The Long And Winding Road

Note: Thanks to my reviewers for all the great comments regarding the last chapter.

Chapter 44 - On Edge

Monday afternoon at TMD, JT walked out of the office and over to the concession area.

"Patrick's still not here?" he asked Amanda Davis, a university student who worked part-time at the theater.

"Not yet," she replied after handing a box of candy to a customer. "He hasn't called?"

"No. He's only about 15 minutes late. Not a big deal. But that's not like him. Half the time he seems to beat me in getting over here after school. Is everything okay out here? Need me to help out?"

"No, I got it covered, JT."

"Okay, in that case I'll be back in the office if you…"

"JT?" she interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"I think it's great that you're about to own the place. You practically run it already, so Sal's placing it in good hands."

"Thanks, Amanda."

"There's just one thing."

"What's that?"

"When someone new takes over a business, a lot of times they want to bring in all new people. They don't always want to keep the people who were hired by the previous owner. I know it's not like you're someone brand new coming in and taking over, but…"

"Relax, Amanda. I'm not promising that I won't hire some new people, especially if they're good and could be a big help. But it won't be because I'm trying to replace anyone. Right now, everyone here does good work and I can't imagine letting anybody go. Why rock the boat on purpose, right?"

"Good to know. Even working here just part-time, every little bit helps. College textbooks seem to get more expensive each semester."

"So I've heard. My girlfriend Emma's got a lot of scholarship applications out there, hoping to cut costs as much as she can for when she starts in the Fall."

At that point, JT heard the phone in the office start to ring.

"I'd better get that. Let me know if you need some help out here."

"Thanks, JT. Hopefully Pat will be here soon."

JT returned to the office and answered the phone.

"Thanks for calling The Movie Difference," he greeted as he sat back down behind his desk.

"I'm calling for James Yorke," a woman's voice answered.

"This is JT Yorke."

"I'm sorry, but I'm trying to locate a Mr. James Yorke."

"That would be me," JT said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh. Okay. I didn't know there were two of you. Or rather one of you that's actually two. Or is that two that's actually one?" She then giggled before continuing. "That must get confusing, using two names like that."

"Can I help you with something?"

"Like what?" she asked, sounding perplexed.

"Like who are you and why did you call me?"

"Right! I almost forgot. Sorry about that. You see, it's my first day on the job. It's very complicated. For example, the phones here have so many more buttons than my phone at home. And some of them light up and everything."

"Oookay. And again, you were calling because…?"

"Yes, well I was trying to reach James Yorke – which it turns out is you – because my boss, Nathaniel Yorke, wanted me to remind you that time is running out."

"For what?" JT asked, getting agitated at the prospect of a message from his estranged father.

"It seems that some time ago you agreed to vacate Mr. Yorke's house by the end of this summer. He said…Oh, let me look at what I wrote down so I don't misquote him. Here it is. He said, 'That boy couldn't find his own ass with a room full of mirrors and a map, so you'd better remind him not to waste these next few months putting off finding a new place to live. He has until the end of August and then I can sell that place and make a sizable profit.'"

"Nice," JT responded sarcastically.

"Oh my! I don't think I was actually supposed to tell you his exact words. It's just that I didn't want to forget anything and…"

"It's okay, uh…What was your name?"

"It's Bambi. I know what he said sounded awfully crude, but he's really very nice. Even though I don't have much experience as a personal assistant, what with being only 19 years old, he hired me just a few minutes into my interview. Did you know, he even said he doesn't believe in employee dress codes? He told me I can wear my skirts as short as I want and it won't offend him. Isn't he a sweetheart?"

"One of a kind."

"Hey, I just thought of something. He's Nathaniel Yorke and you're James Yorke – alias JT Yorke. Are you two related?"

"Unfortunately. Err, I mean, yes, we are. In a manner of speaking."

"Well it really is a small world after all, just like the song says. Anyhow, now that I've given you that message, I can go and take my break. It was nice talking to you."

"It was…an experience…talking to you too, Bambi."

"That's so sweet of you. It's no wonder you two are related. Have a hap-hap-happy day."

