Ten-Dollar Bill

It took me ten days to figure it out and another three to push my boss into making a decision, or rather, make the right one. The city council wanted out of the contract so they could go to another company just waiting in the wings. One that promised it was cheaper and could do the work quicker.

Once I managed to get the name of the company I warned my boss and he took it upstairs. We exercised our own clause and dropped out. It was the city council that would be paying through the nose forever, when they signed up the new company. It saddened me that all they could see were dollar signs. If they would only spend a few dollars and do a bit of research, they'd know. But since we had now dropped out, it was none of our business.

*******

My secretary buzzed through to me. "Mr. Carter, there is a Mr. Robinson to see you. He doesn't have an appointment but he does say it's both personal and urgent."

I took a moment to ask myself if I knew a Robinson. Since nothing rang a bell, I told her to send him in. Karen opened the door a moment later and he walked in. The first sight of him simply confirmed my original theory: I didn't know this man. We met in the middle of the room and shook hands before I offered him a seat. I would have put him at six foot, blonde with very piercing blue eyes. The suit he wore wasn't expensive but wasn't off the peg either.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Robinson?"

He smiled before answering, almost like he knew the punch-line to the joke.

"I won't take up too much of your time, Nathan."

The smile got wider when he noticed my added confusion.

"I'm here on a plea from a very dear friend of mine."

No point in answering, he was setting his own pace, that was for sure.

"A few days ago I got a call from a dear friend. She's frantic and begged me to come here to talk to you, to set the record straight if you will."

The urge to look at my watch was almost overwhelming but I hung in there. It seems Mr. Robison is actually Martin Robinson: the man Dianne went to the birthday party with before parking his ass in the corner and going with the sleazy boyfriend for the evening. He spoke of that evening and I, like any male of the species, sympathized with him.

The friendship between Dianne and Martin fell apart soon after that incident and I could understand why. He left the company they both worked for and actually did well for himself. Three years later Dianne bumped into him in their home town. He kept it civil and she apologized for her behavior.

"A year later she introduced me to my now wife. I retaliated of course and made her godmother to our daughter. Hell, she carries a gun, Nathan; what better person to look out for her."

The pause was just so I could process everything and then we both burst out laughing.

"She won't tell anyone, but something made her change and for the better. She really is a better person, Nathan. I know; I grew up right alongside her for so many years. The person she is now isn't anything like that person at the birthday party; she told you a part of her life that she regrets, just like you asked her to, Nathan. Her only problem was that she should have expanded on that part of her life; she clearly didn't."

My secretary buzzed me again. "Mr. Carter, there is a police officer to see you."

I looked at Martin and he was smiling. "I bought back-up with me. Talk to her, Nathan. She's like this, so get used to it. Like I said, I grew up with her. She has finally made her choice, Nathan."

We shook hands and he left the door open. Dianne filled the door and I could see my secretary's head bob back and forth just waiting to see what would happen next.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but this office building holds strictly to a no sunglasses policy on their premises."

My secretary had a shocked look that I had spoken to an officer of the law like that. Dianne hesitantly removed her glasses; her eyes were all red and puffy. I had never seen her like this, not even in that alleyway, or the park bench a few days later. She really was afraid and so close to tears, I stood to one side and she came in.

"Karen, hold my calls for an hour, although if you hear me crying and saying, 'Please don't hit me with your stick again, officer,' then please come in taking pictures."

The laugh from inside my office came first. "Just watch yourself, Mister, I do carry a gun remember, and handcuffs."

"On second thought, Karen, make that two hours, I forgot about the handcuffs."

Although my secretary knew my sense of humor since we had been together for close to three years now, it did take a knock while I mourned Becky, she had only seen it slowly appear again over these last couple of weeks and it seems, faced with a police officer in my office and me being pan faced with my remark, she just wasn't sure what to think, so I closed my door to a very confused secretary. God knows who she was phoning in the building to share the gossip with. Dianne was sitting in an easy chair when I turned towards her.

"You brought out the big guns, Dianne?"

