The Eyes Have It
Chapter Eleven – "A Lovely View"
Marlena had been at her conference for two days now and she was extremely grateful that she had been absolutely buried with meetings and presentations the entire time. It was making it easier to not think about John every minute and the time was going by quickly. Whenever she did have a break, all she could think about was getting back to Salem and seeing John again. They had spoken on the phone several times and he always called her at night when he was going to bed…..just to say good night and tell her how much he missed her. He told her that he had already made plans for Wednesday night when she got home. She couldn't wait.
Marlena managed to finish up early on Wednesday morning and actually caught an earlier flight. She decided to stop by John's office just to see him for a moment and let him know that she was home. When she got to his office, Mrs. Bowman asked her to wait while she tried to locate John. Not more than a few minutes later, Marlena saw John quickly approaching from the direction of Kate's office. He was grinning from ear to ear and quickly grabbed her in a tight embrace. Then realizing that they were not alone, he released her and took both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "I'm so glad to see you. I've missed you."
"I missed you too," she replied, reading his eyes…knowing that he wanted to say much more.
"So are we still on for tonight?" John asked.
"Definitely. So what are these big plans of yours anyway, Mr. Black?"
"You're going to come to my place, Dr. Evans, where I am going to cook for you."
"You cook?" she asked, very surprised.
John pretended to be offended. "Yes, I cook and I'm pretty good at it too. You won't be disappointed."
"I'm sure I won't," she answered with a gleam in her eye.
They stood there like that for several seconds, lost in each other's eyes, when John became acutely aware that they were not alone. "I'm sorry I can't get out of here now. Shall I pick you up at 6pm at your place?"
"No, pick me up at my office. I'm heading over there now to catch up on some work."
"Okay, then," he said as he walked her back to the elevator. He leaned in and stole a quick kiss. "I'll see you later."
As Marlena stepped into the elevator and turned to watch John walk towards his office, she was unpleasantly surprised to be joined by Kate. Kate was working on clearing out her office and was taking the last box of personal items down to her car when she witnessed the little scene between John and Marlena. Kate did not like losing and she couldn't resist taking one last dig at Marlena before she left town. So after their initial pleasantries and Marlena congratulating Kate on her new position, Kate decided to torment Marlena.
"I heard John say that he was going to cook for you tonight?"
"Yes, he did," Marlena answered, thinking that this was none of her damn business.
"Well, I'm sure you'll have a lovely time. And be sure to admire the view from his apartment. It's fabulous….especially at night," and with that the elevator doors opened and Kate walked out with a delicious grin on her face. Marlena just stood there feeling like the rug had just been pulled out from under her.
Marlena managed to drive back to her office, but she didn't remember getting there. She just drove like she was on auto pilot, her mind traveling a million miles an hour. She kept hearing Kate's voice in her head... "..fabulous view...especially at night." How would Kate know about the view from John's apartment unless she'd been there? Why would she be there? Why would she be there at night? John had told her that he never went out with Kate. So why was she there? Why had John come from the direction of Kate's office today? Was John lying to her? Did he just tell her what she wanted to hear to get her away for the weekend? Marlena's heart was pounding and her head began to ache as she paced back and forth in her office. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to feel. She just knew that she couldn't go to John's apartment tonight. She didn't even want to see him right now. She had to be alone so she could calm down and think this through.
She called John's office and left a message with Mrs. Bowman. She told her that something came up regarding a patient and she would be busy all evening. She asked her to tell John that she would call him tomorrow. As soon as Marlena hung up the phone, she began to feel sick, like she had rocks in her stomach. She rested her head in her hands and began to cry.
When John received the brief message, he was immediately concerned. He asked Mrs. Bowman if that was all Marlena had said.
"Yes," she replied, "but she sounded rather upset."
John came out of his office a few minutes later. He told Mrs. Bowman to make some excuse and push his next appointment back. He had to go out for awhile. Mrs. Bowman smiled to herself. She knew exactly where he was going.
When John arrived at Marlena's office, her receptionist wasn't there due to the fact that Marlena hadn't been expected back today. John decided to knock softly on her door in case she was in with a patient. There was no answer and when he placed his ear near the door, he couldn't hear anything. He tried the knob, it wasn't locked, so he opened the door slightly. When John peeked inside her office, he saw Marlena bent over her desk, holding her head in her hands. He immediately rushed in and walked towards her.
"Marlena, honey, what's wrong?"
As soon as Marlena heard John's voice, her head snapped up. John could see that she was crying. He began to move around her desk towards her. She jumped up and moved away from him.
"John, you can't come bursting into my office like that. I could have been with a patient." He could see that she was very upset.
"I'm sorry, but when I got your message, I was worried. I just wanted to check on you. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, John. I just have a lot of things going on right now. I can't talk to you." There was obviously something going on and John wasn't about to leave until he knew what it was.
