iBelieve this is it
(Freddie's POV)
I went back to my house. Back to solitude. Back to lonleyness. My cell phone buzzed. Excited, I got my phone out, hoping it'd be from Sam.
Eric: Hey dude, what the hell happened today?
Not exactly who I was expecting. So I texted back a quick reply so he wouldn't text back again.
Ross and Rachel. That's what happened.
Sighing, I walked upstairs. Every night I went to the finished nursery. Sadly, there was no baby or young child to enjoy it. All it did was sit. Empty. I sat in the rocking chair perpendicular to the crib. This rocking chair was in my family for generations. Put me, my mom, and my grandma to sleep. When it rocked forward, it'd let out a low creeking sound. Rocking back, it emitted a higher pitch. Letting out a soft chuckle, I continued to rock. To and fro. To and fro. To and fro. Then Iooked at my wedding band. My 'woman deflector' as Eric put it. He didn't understand what this ring meant to me.
But for the first time since she died, I got up, found a jewlery box, and put the ring inside of it. Putting the ring in my dresser, I realized what I had accomplished. I was strong enough to take off my wedding band. And I had Sam to thank.
Suddenly, an impulse inside of me started beating against my super-ego. Letting my ID take over, I grabbed my phone and dialed Sam's number. 4 rings later, she picked up.
"Yellow?"
"Move in with me."
...
(6 months later)
Incase y'all were wondering, she said yes.
She's staying in the guest bedroom down the hall (well, her stuff is anyway. She, however, stays in my room with me during the night). Little Sam was staying in the nursery (which I remodeled a bit to look more like a toddler's room). Sam's waitress, Huuang, was staying in the basement.
Oh, some other good news. Sam and I officially sealed the deal. I get to call her my girlfriend, she calls me her boyfriend. It's all good. Nothing's really changed. Just more sex and the fact that she says 'oh you know I love you' everytime she punches me.
Other good news, today is 'take your child to work day'. Well, I don't have a child, but Sam agreed to let me take Little Sam.
"Sammy!" I bellowed from downstairs. She came trotting down in a darkish outfit. Black shirt, grey jeans, and black converse. Totally a Sam outfit.
"I'm ready Uncle Freddie!" She jumped up and down, signaling that she wanted to be picked up. I gave her the same look I gave Sam when she did that.
"Sweetie, you're too old to be carried."
"But Uncle Freddie, walking requires effort." She whined. I chuckled.
"You're too much like Sam." I picked her up, along with my briefcase and a juicebox, and went out the door.
The car ride there was pretty interesting. Little Sam went on a huge rant about how kindergardeners are so unsophisticated and don't know anything about technology.
"I told them about you being CEO of pear, and all they did was throw a crayon at me. Kids these days." She shook her head.
"Hun, you're years ahead of these kids. Enjoy it while it lasts. Just think about it this way, don't matter how fast you run. If you can outsmart a zombie and figure out how to work a gun, you're safe from the zombie invasion." She giggled.
"That is true. Or the fat kid who can't run fast. He'll save everyone."
"Touche. So what else is new? Any boys you like? Or do they all still have cooties?"
"I've never bought the whole 'cootie' crap. Unless you count 'adult cooties'. Which, according to my readings, are commonly known as sexually transmitted diseases." My eyebrows narrowed on her.
"Do...you even know what those are?"
"Of course, they're infections that spread in the case of a couple interacting in sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse also gets people pregnant."
"Well...you're just a fountain of knowledge, aren't ya."
"Yup! Well, I'm not as smart as Oliver. That nub."
"Who's Oliver?"
"This dork in my class. I know I like dorky things, but I keep that for my home life. At school, I talk about normal kindergarden problems. Like not having an indego crayon or running out of crackers at lunch. This doof insists on talking about MMORPG games and magnitism. Not to mention inertia." I started to laugh so hard that the car almost jerked into the other lane.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, it's just...this kid reminds me of Aunt Sam and myself when we were kids."
"Ew! Oliver and I are NOT getting married. Gross."
"How do you know we're gonna get married?"
"I just do. Don't question my ways."
...
Everyone at work really seemed to like Little Sam. Then again, who wouldn't? She's such a charmer. But, something weird kept happening at the office all day. Everytime Little Sam would talk to someone from a different department, they'd always compliment on how charming my 'daughter' was. I told Eric this.
"Dude, people keep coming up to me and saying how wonderful my daughter is."
"Well, it is take your kid to work day. People make assumptions."
