The Realization
Mercedes ran her fingers across her different boxes in the top of her closest, feeling the texture of each as indicators to what was inside. She grabbed two different boxes, and pulled them down. She reached inside, feeling different containers and objects and was able to make herself up and style and pin up her hair. She had just gotten out of the shower after her morning jog with Quinn, and now was preparing to open the store in a couple of hours.
Music was playing in her apartment and she danced around the place as she styled her hair. Her friends insisted that this was impressive, but that was because they still simply did not and could not understand that not everything took eyesight! She, in fact was much better with her hands than any of them, because she had to depend more on her skills than her sight as she completed something. She was singing, "They say watch what you ask for, 'cause you might receive, but if you ask me tomorrow, I'll say the same thing – I am ready for love. Would you please lend me your ear? I promise I won't complain. I just need you to acknowledge I am here…"
As she stepped onto the elevator with Kissy, she sung to herself, "Do I ever cross your mind, anytime? Do you ever wake up reaching out for me? Do I ever cross your mind, anytime? I miss you. I miss you…" The elevator door opened and Quinn started at her.
"Mercedes!" She said. Mercedes jumped now too, and then laughed.
"I didn't expect you to be back so soon," Mercedes admitted.
"Were you singing to yourself?" Quinn asked giving her a knowing smile. Mercedes simply headed for the bar and sat down. Quinn dragged the box that she had been pushing across the floor to the counter and said, "I sure miss Rachel. Never thought that I would EVER say that, but I do. She was a kiss up, very annoying and extremely talkative, but she got the job done and she did it well. Are you going to hire a real assistant, or what?"
"Actually, Becky said that she might be interested in the job," Mercedes commented. "Though, I think that I really like Lauren Zizes for it. She used to be Tina's assistant manager at Magic Mirror, remember? She's interested in the job. She helped to dress me for three years, so she knows my style and I think we could trust her with a key – Tina could."
"Hire her, immediately! She's got the strength of five guys. We could use that kind of muscle around here. Also, I am looking for an official cashier. Running back and forth to the floor and the register is getting old. Santana and I went over the finances and we have enough in budget to hire a cashier, someone to man the upstairs AND a proper assistant to you. I'll take care of the applications and interviews… you hire Lauren Zizes, today!"
"Yes, Mother!" Mercedes said as she opened a book and began to read. "Keep Becky in mind."
When Mercedes hired Lauren on, it significantly reduced the amount of time that Sam saw her throughout the day. Lauren came in ultra early, fed Clusterfrak, began the morning coffee, and went up the elevator to do whatever Mercedes had her to do up there. By the time she came back down, Sam would have awoken to the smell of coffee and began his morning routine of prayer and exercise, before getting dressed and taking Cluster for a walk and dog-sitting he and Kissy while watching Quinn and Mercedes, mostly Mercedes jog.
As soon as Mercedes reentered the shop, Lauren would always come to Mercedes and escort her to the elevator while reading her all of her emails and going over any letter mail that she might have received. They would disappear up for a while. In that time, Quinn would come in and open the cash registers and power up the computers. Sam reported to her for his assignments and went off to do them.
By the time the shop opened, Mercedes would be relaxing and reading, if the place was slow, or up and interacting if the place was busy. Lauren would make any calls and send out any emails that needed to be addressed. If Mercedes had any appointments or thing that she wanted to go do, Lauren was her escort and ride. By lunch, Lauren was either off for the day, or she left and did not come back until several hours later. During that time, if Sam was lucky, he might have a chance to spend time around Mercedes.
"Mercedes!" he called as she came out of the building after it was closed for lunch and she jumped. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"It's lunch time. The building is closed for lunch," he told her. I usually just hang around here until Miss Fabray opens up again. She had both of the dogs with her.
"You want to join me, today?" She asked him.
"I don't want to intrude," he said, even though he was already getting up from the pavement.
"It's not a bother, Sam. I'm going to head to the pond near the park and listen to James Earl Jones read the Bible," she said with a shrug.
"Really? I can do a James Earl Jones impression," he said, with excitement. She laughed at the thought of it. "No really!" He told her as he took Cluster's leash from her. "I woke up this morning and decided to swallow the sun." Now, she roared in laughter.
