The Perfect Spouse Page 3

  He had noticed that in the window was a scene to represent old Jerusalem. There were handmade houses, an inn and an ice-cream stick stable with straw inside. The full nativity was in place including lighted angels and a star on top of the stable. Eye catching and interesting.

  On a small table near the window was a menorah and items connected with Chanukkah. On another small table were items acknowledging Kwanzaa. Jason was impressed with the thoughtfulness of the religions.

  “Jason. Hello. I’m glad you decided to join us. Leave your coat in the room over there,” Amanda greeted him. “Come on with me and I’ll introduce you to the staff and some of the members.”

  “No. Please. Can’t I just blend in and look around?”

  “Whatever you wish, but the Harpers will want to meet you.”

  “Who’re they?”

  “The owners. And the rest of the staff will want to meet you.”

  “Well, okay. Lead on McDuff,” Jason grinned nervously.

  “Would you like refreshments first or do you want to meet everyone first?”

  “I’ll have to meet the staff sometime, so I might as well do it now.

  Amanda slipped her hand into the crook of his right arm and led him to a couple who reminded him of his grandparents. The man, about six feet tall had beautiful silver hair and sky blue eyes. His ruddy complexion showed he was an outdoor person. His muscles and rugged appearance led one to think he either worked out often in a gym or participated in a lot of outdoor exercises. He wore tan slacks and a yellow shirt with no tie. Jason guessed him to be early sixties.

  The woman was about five-six, small build, obviously dyed black hair, and brown eyes. She wore a natural sweet, laughing expression and moved toward Jason as if she already knew him and was glad to see him. She was dressed in a long, green gown with white lace trim around the neck. Small silver heels with pointed toes peeped from under the gown. He guessed her to probably be sixty.

  Amanda smiled and greeted the older woman. “Elaine, you’ll enjoy knowing one of our new members, Jason.”

  “Jason, welcome, welcome, she gushed with an honest voice. We want to help you and make your life as happy as possible. If we can do anything to make your membership with us happier and worthwhile,” she tittered, “don’t hesitate to tell us how you feel.” She turned and looked around. “Joe. Come here, please,” she called to the tall man.

  “Joe, this is Jason, one of our new members. I’m sure you’ll want to get acquainted with him.”

  The man hurried to them with a wide grin and his hand held out. “Jason, that’s a manly name. We’re glad to have you in our family. Now that you’re one of us, feel free to call on us for anything.”

  Jason hardly knew what to say. The couple seemed to be sincere, but he had learned to wait until he knew people before he made a decision. He smiled and thanked them.

  Amanda smiled at them. “Excuse us. I’m going to introduce Jason to the staff.” She turned him around and faced a crowd of people. “Now you’ve met the owner, Elaine and Joe Harper, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the staff.

  Jason was not really interested in meeting others, but he went with her although he only truly wanted to walk around and observe.

  “Jason, you’ve met Corella Swanson, our manager. This is Anthony Petrillo, her assistant. Tony is responsible for organizing our parties.”

  The two men greeted each other. Jason noticed that Tony’s smile didn’t show in his eyes. Tony was about five-ten, about one sixty with close cropped black hair and brown eyes. His brown complexion showed a Mediterranean heritage. Jason guessed him to be early thirties. It was obvious Tony thought well of himself. He had on blue dress slacks with a sharp crease in them; a grey silk shirt and a blue and red stripped tie.

  “You’ve met Dottie who is responsible for the membership records and you’ve met me. I’m her assistant. Jenny Carson is the Treasurer. This is Andrew Murray her assistant and in charge of publicity. He’ll remind you if you ever forget to pay your dues.”

  Jason was cordial to all he met, but knew he’d have trouble keeping them in mind until he got better acquainted.

  Andrew Murray, called Drew, attached himself to Jason and encouraged him to return to the refreshment table. “You’ll meet a lot of people tonight and you’ll have trouble keeping them separated. Don’t let it bother you, Jason, just relax and enjoy the evening.”

