Chapter Six "Just One Look" (Mid August)

(Song Suggestion: "Just One Look by the Hollies)

Peter Venkman

One early evening I snoozed at my desk until I heard a pleasantly female voice inquiring of Janine," Oh. Excuse me. This, this is the Ghostbusters' office?"

Immediately, I rose from my seat to view the owner of this musical voice. A gorgeous well-dressed lady with curly brown hair appeared, asking Janine, "I don't have an appointment, and I'd like to talk to someone, please."

"I'm Peter Venkman. May I help you," I bolted over to Janine's desk like a flash of lightning and introduced myself, using the most resonant voice I could to sound professional. Standing in front of the lovely lady with high cheekbones and a charming smile, I felt butterflies flutter around my stomach. There was also imaginary sweet instrumental music playing in the background, too.

"Is this what love at first sight feels like," I contemplated inwardly, " this is a first."

"Well, I don't know. What I'm about to say may sound a little unusual," she said cautiously, eyeing me.

"Oh, that's all we get day in, day out around this place. Come into my office, Miss," I questioned.

"Barrett, Dana Barrett," she answered, following me upstairs after I indicated we were going to the lab with a wave of my hand

Egon, a couple of minutes later, attached electrodes to different parts of Dana's forehead to watch her brain waves as she told her story. I avoided gazing at her gorgeousness for extended times because the last thing I wanted to appear was creepy to her. This woman made me feel captivated, like my first crush or something, and I felt enchanted by her.

As the two eggheads spoke, I noticed that Dana looked dubious like I usually was.

"Oh gee, she isn't a believer of the paranormal, just like me," I wondered, sounding like a love-struck middle school student to myself. Like me, Dana didn't believe in the paranormal.

"But there are some things we do. Standard procedures we carry out in a case like this often bring us results," I stated at first, then standing behind Dana. At that time, I gave my business partners a pleading look in which they knew at once that I wanted to impress her.

"Right, go do that," I consented in an authoritarian voice, nodding.

"Tell you what. I'll take Miss Barrett back to her apartment and check her out - I'll go check out Miss Barrett's apartment, okay," I misspoke and groaned to myself. The other two Ghostbusters present attempted to conceal their laughter but failed.

"Don't scare the pretty lady away," I thought, admonishing myself first and my friends for chuckling at me," at least Janine didn't hear it; she would never let me hear the end of it."

Janine Melnitz

When Peter returned from Ms. Barrett's an hour later, he was in an extremely talkative mood. About her.

"It's not just a crush, Brooklyn. I'm in love," he confessed while searching for the other two Ghostbusters in their offices.

Scoffing, I didn't reply at once.

"I don't have time for this, Dr. V. Do you see the stack of invoices I have to input," I demanded, pointing at them on my desk.

"Peter's in love with a new woman every other weekend," I thought drily but chose to avoid his comment.

"Ok, Venkman, what did you find out," Ray strolled from his office to Peter's to inquire about his progress on Miss Barrett's situation..

"Dana Barrett is a cellist with a fabulous apartment at Central Park West and lives alone. She is smart as a whip and witty," Peter recalled, fondly, "I flirted with her, and she wasn't receptive."

"No, Venkman, about her case," Dr. Stantz groaned exasperatedly," Did you find anything in her fridge?"

"Raymond, I'll admit we started roughly, but.."

Brrriiinggg!

I gratefully answered the phone when it rang,not desiring to hear his story any longer.

"Damn, it was a wrong number," I groaned to myself as I hung up the receiver and went back to inputting invoices into a spreadsheet.

"The old Venkman charm didn't work, huh," Stantz questioned, guffawing.

"No, but it will. I will wear her down; that's what I do," My semi-balding boss responded, both confidently and arrogantly.

"Miss Barrett seemed pretty no-nonsense," the heaviest Ghostbuster indicated skeptically, " and she seems pretty tightly wound."

"Dana won't be uptight when I am done with her, boys," Peter bragged, chuckling, " she'll be loose as a goose. The instant I saw her, I fell in love with her. Did you see how beautiful she was?"

"Love at first sight rarely occurs," Egon refuted, " Instead, it's a strong pull or attraction that makes someone particularly open to the possibilities of a relationship."

"I want to learn everything about Dana, what she likes, her dislikes. I am madly in love with her," Peter continued, ignoring his friend. His voice was wistful.

"You could call her," Ray suggested, " how did it end when you left?"

"Dana kicked me out," Peter admitted, good-naturedly, " I asked for a goodbye kiss, but she pushed my face out of the doorway."

Giggling, I could see this classy, well-dressed woman becoming frustrated with Venkman and removing him out emphatically. Regrettably, I cackled too loud, alerting Peter.

" I thought you had work to do, Brooklyn, and you didn't have time for my inane story?"

