A/N I now know what writer's block is like, and I'm not ammused. I heartily apologize to any and all who have been reading the Denver Edition. I can only hope that I have not worn out your patience. I was tempted many times to just put a line under it, scribble 'the end' and move on; but it kept talking to me and so I have continued; with much aggravation and head pounding, and here are the results, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
POE1911
THE DENVER EDITION – CHAPTER 8
6:30 came way too early for Ruthie, but her alarm was not to be denied. That is until it shut off in mid ring. The young girl's eyes shot open, trying to figure out just what had caused this miracle. It was only then that she noticed the muscular chest that her head was resting on, and the events of the previous night came back to her. She opened her eyes and looked up at Doug's face. His eyes were closed, but he could tell that she was looking at him by the way her head had shifted.
"Why do you set your alarm so early" he asked.
Just then the answer was provided by the sound of a newspaper hitting the floor in the hallway outside her apartment door, followed by the sharp bark of a dog. Sighing heavily, Ruthie pulled herself out of bed and managed to make her way to the door where she picked up the paper and let Quark in. She then headed to the kitchen to get his breakfast while already perusing the paper. It looked to be a light day.
She stood in her kitchen for a moment and thought about the events of the night before. She had been so happy to see him waiting outside her door. She had invited him in, and they had stayed up to almost three talking. Mostly about her and the paper and the rules that went along with such a powerful tool. Ruthie could tell that Doug had been surprised at some of the things she did as a matter of course in her service to the paper, but she reminded him, that like a doctor, she did whatever she had to too get the job done. Doug had talked about himself, his childhood and how he had become a doctor. She wasn't surprised that he had been in a number of relationships, he was good looking in a boyish kind of way; but was shocked to learn that he hadn't even dated for almost two years. Ruthie got the impression that he wanted to tell her why, but the hour had grown too late. Doug had started to leave, but Ruthie reminded him that she had invited him to 'stay forever', and she hadn't changed her mind about that. So they got ready for bed and slept together, literally. There had been some snuggling, and some light kisses, but the evening hadn't been about physical displays, it had been deeper than that, it had been about caring and respect. They had slept in the same bed, but no hanky-panky had gone on, the two of them had just kept talking until they had fallen asleep. Ruthie tried to remember the last time she had spent the night in the same bed as a guy, and figure it was back when she was about ten, and had climbed into bed with Simon when she had had a bad dream. The one thought that had stayed with her was how seamlessly they had meshed; the awkwardness that accompanied most relationships as they started out just hadn't been there. It wasn't reduced or minimalized, it simply wasn't there; and to her way of thinking, that was an exceptionally rare thing.
Shaking herself back to the present, she went through the paper once more, and came to the happy conclusion that it would indeed be a light day; one that didn't start for her until 10:30. She would have to keep a couple of boys from racing their bikes across a busy street, and later stop a car accident, but that was all. She walked back into the bedroom, Doug was still laying in bed, his blue eyes were closed and Ruthie was almost hypnotized by the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Ruthie studied him for a moment, the lanky frame, the sandy hair and his high forehead. He really didn't look like anyone she had ever dated before. Quietly she made her way across the floor and sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. His eyes fluttered open at the bed's movement, and he looked up at Ruthie and smiled.
"So what do you want for breakfast" she asked.
"How much time do we have" he asked, obliquely referencing the paper.
"Nothing till 10:30" she answered with a grin.
"In that case, what I'm looking at seems pretty tasty" he said with the obligatory eyebrow waggle.
Ruthie just ducked her head and blushed, she was not used to guys being that forward. She looked up and gestured to her oversized T-shirt and old sweats "I'm not exactly dressed for breakfast" she said.
Doug quickly sat up and took Ruth in his arms "listen, I was only playing. I know you're not comfortable with the subject so whatever pace you want to go at is fine with me."
Ruthie held him tight in gratitude and thought for a moment. Finally she broke the hug saying "I said I wasn't dressed for breakfast, that's easily changed" adding a little eyebrow waggle of her own.