"Yeah, but Chad from marketing brought his nephew. No one's saying how wonderful his 'son' is."
"To be brutaly honest, she looks exactly like Sam. Except her eyes. Look at me." My eyebrows did that thing that they always do when I've realized I've gotten myself into a pickle. Then I looked up and gave Eric eye contact. He tilted his head to the side a bit and took 2 steps closer.
"Have you ever slept with Sam?"
"Psh, of course I have. She's my girlfriend." I walked towards the fridge to grab some of the egg-free raw cookie dough.
"No, I meant before you guys hooked up. She's gotta be about 5 now. Did something happen before you left Seattle." Now that I think about it...no...no. I shook my head.
"It can't be...no."
"What?"
"We did. Once. The day I got in from New York." I sat down at the lunch table with the cookie dough and put my head in my hands.
"Did you guys...use protection."
"No, after a few Captain Morgans, using a 34 cent condom you got at a grubby gas station doesn't come to mind. Well, 'cept for making balloon animals...Oh my god..." Repeating and moaning 'oh my god', Eric came over and patted my back a few times.
"It'll be ok buddy. Look, I'll take Little Sam home. You're in no state to drive right now. Just try to clear your head in your office."
"Ok, see ya." I waved goodbye to Eric before he went to go get Little Sam. Time flew by as I just sat at the table, not even eating the cookie dough. After an hour of just sitting, I got up and put the cookie dough in the fridge in exchange for some rum I found in the back. I took it into my office and chugged the whole thing while smoking like a chimeny. There was a knock at the door.
"Enter." I slurred. The fax machine girl, Sherryl, came in with some new faxes.
"Mr. Benson? These arrived from Nevelocity. The creator of the site, Nevel Papperman, would like to speak with you sometime in the next few days about obtaining some pear stuff." I took a long drag from my cigarette and nodded.
"Sounds good to me...Sherryl, have I ever told you how pretty your eyes are?"
"Really?" She looked down and blushed. "They're just hazel." Sherryl was a fair woman. About 5'5", wore a lot of rings and wool skirts. And she has hazel eyes.
"Ahhh yes. Hazel. Not blue, not green, not brown. Hazel. What a beautiful name for a color." I strolled towards her, putting my cigarette out on the floor.
"And only hazel eyes belong to beautiful women...you're absolutely radient." With my index finger, I lifted her chin and brought her lips to mine. A chain reaction started and...well, you guessed it. We had sex.
The truth? I didn't even know who Sherryl was until just not. If it weren't for her nametag, I wouldn't have even known her name.
...
(Sam's POV)
2:31 AM
Where the hell is he? His momma's-boy assistant person brought Little Sam home. He usually comes home around 6:30. Maybe a little later if he goes to have drinks with the people from work. But he's never gotten home this late. A thud at the door stirred me up a bit. Grabbing a pot, I tip-toed towards it and cracked it open to find a brunette man sitting against the door. I screamed and started beating him with the pot.
"Yeah! Rue this, bub! Does that feel good? This'll feel better!" I beat him harder until his cry to stop seemed too fimiliar. I stopped for a moment and realized it was Freddie, drunk.
"Freddie? What the hell were you doing outside?" Helping him up, I noticed his clothes were in a frenzy. Buttons weren't buttoned, his underwear was hanging from his jacket pocket, and his tie was around his forehead instead of around his neck.
"I got a little...druuuuuunk." He giggled. Helping him to his feet, he almost fell on me as I sat him down on the couch. While sitting him down, I noticed some lipstick stains on his collar and neck.
He couldn't have...he couldn't have. We love each other.
"Freddie, why's there lipstick on your coller?"
"Because I had sex with Sherryl from the office." Even though he's drunk and oblivious, that was too specific to be a mistake. I couldn't believe it. So I slapped him, hard.
"What'd I do?"
"You cheated on me! I thought you loved me!"
"I do!"
"I'm obivously not enough if you if you're sleeping around your office! It's gonna be like 5 years ago isn't it? You got my blood boiled so high that I pushed you into the coffee table and left. This time it's gonna be different. I'm leaving for good."
"Sam...don't goooooo..." He slurred some more. I know that in his defense, he was drunk, but he still cheated.
"Then tell me something...why'd you do it?" He mumbled something about a baby and love.
"Look, Fred. I know you lost your wife and your unborn baby, but you have a new life. If that's your only reason, don't expect to see me in the morning." I stormed up the stairs and started packing my stuff.
In the morning, I'd be gone.