Thanks for all your interest in my stories. I've really enjoyed writing this story for you. I'd love to hear what you think about them, so please feel free to e-mail me here because I won't be able to read any replies until the middle of July. Enjoy!
* * *
The moment Josie stepped off the elevator onto her floor at the Sun-Times office, she knew she was walking into World War III. Loud voices were coming from behind Rigfort's closed door; voices that included Rigfort, Lydia and Gus. Closing her eyes for a moment, Josie prayed she could make it through the day. She just knew she would burst out in tears if she had to face Lydia this morning; her tie to last night's fiasco with Sam was too great. Feeling that her own misery was more than enough to deal with at the moment, Josie hurried past to seek the refuge of her office.
As Josie rounded the corner to enter her workspace, she noticed Merkin wearing headphones, shaking his head, and mouthing along to whatever lyrics he was listening to on his Walkman. With all the racket in the office, she really couldn't blame him. As Josie stood in front of him with her hand out, waiting for him to produce her messages, she heard Anita's voice behind her in the doorway of her office. "God, Josie, it's awful! They've been in there for at least an hour!"
Anita grabbed Josie by the arm and dragged her into the office, closing the door behind them. "Is Rigfort going to fire Lydia?" Josie asked listlessly. In her current state of mind, she couldn't care less about what became of Lydia.
"Yes." Anita paused and then dropped the bomb. "And Gus, too."
Josie's head snapped up. "Gus? But why?"
Anita shrugged and fell heavily into a chair. "Beats me. Probably because he's her boss and all�I don't know." Anita inspected her friend and decided that she looked pretty terrible. She wondered if Josie wanted to talk about what happened with Sam Coulson the night before. Anita -- and everyone else in the office -- had watched in horror as the awful scene unfolded on the TV screen in Gus' office. She desperately wanted to know what had happened between them after that.
And everything had started out so well, too, Anita mused. It was plainly obvious then Josie and Sam Coulson were in love just from the few glimpses of them together that Lydia's camera had captured. They had a way of staring into each other's eyes that made it seem as if they could see nothing else. In spite of herself, Anita sighed a little dreamily.
"I wish there was something I could do to help him," Josie murmured.
Anita was now in the midst of her reverie about Josie and Sam and had forgotten the subject of their conversation. "Who? Sam Coulson?"
Immediately Josie's face paled, and she gripped the edge of her desk until her knuckles were white. Evenly she replied, "No, I meant Gus." Anita opened her mouth again and Josie put up a hand to stop her. "And no, I don't want to talk about what happened between Sam and I. It's bad enough having something this horrible happen without knowing every single person in this office got to witness it�"
"Geez! Well, excuse me for living! Excuse me for trying to be your friend and trying to help you!" said Anita heatedly, rising from her chair to leave in a huff. She'd never known Josie to snap like that, even if it was forgivable under the circumstances. Still, it hurt, because she really had only been trying to help.
Josie immediately felt remorseful. "Anita, wait!" she called out in a panic. When Anita paused and turned back to face her, she apologized, "I'm sorry. I just . . ." A sudden rush of tears prevented Josie from finishing. She raised both hands to cover her face and sobbed openly.
Anita's face softened, and she hurried around the desk to wrap her arms around her friend. For once, she found that she had nothing to say. After all, what could she say to her best friend who had obviously had her heart broken? Anita assumed this outburst meant that she and Sam must have parted on bad terms, or else Josie wouldn't be like this.
Josie, for her part, only held onto Anita and cried uncontrollably on her shoulder.
The ringing of Josie's phone startled them both. Josie quickly tried to regain her composure, clearing her throat and sweeping her hands across her face to dry her tears. "Hello?" she answered in a surprisingly composed voice.
"Geller." It was Gus, and he didn't sound good. "I need you in my office right now."
Nodding, even though she knew Gus couldn't see her, she replied, "I'll be right there." Josie hung up the phone and looked up at Anita, concern and compassion flashing in her eyes. "Gus wants to see me. God, Anita, if Gus gets fired, I don't know how I can live with myself! It was against his wishes that I continued my relationship with Sam�" Josie paused and swallowed painfully at just having to mention his name. "and now because of it, he's getting fired."