  Jason looked down at Drew, guessing him to be five-eight and about one fifty. His dark brown hair was cut short and Jason smiled to himself thinking that Drew cut it short to keep the curls in control. He had beautiful grey eyes, a wide mouth that smiled a lot and a pleasant face.

  Drew excused himself to welcome another new member which relieved Jason. He wandered around looking at the room and observing some of the people. He was startled when someone slapped him on the shoulder and boomed, “Hi there. My name is Gary Beaumont and I’ve been a member since the place opened. I’ve enjoyed dating some lovely women, but I’m not looking for a wife at the present. How about you?”

  Gary was the same height as Jason, but not as heavy. In fact, he was very slender even though he looked healthy and quite able to take care of himself. His red sweater with white reindeer and snowflakes around the bottom was just right with his navy slacks. His light brown complexion led Jason to think Gary was African American, at least part because he had dark brown hair and amber eyes.

  Jason had observed a mixed crowd, which was good. There was even a couple of Native American and one or two who looked Oriental. He looked at Gary not really wanting to socialize, but was too polite to ignore him. “My name is Jason and I just joined.” They talked for a few minutes.

  When Jason saw a couple of women heading in his direction, he excused himself, hurried into the room with the coats and outer wear, grabbed his overcoat and hurried out. He had had all he could take for this one night. No way did he intend to tell his full name and much about himself until he was better acquainted. He thankfully pulled into the underground garage and got out of the car.

  “Hey, neighbor.”

  Jason whipped around to see an older couple exiting a car near him and beginning to walk toward him.

  “Hello,” he called. “Excuse me, but I have to hurry home.”

  He was almost breathless when he all but ran into his apartment and firmly shut his door and locked it. Who was that couple? I don’t remember seeing them before. Apparently they live here, but I don’t know anyone in the building yet.

  Jason prepared for bed, set his alarm to get up earlier than usual and fell into bed, thankful to be in his own home. He had probably been asleep about an hour when he sat up startled at a loud banging on his door.

  “Hey, buddy. Open up and let us in. It’s party time. Don’t be an old stick in the mud.”

  “Yeah, don’t stick in the mud,” another voice giggled as only a drunk could do.

  Jason didn’t recognize the voices and could not imagine who might be in a drunken state outside his door. He tiptoed into the living room and looked through the peep hole. Two very drunk strangers were staggering around yelling and laughing. He didn’t know either man and did not open his door.

  He was relieved when the door across the hall was jerked open and a man stepped out. He recognized him as the man who had spoken in the garage. The man was irate; after all it was eleven.

  “What do you men want? Get away from here. There’s no one here that knows you or wants you. You’re waking people that need their sleep.”

  “Oh, yeah? Well, our buddy, Frank, knows us and he’ll want to let us in and party with us.” The man speaking began beating on Jason’s door again and yelled. “Frank. Come on out and tell this jerk that we’re going to paaarty, paaarty.”

  The man across the hall spoke up again. “There’s no one here by that name. Frank does not live here. You’re at the wrong apartment.”

  Apparently the woman had called the police because two officers showed up just then and arrested the two dr
unks. Jason waited until they were gone and then stepped out in the hall. The man was still standing there looking at the police leaving.

  Jason looked at the man. “I’m sorry you were bothered, but I honestly did not know those men.”

  “Don’t worry, son. I’ve seen enough of you to know you don’t mix in company like that. My name is Tony Dixon and this is my wife, Betty.” He turned to the woman who was standing in their doorway.

  “I’m glad you’re living across from me. I don’t know that I would have done anything about those drunken men other than to ignore them. I’m glad to meet both of you,” he smiled. “My name is Jason and I’ve got to get up early to go to work. If you’ll excuse me I must get back to bed and hope I can sleep some. Thank you again.”

  “Oh, I’ve already made hot chocolate. Do please join us,” Betty said with a smile.