"I had to. I couldn't let this go on; you were ignoring my calls."

By now I was sitting across from her. "I was working out of town, Dianne. A lot went on in a short amount of time and I had to deal with it as it all fell apart. It wasn't me ignoring you, just me being forced to concentrate on the task I was given and find a solution that everyone could agree with."

"So we're okay, Nathan?"

Before I could answer, my boss walked in with Frank from Legal in tow. He took one look at Dianne and told Frank that he could go and thanked him for getting here so quickly. Now two people had that confused look and sat outside my office. All three of us heard the door click shut before my boss spoke again.

"So you're the lady that's pulled him out of his funk."

Dianne stood up when my boss spoke to her, she held out her hand and he in turn hugged her.

"Thank you, young lady."

She regrouped well, I'll give her that. "Well I think he is worth the time." Then they both looked at me. "Not sure if he's worth all this effort though."

My boss rolled with it as well. "Oh, he's worth it, trust me."

Feeling left out in all this, I did remind them that I was actually in the room since they seemed to be ready to dissect me. Both thought it funny. My boss left with a smile on his face, reminding me I was on company time, and then looked at Dianne and said the same since she was in uniform.

Dianne's hand went into her pocket, and then reached out to me, the ten-dollar bill sat snuggly in her palm. "I just came to hand him this, sir."

He looked at it and then us. "Well hug him, sort out a time you can get together outside of company hours and get on with it. Oh, and he has accrued a great deal of time off since his wife's death. So I suggest you two sit and work something out before Karen runs out of stuff to gossip about."

The door closed.

Dianne said, "I like him."

I only added, "I used to, until he came in here and spilled the beans about me."

She laughed and punched my arm; we hugged and kissed, yes kissed. We made a date for the following evening and, with sunglasses firmly attached, she left.

*******

We had dinner out three nights running. It was as we were sitting on the couch, both hugging a late evening coffee, that she mentioned that the weekend was just around the corner. Then, she announced that she was coming to stay for the weekend. However, she did have to leave Sunday afternoon for her start of shift.

"Nathan, I'm giving you two days to do what you need to do. I'm sharing your bed, Nathan, so that means you need to put away the picture of Becky. I'm in bed with you, not your late wife."

I knew for a fact that she had never been in my bedroom, so I was damned if I knew how she figured out I still had a picture of Becky on my bedside cabinet, but she did.

"Are you sure about this, Dianne? I'm more than happy with the pace we both seem to be setting."

"Let's be ever so slightly blunt here, shall we? You're a guy. Left to you we will still be doing this song and dance when I'm old and wrinkled."

With coffee finished, we stood and held each other, the music from the stereo was the only sound in the room. Her head rested under my chin and we just shuffled to the music. We simply held each other and shared body warmth.

"Listen to me, Nathan, I just know that I'm going to come across as cold and scheming, but I'm not. Honest to God, I just couldn't do that to you. But here are some hard facts."

She only paused long enough to kiss me before her head once again rested against my chest.

"You're a good-looking guy, Nathan; that's point one. You have just now finished your mourning period for Becky and are on the verge of joining that great big meat market out there. That's point two. Fate, life's circumstances, I'm not sure what to call it but we keep bumping into each other, Nathan. Add to that the fact that you saved my life, and it means I need to take a real serious look at you as a potential mate."

She was quiet for now, I just shuffled along with her to the music, I knew her well enough to know she hadn't finished.

"These last two weeks when I couldn't contact you made my heart hurt, Nathan. For some time now, men were nothing more than a penis, to be used and left when my itch was scratched. I haven't even seen you naked yet, Nathan, and I already can't seem to go a day without wanting to be near you.

"Martin says I have it bad for you. I've come to realize that I do and that's not survivor's guilt talking. So, bottom line, Nathan, you have this girl's heart and since you have now rejoined the world, I want to be in the front of the queue of women that are going to come after you."

We sat down again, a little closer and hand firmly in hand. She looked on the weekend as a test to see me, warts and all. For some time Dianne refused to talk, she would stare off at some point in the room and just stayed snuggled. Her mind was on something. I was just curious about when she would share.

