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* * *
Josie's short piece went largely unnoticed, though Anita valiantly remarked that it was the best first article she'd ever seen. Even Rigfort, in passing, had said, "Geller, good work. Nice touch with you judging the projects. I like to see reporters involved with their stories!"
She hadn't heard from Gus, though, and since she assumed that he wasn't impressed, she resolved to get her mind back on copy-editing . . . and off of Sam Coulson. Josie knew that she was a fanciful person, but it was impossible to convince herself that a man like Sam would go for "Josie Grossie."
"Geller!" Josie's head snapped up at the sound of Gus' voice.
"What is it?" she asked, trying to look busy by shuffling some papers.
"This Sam Coulson - how old is he?"
"I guess he's my age. Definitely twenty-something." She gave him a puzzled look. "Why?"
"I think I know where Lydia should go with her story."
He paused as Josie's bewilderment turned into indignation. "Gus, this is a nice guy!"
"Then there shouldn't be anything to worry about. But if he isn't such a 'nice guy,' we've got quite a story. You spent several hours with him. What does he like?"
"Twelfth Night," Josie mumbled.
"What?"
"Never mind. Look, I don't know, Gus. We just talked about the projects."
"Is he a good-looking guy?"
Josie shrugged and hoped she wasn't blushing. "I guess."
"Find me a picture."
"But . . . I don't . . . where?"
"Try the internet. See if South Glen has a faculty page. A reporter learns to investigate."
As Josie double-clicked the internet icon on her computer desktop, Anita's voice came from the doorway. "Stop being such a jerk, Augustus."
"Anita, how's Roger?"
"Ha ha. Did you tell her you're giving her another assignment?"
"If you mean the one where I betray someone I recently befriended, then yes, he has," Josie said wryly. She typed "South Glen" into a search engine.
"Actually, no," Gus said. "A lawyer from an upscale New York firm is coming here to research a case. Her name's Laura Patton. I wanted you to interview her."
"I'll think about it," Josie said casually, though she was really thrilled. She found a link to South Glen's homepage and clicked on "Faculty." She scrolled down the page to the English department.
"There he is!" Gus exclaimed. "Sam Coulson. Let's see if he has a mug shot."
He did. Josie was unwilling to hold back a fond smile as she saw his face again. "Oh, he's hot," Anita swooned.
"He's perfect," Gus agreed. "Print that out, Geller." A minute later, Gus had left the office armed with a picture and the knowledge that Sam Coulson liked Twelfth Night.
Anita leaned over Josie's desk to get a closer glimpse of Sam. "Mmmm. I hope you got his number."
"I still have his number at work." Anita gave her a look. "He has a girlfriend, Anita."
"So? That's never stopped me."
Josie smiled and shook her head. "I don't think the man for me is someone who would cheat on his girlfriend."
"E-mail that web address to me. I might print out a picture for myself."
"Anita!" Josie laughed.
"Well, seriously. I have work to do. You really should accept that assignment from Gus."
"I fully intend to."
Anita grinned. "Good girl."
When Anita left, Josie was able to do some more exploring of her own. The page was brief; it had Sam's picture, his alma mater and degree, and a list of the classes he taught. She was pleased to discover that he had double-majored in English and journalism, just as she had. He had also picked up a masters. Her pulse quickened when she saw his email address at the bottom of the page. She bit her lip and debated with herself, then finally decided to take the plunge.
"Sam, thanks for your time at the Festival, and for helping me brush up on my Shakespeare. I had a great afternoon. Josie Geller."
With a deep breath, she clicked "Send." She told herself to pull it together. This wasn't exactly a brave thing to do - it was more polite than anything else. It was only a thank-you note.
* * *
Monday morning, Josie noticed that a large crowd was gathered in Gus' office. She went over to investigate, and found that Lydia was wearing a hidden camera. Everything she did was broadcast on a TV in Gus' office. Gus noticed her standing in the doorway and motioned for her to come in.