  Jason reasoned to himself that they were probably lonely and it wouldn’t hurt him to have one cup of hot chocolate. He grinned sheepishly and pointed to himself dressed in pajamas.

  “You’re fine,” Tony urged him. “It won’t take long to drink a cup of hot chocolate. We’re in night clothes, too. Come on over for a few minutes.”

  Jason shrugged and walked over into a homey, pleasant room. Tony showed Jason to sit on a lovely old-fashioned tan camel back couch. He sat and found it surprisingly comfortable. Betty came in with a tray on which were three mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallow on top. Beaming, she handed mugs to the two men and then took one and sat down.

  Tony raised his mug and said, “To good friendship.”

  Jason smiled, inclined his head and said, “Hear, hear.”

  Betty brought out pictures of family. Jason learned they had a daughter who had married an Arab and now lived in Iraq with grandchildren they had never seen. They had two sons, both killed in service. He could tell they were heartbroken. In reality they had lost all three of their children. Jason quickly realized that they were not only lonely but needed someone to talk to about their grief. He felt sorry for them but hoped they wouldn’t expect to replace their loss with him.

  A clock chimed midnight and Jason jumped up. “Oh, I have to get some sleep. I’m getting up at six for work. Thank you for the hot chocolate. I have enjoyed meeting you.

  He felt ashamed for his actions but hurried out and back to his own apartment. He was angry at himself that he couldn’t seem to find a common ground for a discussion with the Dixons. His mind flew around subjects so much that he had a difficult time falling asleep.

  Chapter Six

  It seemed to Jason that he had just closed his eyes when his alarm brought him straight up in bed. He yawned and stretched, slowly got out of bed and staggered into the bathroom.

  Dressing in a dark blue suit with a lighter blue shirt and red and blue tie, Jason drew on his boots. He snapped on his watch, checked for his wallet and a clean handkerchief and headed for the kitchen.

  He remembered he had left his briefcase on a kitchen cabinet at the same time that he smelled the coffee. God bless the person who invented an automatic coffee maker that could be programmed at night to start working the next morning. He slipped two pieces of frozen French toast in the toaster and put two eggs on to boil.

  While his breakfast was being prepared, he went to his door to pick up the paper which he had delivered. He took off the clear plastic wrapper and sat at the kitchen table to spread the paper out and read. He finally thought to check on the eggs and decided he had let them boil too long, but that was too bad. He’d eat them anyway. He slipped the now cooled French toast into the microwave for fifteen seconds to warm. He spread butter on them and reached for the syrup. Breakfast over, Jason washed what few dishes he had and left them in the drainer to air dry.

  He ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Returning to the front of the apartment, he put on his overcoat and Stetson, grabbed his briefcase and hurried out. Locking his door he walked quietly down the hall to the elevator hoping he would not disturb any of his neighbors.

  In his office, an hour before the others, he concentrated on completing work he had neglected while getting established in The Perfect Spouse. He disciplined his mind to concentrate on the work and not on his impressions of the people he had met at the party.

  Grace hurried in bringing a swirl of cold air. She took off her coat and knit cap and hung them up after putting her gloves on a corner of her desk. She placed her purse in a bottom desk drawer and turned to go make coffee. She gave a strangled scream when she discovered Jason standing in the hall.

  “What are you doing here this early? You nearly scared me to death. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could have gotten in and I sure didn’t expect to see you.” She sat down to take off her rubber boots.

  “I’m sorry, Grace. I’ve gotten involved in some personal matters and decided I needed to come in early to finish work that I had started. Go on and fix the coffee. I’m having some fresh pastries and fruit delivered in a few minutes. Put them where the three of you can enjoy them.” He went back to his office and quietly shut the door.

  Jason thankfully completed a quarterly report a local business had hired him to do and to stay on top of their financial affairs. He breathed a sigh of relief and reached for a folder of work that belonged to an attorney in a nearby town.

