No Team To Root For (8)
IX On Friday, May fifth, Barrett Jessop was seated in his private of-fice with a copy of Ellery Queen's 'Cat Of Many Tails' on his lap and Jodi Bartless' telephone number on his desk. His focus of atten-tion constantly jumped back and forth from one to another. And for the tenth time in as many days, Barrett picked up the phone to call her. But each time he did, he was never able to get past two rings, finally slamming the receiver down in frustration. He could never come up with a valid reason for calling, so for fear of sounding stu-pid, he always hung up before she answered. He also gave up on reading the Ellery Queen. His mind kept wandering and he found himself reading the same line over and over, unable to comprehend one word. "Dr. Jessop." said Marie on the intercom. "You have a call on line two." Marie was very efficient when it came to screening telephone calls. In the course of one month, no less than a dozen laboratory representatives would call Barrett trying to swing over his account by boasting about their technical expertise, their superior scientific products, and their incredible service. There were also insurance salesmen with their bargain premiums and investment brokers with exotic investments ranging from a gold mine in Colorado to an oil well in Texas to a breeding ground for kangaroos in Australia. It was often difficult to know whom to talk to and whom not to talk to. So certain strict guidelines were set up, and Marie always knew exactly what they were. "Hello." Barrett nonchalantly picked up the receiver. "Hello, Dr. Jessop. This is Jodi Bartless." Barrett sat up so fast he almost dropped the telephone. "I told you I would call if I had any problems --- " Barrett's heart began to pound. He imagined the outline of her beautiful nipples as they protruded through her blouse. "Dr. Jessop?" He wondered if she was wearing a bra. What color were her pant-ies? "Dr. Jessop?" Maybe she wasn't wearing any underwear at all! "Dr Jessop. Are you there?" She raised her voice. "Uh --- uh yes. Yes, I'm here." He put the book on the desk and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "Did you hear me?" asked Jodi. "I --- I think we have a bad connection." "Can you hear me now?" Jodi was yelling. "Yes. Yes, that's much better." Barrett's heart rate returned to normal. "Well," she continued to speak louder than she had to. "I said I wanted to make an appointment." "Of course. Let me get the appointment book." He went to the front desk and took the book back to his office. Normally Marie made all of the appointments, but Barrett would handle this one himself. "Okay. How about six o'clock next Wednesday?" On Wednesdays Marie left at six. This was a perfect time, thought Bar-rett, they would be alone. "That sounds okay --- as far as I know. Yes. I'm sure next Wednesday would be fine." "Okay. See you then --- oh, and you can call me Barrett." His hand began to shake and he had trouble writing her name in the ap-pointment book. "All right, Barrett. See you next Wednesday." Barrett liked hearing her call him by his first name. He replaced the receiver on the cradle and returned the appointment book to Marie, who was too busy filing to notice the recent addition to the schedule. Then he went back to his private office again and sat down behind his messy desk --- the desk that his wife hated. Too bad, Janet! He picked up the piece of paper with Jodi's telephone number on it, folded it up and put it into his shirt pocket. He knew he had to get his mind off Jodi and on to something else --- any-thing! So he opened the Ellery Queen. It was futile. There was no way he could concentrate. He glanced at his watch. It was 5:00. Barrett knew he'd spend most of the weekend watching the clock and the calendar wondering if Wednesday would ever arrive. And when it did arrive --- then what? * On this particular Wednesday, Marie, who was always on time, would be late. She had called Barrett at home last night complain-ing of car trouble. She would get there as soon as possible. The two things that bothered Barrett about Marie's being late were that she would insist on staying past six to make up the lost time and that he would have to answer the phone --- which was ringing. After the fourth ring, Barrett picked it up. "Hello." He tried to talk, take off his topcoat, and go through the mail --- all at the same time. "Hello." said Jodi. Barrett carefully put down the mail. "Can you hold for a second?" He quickly took off his coat and hung it up. Then he sat down. This time he intended to pay attention to the conversation. "Okay, Jodi. I'm listening." "I only wanted to confirm my appointment. It is tonight, isn't it?" "Yes. It's tonight." Barrett said