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Chapter Twelve: A Commiserating
What happened tonight, James? Mari asked before taking a sip of her brandy. She thought I should be used to all the stares, but then as far as Mari knew, it seemed, I had always been a woman. I had not and this was all new to me. I don t Mari. I shook my head and looked into my snifter. I mean it just got to me. All the whispering and the fact that half of the men there tonight would not have known I had eyes much less what color they were. I was talking now from somewhere deep inside me and it felt good, even if I was sniffing a little and teary. Maybe I should be used to it, but why should we have to get used to that? We shouldn t. Mari nodded in agreement with me. But you were right about what they do when you report sexual harassment. I know. I nodded and turned and hooked a leg under me. What about when they act like you are an AA? Get me some Coffee. I mean not even a please! Yeah but look at how half those guys treat there assistants. Mari nodded. They get it worse. Not worse than Charlotte treats her parade of Assistants. Now we both giggled a bit. It s kind of funny how she can t keep one a full year but it is never her fault, is it? Imagine how she must micromanage her husband. I grinned, picturing the woman telling him how to put on his underwear and shave his face and how quickly he ought to be doing both. I am glad we share Dorothy. Mari nodded. She s great. I nodded and sighed. What are you going to do on Monday? Mari didn t let the silence hang too long. I shrugged. I am going to go to work. What else can I do? Whine that people weren t nice to me? I had limited options as it was a social function. I ll tell you this, I will make the first man that stares at my chest not be a man any longer. I am not going to let them treat me like that anymore. I wiped away a tear as Mari set her glass on the table and pulled me to rest my head on her shoulder. Good for us. She said softly and stroked my hair. Mari was older than I was and somehow it seemed we were more like sisters rather than competitors now. She had come over because she was worried about my state of mind. Three days ago she would not have spit on me if I was on fire as it might give me some comfort. Mari was a shark when she wanted to be, but I had never allowed her to show me that softer side before, and she was wise to keep it to herself. I would have used it against her. I would have worked hard to show everyone that she was too weak to be ruthless in business. I would have crushed her if I knew she felt anything like the emotions she was showing now as we continued our conversation quietly. She stroked my hair and it felt good and relaxing and nice to have a woman to share my feelings with that understood and cared about me. The other thing that stuck me, as funny as I started nodding off to the soft sounds of Mari s deep breathing, is that three days ago this scene between Mari and I would have had a whole different feel had I been able to see it. I would have assumed walking in on two women all cuddled together that they had been making love. I was learning I had been so very wrong about so much, but I wanted to get back to being me and not this James Adair, Even if she was pretty and I could think clearer now. Next |