"Well, I don't, but you neglected to mention that she had to remove you from her apartment. Way to go, Ms. Barrett," I retorted sarcastically.

"Zing," Ray yelled, howling with laughter, and I heard Egon join in with his deep throaty chuckle.

"Just you wait, Brooklyn, I am going to sweep this woman off her feet," Venkman promised.

"Ok, whatever," I agreed, shrugging because I had too much to complete.

Therefore, I focused back on my tasks at hand, the invoices. The money came in regularly now that we received some media coverage, generating more work for me, but I didn't mind.

I had a copy of one of their articles on their recent bust on Chinatown in the New York Post and proudly displayed it in a case on my mantle. I was happy they were getting recognition for their hard work cleaning up the City of the supernatural.

Wearily, I climbed the stairs searching for Egon at the end of my shift two hours later, but he wasn't in the landing, kitchen, lab, or shared bedroom with my big brother.

"Oh. Iggy is on the roof," Ray finally said after he noticed me exasperatedly hunting for the physicist for a couple of minutes.

"Gee, thanks, big brother. I have only been exploring the whole second floor for him after a very long day," I mumbled contemptuously.

"Are you two going out on a date," questioned, feigning innocence.

"No, I want to thank him for giving me an invitation to the lecture because now I can finish my research," I clarified.

"Uh-huh," Peter replied ominously, "how are you going to do that, Juliet?"

He indicated that I would make out with him or give him a sexual favor.

"Are you in high school? What the hell is your problem," I demanded, narrowing my eyes and tapping my foot on the floor, "Everything isn't about sex, Peter Venkman!"

"It isn't?" Venkman played along, watching me grow more furious with the situation as it played out. Spinning around, I went up the stairs to the roof, ignoring Peter's immature comments.

"Good thing there aren't any memories here," I sighed sarcastically, opening the door to the fresh air from the roof. I thought about the first time Egon and I watched the stars after eating Chinese food there the night after our first kiss.

Although it was August, it had cooled down a little, probably to 75 degrees, and it felt a little refreshing from the cold air conditioning. The wind blew my frilly double-layered skirt up in the front, almost revealing a little more than my legs as I felt the strong breeze on my upper thighs. I held it down as I took a deep breath enjoying the fresh air. Gazing around to find Egon, I didn't see him.

Luminous gold stars lit up the dark sky and demanded my attention, so I craned my neck upwards. It had been a while since I had watched the stars. For a moment, I took in the beauty of the sky.

"Egon," I called, walking as I searched the roof for the physicist until I found him sitting cross-legged near the edge of the roof. He had a lit candle in front of him, but his hands stayed on his knees. Egon was meditating. Intrigued, I watched him in the candlelight repeating something in a whisper, but I couldn't make it out.

The physicist was so serene that I didn't want to disturb my ex, knowing that he worked diligently using this method to keep his focus on his life goals. One of his therapists had suggested it earlier this year, and Egon was vastly resistant because he didn't believe in that type of New Age thing. However, I insisted that he try it and I participated with him a couple of times. I was pleased to see that he had continued practicing it and I recalled one of the magnificent times we meditated.

On the roof during the early Spring, Egon laid a blanket down on the rooftop, and he sat in front of me. I brought three vanilla pillar candles that I set in between us, and then lit each. Wendy had experience with meditation, and she guided me through some sessions together when I needed to relax. This morning she offered how to guide Egon through a session.

"Close your eyes. Then take a deep breath in and slowly exhale out," I instructed, crossing my legs and putting my hands palms up on my knees.

Appearing uncomfortable, Egon peered at me after he mimicked my sitting position.

"Love, close your eyes, please, and breathe deeply with me," I reassuringly whispered. I observed him for a few breaths to ensure he was participating as I guided him.

Together, we inhaled and exhaled simultaneously for a few minutes. My lover's anxiousness disappeared.

"I am going to take your hands for this next part," I cautioned, opening my eyes to clasp them.

"Ok."

"Wendy taught me a few different mantras, but let's start with the one that you know. Om, it means "It Is, Will Be, or Become."

Holding hands and meditating together, I felt delightfully tethered to Egon. A bolt of energy passed to me through his hands, and I gasped like I was receiving an electric shock. I opened my eyes quickly, and he did the same.

"What the hell was that?" I wondered, shock written all over my face.

"Uh…I don't know..Wow," my boyfriend gulped, experiencing the same sensation that I did as we stared at each other in stupefaction.

"Let's try again," I whispered eagerly, and he nodded readily. Egon's brown eyes were twinkling like the stars.

"Om."

As we began breathing in simultaneously, our thoughts and feelings merged into one as if we were "mating," as Egon would call it. It was as if a fiery energy and love passed through us, one to another as we meditated. I found myself bending forward until his face grazed mine delicately.