breathlessly. "Well, okay. See you later." "See you later." You can plan on it. Barrett stared at the silent telephone realizing how ludicrous it was to give in to an obsession as he was planning to do. An obses-sion that was based on nothing more than pure physical attraction and directed at a virtual stranger. None of it made any sense. But he'd never been in this situation before --- not even with Janet. And now he wasn't sure he could handle it without making a complete fool of himself. He wouldn't plan anything. Whatever happened would be spontaneous. Marie showed up at 9:20. "I'm sorry I'm late." "It's okay, Marie. It doesn't happen that often. And besides, the first appointment isn't until ten." "The right front tire was flat so I called Triple A. They came right over and repaired it. They were very nice." Barrett nodded. "It looks like I need four new tires. But I know a place --- " Marie always knew a place. Barrett forever wondered why some-one as nice and as honest as Marie could be so gullible. She drove a 1971 VW with 125,000 miles on it. Someone told her that she should get over 200,000 miles with it. So Marie kept pouring money into it to keep it running. Dumb! But then again, thought Barrett, how could she work for minimum wage? Barrett made it through the day, but constantly wishing it were six o'clock. This is crazy! The 5:00 pm appointment didn't show up. Normally Barrett would rant and rave and issue all sorts of vacant threats. But this time he was too pre-occupied and spent the scheduled time pacing. Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! At 5:35 pm Marie said, "Maybe I should stay a little longer to make up the lost time." I knew it! "No, Marie. It's okay. You can go." Barrett did his best to remain calm. "After all, I did come in twenty minutes late." Marie stayed seated. "It's perfectly okay, Marie." Barrett put one hand on the back of her chair and the other hand on her arm. "At least let me finish this tiny bit of filing I started this morning." Barrett slowly inched her chair away from the desk. "You can fin-ish it tomorrow." "It won't take long." Marie got up and went to the filing cabinet. Barrett waited nervously. When she was done, he said, "Thank you, Marie. Now you can go." "Well --- if you're sure --- " Marie pushed the chair back into her desk. "Yes, Marie. I'm sure." Barrett gently guided her away from the desk. It was 5:50. "I'll make it up to you next week." "Really, Marie. That won't be necessary." Barrett quickly helped Marie on with her coat. "Oh --- I forgot to erase --- " And she opened up the appointment and rubbed out a name on next week's schedule. "Fine." said Barrett anxiously. "Now you run along." "Well --- as long as you don't mind." Marie buttoned her coat. "I do have a few things to do --- especially to see about those tires." "No. I don't mind. You go and take care of your errands." Barrett gently ushered his assistant out the door. "And take care of those tires." "Thank you, Dr. Jessop." She quickly turned back. "Oh, I have to water the plants." "I'll do it." "The one in the contact lens room is very dry." "I'll water it, Marie." Marie hesitated a moment. "Well --- okay. Goodby, Dr. Jessop." "Goodbye, Marie." At 6:02 Barrett went into his private bathroom at the rear of the office and carefully combed his hair. Then he watered all three plants. He then went back to the bathroom and washed his hands again. This is crazy! After applying some Brut to the back of his hands and his neck, he gargled and rinsed his mouth with a vile tast-ing blue generic mouthwash. (He knew it would come in handy one day.) When he was done primping he heard the door. His heart began to pound and his mouth became suddenly dry, so he once again gargled and rinsed with the vile blue liquid. Then he tensely walked up to the front and opened the door. "Hello, Jodi." "Hello Dr. --- Barrett." She looked older than the last time. Perhaps it was because she had her hair pushed back and wore no make-up. She also looked tired and her sloppy gray warm-up suit did her figure justice. But it didn't matter. The allure was still there. During the course of the examination, Barrett Jessop spent a great deal more time than usual gazing into Jodi's green eyes. But, as an optometrist, he was afforded that privilege. She remained partially hidden behind the phoropter, and all he was able to do was stare. When he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. He had to see her again --- somehow! "Okay, Jodi. The exam is over." Barrett cleared his throat. "It looks like everything is okay." He cleared his throat again. "But one of the tests has to be repeated." He moved the large black instru-ment out of the way. "If you don't