Editor's note: Okay, this is it, folks. This monster of a story is the last in this storyline. I hope you will love it. And, just so you won't be too sad, Lea is already working on a new storyline for you all to read. Enjoy!
* * *
I woke up the morning my article ran and rushed to my door to get my paper. There it was, in the Lifestyles section, on the front page.
The picture I had taken of Josie seconds after she was crowned was in the center of the page. "To Be Seventeen Again," by Caroline Spenser. Photograph by Caroline Spencer. I was so excited. I was re-reading the words that I had written late the night before as I poured myself a glass of apple juice.
"Josie Geller is the bravest person I have ever had the honor of knowing. " I read aloud as I picked up the phone to call Rob. He had left two messages the night before, very upset that Josie had exposed him as well as herself at the prom.
His mother answered, telling me that he was sleeping.
"Can you please tell him that I am sorry that I didn't get a chance to call him last night? I was at work until 3 AM."
"Sure, Caroline."
I said thank you and hung up. I looked at the clock on my entertainment center. Eleven-thirty. I was surprised that Janeane hadn't called yet to yell at me. I had finished with the article so late the night before that I just gave it to the people in the layout department, instructing them to rush it into Sunday's paper. They had Janeane's initial instructions to make this happen from weeks before, so they didn't question. I knew that she would be pissed with me that I hadn't given it to her to read first, but I was so proud of it that I didn't want her to tell me that I had to take a different angle, her angle, about the relationship developing between Josie and her teacher. I refused to do that to Josie. Janeane could just be angry.
I went upstairs and got dressed in jeans and a black velvet blouse, put on boots and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I had decided to go to Janeane and face her wrath rather than let her track me down. Then I needed to go see Rob, and hopefully, Josie.
* * *
I was right, Janeane was not happy with me at all. In fact, she was fuming. As soon as I poked my head in her office, she started in on me.
"Get in here right now." She demanded. "And close the door."
I did as she asked and sat down in one of the leather chairs in front of her desk. "You saw my article, then?" I asked.
"Save it. Your little cutesie tricks are useless on me right now, Caroline. I'm just wondering what part of my instructions weren't clear with you. Was it the part where I said 'Do the article on Josie and her teacher/student romance'? Or was it where I get final approval of what you write? My being your editor and all. Huh?"
"I didn't want to write that story, Janeane."
"I don't care what you wanted to write. I told you what to write and you grossly disobeyed me."
"This is a better article. It's not sensationalism. It's real. Josie is a nice person and she deserves to be seen as that. Why can't you understand that? Nothing happened with her and her teacher. They just made googly eyes at each other a few times. It was nothing."
"It was up to you to make it something. I was counting on you."
"I'm not that kind of reporter."
"You aren't a reporter at all! You are a columnist. I gave you a chance here and you blew it. You proved that you can't follow instructions, you aren't reliable or capable."
"Capable?! What? I did this stupid assignment for two months and wrote my weekly column! Eight weeks, Janeane. I'm not capable?"
"Of being a reporter, no. You got involved with people during this assignment. You are emotionally involved, and that's a bad thing to be while on an assignment of any sort. In this business you have to turn all of your emotions off. I don't care if this girl was Mother Freaking Theresa, you were told to write about her relationship with that teacher and you didn't. You made her look good; therefore you handed them sales. Everyone who reads your little article is now going to buy the Sun-Times to read her version. The whole point of this was to steal sales from them. You blew it, Caroline."
I stood my ground. "Like I said, I am not that kind of reporter. I don't want to hurt people, and especially not good people like Josie and her teacher."
"Well, that's good, because you will never get the chance again."
"Are you firing me?"
"No. I am just never going to give you a reporting assignment again. You will be stuck in column land for the rest of your career here. Congratulations." She looked away from me and started typing on her computer.
I stood and went to the door, my hand on the knob as she said, "Oh, and forget about the bonuses and a raise. Those are things that one has to earn, which you did not." I took a deep breath and walked out, slamming her door.
I couldn't believe it. No raise? No bonus? Never going to get another reporting assignment? I walked to my cubicle and sat down. "Why should I even be here?" I asked aloud.
"Hey, Cara, liked your piece." I looked up into the face of Frank Marxson. He had that cocky smile directed at me.
"I'm really in no mood for your shit today Frank." I said.
"I'm serious." He said.
"So am I."
"Caroline, I'm serious. It was a good piece. I'm impressed." He leaned on the partition, his face closer to mine.