Anita was alarmed at Josie's train of thought and protested, "No! Josie� It's not your fault!"
"Anita, how can it not be? If I hadn't been�involved�then Lydia wouldn't have blown her cover like she did!"
Anita grabbed both of Josie's hands and held them, shaking them in emphasis, as she spoke, "You don't know that! She was pretty drunk, Josie, everyone could tell that. If it hadn't been you, then it probably would have been something else that set her off�"
Josie sighed heavily. "Maybe." Josie paused on her way out of the office and turned back toward Anita, patting her cheeks self-consciously. "My face must be a wreck."
"You're fine," Anita assured her with a smile. "Look, I'm really sorry for . . ."
Josie waved her hand to stop Anita's unnecessary apology. "It's okay, really�I'll be back." She pulled open the door to her office and hurried through the bullpen to Gus' office.
Gus sat in his chair behind his desk, which was swamped with piles of paper as usual. Josie would have said that he looked stressed out, except that Gus never looked stressed out. 'Darn,' Josie thought, 'I'd hate to play poker against him�'
As she entered the room, he sat forward in his chair and leaned his arms on the desk. "Geller, sorry about last night," he said in his usual straight-to-the-point manner.
"It's okay. No big deal," she lied.
Gus raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. He studied her red, puffy face, but then decided to let it go. "Look, I really need your help."
Surprised, Josie asked, "Sure�what do you need me to do?" She sat down in the chair directly in front of him.
Gus snorted a little and then asked wryly, "I assume you've heard from Anita that I'm in trouble?"
Josie smiled at his tone. "I've only been here five minutes, but yes, I heard. Anita works quickly."
"Well, the fact of the matter is that I might not be in trouble after all�provided you're willing to cooperate." Gus explained.
Josie looked confused. "I'm completely lost, Gus."
"As I'm sure you can imagine, Rigfort fired Lydia. She's already off packing her stuff. But I still have a chance," he explained. "You see, Rigfort knows that you were closely involved with this story� Under the guise of Lydia's 'sister', you went to Senior Nite, you hung out with the kids here and there, you went to the prom, and --" Gus cleared his throat and looked down. "And got to know Coulson, who, at least at one point, was an important part of Lydia's story."
"What are you saying?" Josie asked suspiciously, although she had a sinking feeling she knew where this conversation was headed.
Gus took a deep breath and asked, "Can you write a story for tomorrow's paper?"
"Gosh! That's a lot of pressure," she breathed.
"I know, I know. It's a lot to ask," Gus replied. "Josie, don't feel like you have to do it; it's okay if you don't� But I thought that maybe you'd be willing to save the butt of a former knitting pupil."
Josie smiled at his reference to the time she taught him to knit and asked, "But what can I do? Although I was on the fringes, I really didn't know the ins and outs of Lydia's story�"
"Well�" Gus rubbed his chin in thought; "there's always the Cinderella story with that Aldys girl."
Josie looked doubtful.
"Look, no one's expecting an undercover feature from you, here. Rigfort just needs something to fill up that space," Gus explained. "So, it does mean a rather large piece�do you think you can do it?"
"Maybe." Josie sat thoughtfully for a few seconds. "I don't know what I'll write, but I'll try to figure something out."
Gus nodded his approval of Josie's efforts. "I've seen your work, Geller. I think you can come up with a decent story. That's all I need, something decent to take up that space. If that space gets filled, then I keep my job."
"Gus, if I can help it," Josie replied, an idea starting to come to her, "you will have more than a decent story�you will have an amazing story." With newfound confidence, she turned and hurried from Gus' office.
Once Josie was out of sight, Gus picked up his Magic 8 Ball and shook it. "Please. Oh, please," he said, and then raised both eyebrows at its answer.