"Sam Evans, I think that there might be something wrong with you. Why would you say that, of all the things to say? It was alright, though. I mean – my hearing is very sharp, so you didn't sound like him to me, but I guess that I could maybe get someone with normal hearing thinking so." She smiled brightly as she insulted him and he didn't even feel bad about it.
Instead, he said, "Guess who this is: Two mice fall into a bucket of cream…" Mercedes snorted and laughed loudly, but did not make a guess, because Sam quickly said, "It's Christopher Walken." He held his hands out and she shook her head. Kissy led her around a puddle and for a moment, Sam thought that she was moving from him, until he stepped in it. Which made her laugh again. "Maybe I need the dog," he suggested. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.
Sam had slept at the community center for two nights, and neither felt as peaceful as things had felt in the backroom of Pieces of Mercedes, and in speaking of Mercedes… he couldn't understand why he was still attracted to her. For instance, earlier, she tripped over a piece of candy that one of the customer's kids dropped on the floor and she was going to crash to the floor. Sam and Lauren both rushed to try to catch her, but she hit the ground one knee after another and tucked herself. When they reached her, she jumped up and said, "Did you see it? I hope all of you were paying attention. In the event that you are involved in a roller derby and you should fall, that is a proper technique for minimal bodily damage." She said it with a serious face and did not even flinch or wince.
Lauren fought off a laugh, but Mercedes had to laugh herself and say, "Seriously, could someone please see to whatever that was. Let's be grateful that it was me and not a patron." She clapped her hands twice and kept walking, like it didn't even happen. That seemed to be her entire life philosophy – fall, hard or soft – get the hell up and keep moving. It was one of the hottest things that Sam had ever seen. He smiled at the image of her walking away, with her head lifted, not even worried about who might have seen her and not even the least bit embarrassed that her sizable body connected with that floor. Sam glanced up and caught Quinn looking at him. He smiled at her and continued his work.
Santana called out, "Guppie Lips! We have a delivery truck up the road. Get to the basement and let them inside."
Sam nodded and Lauren tossed him her keys and told him, "I'll meet you down there in a tick!" She was cleaning up the crushed candy and making sure no trace of liquid was left there. By the time she and Sam finished accepting the delivery, Sam rushed back inside to see if he could catch Mercedes and "intrude" upon her lunch again.
Santana's girlfriend, Brittany and Quinn's daughter, Beth were seated at the bar, doing hand slap games. Brittany dropped her hands and said, "Beth, this is kinda hard. There are like a lot of words in this thing. You didn't tell me that we you said you'd teach me…" Sam's eyes widened, as they generally did when Brittany spoke.
"Miss Fabray, is there anything that you need me to do?" He asked. She shook her head and joined the girls at the bar. Santana was heading that way, too. "Have you seen Mercedes?" He asked.
Santana said, "She's upstairs having lunch with Puck," then rushed to the table to hug and kiss Brittany and join them for lunch. Sam stood there for a moment, then went to sit on the stairs. Sunshine, the new upstairs rep came down and asked him to move. He rocked to the side and she nervously crossed over him and made a dash for it.
Lauren saw Sam on the stairs and asked, "You gonna eat, Evans?" He shrugged and waved a hand. "I'll treat you, if you need anything." He shook his head and leaned back against the stairs. Lauren watched him for a moment, then asked, "Okay. Did Becky already leave?"
Quinn answered, "She said that she'll meet you."
Lauren said, "Well, I shall see all of you tomorrow. This is my early day. Farewell, ladies and Evans." She left and locked the door behind her.
Quinn looked at Sam and told Beth, "Give this to Mr. Evans, Honey." She handed her a cup of Chinese food and a pair of chopsticks.
Beth gladly went over to the man and said, "Mr. Evans – my mom gave you some food." Sam smiled at the girl and accepted the cup. She put her hands together and waited for something.
"Thank you," Sam said, politely.
"You're welcome," she told him… Moments later she asked, "Why is your hair like that?" Sam heard snickering from the ladies at the table, except Quinn. She was watching him carefully around her child and seemed nervous.