"Just say thanks, because who knows when I'll compliment you again."
"Thanks. Try telling our editor that it's good."
"I did. This morning."
I looked up at him. "Thank you."
"Sure." He stood up straight. "This does not mean that we are friends, you realize."
"I make it a point not to associate with assholes, Frank."
He smiled. "That-a-girl." He walked away.
I went back to looking at my cluttered cubicle. There was a pile of disks on top of a pile of papers, copies of dictated notes, copies of all of my columns. Pages of research for previous articles. A picture of me and my sister Jennie when we were kids, swinging on the swing set in our backyard. A picture of Jennie and her husband, Kyle, and their baby Audrey. A picture of me with my friends from college, the ones that I hadn't kept in touch with. A picture of my parents at their 30th anniversary last year. Pens and pencils strewn about. Written notes from Janeane instructing me to go a certain way with my columns. I sighed. What did I really have here?
I stood up and walked back to her office. I knocked.
"Come in." she said. She looked up. "What now?"
" I am putting in my two-week's notice. I believe that I wrote a good article. I did the right thing with this. Ratings and sales are not more important than ruining two innocent people's lives. I don't think I want to work for a paper where things like morals and integrity are looked upon as faults."
"All right then," she looked back at her computer screen. "Good luck finding a paper that fits your idealism, Caroline. I can tell you now you'd have a better chance selling snowcones in Alaska in the middle of winter."
"I appreciate your support, Janeane. I knew I could count on it." I walked out of her office and to the elevator. I had to go see Rob.
* * *
Rob came out onto the front porch when he saw that it was me at the door. He had a newspaper in his hands. "Hi." I said. "How are you doing?"
"Why are you even here?" he asked.
"What?"
"Why are you even here?" He repeated. "What could you possibly want?"
"I�I don't understand�"
He held out the Lifestyles section of the Tribune. I let out a long breath. "Care to explain this? How could you do this!? Did you ask to do this? Did you come looking for me as just another way to benefit your story?"
I was shaking my head. "No, Rob, no. I...I was given the assignment and then I met you...I didn't know you were Josie's brother�"
"How can you expect me to believe you? You were there? At South Glen? Just sneaking around? Trying to hurt my sister?"
"I didn't hurt her! Did you read the article?"
"I read it."
"Then what? Why are you so mad at me?"
"You have been lying to me for months, Caroline!" he was looking at me with so much anger in his eyes.
"I never lied! I just didn't tell you...it was complicated!"
I couldn't believe that Rob wouldn't listen to me. I hadn't harmed his sister in any way, so why was he so angry? Janeane had said it; I probably handed the Sun-Times sales. "Rob, listen to me. I did what I did for the sake of my job, not that that mattered at all, since I quit this morning."
"Why did you quit?"
"Janeane said that I didn't follow her instructions, that I wouldn't be getting a raise or the bonus she promised me and that I would never get the chance to be a reporter again. So, I put in my two weeks notice. Rob, she wanted me to write the article on the relationship between Josie and Mr. Coulson, and I wouldn't do it. As you can clearly see, I didn't do it." I motioned to the paper in his hand. "I think your sister is great. I couldn't hurt her."
"What relationship between Josie and Mr. Coulson? They don't have a relationship."
"I know that. But it looks like they have feelings for one another and I had that in my notes, and Janeane saw them, and�that's what she wanted to see in my story. Not what I wrote."
"Why?"
"Better ratings. Bigger sales. Scandal sells." I stepped closer to him. "Please don't be mad at me."
"Caroline, you have been lying to me for months, but you expected me to be honest with you. How is that fair?"
"It isn't. And I am so, so sorry." He was looking at the newspaper again. "How come I never saw you, not once?"
"I was in disguise. Blond wig."
He looked at me, but still seemed confused. "I can't believe this..."
"I was at your baseball game, Rob. I was in disguise. And then we got into that fight and I couldn't tell you that I had been there...I am sorry."
He let a little smile creep into the corners of his lips.
"I can't trust you."
"Yes you can."
"You have to earn it."
"I will."
"You have to apologize to Josie."
"I'm going to her apartment after I leave here."
"I'm still mad."
"Okay. That's okay."
"I'm still hurt."
"Okay."
"I need to think about everything."
"Do you love me?"
He fidgeted from foot to foot. "Yes," he said quietly. "That's why this all sucks so much. In one day I can't be on the baseball team anymore, right before the championship game, because my sister told the entire school that I was her 23 year old brother, and then I wake up and find out that my girlfriend has been lying to me, too."
