Author Notes: ….Memories….good and bad…mostly…..
T7S
Chapter 03 – What did that mean?
T7S
Jackie finished up the last of her work for the day and smiled. It was so great to work from home. She had gym tonight with Pam Macy who she befriended years ago. Pam had been divorced three times and she admitted she was addicted to the sex. She wasn't big on falling in love but she turned out to be a great friend and was just a catty as Jackie was. It was a friendship made in hell but they enjoyed each others company.
Pam wiped her neck with the hand towel then wiped off the bars of the treadmill. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me about your date with that little cutie I saw in your car?"
Jackie frowned. "I wasn't dating anyone. When did you see me?" Pam bit her fingernail. "Last Saturday, you drove through Starbucks with a nice young man. Yum."
"Ew! That was Ben. He's like my nephew. Pam, don't be gross. We were watching a MacGyver marathon. Oh, that's just awful besides; I'm too busy to be dating."
"Oh yeah, right says she who hasn't gone out since the famous Y2K. Please spare me the I'm-just-too-busy speech. You're just too picky. Girl, with your looks, I could get you a guy in a second."
"I'm sorry if I don't use some on-line dating service like you do. I don't think that people who put their pictures on the web are really who they say they are. Those profiles? Those are of the people they want to be – it's not real."
"Who cares? I'm just trying to get you laid!" Pam exclaimed. "Look at Valerie Bertinelli…she's our age and she was married to Eddie Van Halen….can you say AMEN?"
Jackie put her dumbbells in her gym bag. "Can you say d-i-v-o-r-c-e-d?" Pam was not deterred. "What I'm saying is that you look better than she does. Gray hair? You ain't got it honey. I have to color my hair every week. You're still smoking hot. Go get someone or just go get some!"
Jackie laughed all the way to her car. Maybe Pam had a valid point, she was like Eric in that sense…there was no "special" person, she really hadn't dated, didn't see the need and yet wasn't above a booty call…is that what Pam meant? Interesting, still, she needed to help Mrs. Forman get this party together. Brooke and Michael were flying in on Thursday, the 16th which would be a get-together for the Kelso family and then lunch with Red on the following Sunday.
She started the ignition and thought back to Steven's last email. He had some business obligations…wasn't Angie part of the business? That man needed to get his priorities in order and firstly, Point Place was job one. "… I don't want to have Red's funeral pass by without at least calling…" Did he think he could skate through this holiday with a phone call? Like hell that was going to happen! Jackie was going to do the impossible. She was going to give Red Forman a party he'd never forget! At least until he forgot it. Damn Alzheimer's!
T7S
"Mr. Hyde? I have those proposals ready for your signature." Leila, Hyde's personal assistant set a stack of papers on the corner of his desk. "Oh, and that Jackie lady called twice but didn't leave a message." Hyde raised his eyebrow, "Really?"
"Doesn't she know that most every phone has caller ID?" Leila swung her brown hair over her shoulder, "Besides, she so condescending, I don't think I'd ever forget that voice." Leila repeated Jackie's call from earlier, "…Yes I'll hold and no he doesn't need to know my name. Just tell him it's an old friend from Point Place..."
Hyde grinned, "Yeah….that's Jackie. I'll give her a call and if she calls the office again, just let it go to voice mail. That should piss her off pretty good."
Leila smiled. "Yes sir. Oh, I have a suite booked at the Kenosha Radisson just in case you decide to attend the party."
"Thanks Leila. I'm going home early so have yourself a great weekend." Steven Hyde waited for his assistant to leave the office and dialed the last number he had for Jackie Burkhart.
"…Thank you for calling Burkhart Professional Resume Service. I'm not in at the moment but leave a message or visit my website at BPRS at turner dot com and I'll get back to you as soon as possible and if this is Pam Macy that was still gross!"
Hyde laughed as he waited for the line to connect. What was his ex-girlfriend doing with Pam Macy? "Jackie…hey, it's me. Call me about Red's party. I'll be home this weekend. You have my number." He hung up the phone and wondered how Pam Macy and Jackie Burkhart were both still in Point Place. Pam Macy….that was a given that she'd get knocked up by some guy have five kids and become one of those fat suburban moms but Jackie? She was destined for film, television…the last time he'd seen her, she was selling cosmetics on QVC. Damn, how long ago was that?
May 1992 flashback
Jackie hoisted the display rack into the back of her little Pathfinder. She locked the hatchback door and skipped around to the driver's side. Her next stop was the indoor swap meet in Kenosha.
She found that unsold merchandise generally sold well at the meet because she would play a video tape of herself on the portable TV. The shoppers got the "feeling" they were buying the hottest new cosmetics instead of the stuff she was trying to unload.
