Ketchup Popsicle - Part 19

It turned out that Mr. Neason was pretty self efficient in running his business and didn’t really ask Sandra to do much for him except fetch him coffee and scoot out to fetch his lunch at a nearby cafe. Indira ignored her for the most part except when transferring a call through or dropping Mr. Neason’s mail off at her desk. Sandra would smile and say thank you but Indira was clearly on Jennifer’s side and to be kind to Sandra would likely be some sort of betrayal.

At home things were going well, except that Sandra missed Daniel so much during the day that she smothered him with kisses and hugs and tickles all night long to the point that he would try to wriggle out of her arms for some breathing space. Mike seemed to find it annoying as well, not understanding how difficult it is for a mother to be away from her child for ten hours a day. The smell of Daniel’s hair and skin was intoxicating to her. She couldn’t get enough of his soft skin against her cheek and lips. Daniel was talking more and more every day it seemed which made him even more enjoyable to be with.
"You’re going to turn him into some kind of mama’s boy." Mike said as Sandra played trains with Daniel on the living room floor.

"So what?" She retorted, "Better that than a cold, distant, emotionally stunted male."
Mike stood from the sofa and strode into the kitchen. She heard him open the door to get a beer. The conversation was over.
After putting Daniel in his crib each night, Sandra would make a cup of tea and sit on the front porch letting the cool night air wash over her. It was the only time that she allowed herself to daydream about Bobby and what might happen when Friday came and they would meet again after so many years. What would he think of her? She wasn’t the innocent girl that he once knew, full of curiosity and vitality. She wondered if he was happy with Jennifer, if he loved her. Of course he loves her, she told herself, he married her after all didn’t he? They were going to be leaving for Europe and then coming back to start a family. Sandra knew that whatever her feelings for Bobby, it was vitally important that she respected the fact that he was married, even if he was married to a woman with split personality disorder.

Friday came at last and Sandra donned yet another new suit, purchased again with the help of Marta. Daniel had clapped approvingly when she tried it on in the store and she felt sophisticated and beautiful in the straight cut red dress and coordinating black jacket, belt and shoes. She straightened her hair and wore it down with one side tucked behind her ear. Sandra went as far as applying just a touch of mascara and lip gloss as a finishing touch. She was ready for her reunion. Or was she? Butterflies churned in her stomach on the drive with Mike to the train station.
"You look amazing today Sandra." He said. "This new job is really doing you good. How do you like it?"

"It’s great," she replied. "It’s a lot easier than I thought it would be and the people are - nice." She had failed to tell Mike how she got the job. She didn’t think he would be jealous, in fact she just didn’t think he would care to know the details. It would take the excitement out of it for her if she told him she had found an old friend who actually thought she was dead and his father hired her on the spot and now they were going to be reunited after so many year and Mike would just shrugg his shoulders the way he did when he wasn’t really listening anyway. No, she didn’t want him to ruin the fun for her.
The anticipation was mind numbing. Sandra felt the way she did the day that Bobby was leaving. She promised herself that she would kiss him that day in case she never ever had the chance again.

She loved him so sweetly and even though her heart was breaking she knew that she couldn’t go through life without having him be the first boy she kissed. And so she got up that morning and went to Bobby’s house to get him. They walked around the neighborhood silently dragging their feet, both sad knowing it was their final hours together. They ended up at the park where Sandra led Bobby down the trail to the pond. With raw nerves and her heart pounding in her chest she reached up on her tippy toes and kissed him on his soft smooth lips. She held her lips there until he wrapped his arms around her like they had seen grown ups do in so many movies.
"I love you Bobby." She had whispered as they continued to hug.

"I love you Sandy." He replied, picking up a piece of her hair between his fingers. "I’m going to miss you so much I don’t know what I’m going to do." A tear ran down his cheek and landed on hers where it joined the stream that was already flowing from her eyes.
Now she sat at her desk tapping her pen, staring at Mr. Neason’s calendar where it read: Robert 4:00pm. She had a feeling the day was going to crawl and it did. Sandra faxed out contracts, emailed rate cards, fetched coffee and lunch and called home a few times to to hear Daniel’s little voice.
"Hiiiii," he would say muffling the phone with his lips pressed against the receiver. "Hi Mama! Mama’s at work!"
Finally 4:00 pm arrived and with it came Bobby Neason. He turned the corner and she recognized him right away. He was about six feet tall, his hair was dark and wavy and his eyes were still as blue as the midnight sky. She stood so quickly that she bumped her knee on the desk.

"Ouch - fudge," she yelped. Bobby stopped in his tracks. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a white shirt and silk tie. He had grown nicely into his prominent jaw line and was standing in front of her - a man.
"Sandy?" he said taking a quick step forward and then immediately correcting himself to a restrained stance, feet apart, jaw clenched. It was the same position he took when the neighborhood kids used the tease them, calling them boyfriend and girlfriend, making suggestive noises and gestures. She knew the stance, it was defensive. "It’s nice to see you again," he said extending his hand.

Sandra, surprised by his standoffish behavior, put her hand in his and wrapped her fingers and thumb slowly around his wide palm. "Bobby." She sighed. "It’s great to see you." She felt herself smiling widely and noticed his jaw loosen as he looked down into her face.

"Is my father in?" he asked dropping her hand and tightening his jaw again. "I have a meeting with him. And Sandy, please don’t call me Bobby, I go by Robert now. VPs of Ad Agencies aren’t called Bobby." The chill in his voice washed across her stinging like frost bite. She reacted as though he had slapped her.

"Well, I go by Sandra now that I’m all grown up too - so you can go ahead and not ever call me Sandy again okay?" Tears welled up in her eyes, she couldn’t stop them. "Go right in, your father is expecting you." Sandra sprinted to the washroom to collect herself, leaving Robert behind.