2 Years Later
Sam and Mercy had kept the channels of communication open, using social media and both were happy with their lot. Sam had done 5 of his 7 year contract with the Navy and was seriously thinking about his next step. Jane had been talking all things wedding for the past year or so and he'd been avoiding the subject, but now his Mom was on the subject it seemed to be something that was inevitable. He'd spoken to Mercy about it several times and of course she'd agree that he needed to commit and stop stringing the woman along, he was on the brink of giving in to it all when the opportunity arose for him to be stationed in Ohio for 12 months and he quickly got on the phone to Mercy before informing anyone else.
"Mercy they offered me Ohio somewhere near Lima again" he said all excited when she picked up the phone
"That's great, its close, we can finally get that coffee we talked about" she said obviously smiling "What did Jane say about it?" she asked
"I haven't told anyone else yet, I just got the offer"
"And you thought I should be the first to know?" she asked
"Well you were the closest" he laughed "How are things with Michael?"
"Good, you'll finally get to meet him" she said sounding happy
"Yeah" Sam replied
"Let me know when and I'll arrange something"
"I'm letting you know I'm going to take it, all this bugging for marriage thing is getting to me"
"You're going to do it" she said excitedly
"I didn't say that" he laughed "You women just hear what you want sometimes"
"If you're here for a year we can have a party together for our birthday" she giggled "I'm back at my classroom we'll speak soon"
"Bye Tiny"
"Bye Dot"
Sam arrived in Lima 3 weeks later but didn't get to see Mercy until day 5 after bedding in and duties, he walked off the barracks to a waving Mercy his heart burst at the sight of her, taking his breath away. It had only been 2 years but she'd changed, she was grown obviously becoming a woman had made her more appealing she was even more pretty, more bubbly, sexy, hell of sexy and damn was she sexy, suddenly he hated this Michael who he'd sat listening to her rant on about over the phone for 8 months. "Hi" he said rolling his eyes as he heard himself "I mean great to see you again Tiny"he said holding his arms out for her to fall into
"Dot" she said, with no hesitation about falling into his arms "It's great to see you too" she said as she snuggled into his chest willing herself to get up off him and act like a woman in a loving relationship with another man. It seemed like an age they stood connected to each other talking for only them to hear as they plucked up the strength to let go "After three" Mercy finally said as Sam counted and they parted
"Still just as hard" he said not wanting the feeling to go by without acknowledging something was still there "Jane's coming down this afternoon" he said looking into Mercy's eyes and seeing the pain at the mention of her name "So I guess it's test time for both of us" he smirked cheekily knowing she'd just had the same thought as him
"Don't play with me Dot" she said giving him a cheeky smile back
"I'm no..."
"Don't even think it, let alone say it, I know you" she laughed
"Anyway when am I going to meet this guy that's supposed to be my competition?" he asked as they walked towards the car
"Pull that neck back in Mr, there is no competition, we were never a thing"
"I can see traits of Ms Mercy in you" he laughed
"Whatever; what time is Jane coming?" she asked
"She'll call when she gets here" he said as they stood at the car talking "And Mercy I am competition" he laughed
"Get in the damn car" she smiled surprised to see him open the door for her to get in "Thank you" she said as he shut the door after her, they went off sight seeing until Sam's phone rang
"Where are you?" Jane asked
"Where are we?" he asked Mercy
"Lima Bean"
"Lima Bean just grab a cab, see you in a bit" he said clipping the phone off
"Sam" she said giving him a look "We could have gone and got her"
"She'll be here soon enough and you're gonna wish..." he smiled rolling his eyes, making her laugh
Twenty minutes later the café door opened revealing Jane a natural blond who had for some unknown reason decided to put extensions in her hair which looked irritatingly unmanageable, slender and as her name suggested very plain with ripped jeans and a t-shirt that might have been Sam's at one point. And with all that pink on she donned green nail varnish, Mercy had to double look to confirm what she was seeing
"Hi Love" she said as she went into some sort of peck hug with Sam who pulled away before Mercy could think to be embarrassed
"Jane this is Mercy" he said smiling at Mercy as he spoke "Mercy this is Jane" he said sitting down
Jane stood next to Sam lips puckered and hands clutching her bag, Mercy assumed she was telling her not to come near her and just said a simple hello, happy for the no contact thing. Jane's blue eyes played the game, Mercy could read eyes and Jane's were definitely seeing competition, Mercy wanted so much to tell her that wasn't the case but the opportunity passed and so for the next few hours she sat,a part of Sam's conversations,feeling uncomfortable because it was obvious Jane needed to be alone with him and he obviously didn't want that situation to happen.