Doug just looked at her silently for a moment and then asked "are you sure"?
Ruthie just nodded and soon both of them were enjoying 'breakfast', quite a bit.
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The save with the kids was almost too easy. She just pulled up and asked for directions, and one kid pedaled off while the other told her how to get where she was going. Just like that the paper was changed and a lot of pain was averted. Following the save, Ruthie went to the gallery. She was a little afraid of how Nif would take the news that she and Doug were seriously together. Jennifer tended to be very protective of her young friend, and Ruthie didn't want anything to come between their friendship. Reluctantly she got out of her SUV and headed in. Jennifer turned around when she heard the bell, and her face instantly transformed from pleasant inquiry to total joy when she saw who it was.
"So is it Doug" she asked.
Ruthie just stood there stunned for a moment and finally nodded.
Jennifer let out a rather girlish shriek and engulfed her friend in a hug. "I'm glad" Nif finally managed, you deserve some happiness. She let go of Ruthie and dropped back an arm's length or so and studied her young friend; something else was different. "So tell me about it."
"Well, I'd been waiting for some response after telling him about the paper, but I hadn't heard anything so I had decided to just move on. I went out and met this cop I'd saved at a bar. We had a pretty good time and danced and laughed; he was a nice guy. But then, when I went home Doug was waiting outside my door playing with Quark"; Ruthie's voice trailed off.
"Well" Nif asked, then when she saw her friend's expression she knew the rest of the story. "He spent the night, didn't he?"
Ruthie blushed a bit as she replied "yeah, but that really wasn't the plan. As soon as I realized who it was I was so happy, then immediately I was planning on ripping him a new one for being so pig-headed about everything, but when I looked into his eyes, the whole speech just went out the window. I know it sounds cliché, but it was just like those awful 'Harlequin Romance' novels you read, I just looked him in the eyes and knew."
"Knew what" Nif asked, although she believed she already knew the answer.
"That he's mine and I'm his."
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Maggie watched as Dr. Howser went about his morning. She knew something had happened because he wasn't complaining about all the paperwork; in fact he was humming. She didn't recognize the tune, but the simple fact that he was happy while doing paper work convinced her that this was a good day to buy a lottery ticket. She watched as he signed his name with a flourish and closed the last folder. He picked up all the file folders on his desk and walked out into the ER office.
"Could you file these for me Janine" he asked one of the other nurses.
"Sure Doctor" she replied, "you sure seem to be in a good mood".
"I am Janine, and thanks for filing that stuff" he said and headed over to the duty station while still humming.
"So is it that pretty young artist" Maggie asked, coming up behind him.
Doug was startled for a moment, but then just turned to Maggie with a lazy kind of smile, a smile that warmed his whole face. "Yeah" he said quietly "it's her".
"Good" Maggie replied "she's a good girl and her hearts in the right place. So tell me what happened to turn you from Captain Ahab into Gandhi."
"Well" Doug started "she had told me some things about herself that I had to work through, but when I did I went to see her, but she wasn't in so I sat outside her apartment and waited. Her dog showed up and then. . . . . ."
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"So what are you gonna do now" Nif asked.
"I guess just take it as it comes" Ruthie answered. "It's not like I've got a lot of former relationships to compare it to."
Jennifer was about to bestow some priceless advice from her stock of relationship experiences when the phone rang. With an exaggerated huff, she picked it up: "Camden Galleries".
"Hey Jenn, it's Mike down at the Post, is Ruthie there?"
"Yeah, she's right here, hang on" with that she passed the phone over to her young friend at the same time mouthing 'it's your editor' so Ruth would know who she was talking to.
"Mike, what can I do for you?"
"The higher ups and I had an idea and we wanted to see if you were OK with it."
"What kind of idea?"
"Just a new assignment, nothing bad; trust me."
Ruthie knew that those words usually meant that she was in deep, but she said "sure, when do you want me down there?"
