Like You Read About (8 page)

Up before the alarm the next morning left Cora plenty of free time as this was an off day from the gym.  So she turned on the
TV, made some breakfast and fired up her laptop to reply.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Date: January 17
, 2008 7:15 am

Subject: Where do I begin…

Daniel,

Wow, that’s a LOT of sisters
. I have enough trouble with just the one, but if they are responsible for your sweet ways then womankind should be sending them a muffin basket, weekly.

You have my word that I will never ever subject you to French mimes
; consider it a solemn oath.

Yes, I did read the company handbook, check the
server logs if you don’t believe me ;-).

The Time
Traveler’s Wife, is a sci-fi bent tale only in the broadest terms, it is really more of a love story, filled with longing. A story about the way Claire waits for Henry, how she is always waiting, which strikes a chord with me, I suppose. I always have this sense of waiting and longing, for my life to really start, for the other shoe to drop. Maybe it was missing out on the going away to college experience and leaving home and being on my own for a while, but I always have this small piece of me that feels un-begun.  This was the author’s first published book and it was a marvelous first outing. I’m hoping she writes again soon.

Well
, that was kinda deep of me at this time of the day, or at all. I thought about going back and erasing it and thought better of it as it’s how I really feel about it, and isn't this what we're trying to do, get to know each other... To do that there has to be a level of honesty,… so that was me, being honest…

Also, I talk in dangling sentences all the time, you’ll see “…” a lot, so if you’re like
Kaelyn and this is going to be a problem, let me know now because this‘ll never work out
.


Dream Vacation: When I was little
, my dad was in the Army and we traveled all over the world, but I was a child and didn’t appreciate any of it. I’d really like to go back to Germany, but at top of my list is Paris, it just seems like a fantastical place where there is nothing but magic, kinda like the Disneyland but with wine, chain smoking and a pervasive lack of deodorant.

Cats or dogs: Oh cats, for sure
. I live with a cranky old half blind grand dame named Guinevere. 

My nicest quality: Empathy, and the willingness to do whatever it takes to help out a friend or a family member, sometimes to my own detriment.

Band: I could never pick one, I have a serious iTunes addiction, there is always music playing in my house, my car, the gym. In heavy rotation currently are Coldplay, Carbon Leaf, and Maroon 5.

Why don’t I own a bike:  Well
, we moved a lot growing up and you had to live a compact life that could be packed up and moved on short notice. Bikes are bulky and don’t box well.  When I finally grew up, had a job and lived on my own, I didn’t feel like I was fit enough to ride a bike, so no bike.

I consider the Blackberry to be
golden handcuffs. I’m not truly essential personnel even though I’m the head of my little department, there isn’t anything I could fix via email if there were a serious issue, so if someone needs me they can call my pretty pink cellphone. 

O
kay, here’s a few more, this time I won’t answer. I want to see what you have to say…

First kiss, favorite childhood memory, what would you do if you weren’t doing what you do, what is your guilty pleasure,
and what would people be surprised to know about you?

O
kay, I need to head out to work, or I’ll be late and we can’t have that.

I did sleep well and had wonderful
dreams, I was up before my alarm clock even. I can’t remember the last time that happened. 

Cora

PS I will buy you your Starbucks fix for a week, if you call Kaelyn Tinkerbelle to her face, and as I never see you without a cup in your hand I know this’ll cost me, but be worth every penny. Are you man enough, Mr. Dan the IT man?

Click send
, snap the laptop shut and out the door for another day in the office, but somehow this was starting to feel less like a chore. Okay, it had only been a few emails, she reasoned to herself, but he’s smart and funny as hell and seems to get her.  She didn’t skip today but she did walk with purpose and smile at everyone she passed.

Chapter 10

After firing up her computer, getting her coffee and rearranging her action figures
, she got down to the business of actually distributing all the money she found. She felt a little like Santa, maybe that’s why she picked the red sweater today. 

Meanwhile upstairs
, Joe knocked on Dan’s door, walked in and closed the door behind him. He plopped down and put his feet up on the desk.

“Please, make yourself at home Joe, I’m not busy
. I’ve got all the time in the world for you today,” Dan grumbled. Something was up, Joe might wander in, but he never shut the door.

Dan and Joe had been friends since they both started here the same week
, five years ago. It was just dumb luck that he got the promotion when the position came open two years ago. They were both equally qualified, and Joe didn’t hold it against him, although Dan did seem to buy more rounds when they played pool.

“So what
is
up with you and red haired bean counter? First, you get all defensive at lunch, then you hover near her cube on your way out last night, which is not your normal route and Raj says he saw you cleaning off her car last night, so spill it.  You’re a good guy and all, but this seems extreme even for you.”

Dan
sighed, open on his screen, which Joe couldn’t see was Cora’s email from this morning, which he had just opened as Joe walked in.  “Dude, you are my best friend, and if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will personally remove your nuts with a rusted spoon and tell everyone that you write Joanie Loves Chachi fan fiction.”

“Wow,
you did sleep with her to get money for the department. Dude, thanks for taking one for the team.” Joe ducked as a stapler came flying at his head.

“So a few months ago I was h
ome, had a few beers and thought it would be a great idea to try internet dating,” he went on to catch Joe up to last night’s email.