"She's wasting no time," he remarked. "You can't see, of course, but she's got on a bustier and a miniskirt. And you know Lydia . . ." Yes, Josie knew Lydia. She was 5'10'', skinny, and gorgeous - and she knew it. "Those girls around her seem to be the 'it' girls," Gus added. "She's jumping right in there."
Josie couldn't care less about the "it" girls; her eyes were on Sam as he began his lecture on As You Like It. He wrote "pastoral" on the board and asked the class for a definition. Here was an easy chance for Lydia to impress him. But no one said anything. "Pastoral means 'set in the country,'" Sam explained.
She forced herself to leave and go to her own office. To her great surprise, she found an email from Sam awaiting her. It was longer than the one she'd sent.
"Josie, How good to hear from you again! Please don't thank me; the other afternoon was my pleasure. If only my students shared the smallest percent of your love for the subject. I'm starting As You Like It today, and I expect my lecture to be heralded with blank stares. But such is the life of a highschool teacher! If you want to hang out this evening and you get this message in time, call me around 3:00. Sam."
Josie stared at the email with her mouth open, then closed the message window and reminded herself to breathe. In a fit of confusion, she dialed the Tiki Post and asked for her brother Rob. Anita could hardly give impartial advice when it came to dating, and Josie had no one else to turn to. "Hey. What's up, Josie?"
She launched right into it. "Rob, there's this guy . . ."
"You got a date!" he interrupted enthusiastically.
"No! I mean . . . not really . . . I hope not. I wanted to ask you."
"Okay, you lost me."
"You read my article?"
"Yes, I have it framed on my wall."
"Rob, please be serious."
"Of course I read it."
"The teacher, Sam Coulson. We talked a lot that afternoon, but he mentioned a girlfriend."
"Okay."
"Well, he sent me an email this morning that said, 'If you want to hang out this evening, give me a call.'"
"So you're going to call him, right?"
"You think I should?"
"Oh, I see. You don't want to come between him and his girlfriend."
"Right."
"I still say go for it. He was open with you - told you he had a girlfriend. And 'hang out' sounds like a friend-type thing."
"You think so?"
"No problem. Go have some fun!" Rob paused. "You really like this guy, don't you?"
"Yeah," she admitted.
"You want me to hit on his girlfriend for you?"
"Rob!"
"Okay, okay." They both laughed. "Look, I've gotta go."
"I have to go," she corrected him.
"Whatever. See you later."
Josie couldn't disguise her happiness as she hung up the phone. Now she just had to wait for 3:00.
* * *
Josie dialed Sam's number and her heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice. "Sam Coulson."
"Hi. It's Josie."
"Josie! Hey!"
"Your e-mail said to call . . ." she trailed off.
"Yeah. I thought we could go have some fun. I mean, unless you have something else to do."
Ha! "No, I don't have anything planned. What did you have in mind?"
"Well . . . how do you like roller-skating?"
"I don't know. I've never skated."
"Okay, then how do you feel about learning new things?"
Josie laughed. "Sounds great."
Sam agreed to pick her up at the Sun-Times when she got off at five. When Josie hung up, her face was glowing. She almost ran to Anita's office. "Guess who's picking me up from work this evening?" she asked.
"Rob?"
"Sam Coulson."
Anita's mouth fell open. "Josie! You little sneak! After all that virtuous 'he's got a girlfriend' talk!"
"We're not going on a date," Josie quickly corrected. "We're just going to have some fun as friends."
"What kind of fun?" asked Anita, lifting an eyebrow.
"Rollerskating."
"Do you know how?"
"I haven't the smallest clue."
"Well, that's great! It's so easy to flirt when a guy's teaching you how to do something," Anita instructed. "And skating - oh, that's perfect! You can just fall right into his arms. You know, like, accidentally kiss him or something."
Josie grinned. "Accidentally kiss him?"
"Well . . . maybe not exactly. But definitely fall into his arms a few times."
* * *