* * *
As the afternoon wore on, Josie sat thoughtfully at her desk, absent-mindedly tapping a pencil as she stared at her blank computer screen. Her thoughts kept running around in circles. She thought about Aldys, the geek-turned-prom queen that she had met, and how much the girl reminded her of herself and the transformation she had gone through in recent times as well. And that inevitably brought her thoughts back to Sam Coulson.
'Sam,' she thought as she sighed heavily. He had touched every part of her life, had made it glow. And now, with him gone, it was as if the light had gone out. She thought back to last night, to his smiling face, to his poignant gifts, to the love she'd felt swirling around them�and she thought of Aldys, smiling gaily as she twirled about the floor with a tiara on her head.
Her eyes wandered to the telephone, and in a sudden moment of inspiration, she grabbed her purse and began rummaging through it, searching for a certain scrap of paper. The night she'd spent at the Delloser Club seemed like such a long time ago, but Josie found what she was looking for. Crushed and wrinkled at the bottom of her purse, it was the scrap on which Aldys had written her phone number.
Within seconds, Josie had dialed the number and sat anxiously waiting for a response. "Hello?" a male voice on the other end answered.
"Hi . . . um, may I speak with Aldys Wells, please?"
"Sure. Just a sec." Josie heard a small bump as the man, presumably her father, set the phone down. Then heard him calling, "Aldys!"
After a couple of moments, the familiar voice of Aldys said, "Hello?"
Josie smiled. "Aldys. Hi� I don't know if you remember me or not, but this is Josie Gel --"
Aldys sounded surprised but happy to hear from her. "Josie! Hey!" She paused for a moment, and then, with a more cautious tone, she said, "I saw you at prom last night, but you left before I got a chance to talk to you�"
Another pang of pain throbbed in Josie's heart. She swallowed it and replied, "That's okay. I had to sort of leave in a hurry." Josie could sense that Aldys was intentionally not mentioning the awful scene played out last night, and she admired the girl's tact.
"Guess what, Josie? I was accepted at Northwestern, and I got a big scholarship!" Aldys sounded as if she had been bursting to tell someone about her news.
"Congratulations! That's so great, Aldys! I'm happy for you!" Josie exclaimed with true excitement.
Josie could hear the blush in Aldys' voice as she added softly, "Guy's going there, too."
"Then I'm happy for you both." Josie smiled.
Aldys mused, "You know, I never thought I'd give him the time of day, but he's changed so much. I guess we both have. You never know who's gonna make your heart do a double-take, do you?"
Josie didn't even try to stop herself from thinking about Sam. "Yes�" she said, a little sadly, "I know what you mean."
"So, what's up with you? Anything new?" Aldys asked, perhaps wanting to know the reason for Josie's call.
"Actually, I need a favor," Josie admitted. "Do you mind if I mention you in an article I'm writing?"
"Nope, that's fine�" Then Aldys laughed and continued, "As long as you don't say anything bad."
Josie laughed a little in reply. "Don't worry, I'm doing just the opposite."
* * *
Sam opened one eye and fumbled around for the "off" button on his alarm clock. Today of all days, he was grateful for the weekend. It would have been impossible for him to stand in front of his class and carry on a lecture as if everything in his life was wonderful. That had been hard enough yesterday.
He'd tried to go back to work and pretend that the Senior Prom had never existed, that it was some sort of horrific nightmare that he'd finally woke from. But he soon found that to be impossible. Everyone, it seemed, was talking about it�and apparently everyone talking about it was talking about the scene with him, Josie, and Lydia. At least, that would explain why there always seemed to be such awkward silences surrounding him when he walked down the halls, and why he received so many looks of concern from teachers and students alike. He swore that if he'd received even one more look of horrified pity, he was going to scream.
He finally found the switch, and the annoying alarm stopped. Sam sat up and yawned, flipped back his sheets, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He'd fallen asleep thinking about Josie, and now she was the first thing on his mind. Indeed, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her from the moment she'd left his car the night before last. And since then, he'd been through a plethora of emotions. At first, the betrayal and deception cut so deep, he hardly felt that he could breathe. But those feelings slowly gave way to memories�memories of he and Josie together.