  He lost track of time with his mind so focused on what he was doing. He looked up when someone knocked on his door and then opened it. Grace entered with a mug of coffee, as he liked it and a Bavarian cream-filled Long John. She placed these on his desk then took an apple and some napkins out of a packet.

  “Oh, Grace, you’re worth a fortune, but you shouldn’t have bothered.”

  “Doing something for you is absolutely no bother. I bet you don’t eat properly most of the time with no one to remind you. Do you even shop for groceries?”

  “Whoa. At least stop long enough to take a breath. Yes, I shop for groceries and do basic cooking. I had breakfast at six fifteen this morning and it’s now ten, so this is good. Thank you.”

  Grace frowned and leaned against his desk. “There’s a Margaret Archer calling and insisting on speaking only with you. I told her that she’d have to make an appointment, but she snorted and hung up.”

  “Snorted?” he laughed. “Who is Margaret Archer?”

  “I have no idea and neither Greg nor Beth can remember ever knowing her or hearing about her. What should I tell her if she calls again?”

  “That she has to make an appointment. She also needs to tell you the nature of her business. You know the drill.”

  “Jason, you have a business to run and need clients, but I had the hair, on the back of my neck, standing up while she was talking. She has an irritating voice. I don’t have a good feeling about her.”

  “Well, if and when she does make an appointment, make sure it’s when we’re all here. Surely I can protect myself against one woman, but if you would feel better being present, so be it.”

  “Yes, but she’s so persistent and downright rude.”

  Jason got up and came around the desk to hug Grace. “Thank you for taking care of me. I hope you’re not sensing bad when it really isn’t there. Maybe it’s just because she won’t speak freely to you, or better yet, maybe she won’t call again.” He patted her back and gently urged her out the door. She sniffed and went walking rapidly out and down the hall.

  Jason was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t stop for lunch. The middle of the morning refreshments Grace brought him was still with him. Grace came back with her outer wear on ready to leave. “Jason, forgive me if you feel I’m too bossy, but I do care about you and want to keep you as healthy as possible. I came in to see if you wanted me to bring you something to eat.”

  Smiling broadly, Jason got up and hugged her. “Thank you, Grace, and no you’re not too bossy. I appreciate your attention and am so fortunate to have you. I can’t think of anything I want at the moment. Is there a pastry or some fruit left? If so I’ll eat that later.”


  “There’s one pastry that I hid for you and I saved some fruit slices. I’ll bring them back to you with a mug of coffee.” She scurried out down the hall to happily wait on Jason before she left for lunch. Greg offered to stay behind and take care of the front while Grace and Beth went out. He would go after they returned because he also had a personal errand to run.

  Jason stayed so busy that the day seemed to pass quickly. He stretched his tired back and shoulders when Beth came back to tell him goodbye.

  “Get home safely, Beth, and have a good night’s rest. Be careful. There’s still some icy spots.”

  Greg called goodbye from down the hall and hurried out. He had been leaving right on time for several days, but not doing anything suspicious. Jason smiled to himself and wondered if Greg had met a girl, but then he remembered Greg’s sick mother.

  Grace finally wandered back to Jason’s office. “Aren’t you going home tonight? It’s way past time to leave.”

  “My goodness, Grace. Have you stayed just because of me? You need to get out of here before it gets too dark to see well. We’re not as busy this time of year as we’ll be in the spring, so take advantage of it. We’ll hopefully be too busy to breathe in a couple of months. Now get on home.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Jason.”

  “Goodnight, Grace, and thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Just being you,” he said with a grin and waved his hand to show her to go.

  Jason sat in the quiet of the office and contemplated what he should do. Should he continue with the dating agency or let his membership expire. There was a good possibility that he’d meet someone at church after all. But did he really care about finding someone. No, not really. He stood up quickly and shook himself like a dog shaking itself. “Get out of here and stop being such a wimp,” he ordered himself.

  * * * * *

  The next morning Jason drug out of bed and made himself eat a bowl of hot oatmeal with raisins. He dressed warmly because the weather report was warning about a snow storm in the afternoon.