked up his book, but then decided to check out his alternatives first. "Hmm..." he thought. "This room's TV can get the Comedy Central network...  'Comedy Central Presents' has some good stand up comics tonight." To his acquaintances, Richard wouldn't seem the type to be interested in stand up comedy. Point in fact, he didn't care much for show business. For personal reasons, Richard particularly hated its affect on performers and their families. But ever since Ben, his father, had sometimes forced him into being his straight man for his routines, Richard had gotten into the habit of 'checking out the competition' whenever he could. And though they no longer were his competition, Richard had never broken himself of the habit. As Richard put his book down, he thought "Well, I guess Monsieur Camus will have to wait."

******

After some gambling, some shopping (by Caroline), a nice Chinese dinner, and a concert by one of Caroline's favorite old groups, Chicago, Caroline and Del arrived at Del's hotel room door.

"Hey, Duff - It's pretty convenient that we have rooms on the same floor, huh? You wanna come in for a quick nightcap?"

"Well, Del, it's been a pretty long day - I worked all day, it took us two hours to drive down here, and we had a pretty full evening. I'm tired."

"Aww, c'mon. Just one little drink? The prices are outrageous, but I'm sure the room's mini-bar will have something you like" Del pleaded. They both knew he had something else in mind.

"Hmm... It has been awhile. And Del has been awfully sweet and attentive. I know the company paid for the dinner, but Del let me pick the show and had to spring for the concert himself. Maybe he deserves a little 'reward'."

"Okay!" Caroline smiled.