The Meal
Three hours later they were sitting in the local restaurant waiting for Michael to arrive "So Jane I hear you're into Nursing, you guys do a great job" Mercy said smiling at her as she once overed her again, her blond hair looked almost unkempt for the way she kept pulling it back off her face, Mercy wanted to shout at her 'Tie it back bitch' but resisted, smiling every time she felt the urge. Sam sat with a smile on his face, tickled that Mercy was as irritated with that hair flicking shit as he was, why she needed extensions that she couldn't manage was beyond him
"Yes it is rewarding but the hours are long and the work can sometimes feel never ending" she smiled flicking her hair back again at the end of her response "I hear you might be going into the music industry, new song coming?"
"Yeah, I'm just doing finishing touches I'm sort of hoping to have it wrapped for my birthday
"You mean our birthday" Sam butted in
"Yeah our birthday" Mercy smiled at him for a second saying before looking back at Jane
"Good evening everyone" they heard, making everyone look behind where Mercy sat, Sam looked up to see this muscle rippling, almost shining with good looks black man with a smooth brother look, just what he'd expect Mercy to be dating, if he could have done anything just then he'd have climbed on the ceiling, Grabbed a hammer and messed this guy's shinning head up beyond recognition "Sam" he said as Sam forced a smile aware that Mercy could read his thoughts and stood up to greet Michael
"Michael" he said back giving his hand for shaking "And this is..."
"Jane" Michael said walking round to give her a light kiss on the cheek "Seriously, I've heard so much about you guys I feel like we're old friends" he said sitting down in the chair next to Mercy "Hi Sweetheart" he said taking the time to look into her eyes before going in for his kiss "I missed you today" he said as they got lost in their own little world before Sam spoke
"So Michael how's the world of Law?" he asked shifting the vibe
"Law is good, just come from having the conversation with my soon to be in-laws" he laughed "Like the switch" he said through his laugh
'I'd like to switch you the fuck off' Sam smiled back at him thinking as Mercy gave him the behave look
"Wedding plans" Jane pipped in perking up a bit "My Fav subject these past 18 months" she said looking at Sam expectantly
"We've never spoke about it actually, and I'd like to know what my parents have to do with this relationship after what, 8 months?" Mercy turned asking Michael
"Just feeling out some ground to get the new subject on the agenda" he laughed "Don't stress I know about the 5 year plan" he said grabbing her hand as she smiled back at him
"We need to get together Michael these two are definitely sitting back and letting life pass them by , see if we can start a united front and get them moving in the right direction" Jane said laughing
"Pattie and Nev are here?" Sam asked excitedly
"No Mom would have called me and he's answered the phone at home" she said
"You live together?" Jane asked still excited "Definitely need pointers" she said to Michael
"No we don't live together, but I asked him to drop some stuff off for me, I had in his car" Mery confirmed as she saw Sam's chest actually relax and smiled at his jealous, holding her hand out for her key back from Michael while she wondered if she was doing that to reassure Sam or put breaks on Michael, as he dropped the key in her hand, rolling his eyes "Sorry Guys bathroom break" she said jumping up as Jane called after her
"Wait for me" she said as she grabbed her bag
'What the fuck is he looking at' Sam thought as he looked at Michael's eye path and found he was watching Mercy walk 'Stop looking at my girl like that' he screamed in his head taking a sip of the water Jane had poured him without asking
The Bathroom
"I know he likes you" Jane said
"Who Sam?" Mercy asked not shocked just chilled "Yeah I guess I might have contemplated it had he not been with you, I don't roll like that"
"Thanks"
"What for?" Mercy said pushing the bathroom door open for Jane to walk in
"Being so honest" Jane confirmed "But" she said washing her hands and starting to dry them before carrying on as Mercy applied more lipstick "I need you to make that like crystal clear to him, that it will never happen, so that he can move on"
"He's got it crystal clear already girl, I am not that girl"
"But he thinks you are and while he has that in his head, we won't shift it" she said almost desperate "His Dad says he's like his Granddad on that"
"Like his Granddad?" Mercy asked intrigued by the comment
