* * *
"Oh my goodness! If it isn't Josie Geller?"
Josie would know that voice anywhere. It was one that bordered on annoying her, but in that friendship kind of way. You know, like, 'Oh my gosh, it's Anita. What did she do this time?'
"Yes, I came back to work. Is that such a surprise?"
"Yes�I figured that you'd be on your honeymoon right now. " Anita teased, looking directly at Josie, trying to see if she had a glow about her. She did. Of course, most people would just assume Josie was in a good mood, and with good reason. But Anita, of course, had her own spin on it.
"Oh my, God! You got lucky last night!" Anita squeaked, raising many eyebrows of the nearby coworkers. Including Gus, who, when Josie looked over at him, had grabbed a nearby stack of papers and pretended to glance through them.
Josie looked closely at him, and she could have sworn there was something different about him. She approached him.
"Gus? Is that a new tie I see? Where did that come from?"
His face turned red, although she could also see that he was trying to suppress a grin.
Note to self, Josie thought, ask Anita about the dirt on him.
But Anita walked up to him, and playfully grabbed the tie. "Or maybe you should ask him where it's been."
Gus's face really turned red. "Back to work. Both of you."
Josie watched him walk away. There was a spring in his step. "Oh no Anita, you didn't?" She gasped.
Anita shook her head excitedly. "We did!"
"I can't believe you two did that!" Josie looked back at Gus again, then had a mental image of him and Anita. Not a pretty picture.
"And, my friend, " Merkin's big mouth said to his cellular phone, "I'm where the action is. Gotta go where the action is, and the action is me. Got that? Don't make me repeat that, because I have things to do. Don't you wish you were me?" He looked up to see Josie and Anita raising their eyebrows at him. He quickly hung up his phone, but giving the girls a look as if to say he was hanging up his phone because he wanted to not because he cared if Josie would say something to him about it.
"Well ladies, speaking of action�how were your evenings?"
Josie rolled her eyes. Anita leaned over his desk, revealing quite a low cut of her dress. Her cleavage was practically hanging out.
"If I thought you could handle it, I would tell you. " She breathlessly whispered to him, his eyes widening at the view she was presenting. "But why don't we wait till you turn 18 before I tell you about these things?"
She got up and started to walk away.
"Hey for your information, I am over 18. Way over 18." His voice cracked when he was saying that, causing Josie to laugh out loud.
Anita turned around. "Give it up." She mouthed to him.
Merkin, undaunted, when he saw Josie leave, picked up his phone. "It's the Merkinmeister. No, I won't hold�I hold for no one�"
* * *
Josie arrived back at her office, stopping only to adjust the sign on her door. She grabbed a cup of coffee, and proceeded to sit in her chair. Unfortunately, her chair fell backwards, and she spilled coffee all over herself.
Josie's mind couldn't help but flashback to spilling chocolate milk all over her white outfit at her first day at South Glen South.
"Am I ever going to get past being Josie Grossie?" she wondered aloud, as she ran to the bathroom.
As Merkin watched her run, he told whomever he was talking to on his phone: "See, my boss is always having a crisis. And if it weren't for me she probably wouldn't have even gotten her big story� Why? Why you ask?"
Josie ignored him, and ran to the bathroom. Just in time, because she grabbed her emergency paper bag from her purse and proceeded to hyperventilate.
When will I be able to get past everything? She wondered. When will I grow up? Even now, that she knew she was in love�and that her guy was in love with her, she would have thought she would no longer be insecure. Love was supposed to conquer all, wasn't it? Even her past? But Sam didn't know everything about her, and she wanted to tell him. He was kind enough, after all, that he wouldn't laugh at her, but maybe he would be ashamed of her. Josie Grossie was not the kind of girl she figured he would want to be stuck with for the rest of his life. Perhaps it would be better to get it all over with, now and tell him everything.
She finished cleaning her outfit, then approached the bathroom door and opened it cautiously. Just as she suspected, there was a lot of laughter.
"Can you believe Josie!" A female voice said, causing Josie's heart to break into about a million pieces. Why were they doing this to her, why now? Couldn't she be happy for one day?
"Josie, honey, let me in. I see you peeking out here." Anita whispered gently.
"Go away. Please." Josie pleaded, crying softly.
Anita nudged her way in the doorway. "Josie you have to go back out there."
Josie took a deep breath. "You're right. I need to face the world, " she splashed water on her face. "Take charge of my life. My past is all behind me, and I am the master of my own destiny."
"Whatever you say, Josie. You have a surprise waiting for you on your desk."
Josie looked shocked. Okay, even if people were laughing at her, at least she could go see her surprise. "It's a big story, isn't it? I'm moving up."
Anita pushed her out the door, and saw Josie head to her office. Josie gasped, as there were two dozen roses on her desk. "Oh my gosh!" She put her hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself from squealing. But it was no use; she was delighted by the romantic sentiment. Sam really did love her!
"Well Geller, who are these from?" Gus walked in. She couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.
"I don't know� They must be from Sam! After all, who else would send me flowers? And I did have a date last night, so logic would conclude�"
"Geller," Gus sighed. She was a good kid, but she rambled. "Did you look at the card?"
She looked at him, and realized she didn't even check for the card. Excitedly, she ran over to the vase and found the small card. She recognized the writing instantly from all the comments he'd written on her papers; things like "Excellent work" or "May I share this with the class?"
To the most beautiful girl
in the world: Josie Geller.
Sam
Josie's eyes welled up with tears, as she was hit with a sense of reality that for once, wasn't a disappointing feeling. This was real, and Sam did care for her. She couldn't wait to talk to him, to properly thank him for the flowers. She giggled as she closed her eyes and pictured herself kissing Sam. The taste of his lips still lingered on hers, the scent of his cologne in the air.
Gus saw the dreamy, far away look in her eyes, and he smiled. Heck, he almost felt teary eyed himself. If any kid deserved this, it was Josie. It almost gave him hope, in a way. Anita walked in and saw him smiling on an unaware Josie. For all of his gruffness, Anita was starting to see that there really was a heart to that man.
"Hi, Gus."
"Hey, Anita. Listen, kids, I need to go. I have work to do. Do you need me to define work for you?" He said gruffly, even though the women wouldn't pay him any attention.
"Good men are hard to find, aren't they?" Anita said, reading the card over Josie's shoulders. Josie just nodded, content that she'd finally found that rare find, a good man.
* * *