The Long And Winding Road

Note: The usual disclaimers apply.

Chapter 56 - Lunch Hour

Carrying a brown paper bag, Liberty walked down the hallway of The Movie Difference toward JT's office just after noon on Friday. As she reached the office, she could see Spinner inside on the telephone with his back to the door. Rather than sitting behind the desk, he was seated in one of two chairs in front of the desk. In the other chair was a stack of papers.

"Yeah, I know you always deal with Mr. Yorke," she heard Spinner say. "Like I said, he's out today. But I can… No, he's gonna be out all next week, too. He's a busy guy, you know, and… No, I'm not saying he's too busy to talk to you. Look dude…err, I mean sir…I've got everything under control here. You just tell me what you're wanting to do, I'll talk to Mr. Yorke this weekend and call you back Monday. Okay. Good. I'll get back to you. Bye."

Spinner then hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

"You handled that well," Liberty remarked.

Surprised, Spinner turned around and saw Liberty standing just inside the room.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" he asked.

"No, I was being serious, not sarcastic," she clarified, walking further into the office.

"Oh. Thanks. Survived another phone call. I think."

"At least based on hearing this side of the call," she continued, hoping to encourage him, "it sounded like you didn't lose control of the conversation."

"Maybe. Hi, by the way."

"Hello Gavin."

Spinner moved the stack of papers from the other chair to a free area of the desk then pointed to the chair.

"When I was talking with JT yesterday," Liberty said as she sat down beside Spinner, "he mentioned that he had asked you to assist him while he was…away."

"Yeah," he replied. "Yesterday morning. I told the others who came back to work today not to get mad that he asked me to help out because he must be all high on painkillers if he really thought I could do this."

"Nonsense," she interjected. "Sure, there are people who have worked here longer and could handle things, but JT is feeling very vulnerable right now and you're someone close that he trusts. He can concentrate on getting well knowing that you're minding the store, so to speak. How are things going?"

"Today we're back in business," Spinner explained. "But the main thing yesterday was answering phone calls, getting the bills mailed out and canceling a bunch of meetings he was supposed to have yesterday and today. And I had to do something about this room. Papers and stuff was all over the floor. And there was…you know…on the carpet."

"Blood?" Liberty asked softly.

"Yeah. I think I got it all up. That's the last thing JT needs to see when he gets back."

Liberty nodded. Though such thoughts were unavoidable, neither of them was comfortable considering all that happened in this room two days earlier.

"And that phone call a moment ago?" she asked following several moments of silence.

"A supplier," he answered. "Only wanted to deal with JT. And JT didn't want me telling folks that he's in the hospital."

"Why not?"

"Some dumb idea JT's got that people won't do business with him if they know he got hurt here. Reality is that he must be the only one who can talk these folks into doing things the way he wants. I don't know how he does it. I know they're not listening to anything I tell them."

"I'm sure everything is going better than you think," she said.

"See, Liberty, I had a lot of jobs after The Dot burned down. None of them lasted. And I'm not dumb – I know JT was taking a chance hiring me. I wanted to make this one work out. And it's gone okay these last few weeks. I haven't screwed up. But all this happened. And yesterday I agreed to help with this office stuff. And now I don't know what the hell I'm doing half the time. AND it's only been one day."

"Did you do everything JT specifically asked of you?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Then don't worry. You've accomplished what was absolutely necessary. Just keep doing your best with the rest. I'm sure that's all JT wants."

"I guess," Spinner said, not entirely convinced but ready to change the subject. "Anyway, what's up?"

"I've got a few items in here," Liberty answered, looking down at the bag in her lap. "Several CDs and DVDs belonging to the ex who shall remain nameless. These are things that, over the course of our relationship, were left at my house. Unless he wants to start paying me a storage fee, I don't want any of his belongings taking up space in my home.

"I saw his car parked at Ryan's a short time ago, so I knew he wouldn't be here now. That's not to say I intend to go out of my way to avoid him, but I'm just not ready for casual public dealings with him. So, I thought I'd leave these things here. I don't know if there are individual employee lockers here, or if you want to simply dump them in a Lost and Found box. I just want to be rid of it all."

"No problem," Spinner said. "You're being real cool about it. I mean, after me and Paige split last year, I think she tossed out whatever stuff of mine she found that was still over at her place. Who knows? Maybe she burned it. I just know I never got it back before she left for university. Hey, if you want, go around and put that stuff in the desk. I don't think he's coming back before JT does."