The conversation ended and JT put down the phone.

'Still thinks I'm dumb and, no doubt, worthless,' JT thought to himself. 'Not that he dislikes dumb, worthless people. They just have to be young girls in skimpy clothing. At least he's consistent.'

Now frowning, he looked at his watch. He got up from his chair and marched out of the office and back toward the concession area.

"Still no sign of him?" he questioned Amanda.

"Afraid not," she answered.

"If he bothers to show up, tell him I want to see him in the office."

"Will do."

JT quickly returned to the office and slammed the door.

Meanwhile, at DCS, Patrick was standing outside of the school's newspaper office. Having paced back and forth for several minutes, now he simply stood still in front of the closed door. Finally, he decided it was time to do what he knew he had to do.

He opened the door and found Liberty busily walking around looking over various students' shoulders as they sat working at computer terminals. She pointed out grammatical mistakes in one guy's work, told a young woman to re-work the lead paragraph of a story and advised another girl about a layout.

Patrick stepped into the room and Liberty soon took notice. She then returned to giving instructions about the layout before leaving the students and walking over toward Patrick.

"Hello."

"Hi Liberty. Looks like you're busy."

"Always, though these days more than ever. Not only do I have to make sure we continue to put out a quality paper, but I'm trying to train this group so they'll know what to do in the Fall since I'll no longer be here to guide them."

"I wanted to talk to you about last week," Patrick explained. "I know you haven't wanted to talk about it, but…"

"Hold on," Liberty stopped him. She then looked back at the other students. They were busy and not paying any attention to the couple, but she still felt uncomfortable. "Outside."

Patrick followed Liberty out of the room. She then motioned for him to shut the door behind him.

"This isn't the sort of thing you discuss in front of the help, Patrick."

"The help? They're fellow students, Liberty. Not maids and butlers."

"You know what I mean. Now, you were saying…?"

"I enjoyed the kiss. I think you did too, whether or not you'll admit that to me or even to yourself. But I'm not going to bother you about it anymore. Either you'll want to give me a chance or you won't, but it's up to you."

"It's not as though I haven't considered this situation," Liberty responded. "I've simply needed time to process everything."

"I can understand that."

"Yes."

"Yes what?" Patrick asked, confused.

"Yes, Patrick, I'm willing to give this a chance."

"Really?"

"Affirmative."

Liberty then surveyed the hallway for potential onlookers. Satisfied once she realized they were alone, she leaned in and kissed him.

"We should make plans," Patrick said with excitement after the kiss ended.

"Plans?"

"Do you want to go out to eat? No, of course not. It's still too early in the afternoon for that. Want to go for a drive or maybe…"

"I have to get back inside."

"Oh. Of course. I wasn't thinking, but under the circumstances, you can see why."

"Also, don't you have to work this afternoon?"

"Huh? Oh! You're right, Liberty. I was so busy thinking about having to tell you I was going to pull back, that I completely forgot."

"Then you'd better hurry on."

"I will. It's okay, though. It'll be cool, especially once I tell JT the great news about you and me. I'll call you tonight and we can discuss when and where we should go on our first official date."

"All right. That sounds like a good idea."

Patrick was about to lean in for one more kiss but before he could, Liberty had already started to walk away from him and toward the press room door.

"Goodbye Patrick."

"See you later, Lib."

"Don't do that, Patrick," she said, turning back around to face him.

"Do what?"

"Don't abbreviate my name like that. It doesn't sound right at all. So no Lib. No Libby. Or Libster. Or Libita. And finally, under no circumstances whatsoever, should you – if you value your life – call me…Libsy."

"Got it. Bye Liberty."

He then walked away with a smile on his face that he doubted would ever go away. At the same time, Liberty returned into the room, looking troubled, hoping she had made a good decision regarding Patrick.

Several miles away, Emma and Manny were sitting in the mall's Food Court finishing up an order of nachos they were sharing.

"So you're going this weekend?" Manny asked her friend.