That made Sam chuckle. He answered Beth, "Does it look silly?"
"It looks funny," she admitted. He smiled at her. She was adorable. She looked more like Puck, but he could see hints of Quinn.
"Beth, that isn't nice. Come talk to Aunt Brittany," Quinn said, still looking nervous about Sam being around her child. Beth rushed away from him and went to sit on Brittany's lap. Quinn avoided looking at Sam again. He struggled with the chopsticks, then just started pouring the food into his mouth.
He heard Mercedes' laugh and perked up, unintentionally. She came off of the elevator with Puck. He was holding a guitar and she had her purse on her arm. She announced, "I'm going to be at the community center! Sam, make sure that the dogs are walked for the afternoon. Lauren's off."
"Yes, Miss Jones," Sam said, coming down from the stairs. He shook Puck's hand and asked, "What's going on at the center?"
Puck simply said, "It's Saturday. None of the kids are in school, so we try to have stuff going on all day."
Mercedes cheerily said, "We're going to do songs for them." She had her hand holding on to Puck's sweater, and Sam's eyes were trained on the interaction. Puck noticed, right away and raised his eyebrows at Sam. He turned and Mercedes blindly followed him, holding on to his clothes. Obviously, she wasn't taking Kissy. Puck picked Beth up and the three left. Quinn got up and threw her stuff in the trash, then headed for the bathroom. Sam watched Mercedes get into Puck's truck and made a decision. He followed Quinn into the room, and shut the door.
"Mr. Evans!" She said, but he came crashing onto her with a kiss. For a brief moment, she returned it, then she shoved him away and told him, "Sam!" She held up a hand to keep him away. "If you ever do anything like that again, I will have Miss Jones throw you out on the street and I will press charges on you."
"Are you telling me that this isn't mutual? Are you saying that you're not attracted to me, that you don't want me?" He asked, his eyes seducing her to the core.
She took a deep breath and said, "What I am saying is that I am not interested in having sex or even making out in a bathroom because you want to get some things out of your system!" She began to storm out and he caught her arm, which earned him a slap.
"I just wanted to apologize!" He said.
"You apologize with words! Don't ever touch me, again!" She said and hit the door on the way out. Quinn passed by her friends and went out of the front door. Santana watched curiously and noted that she didn't bother to lock the door. Sam came out of the bathroom and he left, as well.
Brittany and Santana looked at each other and Brittany said, "Why does drama always seem to be around whenever Quinn is there?"
"Because drama is always around when Quinn is there," Santana said.
Sam took the company van, because Mercedes had given him permission to do so, if needed. He found himself headed to the community center. Mercedes and Puck were standing in the back of the room, the kids were sitting on the floor and Joe and Artie were doing some kind of comedy routine. Sam waited. Why was he here? He leaned on the inside of the doorway and watched Mercedes with Puck. The two of them looked chummy – but for all he knew, they were always like that. Puck had never answered him when he asked about their relationship, but it was obvious that there was something between them. Something different from whatever it was that he had going on with Quinn (which was now nothing and he probably was about to get canned for sexual harassment). Why the hell did he do that?
Maybe he thought that Puck and Mercedes' closeness would bother Quinn and she would be receptive to his advances… but Quinn didn't seem to give a good goddamned about Mercedes being with Puck (if that was the case), and she even seemed like she would support them if they were. Ugh! That was frustrating! Then, it occurred to him, the only person bothered by Puck and Mercedes was HIM. He was being territorial. That was ridiculous, because of a number of reasons. Sam finally came into view and came up to them, "Miss Jones, I have to tell you something."
She squinted and tilted her head, as she processed the voice, "Sam? What's up?" Her face was worried, "Did something happen at the shop?"
"Yes, I kissed Miss Fabray ," he said and distorted his face, waiting on the response.
Puck smiled, slightly and said, "Good for you, Man." He patted him on the shoulder and said, "I knew it would happen sooner or later." Mercedes just smiled, kind of oddly. Sam couldn't read her face.
"She didn't like me kissing her and threatened to have me arrested," he finished.
Puck swallowed hard then said, "Bummer. She won't. I'll talk to her." He stepped out and went to call Quinn.