He remembered her as he'd first seen her two months ago: her schoolmarmish clothing, her brown hair pulled back into a tidy bun. Even then, though, her beautiful spirit had shone through. She'd been funny and smart, and had taken part in his festival with gusto. It had meant something to her, and her presence had made it mean that much more to him.
He thought of their trip to the roller skating rink, and how he'd noticed for the first time how he was attracted to her, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it to himself yet. Even though she'd never skated before in her life, she'd still gotten out there and tried. Of course, he remembered with a smile, she made him pay for it by whipping him at pool�
He thought back to that day in her office, the day that Lydia had walked in on them. Josie had said that she was afraid of getting hurt, afraid of coming between him and Lara. She had been about to say more, but she never got to finish because of Lydia's arrival. And that's when things started to go wrong.
In order to preserve whatever undercover story she was working on, Lydia had made up the story of Josie being her sister, and then when he had questioned the difference in last names, Lydia had come up with the most plausible excuse: Josie was married. Of course, Lydia must not have known that he and Josie had been seeing each other. As shallow as Lydia Staples had seemed, she didn't seem cruel.
For the first time, Sam considered what the revelation of the 'cover-up' must have been like for Josie. Sam felt a twinge of pain with the thought of how torn Josie must have felt�wanting to maintain Lydia's cover and to keep her job at the newspaper, but yet not wanting to lie to him, either.
He'd been so hurt by her apparent neglect to mention that important detail of her life that he'd vowed to put her out of his mind, not that he had been successful at doing that, though. When he'd seen her at the Delloser Club, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was like she had blossomed overnight. Indeed, he could hardly take his eyes off her.
Then had come their "double-date" bowling experience. An "experience" was really the only way Sam could now describe it. Because, although both he and Josie had come with other people, really it was almost as if they were the couple: sharing confidences, meaningful glances, secret smiles�
And of course, there was their ride on the Ferris wheel on Senior Nite. He'd finally realized the depth of his attraction to Josie, and married or no, he couldn't stop himself from touching her sweet face. God! How horribly torn he'd been! Wanting so badly something he didn't believe he could have. After that, he'd tried to shut her out of his life, to forget about her for the sake of her "marriage" and for his own sanity.
Not that it had worked. He still thought of her day and night. He'd ended his relationship with Lara because of it. And still, it had been Josie who'd made the next step to bring them back together.
In her apparent desperation to find some middle road in her dilemma, Josie had come up with the idea of her "divorce," now making herself eligible to him. And truthfully, he had jumped at the chance. He couldn't believe his good fortune at someone turning a treasure like her loose.
He remembered the incredible sensations he'd felt when he'd seen Josie walking toward him across the crowded school courtyard. He shook his head ruefully as he remembered his gaffe with the pink paint in his hair. But Josie had taken it all in stride and, truthfully, he'd had more fun painting that Barbie Convertible (and actually, more Josie than the backdrop) than he'd had doing anything in a long, long time. And the overwhelming feelings surrounding their near kiss that afternoon�Sam sighed as he relived that moment in his mind. What was it she had said? That no one had ever felt that way about her�and in light of recent developments, coupled with Lydia's description of her, he wondered if that were indeed true.
But the most wonderful and most painful memories were the ones on that fateful night leading up to Lydia's drunken tirade. She had looked breathtakingly beautiful in her formal red gown. And he hadn't failed to notice the tears in her eyes as she'd opened his present and read his inscription. It had touched her deeply, just as she had touched him deeply. He knew then that he loved her to the depth of his being. Which was why it had hurt him so much to learn of her deception.
But even after those hideous moments in the prom, Josie had come looking for him, worried for him. She had given little thought to herself, not knowing if he would condemn her or accept her. The pattern that was emerging in his mind made him very uncomfortable. It seemed that, except for that time when she hadn't allowed him to kiss her, he was always the one pulling back and Josie was the one reaching out. He sighed deeply, not liking to see this aspect of himself.
He was still hurt, but as each hour passed, he felt that his love for her grew more and more.
Yet, an entire day had passed since the awful scene at the prom, and still Sam debated with himself whether or not he should call her.