"Can you be here in twenty minutes?"
"I can manage that" Ruthie said.
"Great, I'll see you in a few then."
Ruthie handed the phone back to Nif, with a sigh. She had been hoping to go to lunch with Doug, but now that was endangered because she had no idea how long this meeting would run. She left the gallery feeling like she was finally on top of her life; two and a half hours later, she was sitting in Bash Riprock's thinking that fate had an absolutely cruel sense of timing.
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"Could I sit here" a voice asked from behind Ruthie.
Ruthie closed her eyes and counted to ten, hoping that the voice's owner would just leave. When there were so signs of leaving she just shrugged, hoping that the indifference would send the other person away. But no such luck; the other person pulled out a chair and sank down into it, very cautiously. "I know you don't want to talk to me, and God knows you don't owe me anything, but I'm asking, no begging for five uninterrupted minutes. After that, if you want me gone I'm gone. I'll quit, leave the paper, leave town, whatever you want; I just want five minutes; please."
Ruthie thought for a second, then said "one answer will get you five minutes, if it's honest."
"Ask away" the other replied.
"Did you know about the job?"
"NO" was the immediate reply. "I knew you lived here, and I knew you worked for the paper. I applied for this job knowing that, but I never thought they'd actually want us to work together; that blindsided me almost as well as that right you threw."
Ruthie gave a little smile and said "OK, you just bought yourself five minutes, use em well."
"Don't worry" Janet Aguilera replied rubbing her jaw "I intend to."
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FLASHBACK
Ruthie walked through the main doors of the Denver Post and hurried past the security station, traffic had been bad and she was running late. She got to Mike's office, but his secretary told her that he was expecting her in the conference room one floor up. When she arrived she was surprised to find that not only was Mike here, but so were all the editors and even the editor in chief; and they were looking at her like she was a side-show attraction.
"Ruthie, come in and have a seat" Mike said.
Ruthie sat down warily; something was up, and she was pretty sure she wasn't gonna like it.
"First of all" the editor in chief spoke, as soon as she was seated "I just want you to know how happy we are with the work you've done for us so far."
"We were thinking" Mike jumped in "that it would be a good idea to pair you up with an up and coming reporter and have you two just doing human interest type stuff. It would be a twice a week feature, so your schedule would be a lot more fixed than it is now and your salary would remain the same. What do you think?"
"Well, I think it sounds like a good idea, depending on the reporter; is it someone I've worked with here?"
"No" Mike replied "we just hired her away from People magazine. She comes very highly recommended and has done some brilliant work in the past."
"I'm sure she's terrific" Ruthie said "but I can't give you a final answer til I meet her."
"Well just turn around because she's here."
Ruthie stood up and turned with a smile on her face. The smile quickly faded as she saw who precisely was coming through the door. Phil, the features editor was there, but more importantly so was Janet Aguilera. The girl looked both scared and hopeful, but this soon turned to dismay when she saw the look on Ruthie's face. Janet warily extended her hand as Ruthie took one step forward and let fly with a beautiful right cross that crashed into the reporter's jaw. Janet sat down heavily rubbing her jaw as Ruthie kept going right out the door and then out of the building. Janet finally looked up at a room full of shocked faces and with a grim smile said "I suppose its story time."
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It had taken Janet a half hour or so to explain the situation to the editorial board and after that she had gone out looking for the young artist. It had taken a bit of time and a phone call or two, but she had discovered where the girl liked to hang out. But now that she had found the girl, she wasn't sure she had the guts to go over and try to make it right. Mustering her courage; Janet squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, said a quick prayer and walked over to the kid's table. "Can I sit here" she asked from behind the girl.
END FLASHBACK
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"My parents were migrant workers" Janet started "they moved all over the country; it was a fairly predictable pattern, but not exactly a stable home life." She held up a hand to cut off any comment Ruthie was about to make. "I'm not saying this to buy a pity vote, I just want you to understand where I'm coming from, OK?"