"Sunday, if we get final confirmation that morning that Shane's up to having visitors. Otherwise we'll try for the next Sunday. After what happened last time, I don't want us to go only to find out it's not a good day. Not again."

"It will be fine. I'm sure of it."

"That's what JT says, too. He's the eternal optimist. He's also the one responsible for giving me the extra boost of courage to take this trip. So, have you heard back about any of those scholarships you applied for?"

"Nothing so far."

"Don't worry, Manny. It's still early. Plenty of time."

"What about you?"

"One so far."

"Emma, that's great! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I just got word in the mail on Saturday. Now it's not one of the big scholarships I put in for, but it's something."

"And like you said, there's still lots of time to hear back on some of the others."

"Exactly," Emma agreed.

"The hardest part of all is going to be deciding on a major," Manny said. "Not that it's absolutely necessary to declare one during the first year."

"I've been thinking about it. I have a couple of ideas, but nothing definite so far."

"Care to share?"

"English, with a focus on writing. Or maybe Communications. I go back and forth. It's funny, Manny. When I was a kid, I was sure I was going to be the next Caitlin. I was going to travel the world. Showcase all of society's problems and tell everyone out there in TV land what they should do to fix everything."

"And now?"

"And now, I'm older and – I hope – more realistic. Caitlin's way works for her but it isn't the only way. TV news shows are fine, but you never know if you're really reaching anybody that way. No matter how much new technology there is out there, I think the written word is still the best way to really reach inside of people and communicate a message."

"It sounds like you've been putting a lot of thought into this. But are you also sure that none of your possible plans are just a reaction to the fact that Ellie – and not you – has been the one working for Caitlin the last few years?"

"Now you're being silly, Manny."

"Just double checking."

"I'd sooner have a root canal procedure done through my nose than base any of my goals on the choices of someone like Ellie Nash."

"Hey, you don't have to convince me, although I think that last comment would certainly do the trick in convincing anyone."

"I should be nicer about her, I guess. She's JT's friend so he obviously sees good qualities in her." Emma then paused momentarily and looked as though she was contemplating this idea. "Nope. Dumb idea. Holding her in contempt works for me."

Manny laughed.

"But," Emma continued, "whatever I think about her is irrelevant when it comes to my wanting to use my abilities to reach people and make a difference. Got it?"

"Got it," Manny replied.

They were interrupted by the ring of Manny's cell phone.

"Hello?" she answered after retrieving the phone from her purse.

"Hi Manny," the voice of Sean Cameron responded.

"Hey!"

"I'll go throw this stuff away," Emma said regarding the tray with the now empty plate and empty cups. She carried it away, giving Manny a chance to speak on the phone in private.

"So…how are things?" Sean asked.

"Things are good. Emma and I are here at the mall."

"Oh. Then I'll let you go."

"No, that's okay," Manny assured.

"So…your new tire…Still okay? Not giving you any problems?"

"You asked me that this morning before class. It's fine."

"Right. That's good. So…I was thinking."

There was a moment of silence as Sean didn't continue.

"Okay…" Manny said. "Care to tell me what it was you were thinking about?"

"That was fun the other night. Not you getting stuck on the road with a bad tire. But going and getting something to eat afterward."

"Yeah, it was nice."

"I was just thinking that even though your other tires still seem to be in good shape, there's no reason to wait for one of them to go bad before we could go out again."

"You mean as in a real date?" she asked, somewhat surprised with the amount of hope in her voice.

"Not if you don't want to call it that. But yeah. A real date."

"I think that's a good idea, Sean. And yes, I'd like to call it a real date."

"That's good. How about tonight? If you're not already busy."

"Let me check my complicated social calendar," Manny said jokingly. "No, it's still filled with lots of blank pages. Pick me up when you get off work?"

"Your parents won't be a problem, will they?"

"They gave up on making a fuss long ago. Don't worry about it."

"Then I'll see you tonight, Manny."

"Yeah, it'll be fun. Bye Sean."

Emma returned with drinks in hand as Manny put away her phone.

"I brought us back some re-fills."

"Thanks," Manny said as she took one of the cups from Emma.

"Everything okay?"