"Marlena, please tell me what's going on. I just want to help." John kept trying to approach her, but she kept moving away.
"Not now, John. I just need to be by myself right now. I need to think." Marlena knew that she couldn't be around John right now. She couldn't think clearly when he was near her.
John was getting frustrated now. "Marlena, just talk to me damn it! Tell me what is going on!"
Marlena swung around to face him. "Why don't you tell me what's going on between you and Kate, John!" she yelled as she fought desperately not to start crying again.
John was taken aback. Where on Earth did that come from? "Marlena," he began, trying to calm things down, "…I've told you before there's absolutely nothing between me and Kate."
"Then why were you coming out of her office today? Why was she hugging you the other day? And why the hell was she at your apartment, John?" Marlena was beginning to get hysterical.
John was trying very hard to remain calm. Something had obviously upset Marlena and he didn't have a clue what it was. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Marlena. I've already explained about the hug in my office. She was just saying goodbye. Today I was helping her clean out her office, and she has never been to my apartment."
Marlena glared at him. "Get out, John. Get out of my office now."
"What the hell is going on, Marlena?" John couldn't take it anymore.
Marlena took a deep breath... "If she was never in your apartment," she stated slowly and carefully, "...then how does she know about the lovely view?"
"What view? What are you talking about?"
"Kate told me today that I should admire the lovely view from your apartment, especially at night...how would she know that, John, if she had never been there?" Marlena was starting to cry now.
John was beginning to feel like a drowning man fighting for survival and he didn't even know why. "Marlena, I have no idea what she was talking about. I'm telling you, Kate has never been to my..." he paused, a distant memory suddenly returning to him.
Marlena saw the look in his eyes. She felt panic spread throughout her whole body. "Are you finally remembering something, John? Something that just happened to slip your mind?" Even as she was saying those words to John, inside her head she was screaming, "No, please God, don't let it be true."
John sighed, "Yes, Marlena it slipped my mind because it wasn't important. Kate was at my apartment just once."
"Oh, great….just once….so I guess that makes everything just fine, doesn't it?" Marlena turned her back to John so he couldn't see the pain and the tears in her face.
John moved quickly and grabbed Marlena from behind and wrapped his arms around her so she couldn't get away. He rested his head against the side of hers so he could whisper in her ear. "Listen to me, Marlena," he spoke firmly as she squirmed to get away. "One night last week, Kate and I worked late…you already know about that because I told you. I had some files at my apartment that Kate needed so she followed me home. She came up to my apartment where she admired the view, I gave her the files and she left. That's all there was to it, Marlena."
Marlena was still crying and trying to get away. She was arguing with herself inside her head. Of course he would have an explanation, she told herself, he always does. But she did remember that night he worked late with Kate. He had told her about it. She wanted to believe him so badly that it was physically painful, but she had been so hurt by people she loved before, it was difficult to trust anyone.
John began nuzzling her neck and placing soft kisses behind her ear. "I don't want Kate, Marlena. I don't want anyone…" He turned her around in his arms, "...anyone but you." He quickly took possession of her mouth with his. Marlena's body began to react to his as he held her tightly against him. Marlena was still crying and trying to catch her breath, as she grabbed John around the neck and began kissing him desperately. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to trust him. She wanted him.
John scooped Marlena up into his big, strong arms and carried her over to the couch, never breaking their kiss. They fell down together on the couch, clinging to each other, kissing and sucking on each other's mouths as they frantically tried to remove each other's clothing, John needing to show Marlena how much he loved her and Marlena needing to feel loved. As John moved over her, holding her tightly against him, he grabbed her face with his hands. "I am deeply, madly, passionately in love with you Marlena. I have never felt this way about anyone else...ever."
"Show me," she whispered, a tear slowly dripping down her cheek. John kissed away her tear and made all her fears and doubts disappear as he worshipped and adored her body.
They decided to skip the dinner at John's that night. John knew that Marlena was emotionally and physically exhausted so he suggested that he just take her home and they have their dinner another night. Marlena rested her head against his chest and thanked him for being so understanding. When they got to Marlena's apartment, she said she was too tired to eat, so John sent her upstairs to get cleaned up and ready for bed. She did as she was instructed. While Marlena was bathing, John made some small sandwiches for dinner. He knew that she should eat something. When Marlena came downstairs in her fuzzy pink robe and socks, John had the coffee table all set up with the little sandwiches and some hot tea. They curled up next to each other, found an old movie on the TV, nibbled on their sandwiches and sipped their tea. Marlena felt so warm and relaxed, it wasn't long before she began nodding off. John finally turned off the TV and carried Marlena upstairs to her bed. As he was kissing her forehead good night, she grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go.
"Don't go," she mumbled in her sleep. "Stay with me." She rolled over onto her side, pulling his hand with her. John climbed into bed behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist and there they slept, curled up together, all night long.