"Well, please, take your time, okay? Just remember that I am the same girl that you fell in love with. I'm the same girl that you loved yesterday." I kissed his cheek lightly. "I love you."
"Do you? Because I am really confused."
"I just explained."
"You didn't explain how you could keep doing that story after you met me. And after you met Josie. What did you do, anyway? Follow her around?"
I nodded. "I met you on my first day undercover. I didn't find out that Josie was your sister until you told me that you had enrolled at South Glen and that she was your sister. By that time it was too late for me to back out. I was already in too deep."
He took a deep breath. "I need to be alone." He turned the handle of the doorknob.
"Okay. Will you call me when you're ready?"
"Yeah. See ya." He went inside and closed the door.
"That went well." I said to myself with sarcasm. I walked to my car. As I got in, Rob's mom pulled into the driveway. I waved at her and she waved back, then held up her first finger, gesturing that I wait a minute. She got out of her car and walked down the driveway to my car, leaning in.
"Are you mad at me, too?" I asked.
"Not at all. You wrote a lovely article on Josie. I wanted to thank you."
I smiled. "Thanks." I said.
"Robert will get over this. He's never had a serious girlfriend before you, you know, and he's a little shaken up. Deep down he understands why you kept it secret. Just give him some time."
"I will."
"And remember, he's may be 23 in age, but emotionally, he's still a kid. You have to teach him a lot about a mature relationship." She smiled.
"Thanks, Mrs. Geller." I started my car. "I have to go talk to Josie. Wish me luck."
"I don't think any is needed."
I smiled at her and headed to Josie's apartment.
* * *
"I knew you'd be here sooner or later," she said as I walked up her walkway.
She was sitting on the front stoop, drinking a glass of iced tea and reading a book. She placed the book aside and looked up at me. I could see her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying. "What made you decide to write that article, Caroline? Did you ask for the assignment after you met me and found out that I was undercover there?"
"My boss has an informant...someone at the Sun-Times who tells us what your big stories are and who's doing them. That's how we tend to have a lot of stories out the day before yours on the same topics. Remember the pesticide expose that Frank Marxson did? Hyram Rigfort called our newsroom in a fit that day." I chuckled at the memory of Rigfort's ranting. He had demanded that we tell him who was giving away their stories, all the while flinging out obscenities.
Josie smiled. "Yeah, he wasn't very happy. He fired our reporter for that."
"That doesn't surprise me. Anyway, my editor came to me and told me I was doing this assignment. I had no choice. I thought it was a bogus assignment to be on with the exception of being able to be out of the office most of the day. But then things got complicated. I met Rob, and liked him and started to date him. Then I met you and liked you, too."
"I know."
"So, I was in a rough spot. I had to finish my assignment�you know how that goes."
"Yeah."
"But I didn't want to hurt you or Rob in the process."
"Well, honestly, your article makes me seem like a saint, so that didn't hurt me. I just felt betrayed."
"I'm sorry, Jos."
"I forgive you. Especially now that I know the whole story."
"Oh, you don't."
I saw a shadow of fear pass her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I was constantly taking notes, you know, observations and whatnot. And I would transcribe them to disk at the office. And some of my notes were about you and Mr. Coulson."
"No." She didn't say this like a plea, or with anger. It came out more like a faint noise escaping through clenched teeth.
"My editor, Janeane, wanted me to write about you and him."
"There is nothing happening between me and Sam!" she shouted.
"I know that! That's why I didn't write it. But she's mad, Josie. At me. And I think she may just write it herself."
"Can she do that?"
"She can give my disk to any reporter and tell them to write it."
"Can you stop them?"
I shook my head. "I quit today."
"But they're your notes, they belong to you. Caroline, this could ruin Sam's career!"
"I left today on pretty bad terms..."
I looked at her pleading eyes, the one tear escaping to roll down her cheek.
"Okay, I'll go back and see if the disks are still there. I'll do my best to squash this."
"Thank you!!" she threw her arms around my shoulders. I hugged her back.
"You have to level with me, though, reporter to reporter. What is going on?"
"Between me and Sam?" I nodded. "Nothing. He won't talk to me. He said that I have been lying to him."
"Sounds like your brother."
"What? Rob's mad?"
"He's hurt. And I'm sure that's all Sam is feeling too. Did he tell you how he feels about you?"
"He never got a chance to, and neither did I."
"What do you feel?"
"I think I am falling in love with him."