Still wearing his boxers and T-shirt, Sam stumbled into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. He opened the front door and picked up his mail, quickly separating junk mail and bills as he walked to the table. The junk went straight to the trash, but he laid the bills aside to deal with later.
Running a hand through his tousled hair, he scanned the headlines on the front page of the Sun-Times, then laid the newspaper down and went for his coffee. In light of his turmoil over Josie, the news just didn't interest him today.
He relaxed at the table and sipped his coffee, staring around at his practically empty kitchen. Boxes were stacked up against the walls in every room, but he still had a lot to pack before the movers came. A month ago, he had found a nice, inexpensive apartment closer to South Glen South, and this evening he was moving everything there.
The ringing of his telephone startled Sam. "Hello?" he answered in a voice that was still quite groggy.
"Did you just wake up? God, Sam! It's the middle of the day!"
Sam sat up straighter. "Lara?" he asked in disbelief. Even after not seeing him for weeks, she could find a way to criticize.
"Oh, you remember me," she said dryly.
Sam closed his eyes and sighed. "Lara, look, I really can't handle a�"
"I didn't call to fight," she interrupted. "I was looking through the stack of newspapers we get at the office, and I got to today's Sun-Times. Do you get that one?"
Sam's eyes rested on the folded newspaper before him. "Yeah. Why?" He didn't mean to be so abrupt with her, but a conversation with Lara was really the last thing he needed right now.
"Do you read anything besides the sports and the comics?" Another little barb.
Sam took a deep breath and forced himself to keep calm. After all, Lara didn't matter anymore. "Truthfully, I wasn't planning to read any of it," he replied evenly.
"Read one article."
"Which one?" Sam asked, a little impatiently.
"You'll know it when you see it," said Lara, cryptically. "Goodbye, Sam."
"Wait! Lara, what are you�?" Sam asked, but there was no reply, because she had already hung up.
Sam sat mystified at what must have been the strangest conversation of his entire life. Even so, he shrugged and picked up the newspaper, scanning each page for what Lara could have been talking about. Then he saw it, a mid-sized article on the front page of the Features section.
* * *
Someone once told me that to write well, you have to write what you know. This is what I know. I am twenty-five years old and I've never really kissed a guy.
All my life I have waited, waited for that one man that I never thought could truly exist; the one who, when I kissed him, would make everything around us go hazy, and the only thing in focus would be he and I. And I'd realize that he was the only person I was meant to kiss for the rest of my life. And it would make me want to laugh and want to cry, because I'd feel so lucky that I'd found it, and so scared that it would go away all at the same time.
But, deep down, I knew it was a dream that would never come true for me.
Why does this belong in a newspaper article, you ask? Why should it matter? Read on and you'll find out.
Until recently, I was not a reporter by trade. I was a copy editor with only a dream of becoming a reporter. Two months ago, I was given my big break: to go undercover in a local high school to "get the scoop" on kids today. Needless to say, I was thrilled; I was ecstatic; I was terrified.
You see; my first time through school was a nightmare. A geek to the core, I spent most of my childhood years doing extra homework I requested from the teacher. High school was more of the same. But then, at 17, it seemed as if my luck were about to change. The cutest guy in school asked me to the senior prom. But it turned out to be a cruel joke, and I have never fully recovered.
So understandably, returning to high school was my worst nightmare. After all, what could I possibly have in common with these kids now, when I didn't even fit in then? But just as I was worrying about how I could possibly get through the experience unscathed, the assignment was taken away from me and given to another, more experienced reporter. And, in retrospect, maybe my editor made the right decision. I truly believe that had I gone back to high school, I would have courted one disaster after another. Because, at heart, I was still that same scared teenager.
As a consolation prize, I was given an assignment that most reporters would have turned their noses up at. I was asked to cover the annual Shakespeare Festival at the very school where I would have been placed undercover. The host of the festival very graciously asked me to help judge the contest and we awarded first prize to a wonderful collection of sonnets.