Egon's nose caressed my own, taking me back and causing my breath to catch in my throat. However, he ceased moving, setting his forehead against mine as we chanted together, holding hands with our eyes closed. My mind was on our connection and the extreme love I felt coming from him and, in return, the love that I gave him.

We both relinquished each other's hands and pulled back from each other. Randomly, I noticed that I had some tears falling down my cheeks that I hadn't expected. I felt overwhelmed with the power of our link, and Egon appeared to be as well.

We were still breathing in tandem, and I felt like he was looking through a window into my soul. If that moment taught me anything, it was that Egon Spengler was my soul mate.

Next, he took my hand in his, then kissed the top of it. As Egon let go of it, he quoted a line from Romeo and Juliet,

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite."

Tears filled my eyes, as I remembered the moment and the closeness that I felt to Egon at that moment.

Instantly, his brown eyes unlocked, and he twisted his body to his right side to see me standing beside him. A half grin appeared on Egon's face like a child viewing a vibrant rainbow after a storm for the first time, and it shone as bright as the stars above when he saw me.

"Hi Janine," he greeted, stretching his body to the right so he could make eye contact, "I was just thinking about you."

"Strange," I thought.

Next, Egon inquired if I wanted to meditate with him.

"Uhm, no. I wanted to... Thank you for convincing Dr. Richardson to give me a ticket to the lecture," I blurted out, unable to keep it in.

"Who?"

Egon's eyes were shut again when he spoke, but I think I saw a tiny smile creep upon his lips.

"Was he trying to be sneaky," I pondered, grinning myself and feeling butterflies in my stomach as I watched him.

"Dr. Richardson from Columbia? The head of the computer science department and according to him a friend of yours," I added, sassily.

"Sit down with me, please, Ms. Melnitz."

As I sat down next to him, Egon disregarded my comment with his eyes still closed.

"Janine, this paper has caused you a tremendous amount of stress lately. I am worried about you," he admitted, pausing for a second and opening his eyes again.

"Egon, I came up here to…"

"Your aura is all red, Janine. You need to unwind because your spirit is depleted; come on meditate with me for five minutes," he urged, with a sexy half grin on his lips.

"I can't, Ray said he would take me home in a few minutes," I recalled.

As if on cue, Peter and Ray's boisterous voices came from the top of the stairs to the roof, resoundingly,

"Egon and Janine sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G First come love, then comes marriage..."

On the spot, Egon's face turned into a scowl, and he snarled in command in their general direction," Leave."

Both of his friends left right away without any protestations. Sighing, Egon apologized for their behavior and the intrusion. Peter interrupted our conversation again by yelling,

"Hey Juliet, it's almost eleven. Ray and I are going to a friend's concert in Brooklyn."

"Yes, Dr. V. I'm coming," I screamed, annoyed.

"Not in Ecto One, you aren't, " the psychologist answered, slapping his knees hysterically.

"Hurry up, Juliet," Peter yelled after he ceased laughing.

Egon's adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed heavily, appearing crestfallen by my pending departure.

With a shy grin, I thanked him for his help in procuring a ticket to the lecture.

"You are welcome, Janine. I am glad I could help. I know you have been working tirelessly on it this summer and I overheard you tell Ray and Winston it was over the McIntosh. Dr. Richardson teaches a class on computers," he confessed, with a boyish grin.

"Yes, he was very nice. Quite the sweet talker, too," I teased gently.

Arching an eyebrow, Egon wanted more information.

"Your friend stated that he understood why you were so enamored of me," I informed, anxiously, watching the candle.

"It is true," Egon confirmed, " I believe I spoke on the subject for most of the time while we had lunch a couple of Sundays ago. Don't be embarrassed. I am the one who should be regarding my actions…with you."

Blushing, I lowered my face to the ground then remarked,

"I am going to have to find a way to thank you. You have no idea how much you have helped me with this paper."

"You already did," my ex responded, " and I couldn't be happier."

"Brooklyn, we have to go now," Peter screamed.

Grumbling to myself first, I then wished Egon a good evening with a wistful smile.

"Good night, Janine. Sweet dreams," he replied, returning my smile.

Egon Spengler

When Janine left the rooftop to catch a ride with Peter and Ray, I basked in happiness on the roof. I was pleased that my love was genuinely happy with my assistance. One by one, I blew out the candles and allowed them to cool off. As a loud bang came from the garage, Ecto One shot out of it like a bullet, indicating that Peter was piloting the vehicle, and I pondered the universe's complexity for a while longer.

Eventually, I felt sleepy and decided to go inside to check on my spores, mold and fungus collection. I was satisfied with my next step in winning Janine back but desired to devise a more solid scheme.