"Tell him, Josie. Find a way."
"I will. Believe me. I am not going to let him go without a fight."
* * *
I marched into the office Monday morning and headed for my cubicle. I saw that everyone was looking at me like I was an outsider, like I no longer belonged. And maybe they were right. I felt that I had found my conscience, something that I often times left behind when working. Journalism is a cutthroat business, especially at this newspaper.
When I got to my cubicle I saw that there were boxes on my chair and desktop, waiting to be filled. I looked at Kelley St. Claire, whose cubicle was across from mine. "Did Janeane put these here?"
"I think so," she said, coldly.
I rolled my eyes and started putting my belongings into the boxes. I guessed that my last day had been the day before when I put in my notice. I had packed all of my framed photographs when I remembered my promise to Josie. I grabbed the entire stack of disks and threw them into the box. I was gathering together all of the papers that were strewn about when Janeane stopped by the opening of the cubicle.
"I decided it would be beneficial to both parties if you left today," she said.
"I see that." I replied, not looking at her.
"You will get two weeks severance pay."
"Great. I want my back vacation pay as well. I haven't taken a vacation in over a year. And I never called in sick, so I want my sick pay that is due to me."
"Fine."
"I want it in writing." I looked up at her, placing my hands on my hips.
She squinted her eyes in a glare, and then turned to face the office. "Jeffrey! Please type up Caroline Spenser's severance contract, including all of her vacation and sick pay. I need it in no less than ten minutes."
Her assistant jumped up from his chair to pull my employee file. She turned back to me. "None of this would be necessary if you had just written what I said to."
"Whatever."
"Look, Caroline, you are a good writer, you just have to learn to follow the rules."
"Your rules. I don't need to do that at all. I am free."
"Fine, have it your way."
"That's the way I like it." I picked up the one box that I had filled and faced her. "I'd like a copy of that contract, please."
Janeane walked briskly away from me and stopped at Jeffrey's desk. "How is that coming along?" she asked loudly. Jeffrey mumbled his response. "Well, hurry it up. Bring it in to me to sign as soon as you're finished with it." She walked into her office, leaving the door open.
I took one last look around my cubicle to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
"What are your plans now?" Kelley asked. I knew she was asking to break the uncomfortable silence, not because she cared.
"I'm not sure." I replied, picking my box back up. I couldn't believe that three years of my life spent in this office fit into one solitary box.
"Do you really think it was wise to quit so abruptly, then? Without a back up plan?"
"You know, I do." I leaned against the corner of the partition. Everyone was either busy or pretending to be busy. I tapped my foot impatiently. I saw that Jeffrey was going into Janeane's office so I walked to his desk and waited for the copy of the contract that he would eventually make for me. When he handed it to me he gave me a sympathetic smile.
"Good luck, Caroline," he said.
"Thanks, Jeffrey." I put the contract in the box and walked to the elevator without looking back.
I sat on my couch with my laptop on the table in front of me. I had one last disk left to look on and I was pretty sure that my notes weren't on it. All of my disks were labeled according to story or column so that they could be filed accordingly. I was positive that I had taken all of the disks from my desk, including the one in the computer. I counted them for a third time. Twenty- nine. I know I had thirty lying around my desk because I had just bought three boxes of ten disks. Which meant that someone had taken one. Someone who knew what was on that particular disk. I leaned back with a sigh, staring at the ceiling. How could I tell Josie that I may have inadvertently ruined her life?
I got up on Tuesday morning with a heavy heart. I didn't know how I was going to fulfill my promise to Josie to catch this before it went public. I took a quick shower, put on jeans, my good luck T-shirt (a babydoll dark blue Weezer shirt that I had gotten five years earlier right before finals my senior year at Stanford) and my Airwalk sneakers, pulled my hair into two braids and left my loft. I got in my car and headed for the Trib office. If Janeane could play dirty then so could I.
* * *
I stepped into the office and walked around the side wall instead of through the middle past Janeane's office. I stopped at Frank Marxson's cubicle. He was busy typing on his computer, a pen hanging from his mouth. I glanced quickly at the walls of his cubicle, which were covered with pictures of girls that had been sent to him. I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat quietly. He turned around and looked up at me.
"Caroline. You look like a college student," he said.
"Just the way you like your girls to be, apparently," I said, waving my hand to the walls.
"Touch�. What are you doing here?"
"I need to ask you something. Can you meet me downstairs in ten minutes?"
He smiled, his brown eyes twinkling. "Have you finally accepted your feelings for me?"