"Apparently, he was in love with one woman all his life, had his family and every thing, but still ended up with your Grandma and it left him wondering, if it was love or something else, more sinister I guess"
"Like?" Mercy asked not liking where this conversation was going
"I don't know, all I know is he said when he was up at your place he felt compelled to do, and he thought it might be some X that woman had put on the Evens men" she laughed
"Are you serious?" Mercy held onto the sink asking as her fists wanted to grow wings and fly at Jane's smug ashen white face and leave a couple of X's and O's on it, and show her that her sticks and stones were going to get broken for the hurtful things she was insinuating about her family
"No I mean because he fell in platonic love with you guys too" she backtracked seeing Mercy's face "I'm sorry if that sounded wrong it wasn't meant to" she said holding her hand out to touch Mercy's arm as she spoke
'Your sorry alright bitch, I know exactly what you meant and how you meant it. I don't care how nice you pretend to be, this is all in your get Sam plan, and you know what?, with no damn help from me' she told herself. It was written all over her face, she's got a new game just about to start and was she bothered about who was getting hurt, 'No remorse for casualties, this nurse bitch could treat herself ' she told Jane in her head 'How dare you stand there telling me you think all my relatives practice evil, and then smile at me as if I'm damn stupid' "I'm starved lets go eat" Mercy said her usual jolly self as they picked their bags up and made their way back to the table
Meanwhile the conversation at the table
"So Sam" Michael said taking a sip of his water he'd just taken his time to pour "Mercy and you had a spark or something a while back I hear"
"Yet to establish what that was my friend, there was a lot going on for us back then but, we're good friends now"
"Don't think on it any more, let me assure you, my friend" he said with a tone Sam didn't like "I'm all up in that" he said pointing at the door Mercy had just walked through, as the look on Sam's face went from listening to about to blow in seconds
"Listen to me..." he got out before he heard Jane's voice coming towards then "This conversation isn't finished" he said turning to smile at the woman walking back towards them
The Meal
Mercy saw the tension straight away but said nothing because she was so concentrating on her own shit that just happened, she sat down looking at Michael who had a smile on his face and knew Sam was bursting to say something as she quick peeked at him before Jane sat down.
'What the hell has Jane said to her now' he thought as he saw the thunder in Mercy's eyes, the thought of her being angry at him made his thoughts of anything going down with Michael disappear, "You alright?" he asked Mercy as she nodded a yes
"You alright?" Michael asked Jane, not really interested in the response just getting one back up on Sam for asking Mercy
"Yeah I'm fine" she replied as if nothing had just been said "What's everyone having?" she asked picking up the menu as she spoke "Sam you'll have a stake yeah?" she asked
"No he'd prefer the Salmon, after what 7 years, I'd expect you to know that" Mercy stated smiling at Jane sarcastically as Sam looked on
'Whatever this is Jane started it, it's her fight I'm not getting involved' he thought "Yeah I'd more prefer Salmon" he looked at Mercy saying as they smiled at each other, 'Not getting involved right' he thought as he saw that Mercy was glad that he had jumped on the bait to show this bitch a thing or two, he was hell bent on showing Michael he wasn't sitting as comfortable as he thought he was
"If I have the lamb we can share" she followed up with, not looking at a shocked Jane or pissed Michael as she looked for agreement in Sam's face 'You and your games' he thought as he smiled a smile that reached his eyes
"Yeah fine" he said looking back at Jane "I'll have the Salmon" he told her in answer to her question
"I'll have the lamb" Mercy told Michael even though he hadn't asked
Conversation was general after that Michael and Jane noting when Sam and Mercy shared their food, acting so naturally about it, they blushed "I'm stuffed" Sam said pushing away the knickerbocker glory Jane insisted they share "And I don't have a sweet tooth" he said quickly taking a segment of Apple from Mercy's plate as she hit after his hand with her fork, both of them laughing because she'd missed
"What are you two doing for the rest of the evening ?" Michael asked looking at Jane
"I'm back at barracks in like" Sam said looking at his phone "40 minutes, god time flies" he said jumping up "Mercy will you take me back?" he asked "What hotel are you at again?" he asked Jane