At Ruthie's silent nod, Janet continued.
"There were four of us kids along with them, we helped out when we could, or were allowed. Anyway, school was a hit or miss proposition. Despite that, I did my best to learn as much and as fast as I could. See, I knew I'd never be as pretty as my sister, or as strong and fast as my brother's, so I decided early on that I would be the smartest of the lot. That meant that even when I wasn't in school, I was reading anything I could get my hands on. To make a long story short, I graduated with honors and got a full ride to The University of Alabama at Birmingham. I graduated in four years with a Masters in Journalism and went to work. Up until Chicago, I'd never had anything but glowing recommendations." Janet sighed, took a swig of her beer and continued. "I had this image of myself, an image that painted me as an exceptional person. Let's face it, not many people could overcome the situation I was in and excel the way I have; so I believed myself to be superior to most of the people around me. Then I met this smart-mouthed art student; a kid that grew up with every advantage I had wished for; white skin, a great family, money, friends, you get the idea. And because of these advantages, it's easy for me to dismiss her as some silver-spoon princess and move on. But then this princess nearly looses her life saving mine. That shocked the hell out of me, just knowing how close you came to dying because you chose to save me. I could understand if we were family, or I was your friend, but you didn't even like me, and yet you didn't even hesitate. Talk about a wakeup call; it took that to make me see that all my ego about being exceptional was just bullshit. You were the exceptional person, and I couldn't understand it. Why would someone like you, risk everything for someone like me? That kind of a blow to my ego wasn't easy, so I rationalized it by thinking you were up to something, I figured no-one could be that good; you had to have a dark side that you were hiding; because truly good people are just as much a myth as the tooth fairy. Anyway, it's taken me this long to realize that there are truly good people in this world, and that you're one of them. I doubt it means anything to you, but thank you for saving my life back then, and I'm truly sorry for everything I did to you and what I put you and your friends through. I'm asking, no begging your forgiveness"
Janet looked at the table as if she were embarrassed by what she had just said; she took a quick pull at her beer and stole a furtive glance at the young artist, trying to read what she was thinking. What Janet could see was a mixture of surprise, anger and understanding. Finally Janet could see the other girl's face clear as she stood up.
"I believe I understand" Ruthie said "and I have only one question for you."
Janet raised her eyes in anticipation.
"You have asked for my forgiveness" Ruthie continued "but do you deserve it?"
All was silent for a moment, then Janet sighed "no, I don't deserve it". After saying this the reporter seemed to deflate and Ruthie turned to go; "but" she continued "I need it."
Ruthie turned back upon hearing this last bit; she had been ready to dismiss the reporter's apology as too little too late, but this last admission that the girl needed forgiveness stirred up something in Ruthie. What it boiled down to was that she couldn't deny anyone in need, if there was something she could do about it. Seeing the misery on the other woman's face just made it easier for Ruthie to say what she did. "I forgive you" she said to Janet. As the reporter's stunned eyes raised to meet hers, Ruthie continued "that's not saying I'm forgetting the pain you caused or the trust issues I have with you, those will take a while for me to deal with; but I can work with you and I do forgive you." With that she turned to leave, only to have the reporter's hand catch hers; she swung back around, her eyes catching Janet's and saw the relief and gratitude shining out of them. "Thank you" was all Janet could manage, but it was enough.
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Doug was getting anxious standing outside the theater. Ruthie was late, and that worried the young man, knowing what he did about her 'hobby'. Finally she swept up and caught him in a warm embrace and planted a scorching kiss on him, right there in the middle of the sidewalk. Before he could say anything, she was talking a mile a minute.
"I want to apologize right now because I'm going to be pretty vicious during the first few scenes because I've got some anger to work through. But I want you to know it has nothing to do with you or anything you've done." With that she grabbed his hand and pulled him into rehearsal.
The only thing he could think was "life with her will never be dull" as he was led into the theater.