"Don't jump to ridiculous conclusions, Frank. So, take a break?"
"Yeah, I'll see you out front in ten minutes."
"Thanks." I smiled and went out as quietly and unnoticed as I had come in. I walked out of the building and sat on a bench close to the street, watching cars go by as I waited for Frank. To my surprise he sat down exactly ten minutes later, pulling a cigarette out of the pack in his jacket pocket and lighting it.
"Want one?" he asked, extending the pack my way.
"I quit three years ago, thanks."
"Well, okay. What can I do for you?"
"I know we aren't the best of friends..."
"Yes."
"...and I am probably crazy to think that I could ask a favor of you..."
"Probably."
"Frank, please, this isn't easy for me."
He smiled that smile that I have seen melt the hearts of many a woman. "I know that. Why should I make this any easier?"
"Because it is taking a lot of courage for me to go to my rival..."
"Cara, sweetheart, ask me anything."
"Please don't call me that." I took a deep breath. "I think that Janeane has stolen a disk of mine with some information from my undercover assignment that I don't want made public."
"I am not stealing for you."
"I'm not asking you to. I just want to know if you can find out who she's giving the story to and when it's going to run."
"What is the story?"
"Teacher-student relations."
"What would I get out of this?"
I took another deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I suppose my undying gratitude wouldn't be enough?"
He smiled but shook his head 'no'.
"OK, name your price."
He raised one eyebrow. "Hmmm, this could be interesting."
"Frank, I'm not asking that much of you."
"Yes, but this must be really important if you are willing to swallow your pride and ask me."
"Right. So be fair, please."
"Go to dinner with me."
"I have a boyfriend."
"I didn't ask you to marry me, Cara, just dinner."
"A date?"
"Just dinner. Two friends, talking."
"We aren't friends, Frank."
"We are now. Dinner, tonight, eight o'clock. I'll give you whatever info I can find for you."
I leaned back on the bench, defeated. He took a last drag of his cigarette and tossed it into the street, standing up. I stood up as well. "Where?"
"Meet me at Bella Tino's, on Waterfront."
"At eight?"
He nodded. "See you then, Cara mia." he walked away before I could react. I sat back on the bench and put my head in my hands.
It felt like I had just signed my soul to the devil.
* * *
It had been two days and Rob still hadn't called. I guessed that he was madder than I had thought. I called the Tiki Post but was told that he had quit the day before.
"Something about a job teaching baseball," his boss told me.
Teaching baseball? How did that come about? I wanted to call him at home, but decided to wait until he was ready to call me. It was torturous. I spent the day writing out my resume and searching the Internet for a job in the journalism field.
At 7:00 I got ready for my dinner with Frank. I put on a black A-line skirt and a black and purple � length sleeved shirt and my black platform shoes with the t- straps.
I arrived at Bella Tino's at ten past eight, and was shown to the table. Frank was already there, smoking.
"Nice of you to be on time, Cara."
"I'm sorry. Traffic. I live on the other side of town from this place."
"Excuses, excuses." The waitress came up and placed a glass of red wine in front of me. "I took the liberty of ordering your drink for you."
"Thanks." I smiled meekly. "I'm not a fan of wine, though."
I looked up at the waitress. "Could I have an Ameretto Sour, please."
"Sure." She took the wine and walked away.
"Sorry, Frankie."
"Hey, whatever. How was I to know?"
"I guess that's what you get for being presumptuous."
"At least I didn't order your meal for you." he said as we both looked down at our menus.
The waitress came back with my drink. She took our orders and walked away.
Turning back to look at Frank, I shook my head. "You know, you aren't that good looking. How do you turn so many heads?"
"Confidence, my dear. You have it too; you just don't notice all the turned heads. You are too wrapped up in your thoughts all the time to take notice of the world around you. It's a wonder you managed to notice this boyfriend of yours." He said "boyfriend" with sarcasm.
I narrowed my eyes. "That was almost a compliment, I think."
"It was absolutely a compliment. You are a beautiful girl."
"Thank you."
"And you are hard working and smart. Which is why you hate me."
"I don't exactly hate you. You just managed to get all the stories that I wanted to do and then you were cocky about it."
"Well, let me tell you a little known secret, since you aren't an employee of the Trib anymore. I got all those stories because I was sleeping with Janeane."
"What?!" I started laughing, picturing those two in bed. Janeane all bossy, "do this, do that" and Frank probably just admiring himself in the mirror the whole time. "You slept with her to get stories?"