"Nathan, I'm not that girl anymore. The woman you see now is who I am. You saved my life and that makes you responsible for me. Those were your words, Nathan. I'm placing my heart in your hands from now on. I will wait because believe it or not, I am patient, but I am sharing a bed with you this weekend. My soul desperately needs the skin contact."

I'm not sure if she heard or even felt my own heart beat just a little faster because Dianne Hobbs was in my arms. This so-called queue of women couldn't get past this woman and, just as Becky had when she was alive, Dianne now held my heart.

The clock chimed eleven and Dianne got up to find her coat. When she met me at the door I held out my hand. Dianne simply placed hers under mine, not sure why. The spare key to my apartment dropped into her palm, she looked at it and then handed it back. Now I was confused.

"There is still so much of Becky in this apartment, Nathan. I'm not saying you should cull the whole apartment, but you have two days to make some room for me, I need two drawers and closet space, Nathan. If you want, I will help you over the weekend to pack her stuff away. If you want to do this in stages then phone Goodwill and let them loose on Becky's wardrobe."

She was right of course, as I walked the apartment Becky was still in every corner of the apartment. I sat and cried that evening. I wasn't mourning Becky, she was a part of my life for eight wonderful years. But it was her own insistence that I move on that had taken me to this point. She would always be in my thoughts, but I understood that Dianne needed room in those thoughts as well now.

The next morning I phoned my boss and asked for a few days off. He laughed down the phone and told me he would authorize it and welcomed me back to the land of the living.

*******

Between Goodwill and my visits to the storage facility on the edge of town, two days went so quickly. I made another adjustment to the apartment as well and when Dianne came in about ten that morning armed with a suit bag covering her uniform and a suitcase on wheels, I pointed to her side of the walk-in and then showed her the small safe bolted into one of the many alcoves within her side of the walk-in.

"Open the door and put your six-figure code in the back there, Dianne. That's where your gun sits while you're in the apartment."

I didn't look while she did, it was her safe now not mine. She had the biggest smile when she turned and looked at me; her eyes shone, Dianne was close to tears. She even managed to mouth a "thank you" before she leapt into my arms for a hug. I left her to unpack and explore while I made us both a drink. She joined me in the day room some time later.

"Are you okay, Nathan?" Her hand swept the apartment before she added. "With all this I mean, please tell me I didn't come across too strongly?"

Shaking my head, I added. "Not really; in fact Becky was ahead of you, to be honest. She made me promise to move on. It just took you to remind me of why she told me I needed to for my own good."

For a long time all she did was stare at me. Her jaw seemed to tighten as though she had made a decision and with an almost invisible nod of her head she walked over to the wall and adjusted the temperature in the apartment.

"I need this, Nathan. Please take your clothes off; I need skin to skin contact."

Something made me pause and look really closely at her, the pain wasn't all that difficult to see. I was just unsure why.

"Tell me what's wrong, Dianne?"

She bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head. "Not yet," came from her lips almost in a gasp.

My step towards her made her take a step back, so I stopped. Eventually she made eye contact. "Please."

I was both worried and confused, eventually figuring that she was setting the pace here; it was best just to go with it and find out later. My shirt came off first, Dianne followed and removed her blouse; it was almost item for item from then on. A giggle did come from her part of the room and, when I looked over to see why, I smiled. She blushed as well. Dianne's clothes were nothing but a jumbled mess around her feet; I seemed to be folding everything I took off.

Her legs were toned and you could see her muscles flex with each adjustment of her stance. She seemed to favor the landing strip effect and the carpet sure did match the drapes. Her hips just looked so right on her frame, sculptured would perhaps describe that part of her better. The scar right where her appendix would have been showed me she had seen an operating table before.

The hint of a woman's six pack told me she was familiar with the gym and a reminder that she could match any suspect running from the scene, even weighed down by her own body armor. Dianne's breasts were small, they may have ventured towards a C cup but, in my opinion, she fitted snugly into a B cup bra. It was her nipples that made me stare and perhaps drool a little. I'm sure she noticed my mouth hanging open as well.

