Dirty Old Man, Maybe Not

"I don't think that would be a problem with this man," Kathleen replied.

"Okay who is this idiot that doesn't want to ask Gillian out and needs me to push him into it?"

"It's George."

"George who? My George?" I was more than surprised, I was almost shocked. "He's never said anything to me about being interested in Gillian. And why wouldn't he want to be with her if he feels the same way as she does?"

"Loyalty to a friend.....You in this case. Three times Mom has told a little white lie to get him to go places with her. Each time she told him that you were busy and asked him to be her stand in escort. Mom's not naïve or a fool, she knows when a man wants her. And George cares for Mom. He wants her but won't go after her because you're his friend." Kathleen waited for my reaction.

"Gillian and I are just friends, good friends, but just friends. We laid the romantic part of our relationship aside," I replied.

"But George doesn't see it that way. When you and Mom stopped "dating" I teased him that now was his chance. His response said it all; "You don't date your best friends ex". George thinks you guys "broke up", so he won't go after Mom. It's driving her nuts."

Kathleen gave me her little girl smile and said, "Please Uncle Jason, can't you help me?"

"For my favorite niece, anything. I'll take care of it," I promised.

Something happened the next day that gave me the excuse I needed to talk to George. As I said earlier, every year on her birthday I sent Julie a card. This year the card was returned with "Not at this address" written on the envelope. Not at this address. What the hell?

I called George into my office. Explaining the circumstances, I told him to find Julie.

"I'll see what I can find out Jason but I'm not a private investigator."

"Damn it George, I don't want excuses. I want results. Get it done," I ordered.

"Yes sir, Lieutenant, sir," he responded with a grim smile.

I looked at him for a few seconds and gave him a sheepish grin. "Sorry.....Please George find her for me. I just want to make sure she's okay. By the way you've only got three weeks to do it."

"Why just three weeks?"

"Because you're going on vacation in three weeks. You haven't taken any time off since you came to work for me," I said handing him tickets for a week long cruise to the Mexican Rivera. The boat sails in three weeks so find Julie quickly."

George looked at the tickets. "There are two tickets here."

"So take some lovely lady with you. Enjoy yourself; I don't want you burning out on me, Sergeant."

"I don't know anyone to ask," George admitted.

"Not trying to interfere but you could invite Gillian," I suggested and laughed at the look on his face.

While George and I were stationed in Brittan our English cohorts used a term, gob smacked, to describe someone that was so surprised or shocked that they didn't know how to react.

George looked at me with his eyes wide open and his jaw was hanging down. He was gob smacked and didn't know what to say.

"Look buddy, Gillian and I didn't break up; not really. We realized that we'd be better as friends than lovers. So you're not being disloyal if you want to be with her............Of course my information could be wrong and you don't want her."

"No, I do. I just never thought........"

"When I used to complain about the Army you told me, "Soldier, shut up and soldier." Time for you to follow your own advice George; go ask Gillian to go with you. I guarantee she'll say yes. Okay?"

He nodded and started to leave my office. "Before you go, make sure and find Julie for me."

"Yes sir, Lieutenant, sir." This time he said it with a real smile. "Thanks Jason." He stomped out of the office like a man on a mission. Don't get in George's way right now, I thought.

I was happy for my two friends. Glad someone's love life is going good, I thought. Mine sure sucks.

Two weeks later George swept into my office, closing the door behind him. "You owe me, big time," he said.

"Always have. What do I owe you for this time?"

"I found Julie."

"Where is she? How is she? Is she alright?" I stuttered and stumbled.

"Take it easy. Settle. Julie's fine. In fact she just started a new job and from what I understand at a better salary than she made in Santa Clara."

"Quit teasing me George. Where is she?"

"She works for, of all places an IT company just like PSI, in the Human Resources department. Right here in the city and you'll never guess the name of the company."

"Where is she working?"

"Guess," he said with a grin.

"George, I'm gonna beat you with my Stan Musial baseball bat if you don't tell me where she is."

Giving me another grin he replied, "Julie works for a company called Doan, Inc." He laughed at the shocked look on my face. "Nobody knows who she is; she's using her maiden name of Landers."

"I'll be damned. Wait, you said her maiden name, why would she do that?"