"Shell Corner" she replied
"And get Jane back to the Shell Corner please?" he added
"Yeah we can all go" she said getting up as Michael went to pay the bill and Jane pulled herself up pissed that she wasn't actually getting any alone time with Sam for all the travelling she'd done to get there for his one day of freedom in 7 weeks. They piled into the car and made their way back to Sam's barracks
"Back in a bit" Jane said jumping out of the car with Sam and walking away from it as they talked, Mercy watched as Jane played at getting close to him a few times, he'd step back and then laugh, she'd wave her hands in the air like she wasn't happy about it and take another step closer, then there was a long while they stood while she spoke and he stood listening, rubbing the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable , before she jumped at him and he took her off him before he started talking. Her head bowed and he looked towards the car as Mercy's heart jumped, they were talking about her, what were they saying about her, she narrowed her eyes as if she could actually see their lips moving or she had lip reading skills
"When are we going to look at putting that next level stuff on the agenda Mercy?" Michael asked breaking her concentration
"it's not happening Michael, you're not the one" she turned to him saying, angry for missing the conversation she couldn't hear anyway
"Tiny" she heard as she was about to get to the next level with this damn man as she spun round to find Sam standing there
"Dot what's up?" she asked getting out the car to an upset Sam
"I miss Granddad, You, Carolina all of it I need to go see him"
"Okay we can go do that when your back next" she said as he fell into her arms and just hugged her as she looked around for Jane "Where's Jane?" she asked aware that she should be the one holding him right now
"I can't do this with her any more, she was just talking about you guys being evil, working spells on my family and I saw the devil in her, I can't be around that shit"
"Okay but where is she?" Mercy asked again looking around as she held Sam, both unable to let go
"I got to go I'll be late" he said "On three" he told her whispering the countdown in her ear before puling himself off her "I..." he said looking up to see Michael before simply turning and walking back towards the barracks backwards looking at Mercy as Jane appeared from nowhere and ran to him, he held her for a short while before moving her to arms length as they spoke before he hugged her and she kissed him, which last maybe a second longer than the hello kiss, before letting her go and she came back to the car looking happy. Mercy didn't bother to ask what had happened she just left it right there and got back in the car to resume her conversation with Michael to find, she'd lost interest and just sat looking ahead in the drivers seat until Jane got in
"Drama" Jane said flopping into the car "He always gets dramatic when he's pissed at having to go back" she laughed "I love how needy he is" she said through her laugh
'Needy' Mercy thought 'He hates needy why the hell would he be needy?' "when are you back home Jane?" she asked
"Tomorrow morning so I guess I won't see you guys again for a while, Sam didn't know when he'd get time again hopefully it will be more than a day and we can get some together time" she said making sure Mercy understood the next time she was not invited as Michael looked over his shoulder at Jane with a smile on his face telling her he had the same agenda. Jane got back to her hotel, Mercy dropped Michael off and went home.
She rolled her eyes for the flowers Michael had put in her hall as she walked in and stood for a while wondering why this man felt the need to wonder around her house finding vases and the like, and where else had he been without her permission. She emptied her pockets into the dish by the door before taking her coat off and hanging it up noticing some serviette paper in the mix "What the hell it that?" she asked as she picked it up, trying to remember when she would have taken that and sub-consciously put it in her pocket as she opened it out to find a telephone number on it saying 'any time'. She stood searching the events of the day but could remember nobody she'd encountered that had left any sort of impression on her eventually smiling as she realised it must be Sam "Dot" she smiled grabbing for her phone
"Hello" she said when someone finally answered "Could I speak to Sam please" she asked the voice "Sorry Sam Evans" she confirmed and waited for a while before she heard some movement and then his voice on the phone
"You found my number then?" he laughed down the phone
"When did you get that in my pocket?"