A few weeks later, in the midst of coincidences that seemed almost too good to be true, I met the author of those sonnets. Her name was Aldys Wells, a girl who reminded me frighteningly of myself at her age. Except for one thing: she was a girl that believed in herself, in her own worth and abilities, outcast or no�whereas I did not. It was easy to see that she had an internal strength that, at that time, I did not, or at least I did not know I possessed.
And interestingly enough, the night I met her; the very reporter who was sent to South Glen South High School to replace me was introducing her into the "in crowd." Apparently "geek to chic" was the focus of her story, and I remember feeling saddened by the obvious misuse of this girl, since, in my mind (and experience) her introduction could only lead to trouble.
Except that it didn't. Two nights ago, I was lucky enough to be at the South Glen South Senior Prom and witness Aldys being escorted by the cutest guy in school. (Sound familiar?) I watched this same girl being crowned Prom Queen in front of her cheering peers. I was astounded. In this girl, I finally began to realize what could be possible for each one of us, if only we believed enough in ourselves.
Aldys was successfully able to juggle the math team and the prom committee without ever losing sight of who she was and what she wanted. I found myself learning a great deal about myself from her example. I realized how much our high school years are a time that we can never truly repeat. It is a time that makes us who we are for years to come. And through watching Aldys' success, I also discovered that the years of persecution, of being "Josie Grossie," as I'd been labeled, was something I'd allowed myself to live with simply because I wasn't brave enough to stand up and walk away from it.
But Aldys was not the only person who would come into and affect my life because of the Shakespeare Festival.
In my gracious host that day, an English teacher at South Glen South, I found a man that I'd long since stopped hoping existed: a man who delighted in quoting Shakespeare; a man who fell beside me in the rink simply to make me feel better as I took my fledgling steps on skates; a man who rode on a Ferris wheel with me�even though he was afraid of heights�just so I wouldn't have to ride alone; a man who could laugh at himself easily when he accidentally painted his own hair pink; a man who was not afraid to show me he cared and that I mattered to him� And he was a man who still insisted upon driving me home from our date to the Prom even after discovering that I had been lying to him for months.
Through this man, I learned the true meaning of the words honorable, compassionate, caring, romantic, chivalrous, and honest. He was all of these things and so much more. And I, through my fear of my own self, threw all of this away.
Indeed, in my own small steps toward self-discovery, I hurt the one person who never treated me like "Josie Grossie"; instead he treated me as if I was beautiful, that I was worthy of his attention. And for his trouble, he learned that I was utterly unworthy of his trust.
To this man, you know who you are, I am so sorry. And although this article may serve as a step, it in no way makes up for what I did to you. But even still, I would like to add one more thing: I think I am in love with you.
You see, by vicariously revisiting my high school years through Aldys, I found out that I was a loser, again. But through his eyes, I discovered it wasn't so bad, that I wasn't so bad. Through his eyes I was able to find my strength at last, my belief in myself that for Aldys had come so easily. Through his eyes I came to believe that I was and could be a beautiful, lovable person. Through his eyes I began to believe that the dream, finally, would come true.
But alas, we always wake from our dreams, just as I did with mine. And once awake, I discovered that because of my own fears, my own failings, I shattered the dream and shattered both our hearts in the process.
I know that his eyes, his smile, his heart, will haunt me for years to come. Still, for the sake of having known him, I would gladly go through all the heartache again�because I wouldn't give back even a moment I spent with him.
Because through it all, I realized that inside of everyone is a loser afraid to be loved, and out there is the one person who can kiss us and make it all better. And I know with every fiber of my being that if only we had kissed, he would have been that one person.
* * *
Sam laid the paper down in stunned silence, blinking back tears. His thoughts were racing and colliding like he was in the center of a pinball machine. Undoubtedly, the most prominent feeling was elation. Every method of reaching Josie seemed too slow. When Sam was finally able to think coherently, he began to form a more creative plan. For once, he was going to be the one to reach out, to take the chance.
