The Long And Winding Road
Note: The usual disclaimers apply, and remember that all episodes that came after "This Charming Man" aren't canon in this story.
Chapter 49 - Home Sweet Home
Weekday mornings inside The Movie Difference were generally quiet. With the first shows starting at midday, most employees didn't usually come in until mid-morning, giving owner JT Yorke plenty of time to deal with many of the behind-the-scenes aspects of the operation. This could include anything from making a dent in an ever-growing mound of paperwork to formulating new work schedules for the employees to holding or attending business meetings.
This particular Tuesday morning was no exception. As usual, JT was already in the building, though at the moment not in his office. Instead, it was Ellie Nash who stood alone in the office. She looked around this room that she had visited many times before and then turned her attention to JT's desk. She noticed something new – a framed picture sitting to one side of the desk facing his chair. Ellie picked it up to take a look at what was in the picture. She discovered that this was a photograph of Emma Nelson.
"That was taken last Christmas," Ellie heard a voice from behind say.
She turned and saw JT entering the room with two bottled waters in hand.
"That sweater she's wearing was a gift from her folks earlier that day," he added. "Nice picture, don't you think?"
Ellie looked back down at the picture in her hand.
"It's a nice frame," she replied.
"Yeah, that's good, too," JT said, not picking up on Ellie's intentional lack of recognition of the actual photo.
JT then handed her one of the bottles of water and she put the picture back on the desk.
"Thanks," she said as she sat down in the chair facing the desk. JT in turn sat down behind his desk.
"Thank YOU for meeting me this morning, Ellie. I had an idea about… Hold on. Now I'm starting to sound like some corporate type who's all business."
"Somehow, I don't think that will ever become a problem for you," Ellie assured. "JT, I have a little confession to make."
"Oh?" JT was curious.
"A couple of years ago when you started working here, I was positive you were going to be the worst thing that ever happened to this place."
JT laughed.
"Ah, the love of friends," JT then responded sarcastically. "Nothing can beat it."
"Okay, I may have exaggerated slightly," she continued. "But still, I hardly knew you back then. You seemed like a good enough mascot, but you didn't appear to me to be someone who could take working here seriously. Sure, you had good enough taste to work here as opposed to the theater in the mall, but I figured you'd get bored of this place within a month."
"I was just hoping I wouldn't get fired within a month," JT interjected. "I did fine with the first job I got assigned – selling tickets. But one night when two people called in sick and I was asked to cover for them behind the counter fixing and selling food…huge disaster. I could handle taking care of one customer at a time. Dealing with several at once? Wasn't a pretty sight.
"Until that happened, I never really took the whole food service thing too seriously. I actually ended up with a new respect for the kind of work Spinner did so well back when he was at The Dot. Talk about a scary feeling."
"But you didn't get fired. Or quit. And soon you were basically put in charge of customer service because – food serving disaster aside – you proved to be great at helping people out. Really listening to concerns and criticisms and trying to make things work so that every customer would have a happy experience. You even put up with me prodding you concerning movies I thought your boss should work harder to acquire."
"And the more we talked and got to know each other, the more the iceberg known as Ellie Nash started to thaw out," JT joked.
"Iceberg?" she repeated, pretending to sound offended.
"Kidding. But I hardly knew you either. What? Are you going to sit there and say you weren't cold to me at first?"
"No, I can't say that," she smiled. "That didn't last very long, though. I'm glad things turned out the way they did. Getting to know you has been nice, and you've become a good friend. Good for me, and certainly good for this business. And look at you now. The owner."
"How do you think I'm doing so far?"
"You're looking good," she said quickly, but then immediately realized that could be interpreted in more than one way. "Um…I mean, everything here looks good so far since you've taken over."
"I do what I can," he replied.
"I was a little concerned when I saw that you hired Spinner Mason, but chalk that up to a certain amount of inescapable cynicism on my part."
"He needed someone to give him a break," JT explained, "and I knew he could do the job. He's been here a couple of weeks now and we haven't had to call in the fire department once."
"You're happy?" Ellie then asked. "In general, I mean."
"Let's see…There's a woman I'm crazy about who happens to be crazy about me in return. I've got good friends. Work that I really like. Nah, I'm miserable."
Ellie laughed.
"But what's been going on with you, Ms. Nash? I haven't seen you around in over a week."
"Busy."
"No doubt. Now that you're back at the station full time for the summer, you must be real busy."
"Yeah. Caitlin's already got enough research work lined up for me to last the entire summer. She'd probably have enough to last me the rest of the year if I wasn't going back to school in the Fall."