"Oh?"

"He called over here yesterday to find out what the plan was. When he found out I was covering for JT, he started this lame fake coughing. Said he'd be too sick to work here for a few days."

"Probably pouting about not being asked to take over," Liberty commented. "Plus, he was less than thrilled when he first learned JT had hired you, so I'm certain he's unwilling to take even the simplest of direction from you. By the way, why are you sitting on this side of JT's desk as opposed to behind it?"

"His office. His desk. I'm just helping out, not taking his spot. That sound too stupid?"

"No," Liberty replied, impressed. "Not stupid in the least. Do you think there's room in the desk for these things? It's not much, but it might be in the way."

"I don't know. I haven't had to get anything out of the drawers."

Liberty walked back behind the desk and pulled open the top drawer. As Spinner continued to talk, she was surprised at what she saw in the compartment.

"Pens, papers, nameplate, that picture of Emma Nelson, the phone…it was all still on the floor yesterday morning. I just put everything on the desk. Whatever I don't have to use I'll leave there for him to sort out when he gets back."

When Liberty didn't say anything, Spinner looked over at her and saw the shocked look on her face.

"What is it?" he asked.

Liberty looked up at Spinner and then back down at the open drawer.

"After the events of the last several days," she finally spoke up, "I didn't expect anything else could startle me this week."

She then lifted up what she had discovered. It was the small box holding the ring JT intended for Emma.

Several miles away at Memorial Hospital, JT was sitting up in bed with a lunch tray on his lap. He stared down at the tray, looking troubled. His thoughts, however, were interrupted by a knock to the open door. He looked up and found Ellie standing in the doorway.

"Feel up to a little visit?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied. Though he didn't smile, he was relieved to see another friendly face. "Come on in."

"I spoke to Emma on the phone earlier today," Ellie explained as she entered the room. "She said she had some things to take care of and that if I was free around lunch time, it might be a good time to come by."

"She was right."

"How are you feeling, JT?" she asked as she walked toward his bedside.

"Let's see…a psychotic deadbeat cut me open just for kicks and almost killed me," he replied coldly. "How do you think I'm feeling?"

Almost immediately after the words came out, JT realized how he sounded. He hadn't meant to snap at her.

"I'm sorry, Ellie," he said. "It's not you. I'm glad you came over to visit. I'm just in a mood today. Doctors and nurses were in and out of here this morning, all of them asking me how I'm feeling while they're busy poking around and making me feel worse. I'm just so tired of all of this."

"No apologies necessary, JT," Ellie said gently. "You didn't offend me…or even surprise me. If you were your usual upbeat self this soon after all you've been through, THEN I'd be alarmed. We can talk about a million other things besides your condition."

JT was glad to see that she wasn't mad.

"No," he said, sounding and feeling calmer. "I want to tell you, so you're not stuck guessing. Actually, I'm feeling better today than I did yesterday. Just not as good as I want to be."

"You expected to be doing cartwheels by now?" she questioned him as she sat down in the chair to his right.

JT shrugged.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" she then asked.

"The area where I got…well, the stitched up area…it's starting to swell up. The doctor said that's normal and won't stay like that for too long. But for now, it just hurts like crazy, especially when I take a deep breath. Guess you could say that's another reason for my less-than-sunny disposition."

"I am so sorry this happened," Ellie said. "The person that did this to you…do you know if he's still out there somewhere?"

"I was told that the police got him when he finally showed back up at his home yesterday morning," JT replied. "That's about all I know. Part of me wishes they'd fill me in on every detail. And part of me is relieved that I haven't heard anything else about the specifics so far. If it's okay, I don't want to think about him anymore right now."

Ellie noticed that JT's mood was starting to go down again.

"Of course," she responded. "You're looking good, I think. All things considered."

"It's been a lot better not being hooked to the IV. And my appetite is slowly coming back. Or at least it was until they brought this tray of…stuff…in here a few minutes ago. They call it lunch, but I have my doubts."

Ellie looked at the contents on JT's plate and could understand why he would question the legitimacy of the food.

"What's that brownish lump?" she asked.

"The nurse said it was mashed potatoes with gravy on top, but I can barely get my spoon into it. It's like a rock. Or maybe that's a shell and there's a creature hiding inside. Maybe it'll move across the plate when we're not looking.

"Now, the yellow glop next to it is allegedly creamed corn, but I think Emma could make a good case that it's something toxic. I've eaten a lot of different things in the past. Things Emma would swear could actually PUT me into a hospital. But this stuff?"