“Wow, but you are anti- the whole work/dating thing, why bite?
”

“I don’t know, I noticed her the first time I started going to the monthly meetings when I got this job
. There was something about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  Then last week after the meeting, we were talking and there was some electricity in the room. She was blushing something fierce, I could tell she felt it too, but it’s work, and she got skittish and ran off so I didn’t think too much more about it until Monday morning when I got her email.  So am I nuts, should I stop this before it starts? Aww fuck man, I should have talked to you before I sent that email. I did call Maria, and she gave me the green-light, but she’s a girl, so she’s always going to go in hearts and flowers and romance.” Taking a swig from his coffee, he leaned back in his chair to wait for Joe to impart his “wisdom.”

“When was the last time you got laid?  I’m not saying you should pull a fuck and run, I’m just saying you need to make sure that you’re not only thinking about this with your dick.”
  Tapping his fingers, Joe paused, and thought, then continued, “I know you aren’t that kind of guy, but everyone is that kind of guy when they reach a certain point.”

“It’s been a while, but it’s not like that, not that I don’t want to, or wouldn’t, because
well, something about her, man, she makes me think about possibilities, the future, something hanging in the other closet of my bedroom, last night my bed felt too big.  How is all that in my head, she’s been on my radar for about eight minutes?” God, he felt like such a pussy, was he really sitting at his desk talking about feelings?

“Dan, I’m not much for the dating advice
. I married Lynn right out of high school, she is the only woman I’ve ever had sex with, or ever wanted to, and you want to know why?  Because I knew it, from the moment she sat next to me in Physics junior year—I knew it.  She took a little more convincing but I just think that sometimes when you know, you know.  Nut up, dude, ask her for coffee, ask her on a date, this email flirtation although probably a lot of fun, is for the birds, how long do you think you need to keep this up until you’re ready for the next step?”

“I need a few days
. I need to sort it all out in my head, moving on something like this could be a big deal, what happens when it goes bad? With Sascha it went bad, and how, I don’t want either of us to have to leave if it gets ugly.”

“Really? Do
you hear yourself?  Because I do, Sascha was ten years ago, man. From what you tell me, you were green and she was a hot piece of ass who also turned out to be bat shit crazy.  Do you think Cora is bat shit crazy?  Do you think Cora would screw someone else on your desk and leave his boxers on the floor under your desk?  Key your car?  That woman probably wouldn’t hurt a fly. She holds the door open for everyone. She runs the charity drive.  She probably goes home to a cute little apartment at the end of the day, eats dinner in front of the TV and reads books or knits blankets for the homeless, before she goes to sleep alone in her double bed which probably had a frilly lace quilt on it, she is SO not Sascha.” 

Scr
ubbing his hand over his face Dan sighs, “I know she’s not Sascha, but I’ve got to be honest, Joe, this whole thing has me shaking in my shoes a little. I haven’t felt like this since the first time I asked a girl to a middle school dance.” 

“That’s your answer then
.” With that, Joe plops the stapler back on the desk and shuffled along on his way.

O
kay, he should SO not be doing this as he had actual work to do, but whatever.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Date: January
17, 2008 10:00a.m.

Subject: The Lightning Round already?

Cora,

First kiss:
Lisa Riccio, who from what I understand is now doing time for solicitation. I think I might have dodged a bullet on that one.

F
avorite childhood memory: My grandfather taking me out into the country to look at the stars and teaching me the constellations.

W
hat would you do if you weren’t doing what you do: Giving guided tours of the Grand Canyon.

W
hat is your guilty pleasure: World of Warcraft, don’t judge. I have a job and don’t live in my mother’s basement… anymore ;-)

W
hat would people be surprised to know about you: I was drum major in my college band and play the clarinet, which is not the manliest of instrument, so keep that under your hat, please.

Describe where you live, be vivid and detailed.  Answer those questions you asked me, tell me your favorite color, what is your most prized possession?

I live in a two-story bungalow. Three bedrooms, a master and two smaller, the master has an en suite bath (that is the fancy term my Realtor used) with the original fixtures and tile work, including a claw foot tub I just had re-glazed. There’s a Jack & Jill bath (also a Realtor term) between the other two bedrooms, and that’s the upstairs.  Apparently, bathrooms can sell houses.  The front door and its side panels have the original stained glass.  The first floor has all the original woodwork which the previous owner had beautifully restored. They showed me before and after pictures; it was amazing. It’s all a beautiful honey maple, built-in shelving and cabinets, your standard craftsman type home. I really lucked out finding this place.  The front of the house is a living room and then that opens to the dining room.  Most of the furniture I’ve bought so far is Mission style (according to the lady at the furniture store). Okay, I’ve bought that style for two of the rooms so far, a dining room set and a king sized bed with matching dressers and stuff; it was a package deal. For the living room, I bought a really_comfortable_sofa.  The back of the house has this amazingly sunny kitchen, it’s the one room I’m not doing any work in, the cabinetry is all original white bead board and the walls are yellow; my sister called it buttercup.  It isn’t a manly kitchen, but the fridge keeps beer cold and the microwave works just fine.  Out behind the kitchen is a small deck, where I’ll put a grill and a small fenced in yard, nothing too big, but enough to have some friends over on a nice summer night.

Wow, could I sound any more like a girl waxing poetic about my house
. I need to go scratch my nuts or spit or watch some sports on TV and burp really loudly before all testosterone drains from my system.

Enjoy your day and make sure to smile, and if you
aren’t smiling, know that someone on the fourth floor is enjoying learning about you and maybe that will make you smile.