"You get moved into the apartment okay?" he then asked.
"No problem," she replied.
"You should have asked me to help out, Ellie. I'll have you know I can lift three boxes at a time with both hands tied behind my back."
"Uh-huh. Well, as much as I would like to see you prove that, there really wasn't a whole lot to move."
"So how does it feel having your own place?" he asked.
"It's okay," she answered. "Nice. And cheap."
"Always a good combination."
"Now, I have a question for you, JT."
"What is it?"
"What sort of business did you want to talk about this morning?"
JT laughed.
"Yeah, Ellie, we did kind of get off track. Not that 'off track' is a bad thing. Anyway, I'm thinking about doing some advertising."
"Don't you already do that?"
"Print ads, yeah. But I've always thought we should do some TV spots. Sal never wanted anything to do with TV. He was one of those old-school types who still thought television was the enemy of film and the reason less people go to movies than in 'the good old days.'"
"As opposed to the greater number of crap movies out there making people not want to spend the ever-increasing ticket prices," Ellie added.
"Right. And even if he didn't think that way, I know he wouldn't have wanted to spend the money. So when I first decided to buy this place, one of my goals was to at least give TV ads a shot. And seeing as how you're my only friend in the TV biz…"
"I'm a researcher, JT. Important work, but not very high up on the corporate food chain."
"But you know people who would tell you things, Ellie. Things they might tell you before they'd tell a possible advertiser. Theaters that cater to the mainstream might be effective with ads in prime-time, but we need to get even more of the indies and oldies crowd than we've got now. After that, THEN we can worry about going after more of the mainstream crowd.
"I'm thinking a brief ad or two that would run a few times at night after the late news would probably be our best bet. At least to start. Maybe you could ask around. See if that's a good idea for a place like this, or if I'm way off. People at the station are sure to know who their main audience is for each part of the day."
"I can do that," Ellie responded. "Can't promise you I'll find out very much, but it's worth asking a few questions about demographics."
"Thanks. Once I have a clearer picture, I can start thinking more about making the ads. Should I write them myself, or work with a co-writer? Who would be the best person or persons to appear in the ads? That kind of stuff."
"I like how you've got a good idea but you're okay about not hurrying ahead with it until you know that it's exactly the right deal. I know it would be tempting to rush right into something major."
"You're right, Ellie," JT said. He then looked over at the picture of Emma. "But then there are also some things that you know have been right from the very beginning, and the time for waiting is over."
By midday, customers started showing up and business was running smoothly. With everything under control and his staff doing their jobs, JT was able to leave for his lunch hour. As planned, Emma picked him up and the couple set out on a mission.
"So, were there any online listings that you think would be any good?" JT asked while Emma drove.
"A few," Emma replied. "I made some printouts. They're in that folder on the back seat."
JT reached around and grabbed the folder.
"Don't worry," she told him. "There's a nice apartment somewhere out there with your name on it."
"I'm not worried, Emma. I'll just feel better knowing there's something out there that's ready for when the time comes."
"We'll find you something, JT. And, though I don't expect it to, if it seems like this process is going to take longer than we think, well then Nathaniel Yorke will just have to wait awhile longer before he can sell his house out from under you. You know I'd be glad to tell him so, too."
"My hero." He smiled, hoping his response didn't sound sarcastic. His hero – one of the many things Emma was to him.
Soon, while waiting at a stoplight, Emma turned and noticed that JT's eyes seemed to be focused in the direction of her steering wheel, and that he was specifically staring at her hands.
"Anything wrong?" she asked.
"Huh?" JT asked before he stopped staring. "No. Nothing at all. Just thinking. What's first on the list?"
"As it turns out there's a vacancy in the apartment complex where Caitlin Ryan used to live. Wouldn't it be funny if it turned out to be the same apartment?"
"It's not," he said quickly, "and we should probably skip to the next one on the list."
"How come?" she asked, looking to him for an explanation.
"Green light," JT said instead of answering.
"What?" Emma looked confused.
"Go," JT said, pointing toward the now-green stoplight.
"Oh."
"You wouldn't like the building," he explained as Emma resumed driving. "Trust me."
"Still waiting to hear the reason," she pressed.
"Ellie lives in Caitlin's old apartment," he told her.
"Ellie as in Ellie Nash? What did she do? Show up in her dark clothing, a scowl on her face and several voodoo dolls in hand, thereby putting enough fear into the landlord so that he'd agree to rent her an apartment just to avoid any trouble?"
"That's not very nice, Emma."
"I thought I was being overly kind," she said in a lighthearted but sarcastic tone.