Her nipples seemed to like the attention I was giving them because they tightened as I stared. Her areola covered a good portion of the tip of each breast allowing both hardened nipples to stay fat and extend to what looked like a good half an inch.

The silence and my staring at her body instinctively made both her hands move to cover her breasts.

"When the chest fairy came calling I was out of town, she gave me what was left. I know I don't have as much up here as Becky..."

"Stop...just stop, Dianne. I'm not comparing and neither should you, for that matter. Fuck woman, don't you dare put yourself down about anything I see in front of me."

My eyes met hers and uncertainty still looked back. "I hereby issue a ruling; you don't ever get to wear clothes again in this apartment. You're just stunning, Dianne."

There were nine paces between us. The pocket rocket shot across the space and did a perfect impression of a limpet. All four of her limbs wrapped around me in perfect symmetry and we found time and space for a kiss as well.

Although we had become comfortable around each other, this morning was, of course, new ground. I had a naked Dianne in the apartment. We jointly made a late breakfast, sat around and talked and continued to move stuff around in what we now both referred to as our bedroom. However, me being human my body would give me away, what felt like every five minutes.

Dianne seemed to have her own built in radar, she could have her back to me or even be in a different room and know I had a hard on. The first time her hand enveloped my erection, she started slow movement with it.

Her eyes locked on mine. "I asked you to be patient with me and, being the true gentleman that you are, you have done just that. But you're also my man, Nathan, and no way are you going around with blue balls."

I had little choice but to follow her. She sat me down on the couch, pulled my legs apart and knelt between them. As her mouth dropped down on my erection I tried so desperately hard NOT to place my hands on her head to help. My mind sought out the name of every president. I even mentally recited words to every song I knew in my head just to hold off the inevitable. My mind and body learned a valuable lesson by mid-afternoon, when Dianne wants it and she has her mouth around it, nothing this side of an earthquake is going to stop her getting it.

By late-afternoon she looked at it and then looked up at me. "Does it ever stay down? Don't get me wrong here, I'm a girl after all, so I can match you. But damn, Nathan, I've only been here six hours so far and five of those I've had my mouth or hand around it."

I smiled before replying. "I'm starting to wonder if you see what I see in front of me, Dianne. You're hot and just so comfortable about your body."

"Momma told me once that a body is nothing more than a bag of skin wrapped around a skeleton."

I laughed; thankfully she joined in.

"Your momma was right about that. She forgot about the personality and feelings, of course, but she sure got the basics right."

Her stare was thoughtful, her head even tilted to one side slightly.

"Can we go swimming?"

I looked at both our naked bodies and we both smiled. "Not like this no, complex policy. Do you have a one piece?"

Ten minutes later I introduced her to the complex's pride and joy, our Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool. Since I had both towels, it was left to me to sort out which of the loungers to throw them on, while she dived in and set about tearing up a new record at freestyle. She sure had energy to burn. We met again at the shallow end: me ever so impressed and her panting. Even doing that much made her look so damned sexy.

We kissed, our lips parted and something about her made me pay attention. "Nathan, I love you." Her finger immediately came to my lips. "I said I love you because I do. Please don't answer until you're ready."

Although my heart fluttered, I was grateful for her finger on my lips. I know Becky wanted me back out there and looking at this woman in front of me that was a distinct possibility. Had I now found the yin to my yang?

The silence of the pool area reminded me we were alone; the roof was frosted glass so none of the apartments above us could clearly look down and into the pool area. I scooped Dianne into my arms and walked towards the deeper end of the pool, her arms went around me and the kiss on the cheek was a confirmation of her trust.

With the water now slightly above my own waist I gently let Dianne go. "I said I was going to teach you how to swim, so I think we should start your lesson."

She wore that confused look really well. "Okay!!"

I crooked my left arm and asked her to rest the top half of her body onto it; she did but still carried that confused look with her. My right arm came under her and lifted her so she was level and fractionally above the water.