Julia
Chapter 8"Bonjour, Stuart," Suzanne greeted him as she did every morning when he came into the office.
"Bonjour, Suzanne." There was no difference in Stuart's greeting than on any other morning, and she wondered how his dinner had gone last night. She couldn't see the twinkle in his eye.
"How was your dinner last night?" she asked as he stopped to pick up his messages.
"Fine."
"Jeff's in, Stuart," she tried. If he wouldn't talk to her maybe he'd talk to Jeff.
Stu opened Jeff's door and stuck his head in. "Morning, Jeff."
"Hey, Stu, how'd it go last night?" Suzanne had told Jeff the whole story of yesterday afternoon, and he was just as curious as she was. Stuart was his friend, and it had been quite a while since there was anyone serious in his life. Jeff worried about him.
"Fine," was once again Stu's answer. He withdrew his head and closed Jeff's door, finally walking into his office. He closed his own door and sat down behind his desk, humming as he looked over his messages. There was one from Julia. "Thank you for a wonderful evening. Can't wait to do it again."
He picked up the phone and dialed the number of the camera shop. "Orlofsky's," she answered.
"This is Bailey. Is tonight too soon to have dinner again?" he asked her.
"No," she laughed. "But only if you let me fix it."
"I think I can handle that. I don't have to drive so far if I want an after-dinner drink."
She could hear him smiling through the phone. "But it has to be earlier. I need more sleep than I got last night. How about six-thirty?"
"I can make that. Is there anything I can bring?"
"An appetite," was the reply that brought a grin to his face.
"Yes, ma'am. I will bring an appetite." The intercom buzzed. "I have to go. I'll see you at six-thirty."
"Alright. Bye."
"Goodbye, Julia." He held the receiver in his hand for half a minute before he set it down and answered Suzanne. "Yes, Miss Fabry?"
"William Standard is on line one, Stuart."
"Thank you, Suzanne." He picked up line one. "William, how are you this morning? Fine, just fine."
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Julia was not as secretive as Stu. So when Irene Orlofsky asked her who was on the phone, she didn't hesitate to provide an answer. "Stu Bailey."
"Ah," Mrs. Orlofsky replied, "Is that man you met yesterday?"
Julia's head nodded. "It is. What a lovely man he is. He brought me the most beautiful roses last night."
"And you are seeing him again?" Mrs. Orlofsky was of the unshakeable opinion that Julia was much too sweet a person to be alone. "He is handsome, yes?"
Julia thought about Stuart and answered quickly, "Yes. Oh yes."
"But he is good soul?"
"Yes, Mrs. Orlofsky, he's a good soul, too."
The bell on the front door rang and Julia left the back room to wait on a customer. She stayed busy the rest of the morning and was still in the front of the store when a man in a uniform carrying the biggest vase of lilac-colored roses she had ever seen walked in. "Miss Julia Benson?" he asked, and she almost fainted.
"Yes. That's me," she finally managed to reply.
"These are for you, ma'am," and he set the vase on the counter. She removed the card and opened the envelope. "I thought this color was much more suited to you. Can't wait for tonight. Stuart."
She hadn't heard Irene walk up behind her. "Your young man have good taste. Lilac roses very rare. Must think a lot of you."
'I hope so,' ran through Julia's mind. To her boss she said, "It certainly looks that way, doesn't it?"
The rest of the day stayed busy, and she left the roses sitting on the counter out front. Everyone that came in commented on how beautiful they were. When it finally began to slow down, towards the end of the workday, Julia thought about Harvey and how often he'd given her flowers, much less roses. It was exactly once, on their first anniversary.
When it was time to close the shop, Mrs. Orlofsky offered to drive her home. "How else you get roses home?"
"I was just going to leave them here," Julia explained.
"No. Must have them at home. So he can see you got them."
"I can tell him . . . "
"Not good enough. Come, get your things. I drive you home."
"Yes, ma'am," Julia giggled.
It was an uneventful ride home, and once they got there Julia was glad she'd listened to her boss. She carried the flowers in carefully and placed them in the living room. Once that was settled, she got to work on dinner – her homemade spaghetti. When that was simmering nicely on the stove she made a salad and returned it to the refrigerator to keep it cold. She set the little table and waited for her guest to show.
At six-fifteen her phone rang. "Julia, it's me," his voice told her. "I'm going to be a little late."
"Are you still at the office?" If he was still in Hollywood he was going to be a lot late.
"No, I stopped in Long Beach to call and let you know. I didn't want you to think I wasn't coming. I should be there before six forty-five. I'm sorry, I got caught in traffic."
"Don't worry, we're not going anywhere."
"We?" he asked, wondering what she meant.
"Me and dinner," Julia explained, laughing. "It will keep."
"Oh, good. Did you get the roses?"
"I did, and I'm sorry I couldn't call and say thank you. We were busy all day."
She could hear the smile in his voice. "I can think of a way for you to make it up to me."
"If you don't get off the phone you'll be even later."
Now it was his turn to laugh, and he did so. "Have I told you . . .no, I'll wait until I'm there before I tell you. I'll see you soon. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Stuart." She hung up the phone and marveled at his call. He was going to be fifteen minutes late, yet he'd stopped to phone her. Harvey could be hours late, and she'd get no phone call. She'd begun to think that Stuart Bailey was truly one of a kind – a rare gem indeed.
Stu hurried back to the Thunderbird and could think of nothing but Julia. She was beautiful inside and out . . .how could Harvey Davis not see that? Could she be . . . could she be the one he'd hoped for? The one to make him forget that long ago love in New York? Or was he getting ahead of himself? 'There's only one way to find out,' he thought. 'Dare I risk it again? Could I survive if I let myself go and then lost her?'
He could hear Jefferson in his head as his partner suffered through another heartbreak. "You know what I always say, Stu . . . nothing ventured, nothing gained." Was he right? Or was that just Jeff's way of justifying another girl lost?
He shook his head as he got out of the car. Jeff could let them go like that, but Jeff already had the one he loved . . . he just couldn't admit it. Which way was better? Julia Benson was something special, and he knew it. Somehow he knew that if he let himself go and loved her, he would love her deeply, passionately, and completely. And there was only one question he had to ask himself . . . was the risk worth it?