"The way Ellie explained it to me, Caitlin's had that apartment for years and gets a good deal on the rent."
"But she lives with Joey and Angela."
"True, but apparently since every year or so something seems to happen and the two end up needing a little break from each another, she hasn't wanted to get rid of it for good. From what Ellie's told me, it's Caitlin's 'just in case' place for when they want time apart. So since she's not using it for anything but storage space these days, she agreed to sublet it to Ellie at a good rate. Caitlin continues to keep the apartment in her name, now at little cost to her. And it gives Ellie an easy-to-afford place to stay this summer without having to camp out at the Kerwin house."
"At least nobody can ever accuse Caitlin of not helping out charity cases," Emma smirked.
"Emma…"
"Sorry. Couldn't resist. Look, JT, this is going to be your apartment. Don't avoid looking at this complex just because I don't care for one of your potential neighbors."
"Emma, I'm counting on you spending a lot of time at whatever apartment we discover. You and Ellie anywhere near each other on a regular basis with me as the friendly referee who's always caught in the middle has all the makings of a bad TV sitcom. So let's forget about that. What's next on the list?"
"There are several openings at a complex only a few miles from TMD," she answered, motioning for him to turn to the next page in the small stack of printouts.
Within minutes the couple reached said complex. They were able to look at two vacant one-bedroom apartments, and then the manager urged them to see a third, larger place.
Once at the door to this third apartment, JT and Emma followed the woman inside.
"I'm going to look around," Emma said, heading toward a bedroom.
"This one would cost you a little more than either of the others," the manager told JT as they stood in the living room, "but it's also the biggest of the apartments currently available."
"I understand, Ms. Hobbs," JT responded. "Never hurts to look."
"Precisely. And even though it's outside of the price range you gave me earlier, think of how much extra space you'd have if you chose this one."
"But…"
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those pushy people you hear about who will say anything to rent out an apartment."
"That's good to know."
"But how about it, Mr. Yorke? I know that back in the office you said you weren't planning to make a final decision today. What can I do to help change your mind about that plan?"
"Nothing really. Look, Ms. Hobbs, this apartment search has just started today. I have the money, so I can afford the extra cost of an apartment this size if I wanted to, but I'd rather try to work inside that range I gave you. Besides, something like those other two you showed us felt more like the kind of place I could see me and…Those just felt more…home-like. You get my point, right?"
"Of course," the woman replied, though she didn't seem too concerned about anything he had just said. "Hopefully, though, as you look around you might still find this apartment suitable enough to end your search sooner than expected."
JT rolled his eyes. He realized this woman was determined to do her best to convince him to rent the larger, more expensive apartment.
"Whether it's an apartment in this complex or someplace else, all I'm doing today is looking around. There are still a few things…up in the air. Until that's taken care of, I'm not agreeing to anything."
"I see. All right. I won't press you. But don't wait too much longer. These apartments never stay vacant for very long."
"I know. Thanks for the warning."
"Now I should return to my office, but feel free to look around the apartment for awhile. Then when you bring back the key, you can ask me any questions you might have about any of the three apartments you've seen today."
"Will do. Thanks for the help."
The woman walked out the door, leaving JT alone in the living room.
'Yeah,' he thought to himself with amusement, 'it's a good thing you're not one of those pushy people.'
Emma, meanwhile, stood in the middle of an empty room, obviously intended to serve as the master bedroom. She smiled as she envisioned a fully furnished area. Curtains over the windows. Classic movie posters on one wall. Pictures of the couple on a desk in the corner. Queen-sized bed up against another wall. She felt her smile grow larger at the thought of the bed. She also noticed that this bedroom came with its own private bathroom.
She walked into the bathroom. Though she started to walk right back out, she stopped. Emma stared at the bathtub. Nothing out of the ordinary about the space. But in her mind she could see a shower curtain. And behind the curtain, warm water flowed. In her thoughts, steam gradually filled the room. But the steam didn't prevent Emma and JT from seeing one another as they stood together in the tub, water coming down on top of them. All other cares and concerns put on hold as they focused only on being together in every conceivable way.
"Emma?" JT called out as he entered the bedroom.
His girlfriend, still lost in thought, smiled but said nothing in response. JT then put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to reality.
Emma turned around.
"Hey," she said, pleased to see him. "Guess I was…lost in thought."
"Troubled?"
"On the contrary. Lost in good thoughts. Extremely good thoughts."
"So, have you seen anything you like so far today?"
"Uh-huh. I'm looking right at him."
"I like the way you think," JT said before giving her a brief kiss. "How about as far as apartments go?"