"Just be grateful it's not naff flowers in your own vase" he laughed
"You're so romantic" she said sarcastically "What am I phoning for Dot?" she asked
"Tiny I just need you to do me the smallest favour" he said taking a breath "just tell me there's even the slightest chance, so I can do what my heart needs me to do, just the slightest chance" he begged
"I can't do that Dot, I just can't" she said aware this was fast turning into a serious conversation with what he was asking
"Can we spend the afternoon together tomorrow, just us?" he asked
"Come on Dot we've been here before, hold up, Jane just told me she didn't know when she was going to see you again, now you're telling me you got time tomorrow, not a good relationship move my friend"
"Come on Tiny I think we've established already, we are not friends"
"There you go playing your games again" she laughed
"Me games?" he asked "I've put me out there so many times, I catch my own ass with the kick backs" he laughed "So if you need to hear it after nearly three years of pursuit I love you Mercy Jones please love me back?" he asked
"Oh Dot I so love you but our..."
"There should never be a but in love Tiny"
"Okay Dot or Sam should I say I love you too and I always will, our lives have taken different paths and should we at any time meet and our paths cross in the correct order maybe we can revisit this connection we find ourselves having" she said "No but in there" she giggled
"I'll get you a pass to come on barracks tomorrow we can have some uninterrupted time to talk about this and other things, yeah?"
"Okay" she said "Goodnight dot I need my beauty sleep" she said he could tell she had a smile on her face
"You need to stop sleeping Tiny, I'll be fighting all the hours God sends if you get even more pretty" he laughed "But my boss is on the warpath so I got to go too, Goodnight" "1 o'clock" he shouted as he remembered they hadn't set a time, Mercy didn't say anything else she just set the phone down
The next day Mercy couldn't get dressed fast enough to go see someone else's man "What is happening with you girl" she asked herself as she almost skipped into the car to make her way to Sam. The closer she got the more she could hear her Mothers words in her ear 'The feelings they're not real' she reminded herself as she pulled up in the parking bay with visitors on, looking around expecting Jane to jump out at her and boy was she going to defend it. She went through the procedures to get in and found the biggest smile waiting for her when she finally came face to face with Sam
"Hi" he said giggling
"Hi" she smiled "What's with the giggle?"
"Every time I say that I hear 'Is that it'?" he smiled wider
"And you think that situation was funny because" she asked as he looked and saw she was serious just like that
"Just kiss me I don't have time for this argumentative stuff today" he said pulling her to him but she evaded his kiss as hard as that was and pushed him away from her chest "What?" he asked when he attempted to kiss her again and she moved
"Just two very small things" she said straightening her clothes as she spoke "Called Jane and Michael" she reminded him
"Tiny come on, they can find each other for all I care"
"Well I care about how I make people feel, most the time" she added smiling
"I'm glad you added that last bit because dinner last night was blowing stuff up all over the place, I don't like him by the way"
"Whoever he is" she emphasised, putting her hands on her hips "Your not going to like him Dot"
"And I know you didn't like Jane either"
"No she was rude, seriously rude"
"Behave you were never going to like her either, I could tell from your face before I even introduced her to you" he laughed
"Okay, she's not good enough for you, she's way too plastic and she really doesn't have your best interests at heart. You're some sort of trophy to her, she was willing to sit back and be second best, knowing you loved me and she's so damn needy"
"Wow you really haven't thought about her have you?" he laughed
"Seriously no, it didn't take five seconds to see all that, why has it been 7 years and you still ain't seen it?"
"Seriously" he said as he stopped laughing and Mercy thought she was in trouble about now, having gone too far "I've seen all of that and more, we've been together all that time but don't forget I've been in the Navy for 5 of those years and we were in different colleges before that and she just hangs on, and well, I've had nothing better come up till now and, I really didn't want to make the effort to look, Mom and Dad have taken to her and rather than bring someone new in I just let them have their fun" he said looking sorry for himself
"Did you ever love her?"
"Not that I remember"
"Well that's sadder than I ever thought" she said looking sorry
"Do you love Michael?"