Sam watched Mercedes, staring straight ahead. "Mercedes, what are you thinking about?"
"I understand that you need to have some release and a one night stand quickie in the parking lot is not going to relieve seven years, but please, don't bring that kind of stuff into my net, Sam. Quinn has a history. Unless she has given you a green light, leave her alone."
"I thought that she had."
"What did she say to make you think that?" Mercedes wondered. All she ever heard was Quinn being short with him.
"It was how she looks at me," he said and she frowned, pursed her lips, sighed… That was a foreign language to her. "I won't make that mistake again. I just wanted to confess. I wanted to be the one to tell you what I did wrong." Mercedes shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, but decided that he should not return to the shop. He was already at the community center, so, there he could stay.
Quinn was sitting on Mercedes' couch, crying when she returned home. "Q?" She called, knowing the voice, right away, even in sobs. Quinn rushed to Mercedes and hugged her tightly. "It's okay, Quinn. I'm here and I love you, and I'll never leave you alone." She laid on the couch and Quinn rested her head on her friend's chest and cried loudly. "If you say so, right now, Quinn Fabray – I will send that man away and you never have to look at him again. I gave him a chance and him assailing you like that…"
"No. I just needed a hug and some comfort. I haven't been held in a long time," Quinn said. She sat up and looked at her friend, "Do you like him?"
"Do I like Sam?" Mercedes confirmed. "Sometimes. He can be obnoxious and small minded, but he has another side, too."
"The flirty bad boy," Quinn said.
"I was gonna say the adorable nerd," Mercedes answered, honestly.
"So he is multi-layered." Quinn said and laid down on Mercedes again. "So, is there something there, with you two? I mean… if I was interested in him, I wouldn't be steeping on your toes again, would I? I couldn't handle doing something like that to you, again."
"We can both agree this is completely different," Mercedes said. "I barely know Sam and to be honest, with the stock that you sighted people put into looks, it sounds like to me that it would be pretty much impossible for two people like us to ever work towards what I had with Puck. I remember people having things to say about Puck and I, and he's Jewish and according to you all, has a dark tone skin."
"He has a dark skin for a white person," Quinn said."
"And Sam?" Mercedes asked.
"One of the palest things I've ever seen," Quinn replied.
"Do you like him, Quinn?" Mercedes asked.
Quinn said, "He is gorgeous, Mercedes. If he had shorter hair and you couldn't see his scar, and was clear of the tattoos – he'd been in trouble with a lot of ladies, Cedes."
"Well, then – you should go for it," Mercedes told her.
"I can't. Mercedes, Sam probably really wants to have sex with me, but there's just something about the way that he looks at you and how he behaves towards you." She laughed a few tears out and said, "Though, I don't even think that he's realized it yet."
"You know what I could use? Crème brulee cheesecake bars and vanilla cream lattees," Mercedes suggested. Quinn leaped up and pulled her friend up, as well, to pull her into a hug. Then, she took her hand and they made their way to "their place" – the all night coffee shop.
Sam slept a third night at the community center, though he did not really sleep, at all. He was thinking about kissing Quinn and how sick he felt afterwards. It had not been pleasant and the way that she responded very nearly put him off of women, period. But, Mercedes was still on his mind and he had no way of leaving the center to go out and find anything to occupy him. Instead, he thought that maybe he could shoot some hoops and burn off some steam. Then, he tried going for a swim in the pool. Then, he tried playing tennis with the wall. By the time he took a cold shower and went to lay down, his body was tired, but his mind was still all over the place.
The fourth morning that Sam got up at the community center, he prayed, first, got up and exercised, went for a shower and got dressed, then he remembered that Puck told him that the owner of the place would be back in town today. Puck had mentioned him to the guy, but had left out details. He said that the guy was black and he didn't really want to go into all of it, but he was hoping that if he could meet Sam and Sam could make an impression, first – they could eventually get to the details, if needed.
Sam gathered his backpack and was going to head for work, when he heard a voice say, "Sam Evans?" He turned around and was looking a tall, burly black man. He recognized him, but when he opened his mouth to say something, Shane Tinsley rushed right at him…