"Well, do you think you'd like it here at this complex?" she asked.
"I want to know your opinion, Emma. If you were making the decision, what would you decide?"
"We've seen some nice apartments here. Now something like this particular apartment…it has a certain charm, but seems a little big. At least for a first place. I know the smaller second bedroom could be good for storage. Or maybe as a home office. But, if it were my choice, I'd focus on finding something more along the lines of those one-bedroom apartments we saw first. I think we…or rather, I think you could create the same level of charm if not more.
"As far as space, there's a lot more room in one of those apartments than it might seem at first glance. It's all in how you use the space. And they really looked like they'd be cozy. Comfortable. Something you could make into a really nice first home. Not to mention that it would be relatively inexpensive. I know you want to try to keep your expenses reasonable. But you're the one who's going to have to live wherever it is. Maybe I'm wrong and you might change your mind and want to go all out."
"You mean like a penthouse suite in some fancy high-rise? Sounds fun. For maybe a week. I want something normal, Emma. Something that feels real. Something that…"
"Something that what?" Emma asked when she noticed that JT wasn't going to finish his sentence.
"Nothing," he replied, having caught himself before saying more than he was currently ready to. "I just like that we're thinking the same way about this. But we should keep looking, right?"
"Absolutely."
"I mean, I think it's a good idea to look at several more places over the next few days. Get a feel for what all is out there before making any kind of final decisions."
"Yes," Emma said, her eyes fixated on him. "I certainly like the idea of us feeling for things."
"Huh?"
Emma's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what she had said.
"I mean…getting a feel for things," she quickly added. "Apartments. Options. So many for you to choose from."
"Oh. Yeah. You're right, Emma."
JT then took hold of her left hand with his right.
"How about we return the key back to the office?" he asked. "Then we can check out the next building on the list. And after, if you got time, we can get some sandwiches and take them over to my office."
"Good idea. You know that I'm keeping an eye on Jack in the afternoon, but we've still got plenty of time."
"Remind me…when is it that you start that new part-time job?"
"Next week," Emma replied. "You know, most of it is stuff I can do from home."
"They'll have you in the office running the place before the summer's over."
"Yes, from stuffing envelopes to complete control in three months," she said jokingly.
"Don't undersell it, Emma. You're not just stuffing the envelopes. You're getting to help fact check the copy on some of those pamphlets and leaflets. That animal protection group's media relations department is lucky to have you. Even if they aren't paying you anywhere near what you're worth."
"Considering the group's budget, I'm lucky to get what they offered. Anyway, you know it's more than just the money. It's being part of the group. And the chance to have something on my resume besides my part-time job last summer of answering phones and taking down appointments at my mom's salon."
"Good point."
"JT, I really think you're off to a good start today."
"Couldn't do it without you, Emma."
As they walked out of the bathroom, Emma noticed JT looking at their clasped hands; his eyes once again particularly focused on her hand.
"JT, you're staring again."
"What?"
"Do I have some wart on my hand that can only be seen through your eyes?"
"Funny. And no, I'm not staring."
"Sure, whatever you say, JT. You can be so weird sometimes."
"And you wouldn't want me any other way," JT smirked.
Emma couldn't help but smile at his response.
"Sometimes, Mr. Yorke, I think you know me all too well."
"Too well, Emma? Not possible."
That evening, after leaving work for the night, JT found himself standing in front of a jewelry store. He'd looked through all the advertisements and circulars he was going to over the past few weeks. After days of thinking and examining the situation, he knew it was time. Since he woke up this morning he knew in both his mind and his heart that this was the day for moving forward.
A few years earlier, JT Yorke's top priorities included attaining school popularity and finding new ways to keep his friends laughing.
Times change.
These days, JT was far less concerned with his own status and more interested in increasing the popularity of his business. But he still liked to keep his friends – some he was even closer to nowadays than ever – happy.
Still, there was one part of his life that took precedence above all else – his relationship with a certain beautiful young blonde. It's a relationship that began as a friendship. A friendship that had been important to him throughout his life. But last year this best friend became the love of his life. From the start of their romance, he considered them a 'together forever' couple, knowing – and not caring – that he was probably breaking some unwritten Guy Code for even thinking in such committed terms.
He had a plan in mind for this coming Saturday night. But before then, one of the steps he had to take was to walk through the door and into this store. He paused for a moment. He knew that this was more than just the door to a shop. If he walked through this door, there was no turning back. Things would change – permanently – before the week was over.
JT grinned, and then he opened the door and walked on through.