"Take my advice," Ellie offered. "Stick to the jello. Even they can't mess that up. Um…that's assuming that the blue stuff next to the alleged corn IS jello."

"It is," JT said. "It's moving around, but in a very jello-like way. You're right that's it's probably my safest bet."

"So aside from the disgusting nature of the food, it looks like they've otherwise been taking good care of you."

"That's true enough," he agreed.

"I see you've even got some decorations in here," she said, pointing toward the bunch of mylar balloons tied to the table to JT's left. 'Get Well Soon' was written on each.

"Yeah, aren't they great?" JT said with an increased enthusiasm. "Liberty, Sean and Manny brought those in here yesterday."

Ellie was relieved to see that, for the first time since she arrived, JT was smiling.

"Any idea when you get to leave this place?"

"I bet they'd like to keep me here through the weekend, but I'm pushing them to let me get out of here tomorrow. I think I have them convinced I'll be fine. But I'm sure they're going to want to poke around some more and run all sorts of silly tests first to make sure it's okay for me to go."

"JT, I hope you don't expect to be up and around like normal right away just because you won't be in here. You're going to have to do something you normally don't do – take things slow."

"No worries," JT said. "Everyone from doctors to nurses to Emma has been saying that I'm still going to need to rest and take it easy for awhile. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have a few days to just rest and relax."

"But it's not the same when you're forced to," Ellie added.

"Yeah, my mind is telling me it's time to get back to all the things I've got going on. To pick up where I left off on Wednesday. My body disagrees."

"It still needs more time to heal."

"I just hope it's not going to take too much time."

Ellie nodded. Though it pleased her to see that some of JT's usual positive attitude was returning, she continued to notice how he seemed slightly on edge. To her, it appeared as though he was having trouble finding his comfort zone. She knew that all of this was understandable given what he had been through. Still, it was her hope that her friend can have as much success weathering the emotional aspects of this trauma as he has with the physical.

The young woman cared a great deal for JT and their friendship. In a way she was now relieved that she'd never admitted the occasional thoughts she'd had about him. She was sure that nothing would have come of such a revelation except a likely strain to their friendship. Especially after the events of this week, she was just happy he was alive and that she was still able to have conversations with him.

And though she wouldn't have believed it even a few days earlier, Ellie actually found herself believing that Emma was likely the best person to help get JT through this time of recovery."

"I think it's time to put this food somewhere else and hope it finds its own way to the elevator," JT announced, interrupting Ellie's thoughts.

"Let me get that out of your way," Ellie said. She then took the tray and placed it on the floor beside her chair and out of JT's line of vision.

"So tell me, Ellie Nash, what's new with you? And keep in mind that I'm low on energy. So if you feel like making something up that's extra exciting in order to keep me awake – even though it's a total lie – I won't hold it against you."

Ellie saw that JT was smirking and she couldn't help but laugh.

Several days after JT's mother's death, Emma had suggested that JT have a copy of his house key made. She thought it would be a good idea if she kept this spare key just in case he ever accidentally lost his. That was over a year ago. Now, his key, wallet and other personal items were at the hospital. Just after noon on this particular Friday, Emma stood at the doorstep to the Yorke house. This would be the first time she's ever used her key.

Though she didn't like to be away from the hospital for very long, Emma knew there were things that needed to be done. She wanted to pick up the mail as well as make sure there were no urgent messages on his answering machine. She also needed to get a change of clothes for JT. It was possible that he would be able to leave the hospital on Saturday. But regardless of the day, the clothes he was wearing at the time of the assault were ruined, so this was as good a time as any to make sure he had something to put on when the time came to check out.

As Emma entered the house, she noticed how cold and desolate the place seemed without JT in it. Sure, she'd been alone in these rooms before. One time she'd even dozed off on his bed while he was out buying groceries. But this time was different. Right now, JT was in a bed several miles away. And until his release, Emma felt uncomfortable and out of sorts when she was anywhere other than at the hospital.

There was plenty of mail, but most of it was junk. She figured that most of his important mail goes directly to TMD. Still, Emma knew JT liked his junk mail. He could usually find something about the various ads and notices that he deemed worthy of humorous ridicule. Thus, she left everything in a stack on the bar. Emma decided she would check the answering machine later. Right now, it was time to pick out some clothes.