"Everything's great, Em. Ready to walk?"

"Sure."

They left the table and the Food Court and, carrying their drinks, started walking through the mall.

Back at TMD, Patrick entered, feeling like he was walking on air.

"Afternoon, Mr., uh, what was your name again?" Amanda greeted him sarcastically. "After all, it's been so long since anyone here has seen you."

"I know, I know. I'm late. Hope it wasn't too crazy around here."

"No. Nothing out of the ordinary. You'd better check in with JT, though. He's been looking for you."

"Already heading that way. He'll be happy to hear about what took me so long."

Patrick approached the office and opened the door.

"Hey JT," he said cheerfully.

JT looked up from his work.

"Oh. You're here. I guess that means we can send home the search and rescue dogs."

"That's a good one. Sorry I'm late, but wait until I tell you…"

"Shut the door and get in here," JT said sternly. "I want to talk to you."

At the mall, Emma and Manny tossed their cups into a garbage can and then walked into a nearby music store.

"Emma?"

"Yeah?"

"If I tell you something, you won't freak, will you?" Manny asked hesitantly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just not sure how you'll react."

"Try me."

"I have a date tonight."

"Manny, that's great," Emma said enthusiastically. "I know you haven't felt comfortable about dating anyone new in a long time. Is that what the phone call back there was all about?"

"Yeah. We actually went out the other night. But that wasn't really a date. But tonight…it will be."

"I'm very happy for you, Manny. Why would you think I'd freak about something like that?"

"I thought there was a chance that it might bother you. Because of who it is that I'm going out with."

"Well who is it?"

"Sean."

"Shawn who?" Emma asked, not making the connection.

"Sean Cameron."

"Oh. Sean?"

"Yeah."

"Manny…I think that…"

"Emma?" a nearby voice called out, interrupting the conversation.

Emma turned in the direction of the voice and saw Ashley standing over in the next aisle of CDs. Ashley walked over toward them.

"Hi Emma."

"Hey Ashley. It's been a few weeks. How have you been?"

"Busy. Finishing up a couple of papers. And finals aren't all that far off."

"And getting in a few parties here and there?"

"Of course. Hey, sometime soon you need to come out to the campus and I'll give you the grand tour."

"Sounds great."

"Bring JT along too if you want. I'm sure he'll have plenty of commentary to offer."

"I will, though he probably already knows the campus better than I do, since he deals with the school paper about theater ads."

Manny, still standing near Emma and feeling uncomfortable, cleared her throat.

"Hello Ashley," she then said in a civil tone.

"Oh. Hello Manny. I was focused on Emma and didn't notice you there."

Emma, noting the awkwardness of the situation, decided to prevent a potential conflict.

"We're just doing some browsing through the shops this afternoon," Emma explained to Ashley. "Give me a call soon, Ash, and we can talk about getting together. I think for now, we'd better take off."

"I underst-…"

"Hey Ash, check out this one."

The three young women turned and saw Ellie, looking down at a CD in her hand, walking toward Ashley. As she started to hand the item to Ashley, Ellie looked up and finally noticed that her friend wasn't alone.

"I…Oh…Well…" Ellie, feeling caught off-guard by Emma's presence, had trouble completing a thought.

"Such great verbal skills," Emma said sarcastically. "And you're actually allowed to interview people? No wonder television journalism is in the state it's in."

"Hello Emma," Ellie said, getting angry and starting to feel more confident. "Here to harass the public with another useless petition, or just trying to set a new record for how many citizens are willing to file a restraining order to get you off their case?"

"Unexpectedly clever, Ellie. Hey, I hear they're having a sale on rubber bands at the office supply store on the other side of the mall. I know you'll want to hurry over there and stock up. Snap. Snap."

Soon Ellie and Emma were glaring at one another. Manny and Ashley looked at the two and then at each other.

"So…nice weather we're having so far this week," Ashley eventually said to break the silence. "Wouldn't you say so, Ell?"

"I agree," Manny replied when Ashley's words didn't break the standoff. "Nice and…um…calming. Right, Em?"