He ransacked the drawers in the kitchen, hoping that he hadn't packed his phone book. No! There it was. He flipped impatiently through the pages and stopped on the entry "Geller, Rob." He remembered meeting Josie's brother at Senior Nite and hearing a snatch of their conversation -- something about Rob hoping to be the assistant baseball coach at South Glen South soon.
* * *
Josie's piece attracted much more attention than was expected for a 'public interest' story with no pictures. Calls were pouring into the Sun-Times offices by the hundreds. Some wanted to thank Josie, and others were a little sillier -- "I'd like to give Miss Geller her first kiss."
Rigfort was both surprised and thrilled at the public's response, and sent her a memo scribbled on golf-themed notepaper, promising her an undercover feature eventually.
Many of her colleagues at the office had compliments as well. Most of the women said, "Oh, Josie, it was so sweet and sincere. Have you really never been kissed?" and most of the men ventured, "Nice piece, Geller." But no one's feelings could match Gus' expression of gratitude: a brief, awkward hug.
Josie tucked herself away in her office and sat quietly at her desk, sipping coffee and admiring the view from her window. She had just finished reading a card from Lydia, apologizing profusely for what she'd done "the other night." Josie was now at peace with almost everything; unfortunately, the one thing that still disturbed her was also the biggest.
She had heard the opinions of hundreds of people who'd read her article, but she hadn't heard from the only person who mattered. She tried to convince herself that maybe he hadn't read it, but still couldn't shake the feeling that she'd really lost him forever.
Her phone rang, and she picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hey, Josie," came a familiar voice.
"Rob!" Josie exclaimed, surprised. Rob almost never called her at the office.
"Yeah, that's me," her brother replied. "I read your story."
Josie laughed. "I didn't know you read the newspaper."
"I don't," Rob confessed. "Somebody told me about it. Anyway, congrats."
"Thanks," Josie said, smiling. "What are you up to?"
"Well, tonight's the big game. Our guys are nervous, but they're psyched."
"Big game?" she asked absent-mindedly.
"Yeah, Josie!" said Rob, exasperated that she didn't remember. "It's for the state title!"
"Wow! Good luck." Josie knew that she should show more enthusiasm for her brother's success, but in her depressed state, she just couldn't manage it.
"Thanks." After a moment Rob's voice brightened and he said, as if he'd just thought of it, "Hey, why don't you come?"
Josie sighed, thinking that she'd much rather be at home nursing her broken heart in front of a container of Rocky Road ice cream. "I'll think about it, okay?"
"Nope, that's not enough. You have to promise to be there. Promise me, Josie!" Rob insisted.
"Okay, okay. I promise," Josie replied, realizing that an argument with Rob was futile.
"Atta girl," Rob said cheerfully. "See you tonight."
* * *
Josie and Anita slid past the knees of several people and found an empty spot on the bleachers near the top of the crowded stadium. Anita leaned over and said to Josie teasingly, "I bet not one person here realizes that they have a true genius in their midst: Josie Geller, the Sun-Times writer who gained fame overnight."
Josie elbowed Anita in the ribs and laughed. "Shhh!" she hissed.
The game's announcer crackled, "Welcome to the Illinois State Baseball Championship, this year hosted by South Glen South High School!" The audience cheered. "But before the game," the announcer continued, "one of our faculty has a brief message. If everyone would please turn their attention to the pitcher's mound."
Josie squinted down at the field as a figure walked out to the mound. Something seemed vaguely familiar about the way he walked� Shaking her head, Josie realized it was simply wishful thinking. She had been seeing Sam everywhere for the last two days. They were sitting so far up in the stands; she couldn't even make out the person's face. Not very good seats for the game, she mused, but she was here to support her brother, and that was all that mattered to her.
Josie looked down at her tennis shoes and tried to calm herself. Her heart was racing from her supposed "sighting" of Sam. Suddenly, Anita put her hand on Josie's arm and squeezed hard. "Ohmigod."
"Ouch," Josie complained, shaking her arm to loosen Anita's grip. "What is it?" she asked, irritated, as she rubbed the spot on her arm where Anita's fingers had dug in.
"Josie," Anita said breathlessly, pointing her finger toward the lone figure on the field, "can't you see who that is?"