He walked slowly into the room. His head moved back and forth surveying the various glass cases containing merchandise.
An older man stood behind the counter eyeing JT's every move. As JT moved closer to the counter, this man decided it was time to speak up.
"Good evening, young man. Are you lost?"
"Lost? No. Why?"
"Then can I be of some assistance?" the salesman offered, sounding skeptical.
"Rings."
"Have you anything in particular in mind?"
"Well, I was thinking the kind that go on your finger."
"What I MEANT was…"
"Don't worry," JT interrupted. "I've been studying my girlfriend's finger."
"That sounds possibly perverse and is none of my business."
"I mean that even though I don't know what size ring she'd wear, I can see her fingers really clear in my mind so I think I'll be able to get the right one without any hassle. The right ring that is, not the right finger. Not that I'd come here trying to buy a finger. Or that you would ever sell me a finger. Not that I'm saying you'd sell fingers to other people and just not to me. You wouldn't sell fingers to anyone. Sorry. I'm babbling. Nervous. I've never done this before. That is, I've never bought a ring before, not that I've never been nervous or…"
"Please stop," the increasingly weary man said to JT. "Sir, you DO realize that we sell only the finest jewelry. Most young people in your…situation…find it better to shop at a more common facility. I understand there are also good deals to be had at various local pawn shops, though I've never once stepped foot into such an establishment."
"What 'situation' are you talking about?"
"Isn't this friend of yours – to phrase it delicately – with child?"
"Of course not," JT quickly answered, annoyed and no longer feeling so nervous. "Just so you know, not every young couple getting married does it because they're pregnant."
"You're quite right," the salesman responded. "For instance, I'm told that in certain rural areas of the States, some couples get married when they're as young as 14 or 15 years of age. Of course, in most of those cases the two are already siblings to one another."
"And then there are some couples who are in love and know what they want," JT countered. "They believe in the relationship and in each other and are ready to take the step. Anyway, it's none of your business what the reason is."
"My mistake."
"Look, I'm interested in buying a ring. Do you want to help me out or should I take my business elsewhere?"
"My apologies if I offended you. It's merely that we don't often see many young people come in who aren't here because they feel they HAVE to get married. Though I suppose one must expect such happenings when located outside of an upper class neighborhood. Apparently you don't fall under the usual category, so I retract my opinion. I assure you this was nothing personal."
"I understand," JT said coolly. "Don't worry. I'm not going to take my business elsewhere. I figure an uptight snob like you who judges first and asks questions later – if at all – must not have much of a life outside of this building. So you probably know everything there is to know about every ring in the store and can help me out. Oh, and I assure you that this was nothing personal."
The salesman looked flustered. JT, pleased by this, figured that this was probably the first time someone had said anything in return to the judgmental man. He wished Emma had been there, positive that she would have been proud of his mini-rant, and probably wishing she had said it herself. But having with you the person you're buying a ring for would kind of take away from the surprise of the proposal, so he knew it was just as well that she wasn't there.
As for the proposal, JT also had some thoughts about her likely reaction.
'She's definitely going to be surprised. Maybe ask me if I've lost my mind. But then she'll give me that big smile of hers and answer the question. She'll know that I haven't lost my mind. This could be one of the sanest things I've ever done besides falling for her in the first place. I love Emma Nelson. Completely. And I want to marry her.'
JT then started to pay attention to the salesman, but found that he couldn't resist interrupting.
"By the way…You don't happen to have any good discounts right now, do you? Buy one, get one free? Maybe coupons?"
The older man groaned at the very idea, and JT struggled not to laugh.
'I knew that would bug him. But now…time to get serious. On to the ring hunt.'
Next Chapter – The Big 50th Chapter
Thanks to Maibe Josie, citysoundtrack, "# 1 Fan" YellyBelly, chadslover, Angelstargirl, GlamGlitterRockFabulous, YaDoDOBird and Dreamweaver244 for the great reviews and feedback.
Fun to learn about what some of you thought was going to happen in the office scene. Considering Emma's thoughts in this chapter, she probably wouldn't have minded such an…adventure…on the desk. Neither would JT, but I'd say that's a given. After all, even with the more mature JT of this story, you just know he's had his own thoughts of that nature. And since JT having such thoughts seemed more obvious, I wanted to instead show Emma having them in this chapter.
Also glad to know that people enjoy the side stories featuring Sean, Manny and Liberty. Though they didn't appear in this chapter, there will be developments in their relationships in upcoming chapters…without taking away from the main focus of JT and Emma, of course. After all, those two seem to have a lot going on as well. (Trust me, you don't know the half of it.)