"Because she got a divorce about six months ago; it's part of the public record in Santa Clara." George laughed as I reacted to the news. "I don't think, hell I know, that she isn't aware that you own Doan." George paused for a few seconds and asked, "Where do you want me to go from here?"

"I don't know," I answered. I was at a loss; I'd, or rather George, had found Julie. Now what do I do? I was just now coming to grips with the fact that I still loved her; her marriage sort of enabled me to put it out of my mind. But now that she's divorced that safety net was gone.

"Two weeks ago you gave me some advice," George said. "I'm giving it back to you. Soldier shut up and soldier. You need to go see her Jason. Who knows? Maybe she still loves you too, but at least you can move on, one way or the other. Go see her."

As he got to the door he stopped and turned back toward me. "By the way, you were right. Gillian's going on the cruise with me. Thanks again buddy." Then he walked out of my office, leaving me to wonder if I should follow his advice.

I was interrupted by my phone ringing. Normally my secretary, Stacy, screens calls to me but I'd sent her on an errand so I answered it myself.

"Yeah, who's this?" I know, not the proper phone etiquette but I'm the boss I can answer any way I like.

"Heck of a way to answer your phone, Jason," Gillian said.

"I know, but Stacy's gone for a few minutes. Didn't know who was calling and this way I could hang up if I didn't want to talk to them."

"I called to say thank you for talking to George and for the cruise. That was very sweet of you," she said.

"That's what good friends do; they're sweet to each other." I repeated what I'd said in my mind and said, "Oh my God, did I really just say that?"

Gillian laughed and replied, "Yes you did." Still chuckling she asked, "What made you talk to George about he and I, anyway?"

"I keep an eye on everything and everyone around me. I'm also very astute and intelligent," I answered. "So I know what's going on at all times."

"Jason.....What really happened?"

"Well I ........."

"Jason!"

"Okay, maybe I got a heads up from a certain young lady who has your best interest at heart," I said.

"Kathy told you what was going on? That little stinker," Gillian responded. I could hear the smile in her voice.

"I've said all I'm going to say on the subject. But I will add that I'd better not be pushed aside by either of my good friends, just because they're in love."

"You won't be, I promise. When are you going to see Julie? George told me he found her."

"George can't keep his mouth shut any better than Kathleen, can he?" I waited for a few seconds trying to come up with an answer. "I don't know Gillian; guess I'm scared to go see her. What if she doesn't want to talk to me? What if she hates me? What if she........."

"Jason, get a grip. Slow down, you're over thinking it. Go see her and find out how she feels. The worse thing that can happen is that she doesn't want to see or talk to you. You've got that much right now. But maybe, just maybe, she'd like to reconnect with you. Possibly just as friends but that's more than you've got now. Isn't it?"

I stared at the wall for a bit and asked, "How did you Gallagher women get so smart?"

"It's the Irish in us," she said. "Go see Julie and do it soon. Got to go; George is taking me shopping for the cruise. He said he wants to pick out a bikini for me to wear. Bye Jason."

Remembering how Gillian looked in a bikini I thought, George you're a lucky man. I have very few close friends; very few people that I trust completely on a personal level. Three of my friends had suggested, hell, ordered me to call or go see Julie. It's time to talk to my closest friends and take advantage of their experience, I thought. I called Ralph and Millie.

"Bout time you called Jason," Ralph said. "We've seen more of Kathleen than we have of you. She's been out here several times to ride that filly you gave her. I haven't heard from you since you brought her and Gillian out to the ranch. Millie's a little upset with you."

"I know I should have called, I've been pretty busy. I'm sorry, that's no excuse. You'd think I would've learned by now."

"You're talkin about Julie I reckon," Millie said. "I picked up the extension when I heard who it was."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you guys about; Julie I mean."

"How can we help?" The both asked at the same time.

I told them about Julie's divorce and her moving back to the city. Explaining that she now works for one of my subsidiary companies I told them that George, Gillian, and Kathleen all told me told me I was still in love with her and that I should call or see Julie.

"They're right; I do still have feelings for her. But I don't know if I should following their advice. That's why I called you guys. What do you think?"

"Go see her boy," Ralph said without hesitation. "You got nothing right now, as far as Julie is concerned. Maybe you're the reason she moved back to the city; maybe not but you won't know until you go see her. Don't call Jason, go see her."