object, that is." "No, I don't object. You're the eye doctor." Jodi smiled. "But why can't we do it now?" "Now?" Barrett licked his lips. "Yes. Why can't we do it now?" "Uh --- the instrument doesn't seem to be working properly --- for some reason." "Oh." "It's computerized and --- well --- you know modern science --- " "Oh sure." echoed Jodi. " Modern science." "I think there are times when I would just as soon go back to some of the earlier optical devices. They were less complicated and never broke down." Barrett was trying desperately to act like a pro-fessional. "I guess we call that progress." Jodi smiled and nodded. "Why don't we set up your appointment for --- say next Wednes-day Same time." "I'm having my hair done next Wednesday. And you never ever cancel a hair appointment." Jodi said jokingly. "But I could be here by seven --- if that's not too late." "No. Not at all." In fact, that would be perfect! * "Dr. Jessop." Marie was on the intercom. "Line two is for you." Barrett put down a stack of insurance forms and lifted the re-ceiver. "Hello." "Hello, Barrett. This is Jodi." The optometrist sat straight up in his chair. "Hi, Jodi." "I called to cancel next Wednesday." After a brief pause she asked, ""Is this test very urgent?" Barrett thought for a second. "No. Not really." He stifled an urge to make any personal comment and said instead, "We can do it an-other time." Before Barrett could come up with one, Jodi said, "Good. Things at the library have been so hectic. Why don't I call you when my schedule is more organized." Barrett ran his fingers through his hair. "That would be fine. And thanks for calling." "Goodbye, Barrett." And she hung up. Barrett picked up her exam card and said aloud, "Maybe it did happen for the best. Maybe it wasn't such a hot idea after all. Maybe --- " "Dr. Jessop." Marie was on the intercom again. "It's six o'clock. I'm leaving." Barrett looked at his watch. "I didn't realize it was so late." He put down Jodi's file and stood up. "You can leave, Marie. I'll see you tomorrow." The receptionist came back to Barrett's office. "Anything you want me to do before I go?" He looked at her and smiled. "No, Marie. There's absolutely noth-ing to do." * X Barrett and Janet did their grocery shopping like they spent their lives --- separately. If Barrett wanted a particular food item, he would get it himself. So once a week, Barrett stopped at Minton's Grocery Store for items like orange juice, bagels, frozen turkey dinners, and fresh fruits and vegetables. But all month the store was being refurbished, so during this period Barrett did his shopping at Albers Super Market, which was located on the outskirts of town. It was a midwest chain with over forty stores. For Barrett, it suited his temporary needs quite adequately. As he was piling bags of assorted vegetables into his cart, he heard a familiar voice call his name. He turned and was at once face to face with Jodi Bartless. "Jodi. What a pleasant surprise." They looked at each other and laughed. Both were wearing faded green sweatpants and an oversized gray sweatshirt. "People are going to think we planned this." Barrett said elatedly. "It sure looks like it, huh?" Their eyes locked for a second. Jodi cleared her throat. "That lettuce doesn't look too good." "Uh --- what?" Barrett was still staring at her. "I said your lettuce doesn't look too good." A teenager pushing a noisy cart sped by them. Jodi stared after her. "They should have speed bumps in here." Barrett nodded absently as he picked up the head of lettuce and turned it over in his hands, scrutinizing it. "Hmmm --- you're right." He walked over to the lettuce bin and exchanged it. Then he proudly showed it to Jodi. "How about this one?" "Much better." Jodi said as she pushed her cart away. "See you later." Barrett put the lettuce back in his cart and quickly finished his shopping. Then he purposely waited at the checkout counter until Jodi arrived. "Hello again," Jodi said smiling. They paid for their groceries and walked out together. "Where's your car?" asked Barrett. "I didn't drive. Someone is picking me up --- oh, there's my ride now." Then Barrett watched as she waved at him before getting into an old Ford Galaxy. The driver was a man. * "Aaron, please! Slow down!" Jodi spoke to the man behind the wheel. "Don't worry, Baby." The driver answered. "You're with me now. Relax!" Aaron Claypool was forty years old. He was short, stocky and very muscular. His small round chin seemed to rest atop his wide shoulders with no neck in between. Aaron was dark complected with thick black curly hair and penetrating brown eyes. "I can't relax." Jodi now wished she were someplace else.
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