"No, I slept with her, initially, because we went out for drinks after work one night and it happened. And she was really into it for a while, so I kept it up so to speak." He grinned and I rolled my eyes. "Then she started giving me these great assignments so I kept sleeping with her until she grew bored of me."
"How can you just sleep with someone? Without feelings?"
"Honey, I'm a man. We don't need any more reason than the fact that the girl wants to. It's very simple. Don't you have brothers?"
"No, a sister."
He shrugged his shoulders. "So, there you have it. I was a kept man of sorts for a few months. She still throws the juicy stories my way, though."
"I bet."
"And, speaking of juicy stories, let's get down to business. Your mysterious missing disk is in the hands of Janeane."
"I knew it!"
"Yeah, she's pissed at you, that's for sure. I'd suggest going to someone else for a reference on your next job."
"Man! What is she doing with it?"
"The disk? She's printing everything out and highlighting the good stuff. She let me read it."
"Great," I said sarcastically.
"Did your little friend ever get with her teacher?"
"No, she didn't. Those notes are my observations, they aren't facts! How can anyone even think to write a story on that? It's not even my opinion, it just my perception!"
"Calm down, Cara. Jesus, you're making a scene!" He glanced around the restaurant nervously.
"Fine. What else do you know?"
"She doesn't have a writer for the story chosen yet. My guess is it will be me."
"And why would you think that? Beyond the chance that she wants you in her bed again?"
"Let's face facts, here, shall we? As far as she can see, who do you hate the most?"
"You."
"Correct. And she's not exactly being adult about you disobeying her. She's taking it personally, and she's out for blood. She wants to hurt you."
"Why is she taking it so personally, though?"
"Because she looked at you as her protege, honey. You were supposed to be molded into another hard, no feeling workaholic. Someone she could be proud of."
I sighed. "All right, so in her eyes, the fact that the story will run isn't hurting me enough, so seeing your name on the By-Line will drive the stake home."
"Bingo." Our food arrived and out waitress placed the plates in front of us, looking only at Frank. He looked her in the eye and said, "Thank you, Annie." I never even saw him notice her name tag. That must be one of his tricks.
"You're welcome. Enjoy your meal." She walked off with a giggle.
Frank smiled at me. "Girls are so easy to please, Cara."
"You're not pleasing me."
"Not yet."
I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my vegetarian lasagna. "So, when will it run?"
"She wants it in Monday's. She's aiming at the Lifestyle section but hoping for the front page."
I covered my face with my hands and let out a little exasperated sigh.
"All right, so why are you so concerned with this story running anyway?"
"You read my article. Her brother is my boyfriend. She is my friend. I don't want to hurt her. Or Rob."
"How did you get all entangled in this? How hard is it to go undercover and keep it simple?"
"I have been trying to figure that out for weeks."
* * *
So that was it. Frank most likely would be writing the story and Janeane wanted it to run in next week's Monday edition. I sat at the breakfast bar and held the phone in my hand, ready to call Josie. That was only six days away. I noticed the light on my answering machine blinking and hit the play button.
"Hey, Caroline, it's Rob. Um...call me when you get this message, OK?" There was a pause. "I want to talk to you." Another pause. "Ok, bye."
There was a beep between messages. "Caroline, it's me again." Pause. "Rob. Uh...Okay, I miss you. That's all. Call me back. Bye."
I smiled. At least he wasn't mad anymore. The third call was from Josie. "Caroline, it's Josie. I need your advice, I think. Please call me."
I called Josie first. She sounded stressed. "I have to write this article to save my job, and the job of my boss," she said.
"You don't need help with the article, do you?"
She laughed. "No, I have that part covered. What I wanted to ask you is if you think that I should call Sam before the article runs. You see, he's a huge part of it and I thought maybe I should warn him."
"What are you going to write?"
"I'm going tell him that I am in love with him in it, and�well, I don't want to ruin the surprise by telling you everything. Just trust me."
"I don't think that you should tell him, Jos. I think that whatever you write it will be so romantic that he will have to forgive you."
"What if he doesn't see it?"
"I will make sure he does, if I have to put a copy of the paper on his doorstep myself."
"Thank you."
"When will your article be running?" I asked.
"In Sunday's edition. It's the front page Feature article!" she said, excitedly.
"Sunday! That's great! For you I mean."
"I have something big planned, Caroline. Wait until you see it."
* * *
Rob came over after I called him, saying that he wanted to talk in person. He had a long stemmed white rose in his hand, which he handed to me when I opened the door.