"For once my old man is right Jason," Millie added. "You owe it to both of you to talk to her."

"Thanks guys. I promise I'll call or come to see you soon."

After the call I sat at my desk and stared at the wall as I thought. I may not be smarter than the average when it comes to relationships, but my friends are. They're right, I do need to see and talk to Julie. The question is how to make that happen. Should I find out where she takes her lunch break and walk up to her? Should I wait for her after work? Should I go to her office?

No, all of those scenarios are a little too much like stalking. If she doesn't want to see me or even if she does it might scare her. I'll have to come up with a plan, I thought.

******************

It was a Friday evening, eight days later and I'd just walked into my place at 7 PM thinking about what to do for dinner when my cell phone rang. "This better be important," I said answering the phone.

"You still haven't learned the proper way to answer a phone, have you Jason?"

"Gillian, is that you. When did you guys get back?"

"We took a red eye flight in last night and spent today getting our internal clocks back in sync. Anyway we're celebrating and we want you to join us. Kathy's here and we need you to complete our little group."

"I'm not really up to it tonight. I spent the day cleaning up a mess that the marketing department made."

I heard Gillian tell the others that I didn't want to come and then a different voice was on the phone.

"Come on Jason. It's a party and it won't be the same without you," Kathleen pleaded. "George and Mom got engaged on the cruise and it's all your fault. So you have to come celebrate with us."

"Congratulate the happy couple for me little one. But I'm not much in a party mood."

"Please Uncle Jason, for me?" Kathleen said in her little girl voice.

She only used that voice when she teased me but she knew I'd have a hard time resisting her request. "Okay, Kathleen. Where are you guys?"

"At Tooley's, that pub near my house. It's on the corner of 7th and Clayton."

"Well, at least I can get a good burger for dinner, I haven't eaten yet. See you in about 40 minutes." I heard her tell Gillian that I was on my way before she hung up.

I spotted the terrible threesome almost as soon as I walked into Tooley's. They were sitting at a table in front of a cold, empty fireplace. As I headed toward their table I stopped to order a bottle of champagne from the bartender; I also told him what I planned to do as I slipped him a fifty dollar bill. When I got to the table Gillian and then Kathleen hugged me. George stood shook my hand and hugged me too.

"You damn Irish always were too touchy feely for my tastes," I complained. "Behave yourselves and sit down." The waitress brought the bottle of bubbly and four glasses. The wine was already opened and I filled the glasses. I stood and raised my glass and my three friends stood also.

"Congratulations to Gillian Gallagher and George Kelly. I'll give you an Irish toast." I paused for about ten seconds and continued.

"May the most you wish for be the least you get. May your troubles be less and your blessings be more. And nothing but happiness come through your door."

I drained my glass and then threw it into the fireplace; shattering it into a hundred pieces. Gillian and Kathleen were shocked at my gesture but George smiled and did the same thing. The ladies looked at each other, shrugged, finished their wine and threw their glasses too. Right on cue, the waitress brought four more glasses. We sat down and I poured more wine.

"Whatever possessed you to do that?" Gillian asked grinning.

"It's something we learned when we were stationed in England. The Irish troops always broke their glasses after an important toast. Something to do with not weakening the toast by continuing to use the same glass," I explained.

Kathleen was laughing and said, "Well it certainly was dramatic. I think everyone in the place knows the Irish are here now."

George looked over my shoulder and then nodded at Gillian and Kathleen. "And here comes the other reason we picked Tooley's tonight," he said.

I turned and looked behind me to see where the others were looking. An attractive woman was walking toward our table. Well that solves my problem on how to approach Julie, I thought.

"Hello Jason. It's nice to see you," Julie said when she stopped at our table.

Now it was my turn to be gob smacked. I didn't say anything, I just stared at Julie. My brain kicked in after a few seconds and I stood. I need some witty, suave line to greet her, I said to myself. "Hello, Julie. It's nice to see you too," was all I could manage.

Gillian saved me; she walked around the table and said, "Hi Julie. Jason's told us so much about you. I'm Gillian Gallagher and this is my daughter Kathy." She stepped next to George and continued, "And this is my fiancé George Kelly."