Josie turned back to the field and squinted, trying to determine who it was, but then she didn't have to. The figure began speaking through a microphone he held in his hand and Josie realized, her heart skipping a beat, that it was Sam's voice.
"Hello, everyone. I know you're all as eager as I am for the game to start," Sam began. "But if you'd just give me five minutes; I've got something I want to say. I'm an English teacher here at South Glen. Many of you might know me indirectly from an article that appeared in the Sun-Times this morning."
There were audible gasps in the crowd, proving to Josie just how many people her little article had touched. The crowd fell silent, almost straining to hear what Sam would say next. Though the audience didn't yet know where Sam was going with this, Josie felt the tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "Anita," she said softly, reaching for her friend's hand. Anita gave Josie's hand a reassuring squeeze, also on the verge of tears of happiness for her friend.
"Josie Geller --" At the mention of her name, there was a collective gasp from the people in the stadium, and everyone began whispering and looking around as if to determine who she was. Sam paused to let the noise die down. "Josie Geller," Sam said again, "I'm in love with you, too. And if you'd come down here, I'd be thrilled and more than honored to give you your first real kiss."
Josie started trembling and crying, shocked. She was so shocked, in fact, she was unable to budge from her seat.
"Josie, get down there!" Anita whispered furiously. "Josie!"
Somehow, Josie managed to rise (perhaps owing to the fact that Anita had begun pushing her) and felt her legs leading her, still shaking, down the seemingly endless steps. Above the pounding of her heart, she could hear the crowd cheering, "Josie! Josie! Josie!"
After what seemed like eternity, she got to the gate that led onto the field. Suddenly Rob was there, ready to help her down the steps. "Rob, did you --" she began.
But he simply shook his head to cut her off. "Later," he replied, and pointed out to the pitcher's mound. "Looks like you've got something more important to do�" he trailed off, smiling encouragingly at her.
Sam felt his heart bursting through his chest when he caught his first glimpse of Josie making her way down the steps toward him. Up until then, he had been exhausted from carrying moving boxes all afternoon, but now he was so excited, he felt that he could run miles. Slowly, shyly, Josie began to cross the field to reach him. Sam studied her wearing white t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes and sighed happily, thinking he'd never seen anyone more beautiful than she was at that moment.
When she stepped onto the mound with him, Sam took both of her hands to pull her closer, afraid that if he let her go, that somehow she would vanish and he would be alone again. Tears glimmered in Josie's eyes as she smiled up at him and�to his surprise�quoted one of his favorite lines from As You Like It. "What would you say to me now, an I were your very very Rosalind?" she asked with a watery smile, meeting his eyes.
Sam reached up with both hands to softly wipe away the tears from Josie's eyes with his thumbs. Then, slipping his hands down her arms and then around her waist, he murmured Orlando's reply -- "I would kiss before I spoke" -- as he leaned forward to touch her lips with his own at last.
When their lips met, the crowd broke into thunderous applause, but neither of them heard it. Josie lifted her arms to circle Sam's neck as he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist to hold her even closer to him. Everything�the crowd, the ballpark, the stadium lights�all of it faded away until it was just the two of them together alone, sharing the most wondrous, magical kiss.
Finally, Sam pulled back a little, looked down at Josie, and tilted up a corner of his mouth, studying her as if he just couldn't take his eyes off her. Josie closed her eyes, laughing and crying at the same time. "I love you, Sam," she told him as he lifted one hand to softly caress the side of her face, much as he had done on the Ferris wheel.
"I love you, too," he answered Josie softly. Staring straight into her eyes, Sam asked her, "So�were you right? Am I 'that one person'?"
Josie's breath caught in her throat at the teasing, sexy look Sam was giving her. It took her breath away and all she could do was nod her reply.
With a ghost of a smile, Sam whispered back, "For me, too�" His eyes wandered down to her mouth, and he doubted that he could ever get enough of her as they kissed again, more boldly this time. And for them, the dream was not over; indeed, it had just begun.
THE END!
* * *