"No I don't think I do, well no I don't, but 8 months is different to nearly 8 years"
"We've probably had about the same amount of time together" he laughed nervously "Come on let's cheer this party up" he said pulling her away with him "I'll show you around" he said as they went off on a tour around the parts of the barracks they could go around and stopped for snacks which they ate on the lawn
"Evans do one of your songs" one of the guys sitting with his girl shouted over to him
"Can you not see I'm with my girl here Dude" he shouted back pointing at Mercy
"Serenade" another guy shouted over
"Please Dot" Mercy mouthed and won the argument for the guys
"Just one song" he got up saying, as one of the guys got on his phone out
"What you singing Evans? He asked
" I'm gonna sing 'Thunder in the Rain' by Kane Brown for you" he said looking at Mercy as the guy on the phone passed the information on and the next thing the music was coming through the tannoy as Sam stood serenading her in front of all these people
"Her name is Mercy, and guys I'm gonna risk a slap and put her on the spot now, she sings, although I've not heard her yet, so I'm going to challenge her to get up here and do her thing" he said looking at a shocked Mercy as she tried to think of something to say to get out of it
"I'm" she started looking down at her hands as she thought 'You what?, you're never going to see these people again so pretend you're doing a gig and just do it call his bluff' she smiled to herself because the joke was on him she was going to do it and if nothing else show him up when she flopped "I'll sing something" she said opening her phone to find a song "I think I'll sing 'Superwoman' by Rebecca Ferguson please Sam" she told him as he shouted it to the guy with the phone hooked up, when she heard the tune she started singing, with her eyes closed opening them when she heard no boos and saw Sam smiling up at her "Thank you" she said to her clapping audience as Sam grabbed her hand and they went off to do their own thing
"That was not Jazz" he whispered in her ear "But you're voice is such a turn on" he said as they moved to somewhere more private
"Jane, Michael" she said "Consider that the off switch" she said to a puzzled Sam before he laughed, and so the day went on until suddenly it was 8 pm and time for her to leave
"Mercy" he said as he stood seeing her off "There were so many visitors here today for a reason" he said grabbing hold of her hands, staying silent for a while to get the familiar shock out the way "I'm moving out tomorrow" he said as his eyes found hers
"Oh" she said forcing a smile "I thought you were here for a year?" she asked
"I am, I mean I'm near the front line for a while sort of moving out" he said holding her hands tighter feeling the fear that went through her body
"Shit" she said as tears sprung to her eyes immediately "Why didn't you say?" she asked him
"I did, I am"
"God this is our Grandparents all over again without the baby drama" she said trying to get her hands free but Sam wouldn't allow it
"Don't fight me Mercy" he begged even his eyes were asking her this "I told you because, I know you're not going to believe me on this, but I care, if I had a choice on this you'd be it, my choice" he said pulling her to him . The tears streaming down her face so fast she could barely make out his face, her heart beating so randomly she was dizzy and breathless, she stood taking in his breath on her face the only feeling she could distinguish right now was his closeness 'Say it damn it' he thought staring in her face, wanting to, but unwilling to make that final move until they had told their truth
"I love you back Sam"
His heart stopped he counted several seconds before he heard it again and he felt he could move his body without leaving his brain behind, because everything he was needed to feel this, this right here, right now as he felt the fusing of the tips of their lips and they let their body do the rest as they found that safe place within each other and stayed there, having finally reached their place
"Evans" he heard, unsure how long someone had been calling him but everyone was looking at him when her turned to respond and smiled instead
"Sir" he said as Mercy pulled his face back to look at her and took his lips back to their place "I have to go"he said "Countdown" he whispered as this time she counted and then he let her go
"Be safe, write me" she shouted after him
"I love you Mercy" he said and he was gone
Mercy stood at the barracks feeling all sorts of wrong, how was she doing this to Michael, he'd done nothing to deserve this and Jane; yes she was rude but she was defending her love. And above all that how was she going to face Michelle and Daniel for their birthday bash thing, they were going to plan "Shit all kinds of wrong" but she really didn't need to be messing Sam's head up with any forget it messages, so for now she'd have to wear that double life she'd just made for herself. She jumped in her car and went home, Michael flashing on her mind in between Sam being heavy on her heart.