"Thank you," I said, bringing it to my nose. "You really shouldn't have."
"It's part of my apology," he said. He walked in and headed for the couch. I followed, sitting next to him. "You look nice."
"Thanks." I smiled. "I went to dinner with a..." I cleared my throat "...friend from the Trib."
"Was it nice?"
"Dinner? Surprisingly, yes. I didn't expect to have a nice time, but I did. Anyway, I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about us."
"Me too." He scooted closer to me and took my hand. "I'm sorry that I sorta flipped out on you."
"It's okay."
"I guess my feelings were hurt. But after I talked to Josie I thought about it, and I felt pretty stupid for being so mad at you. Do you forgive me?"
I shrugged. "I guess." I said, smiling.
"Well, okay then. What now?"
"What, what now?"
"What now? Wanna do something?"
"Don't you have to work tomorrow? I heard this rumor about you teaching baseball?"
"Damn it, who told you? Josie?"
"Actually, I called the Tiki Post and your boss there told me. What's going on?"
"Josie managed to get me a job at South Glen South as the assistant coach. Can you believe that?! I barely graduated from High School and here I am teaching!"
"Rob, you are a lot smarter than you give yourself credit as being. You just have to apply yourself. And accept that sometimes the easy way out isn't the best way."
"I think I might go to college in the fall...you know, to get a teaching degree so I can do this, you know, legit like."
"That's great!" I hugged him.
"What about you? Did you really quit your job?"
I nodded. "And when I went in yesterday I was pretty much asked to leave immediately. So, I did. For the first time since high school I am jobless."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'll get a job somewhere."
"Maybe Josie can get you hired at her paper."
"I'm not going to ask her to do that. I already submitted my resume to them along with some samples of my writing. So, we'll see what happens. I have money saved so I'm not in a desperate situation yet."
"You are so laid back about everything."
"Yeah, I pretty much go with the flow."
"No wonder I love you so much."
I felt my cheeks start to burn at the words he said. I sat there, staring at him for a few minutes, thinking about how much I really loved him, when I thought of Josie and how she felt for Sam Coulson. I felt this enormous need to help her with her situation. I had seen him look at her for weeks, with large puppy dog eyes. He was in love with her, too.
"Rob, could you do something for me?"
"Sure."
"Tomorrow, at South Glen, can you get Sam Coulson's address for me?"
"Why?" he asked with eyes narrowed.
"I'm going to help Josie."
* * *
I met Rob for lunch the next afternoon at the school. He hopped in my car without using the door and smiled. "I've always wanted to do that." He leaned over and kissed me.
"If I was anal I'd be really mad that you put your muddy sneakers on my clean seats," I said.
"Yeah, good thing you're so 'kick-back' about stuff."
"Good thing." I smiled. I drove to a deli near the school and parked. We ordered sandwiches and sat at a table by a window. "I love Chicago this time of year," I said.
Rob glanced out the window. "Yeah, good baseball weather." He took a sip of his soda and tossed a piece of paper at me. "There you go, Double-O-Seven."
I unfolded the piece of paper and looked at Sam Coulson's address written on it. "Thank you!" I exclaimed.
"So, what are you going to do with that?"
"I told you, I'm going to help Josie."
"Yeah, but how?"
"I'm not sure yet."
* * *
I got up early Sunday morning and walked down to the Newsstand at the corner of my street. I bought three copies of the Sun-Times, ignoring the look that the guy behind the stand was giving me. I sat on the bench next to the stand and pulled out the Feature section of each one. I deposited the remainder of the newspapers in the Recycle bin. I walked back home.
I sat down on the floor and read the article. It brought tears to my eyes. Josie was laying herself on the line here, especially at the end when she invited Sam to kiss her, for her first "real" kiss at the game that night. What if he didn't show?
Well, that was what I was here for, right?
* * *
I knew that the game was starting at 7 o' clock that evening. So, Josie would be standing on the plate at 6:55. I drove over to Sam Coulson's apartment building at 6:00 and parked across the street. There was a large U-Haul in front, and movers coming in and out of the building. I looked around and saw that Sam's car was parked in front, so he hadn't left for the game yet. I wondered if he had read the article.
I watched the movers for a few minutes when I saw Sam walk out carrying a box of his own. Was he moving!? I got out of my car and walked briskly across the street.
"Mr. Coulson!" I called as he walked up the front steps.