Walking into the bedroom, she noticed the unmade bed. Then she remembered that he had started his day early that Wednesday morning so he could go to the cemetery before work. For the first time, it occurred to her that his day had begun in a place for the dead and ended with his own near-death. She quickly tried to put that morbid coincidence out of her mind as she proceeded to make up his bed.

Afterward, she opened up his closet. As she tried to pick out a shirt, she spotted something up on the shelf toward the back. Hats. Probably half a dozen. Emma wasn't surprised to find them, though. She knew that JT was never one to get rid of anything. She recalled how, around the time they first entered Degrassi, JT started wearing hats more often than not. By Grade 9, however, he'd stopped wearing them and, instead, went through what Emma liked to teasingly refer to as his "unfortunate big hair phase". She smiled as she remembered being glad when, after months of this, he decided on some middle ground between the short haircut of his younger days and the out-of-control look he had adopted for awhile.

Her thoughts soon returned to present-day and the joy she felt that he was all right and would soon get to come home. However, the thought of how close she came to losing him still hit hard. She knew she would never forget the feelings of panic and terror that filled her two nights earlier.

Emma soon selected a shirt and started to shut the closet door, but then she stopped. Reaching back into the closet, she pulled out one of JT's old hats. She placed the dark green object on her head and then with both arms she held his shirt tightly against her body, wishing that it was JT that she was holding onto at that moment.

Back at TMD, Spinner watched as Liberty opened the box, revealing the ring inside.

"Nice rock," he observed. "A lot fancier looking than those plastic ones you find as prizes in the candy boxes."

"I knew something like this was inevitable some day," Liberty said, "I even said as much to Emma more than once. But I had no idea JT was already thinking along those lines."

"JT? Why do you think it's his? Could be that somebody lost it and he was storing it in there until…"

Spinner stopped, suddenly remembering how he caught JT looking at the box Wednesday evening. He recalled that when he entered the room, JT quickly put the box into the desk and wouldn't even give a hint about what it was. Only that he would be taking it home that night.

"Never mind," Spinner then said. "Yeah, that's his all right."

He noticed the sad expression on Liberty's face.

"You okay?" he asked. He knew she wasn't, but those were the only words that came to his mind to say right then.

She placed the box on the desk and then looked across the room, focusing her attention on the carpet and picturing the blood that had been there.

"How could someone come in here and do that to him? He has his faults like anybody else, but he's one of the good ones. Things like this aren't supposed to happen to good people. I suppose that makes me sound naïve, but it's what I believe. To think that JT had this secret that he was undoubtedly very excited about…this offer that he couldn't wait to make to Emma…and then he very nearly lost the opportunity. Very nearly lost everything."

Liberty took a deep breath.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "It's just been a very difficult week. I'd better stop. If I keep this up, I might start crying. That's not something I do…at least not in front of anyone."

Spinner was then surprised when she suddenly let out a slight laugh.

"Do you realize, if Pa-…if the ex who shall remain nameless…if we were still together right now, he'd mistakenly assume I was upset by the idea that JT wants to propose to Emma and not to me. You saw for yourself the other night. He'd never believe that my seeing this ring brings to mind all that was almost lost, and how good it is that JT's still here among us and will still have the chance to make that proposal to the one he loves."

"Well, you brought his crap back for him," Spinner remarked, "so you don't have to think about Mr. Nameless anymore. If he didn't get what you were about after however long you two were together, to hell with him."

"Coarse wording," Liberty responded, "but you're absolutely right."

"Think one of us ought to take this box over to JT?" he asked.

"No. I don't think we should even mention the fact that we found it. Let's leave it in the drawer. When he's ready, it'll be right where he left it."

Liberty placed the ring box back in the top drawer. Then, not wanting Patrick's belongings in the same compartment as JT's ring, she removed the various items from the bag and put them in the bottom left drawer. She then put the empty bag in the trash can in the nearby corner

"All right," she said, once more looking over at Spinner. "I've accomplished what I set out to do. Also, you seem to have things here running smoothly enough given the circumstances. I should be on my way."

"Had lunch yet?" Spinner asked.

"No," she replied, surprised by the question.

"Now that the phone's stopped ringing for awhile, I'm calling Lem Sung's to place a delivery order. If you like Chinese and wanna stick around awhile…"

"Sure," Liberty answered with a slight smile. "I think I'd like that."

Later, with clothes in one hand, Emma locked the front door to JT's house with her other hand. She then put everything in her car and was soon backing out of the driveway. As she left, she was unaware that in a parked car across the street from the house, someone had watched her leave.