Three Months Later
Mercy
Christmas had happened, new year had passed, valentine's day was tomorrow and Sam had been to the front line, sending his messages back to Mercy, she'd cried for fear of him not coming back on so many occasions and seeing her grandparents life flash before her, she left herself weak and then after 14 weeks he was back in Ohio and they were talking about Jane and Michael again. "Sam" Mercy said stopping his rant on day two "I'm still with Michael, I didn't want to say while you were away but now your back" she said over the phone, waiting for his response
"That's fine I haven't said anything to Jane yet either" he came back with
"Hold up" she said stopping his flow again "I don't intend on saying anything to him" she added
"What do you mean?" he asked and the phone went silent
"I really need to see you to have this conversation"
"You mean you really need to explain to me what the hell we've been doing these past 14 weeks?"
"I've been, well I've been, keeping you alive, I guess"
"Keeping me ali..." she heard and the phone went dead
And she'd heard nothing else from him for the past 6 days, first she thought he just needed to cool down, then after day one she sort of thought he was going to turn up at her home fuming or worse still her place of work and by day four, she cried for losing herself a dear friend and maybe the love of her life. By day six she was at how stupid she'd been of course she loved him and what the hell was she doing accepting second best like her Grandma, God rest her soul, who had to die to be with the man she loved when the man she loved was waiting for her to freely give herself to him.
Granted she'd been busy with getting her new single out and teaching, marking, birthday party planning and finding time to give to Michael with all her emotions running wild, but there was a massive hole that Sam fitted into and she missed him just being on the other end of the phone, Skype or just a simple sapp
Day 6, three days before their joint birthday party and Mercy visited Michael the night before her record hit the stands, and broke things off with him, telling him she was in love with Sam although things in that department were way past the sell by date, but she needed to try, walked away feeling freer than she'd felt in a long while.
"You'll be back" Michael told her as she made to leave his flat
"I won't Michael" she turned back saying
"Touch that door and coming back won't be an option" he threated as Mercy looked at him for a long while before opening the door and walking out. She got home that night and decided to write a letter.
Sam
Sam was so mad about Mercy's revelation, he had to get off the phone, he spent the rest of the day cursing that Mercy thought so little of him, that she would even contemplate that he was joking about this. By day two he'd come to a conclusion that things had to change for him, he was mad at her for saying she wouldn't finish with Michael, but he was still sending letters to Jane every week and promising her he'd at least talk about things when he got time. 'What makes me any less fake?' he asked himself, smiling at himself for becoming the one thing his Granddad had always asked him not to be, fake. He got his phone out and did the one thing that he felt was right just then, called Jane "Hi, where are you, we need to talk" be blurted out before she got the chance to talk
"I'm in Texas but I can get to you for later tonight" she told him, excited that she'd finally talked him round and a wedding was on the cards, or a booty call
"I'll expect you tomorrow morning at Barracks" he said
'No Booty call then' she thought realising there was a massive pause in the conversation "Bye Love" she finally said unable to guess what this conversation was going to be about
"Bye" he said putting the phone down slowly
Day three and he was at the gate waiting for Jane to show, as soon as she did he signed out and went to meet her. They talked about everything, where they'd been, their ambitions, their dreams everything "You have to agree Jane we want different things" he said holding her hand
"Different thing, I thought we were making plans" she shouted at him before looking around the small café shocked at herself
"I'm planning" Sam assured her
"Do they include me?"
"No" he said not taking his eyes off her "Jane..."
"You do this every time Sam, we're off I cry, we're on, you cry and then we're on lets just skip all the tired crap and make plans"
"Sorry Jane I really mean it this time" he said looking guilty but relieved
"We'll see what your parents have to say about this shall we?" she asked taking her phone out to call them
"I don't even think you're aware of the fact that you're dating me not my parents, and the next time you rock up there you might be embarrassed"
"It's that Mercy isn't it?"
"Yeah its been Mercy since we met" he admitted "Sorry Jane"
He sat about for a while listening to Jane's begging and threats until he'd had enough of her constant hair flicking and neediness and got her a taxi back to her hotel, went back to his barracks and sat for the rest of the day calling his parents, on day four, to alert them of the new situation by Day 6 he decided he's given Jane enough respect and it was time to move on, he had a birthday party to plan and attend and a girl to woo, he sat down to write a letter