He turned and looked at me quizzically. "Lily? Aren't you a chameleon?" he said with a smile. He walked back down the steps.
"This is my real hair, actually." I said, lifting a lock. "And my name is Caroline Spencer." I paused, looking into his eyes for any recognition of my name. "Reporter for the Chicago Tribune."
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" he said, turning away from me in disgust.
"Mr. Coulson!" I called, following him. "Please, hear me out."
"How many more students am I going to find out were undercover at my school?" he demanded, his green eyes blazing with anger.
"None, as far as I know. Let me explain. Please. It's important."
"I don't really have time. As you can see, I'm in the middle of moving." He gestured to the truck.
"Where are you moving to?"
"New York. To be with my girlfriend."
"You have a girlfriend?" My mouth must have been hanging open from shock.
"Well�maybe. I broke up with her�I was stupid to think that�never mind." He was staring at his feet.
"I think what I have to say may change your mind, Sam."
He looked up at me, startled by me calling him by his first name. "What?"
"Have you read the Sun-Times today?"
"I have it inside�it's good for wrapping breakables," he said harshly.
'Ouch,' I thought. 'This is one hurting guy�' "Have you read it?" I repeated.
He looked at me, almost defiant. "No."
"Have you seen Josie's article?"
"Seen it? Sure. It's wrapped around my hockey trophies."
If he had done that, then he sure as heck couldn't have read it. "Will you do me a favor and read it? Please?" I pulled an extra copy from my bag and handed it to him. "Time is of the essence, Sam."
He sat on the steps and looked up at me. "Why are you doing this? Aren't you from the rival paper?"
"Not anymore. And Josie is my friend. This means a lot to her. I was going to hang the article all over your front door, but I decided that talking to you might be a better approach. Please, Sam. It's important." I said, holding out the article.
"Why is it important to you?"
"Josie is a friend of mine. I care about her. And I believe in�well, read it� You'll understand."
Staring me down another moment, finally he sighed and took the newspaper and sat on his front stoop. I stayed standing, shifting from one foot to the other nervously. When he'd finished reading, he looked up at me, panicked. "What time is it?"
I looked at my watch. "It's twenty past six. We have time if we leave right now."
He stood up and went to the movers. "I'm really sorry about this, but my plans have suddenly changed. Can you bring everything back in?" I heard him ask.
The movers looked annoyed as they started moving the furniture back into Sam's apartment.
"Uh, Caroline� My car is full of boxes�"
"I'll drive you. Let's go."
"I can't go like this." He gestured to his attire. He was in sweatpants and a T- shirt.
"Go change! Quick!"
He ran inside. I sat on the stoop waiting for him. Ten minutes later he came out in a bluish gray sweater and black pants, his hair still wet. "Ready?" he said. His eyes were wide in excitement.
"Yep." I replied, leading him across the street to my car.
It took fifteen minutes to reach the school, but the parking lot was full. I noticed that there were news vans from every television channel in the city parked along the fence. "What is going on?" I wondered aloud. "It's not always like this for the games, is it?"
"No." Sam answered. "What time is it?"
"We have time. Let me find a space." I drove around for the next fifteen minutes looking for an available spot on the surrounding streets. Every street remotely close to the school was packed with cars. "OK, I'm just going to drop you off. I'll find a space." I headed back to the school. By the time I got back it was 6:59. Josie would have been standing there on the pitcher's mound for four long minutes. I could hear the crowd cheering. I pulled next to the fence near the entrance. "Go!" I said.
Sam jumped out of the car and started running. He went right past the admission gates, ignoring the shouts of the people in the booth. I pulled my car closer to the fence and got out. I didn't care if it was towed at that point. My main concern was getting in there to see Josie and Sam. I ran past the admission booth, ignoring the people as Sam had.
By the time I reached the top of the stands, Sam had just reached Josie, pulling her into a kiss. I cheered along with what seemed like all of Chicago. Tears welled up in my eyes. It was the most romantic thing I had ever seen in real life.
Josie and Sam were still kissing as I made my way to the dugout. I walked down the steps and leaned in. "Hey, sexy boy," I said to Rob's back.
He turned around. "Hey!" He walked over and kissed my cheek. "Did you see?" he gestured to Josie and Sam.
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world."
"So, I guess it all worked out."
"Of course it did. They were meant for each other."
"Kinda like us."
I smiled. "Exactly."
Rob lifted me off of the stairs, pulling me into a kiss. I had never been happier in my life.
Everything just fell into place.
Like a fairy tale.
THE END
* * *