VI
The next day, as her father had warned, Steve and Blair's team was buried in work, going over the proposed deal as it stood at the moment, and fine-tuning everyone's responsibilities and assignments after they arrived in Los Angeles.
She tried to call Jo when they broke for lunch around 1pm, but Blair only heard Jo's voice through her voicemail. Twice more she tried, but with no luck. She would try to talk to Jo again that night.
But the talk never happened.
For the remainder of the week, Jo had left their condo before Blair got home, and stayed out until long after Blair had gone to bed. And each night, including the night before she departed for the west coast, Jo slept in the guest room. And each night, Blair cried herself to sleep.
The team's commercial flight to Los Angeles was leaving JFK at 10am, Blair ready to leave their home by 6am, head into the Warner Building, where the whole team would then go by bus to JFK.
After her first coffee and getting dressed, Blair again peeked in on Jo. This time Blair didn't announce her arrival, but quietly approached the bed, leaned over, kissing Jo on the cheek. This time, the brunette was out cold.
Holding back the tears, Blair kissed her again. "I love you, more than anything, Joey. It's killing me that I'm leaving with us not speaking. But I do love you..."
Shortly after noon on September 6th, Pacific Time, Blair, Stephen, and their team, were in Los Angeles, Blair arriving with a heavy heart.
That Friday
In New York that day, Jo Polniaczek also was working with a heavy heart. One of her great flaws was her anger, and in holding a grudge that could last for quite a while. This day, she was in the Precinct, doing mostly paperwork, which she loathed, but once a week, at least, officers had to make sure all their reports were typed up and turned in.
She knew she had been unfair to Blair. Knew it in her soul, and it hurt her knowing that they literally hadn't spoken in four days. It gnawed on her all day. She was sure that between the time zone difference, and the nature of Blair's work in Los Angeles, that it might be a while before they did speak.
At their lunch break, Nathan tried to reason her.
"Look, so you two had a fight. Big deal, Jo", he reasoned. "People in love fight all the time. It ain't the end of the world."
"I know that, Zid", she said crossly, "but I deliberately stayed out late-even when I had to work the next day, and slept in the guest room just to avoid talkin' to her. I was such an asshole."
"You'll get no argument from me on that observation, Jo P", he said bluntly, the woman looking sharply at her. "So are you gonna simply register for classes while she's gone, just to show her, or are you gonna grow up a little about this, and let things cool down?"
Nathan, Jo knew, dearly cared for her as a friend, and he wasn't the type to bullshit a friend. It's one of the things she loved about the guy-they were a lot alike in that regard.
"No", she said glumly, "I ain't gonna register. That would be an even bigger asshole move, wouldn't it?" Her partner nodded somberly. "I don't even know if she'll be workin' on the weekend, but I sure as hell will-gonna be working extended hours through next Thursday. So I doubt we'll talk before that."
"That may be", he conceded, "but at least leave her a phone message, and let her know that you still love her."
Jo took the bait that Nathan had deliberately thrown out. "Zid, she knows I love her, more than anything in the world."
"Does she?", he countered, leaning across the table, eyes boring in on Jo. "In her shoes, I might wonder, because you avoided her the whole fuckin' rest of the week until she left, Jo. Jesus, that's not exactly a confidence-builder for Blair, now is it? In her shoes, I'd be damn worried about all this, especially with the fact she could be gone for a while."
Jo lowered her eyes, not being able to meet the glare of her friend and partner. Nathan went on, more mildly this time. "Look, sometimes you gotta say a few things to your spouse or partner when things ain't going right. Sometimes saying 'I love you', and 'I'm sorry' can go a long way. You know that. It ain't like you two don't have a history of fightin'", he pointed out bluntly. "You need to at least leave a message on her voicemail, sayin' those words to her. Will it make things all warm and fuzzy again? No, it won't, but it will reassure her that, yes, you do love her. Sometimes, Jo", he concluded, "you gotta tell the love of your life that no job, nor no negotiations, nor no promotion is more important than than they are. You gotta remember what's really important."
10pm, Friday Night, September 7th
Once again, Blair was exhausted from the second full day of talks between her Warner team and the team from Trans-Pacific Shipping, as they worked on the merger. It was long, sometimes tedious, sometimes acrimonious work, and both sides would leave exhausted, but willing to see it through.
She had left her phone off most of the day, simply so there would be no interruptions during their work. Arriving back in her hotel room just after 10pm, she turned her phone back on. There were several voicemails, the last one ending up being the most important.
"Heya, Princess", Jo's recorded voice said tentatively, "it's just me. Had another long day at work, and I'm sure you did too. Look, Blair, I am sorry for how l let things slide after our argument the other day. That was pretty shitty of me, but sometime I can't keep The Bronx outta the woman, ya know?"
"I just wanted to tell you that..." Blair could hear Jo's voice break a little. "That I love you more than anything in the world, and that ain't gonna change. I hope we get a chance to talk before too long, but both of us have long, busy days ahead, so it might not be for a few days.
"I don't want you to doubt how much I love you, even if I can be such a bonehead at times." Blair softly laughed in hearing that. "Ain't nothin' ever gonna change that fact. I hope you can forgive me, and I hope we talk soon. I miss ya, Princess."
The tears came again, but these weren't as bitter as the ones that had plagued her all week. Simply hearing those words from Jo had lifted some of the doubt that had settled in her heart since their argument.
After ending the call, and putting the phone down, she smiled again. "I love you, too Joey..."
Blair left Jo a voicemail the next night, but after that, both of them had been too busy to do so. Both were still feeling unsure and hurt from what had ensued, but both also were feeling a little better about things as the new week dawned.