Julie smiled and nodded. It's nice to meet you and George and I are old friends. How are you George?"

"I'm luckier than the gods want any man to be," George replied. "Good to see you again Julie."

Turning her attention back to the rest of us Julie said, "I just wanted to say hello to Jason. We haven't seen each other in a long time, have we?"

Old silver tongued devil that I am I replied, "No we haven't." I was beginning to get over the shock of seeing her. "Have a seat and join us," I suggested.

"Thank you, but I'm with some friends from work. I heard the glass breaking and then saw you and thought I'd say hello. It was nice to meet you all and it was good to see you Jason," she said and turned to go back to her friends.

As she started to walk away George nudged me with his elbow, none too gently either. I quickly caught up to Julie. "I know it's a little strange but could we have lunch or get a drink sometime. I'd like to talk to you Julie."

She gave me the thousand watt smile that used to brighten my day. "I'd like that Jason. You can reach me in the HR department at Doan, Inc. Give me a call." Julie patted my arm and rejoined her friends; all female.

I returned to my table and stared at my friends. "You know it's not nice to play tricks on your friends; you can never tell when they might resent it," I said with a solemn face and voice.

The smiles melted off of Gillian's and Kathleen's faces. It was apparent that they thought I was upset with them; only George continued to smile. I watched him closely and his smile got bigger. "You can't fool me Jason. Right now you're so happy you'd get up on the table and dance if there was any music," George said.

I returned his smile, then chuckled, and then laughed out loud at the looks on the ladies faces. "Sorry, I couldn't resist it," I told Gillian and Kathleen. "You all thought you were so smart luring the poor unsuspecting Jason here."

The girls laughed with me and then the questions started. "Are you going to call her? When are you going to call her? Are you going to ask her out? Are you....."

"Stop already," I ordered laughing. "I'll call her. After all of you tricked me into this meeting I have to; if for no other reason than to get you guys to leave me alone."

********************
It was Wednesday when I finally got up the nerve to call Julie. Kathleen and Gillian pestered me on Monday and Tuesday about calling Julie. I received four calls from them on Monday and six on Tuesday wanting to know if I'd called her yet; those aggravating calls helped me make my decision.

Julie answered the phone when I called, "Julie Landers, may I help you?"

I almost hung up; almost losing my nerve. When Julie said hello for the second time, I said, "Hi Julie, its Jason. I wondered if you'd like to get a drink tonight after work."

"That would be nice. Where and when?"

"How about Tooley's at 7?"

"See you there Jason. It'll be nice to talk to you after all this time."

Now that I'd made the "date" I began to question myself. "What would I say? What would we talk about after all this time? Does she still care about me? STOP. I'm a grown man, a business 'tycoon' successful dealing with the business world and I'm acting like a love sick teenager I told myself. It's not like it's a first date; just drinks with my ex. Then why am I so freaked out?

I was a Tooley's at 6, I was a little anxious I guess. Julie came into the bar about 15 minutes later; Guess I'm not the only one that's nervous, I thought. I was sitting at the table in front of the fireplace; she saw me, smiled and walked to join me. I stood up to greet her and wondered if I should just say hello, should I shake hands, or maybe I should give her a little hug. Some 'tycoon'.

Julie made the decision for me; she gave me one of those A-frame hugs that women use and kissed my cheek. The A-frame hug is where the woman leans in and only touches you with her shoulders while holding the rest of her body away from you. Not especially loving but still beats a handshake.

"I'm glad you called Jason. I hoped you would," Julie said. Then noticing my look on my face she said, "You looked surprised. Why?"

"I didn't think......I mean I didn't expect......." I stopped my stuttering and calmed myself. "I'm surprised you hugged me."

Julie chuckled and replied, "It's not like we were at each other's throats when we split up." I smiled back at her and nodded. "It wasn't you I hated, it was the situation," she added in a small voice.

I didn't know how to respond so I switch directions. "What brings you back to the city? I thought you were happy in Santa Clara."

We paused while our drinks were delivered. She looked at me with a sad little smile. "I thought I was too, but I guess it wasn't home."

Looking at Julie I could see sadness and regret in her eyes. I wanted to ask her what had happened to her marriage, why did she get a divorce. Even a dummy like me knew that it was too much too soon considering that this was the first time we had talked since our breakup.