As she parked her Nissan, she looked at a new building complete with a new OPEN FOR BUSINESS sign, and all the balloons and colored flags. The parking lot was full and curiosity demanded she go see what the noise was all about. A radio station was giving away free t-shirts and there was a line waiting to go into the store. Jackie hated waiting in lines so she sidestepped the store associate and walked into the grand opening of a brand new Grooves store. It was modern and full of glass and stainless steel. The posters seemed brighter and the familiar listening pit had better furniture.
Then she saw him. She would know Steven J Hyde anywhere and hiding under a Bob Dylan hat was not fooling her. She ignored the angry shoppers that were protesting that she cut in line and instead she walked straight to the cash register where Hyde was instructing a new employee on how to ring up a CD. Suddenly, he felt the hair raise on the back of his neck as his eyes met a bright pair of blue/green orbs.
She smiled. He smiled. He motioned towards the back of the store. She followed. It was quieter here. Damn, what did he say? Sorry I haven't seen you in 12 years? "Jackie."
"Steven…looking good." Jackie said after a long appraisal.
"Thanks. Been good. You?" His ex-girlfriend looked like she had just stepped out of the old basement steps. The last decade had given her a maturity that was missing before. She seemed poised and calm – two verbs he never would have used on the teenage Jackie Burkhart.
"I'm well." She replied. Damn, Steven looked good enough to eat! His crystal blue eyes weren't hidden by those glasses and the Zen was gone. His broad chest and shoulders were covered in a nice black tee shirt and those black Levi's made his ass look tight. Yum.
"Have you had lunch?" She dared to test the waters. He shook his head, "I'm free for dinner…if you'd like to meet up later."
Jackie licked her lips. "Sonny's on the Marina?"
"Around six?" Steven suggested. Jackie nodded. "I'll be there."
-o-
"Now that I think of it, I may have seen you." Hyde laughed over drinks. Jackie giggled from the champagne, "Liar. You would only have seen my hands applying make up. It's just been this week that they've shown my face."
Steven felt so relieved that this little mini-reunion was drama free. There was no Samantha history dragged up – no little burns to make him feel bad about leaving Point Place. It was a very pleasant visit. They toured some old haunts, neither bringing up conversations about the old gang. No did-you-and-Fez ever get together or have-you-seen-Samantha-since types of exchanges.
The Friday evening dinner turned into a carefree weekend between the sheets. When Hyde was finally cognizant of what happened he nearly freaked. Everything seemed so easy – so familiar – so wanted. No birth control! They didn't use anything and it wouldn't be beneath that scheming ex-cheerleader to try and trap him into marriage!
Jackie came out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel and as inviting as that looked; Hyde wasn't going to grab the bare handle of a hot frying pan! He quickly slipped into his pants and pulled the shirt over his head.
"Hey, something came up and I gotta jam. It's been nice and everything but cross your fingers everything's going to be fine."
Confused, Jackie unwound the towel from her wet head. "Steven, what are you talking about? What's going on?"
"Jackie….it's the same old thing with you. He looked for his boots. "Let's just say we had a great weekend and leave it at that. Okay?"
Jackie didn't understand. Was this only about sex? Was she just a roll in the hay for him? He was walking towards the door. "I'll pay for the room for the rest of the day. It was ….. it was great seeing you again Jackie. Let's catch up again…soon."
Jackie ran to the door, "Steven!" She got there too late. He was already jumping into the cab of his truck. Seconds later he was gone. She shut the door and leaned against the wood looking at the messy bed where an hour ago Steven was making love to her. That had to be love because sex was just a motion. This had been full of emotion and now…it was a lie. He wasn't feeling anything for her. "…it's the same old thing with you…" What did that mean?
With her back still against the door, she slid down until she was on the carpet where giant tears fell from her eyes. What did she do? What didn't she do? Why Jackie Burkhart was always cast out from Steven's life. Why?
May 2011 present
Hyde remembered living his life on pins and needles for weeks after that encounter. He had friends in the Kenosha area that kept tabs for him and when it was determined Jackie wasn't pregnant, Hyde finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In retrospect, having a kid with Jackie wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was just bad timing. He had just been so surprised to see her out of the blue like that! She probably hated him for years after he left so abruptly. But in the emails and phone calls, there wasn't any indication that she was holding grudges.
For now, all he could do was wait for Jackie to call. He would go to this Father's Day party if it killed him!
T7S
A/N: Thank you to all the reviewers that contacted me to continue. I think I have something going that you will like and special thanks to Tony (aka TL22) for some inspiration!