Julie Ch. 10

Doctor's appointments... could there be anything less humanizing? Every time she walked in Julie was certain the people inside had seen it all, everything under that thing veneer she called skin. The gross wobbly bits too...

"You know, this magazine says that the best way to use your womanly wiles on a man is to massage his feet twice a week."

Knowing how Julie felt, Matthew had come along as moral support.

"You shouldn't believe everything you read in there, dear brother. It's stuff to fill pages and get people paid." Julie just couldn't stop running her hands through her hair - it never would obey her on days like this.

"You say that now," Matthew bumped her shoulder with his own, "but I'm guessing it's going to sit at the back of your brain and just rumble around until you give it a chance. What if all men are really dictated to by the needs of their feet?" At Julie's exhaled puff, Matthew deemed a victory. It was close enough to the laugh he'd been working on since she'd exited the examination room. "If so, you should just give in now and learn all you can. In fact, you can practice on me. You can grab the lotion and give these stumps a rub anytime, now. Aren't I the best, most selfless brother ever?"

He knew he wouldn't get more than a sigh with that one and began looking for other tid-bits of absurdity in the next pile of magazines. As Matthew soon heard, it had gone past general anxiety - Julie was cracking her knuckles. "What are we waiting for again?"

"My prescription - the temporary stuff to get started, the pain killer, and make sure they called the pharmacy."

"So it's not the end of the world. How about you give those digits a rest. Show me that new cellphone you got."

Truly, it was a cheap-o cellular, eerily similar to the one before - mostly because it was the phone Julie had before. The only new change was the phone number itself. Matthew had already updated his contacts but was determined to compare the supposedly new phone of meager means to the old. His favorite feature was that if you stuck it in a sock, Julie's clunker could be used as a weapon.

And so it went until a nurse called her name. It was only in the car that Julie took her first deep breath.

"I think I don't need anything else now. Drop me home, please."

The tone of voice told Matthew all he needed to know, but he pressed on nonetheless. "You say that, but we're supposed to have lunch."

The appointment had been for late morning and since Matthew had invited himself along, he'd invited Julie to lunch to make a day of it. Of course he had to have been at the diner during her last shift where she mentioned the doctor's. Kicking that damn wall, while satisfying in the immediate sense hadn't helped out much walking the next day's ten hour shift. And he kept mentioning that while she was going to the doctors, she could ask about the new medication for her dreams.

"So why do you need a topical pain killer again, my dearest sibling?"

"I'm only the dearest because there are no others..." Julie knew she was hedging, that Matthew had probably gotten an earful from their mother, and then a second helping from the way the conversation was going. He always avoided talking about something sensitive until Julie gave in and started first. "What did she tell you?"

"Something about you calling her out of nowhere, yelling at her, and then rudely hanging up. Her innocence and lack of duplicity was mentioned once or twice, making your aural attack on her so much more shocking. After all, she is your mother, only caring about your well-being and happiness." Matthew drove past Julie's exit on the highway, stomping out any hope that this conversation would be brief.

"And grandchildren."

"Well, that too. You've been her only hope thus far. Long term relationship, favoring the opposite sex, having sex on a consistent basis..."

She had to interrupt. If she had to talk about sex with her brother, she might vomit. "You're bi, not gay. And you only had one boyfriend, eight years ago."

"Yes, but as there is the potential for a lack of biological grandchildren, she has accounted me a total loss. That way, if I do settle with a girl and happen to have children she will be surprised. Like a kid on Christmas morn." They took the exit for another route, probably bound for Matthew's place. "And your change of subject is noted but not accepted."

"You should just tell her you favor girls anyway..."

"Wouldn't help. That month and a half where Ian was in my life has created reasonable doubt. He's the reason she never asks me about girlfriends and I have never volunteered information since." And just because he was tired of her driving the conversation, he took it in hand. "Though it might get her mind off the current bee in her bonnet."

"She's been talking to Michael."

"That douche bag again. Why has she been calling him?"

"No, other way around. And our darling mother has taken his account of things as fact."

"Maybe you should explain to her what the actual circumstances were."

"Not happening."

"Or tell her you've got a boyfriend. You have got one after all, though there's been no announcement..."

It was official; Matthew finally got a real laugh from his sister. "Peter is too new to get exposed to that. Mentioning I've got a boyfriend means producing evidence of said boyfriend. Especially as she was so keen on my high school sweetheart. And evidence only works if she believes it, which usually means providing the object in question. Peter, while a charming individual I am in no way of being ashamed of, doesn't deserve the questioning mom would subject him to. And the cooking test."

Ah, the old family story brought up at the occasional large family gathering. Matthew had told it many a time to his younger cousins so they would be wary of Aunt Gladys's tactics should they invite a significant other to a big gathering. "She hasn't done that in years."

"I haven't had a new boyfriend in years."

"Point taken. Remind me to tell Peter that old gem before you bring him to Easter." The scoff from Julie put a smile on his face "The only solution I can see for your problems is to have someone take your side in all this. Which means telling that person what really happened."

They both knew the only person it could be - the only one their mother wouldn't question on relationships. "If I tell you, you're not allowed to tell mom details."

"Agreed. She tears into details and then they end up in the oddest places."

"And I need to tell Peter."

"You haven't? Hell, Ian was just a blip for me but I still put it out there. Well, for the ones who last beyond the first week."

"I'll tell him tonight. I owe it to him anyway." With a sigh, Julie turned to gaze out the passenger window at the trees whizzing by. If she blurred her eyes it was like shifting painting.

"So would you like to pour your heart out to me over Chinese take-out or fish and chips take-out?"

***

Just starting setting up for the night's trade Peter found an odd sight banging at the main entrance. He gave a small wave but Julie kept pounding at the door.

"Thought the cliché Walt told me about women beating their way to your door didn't mean going through the door in the process." The dark expression on his new girlfriend's face made him quite happy he didn't open the lock and say it to her. "Guess I can open a hour early. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Like a zombie with a slight limp, she stormed right to the bar and ordered, "Whiskey. Now."

"That requires explanation." Peter took his place and get down a double shot glass.

"I want to explain. Thus the whiskey."

"Good. It's a code to never serve before 4 PM the good stuff without some exchange of story. Could get my secret bartender's privileges revoked if you don't." Bending down to retrieve the strictly medicinally aged whiskey, he thought twice and grabbed another glass. "So start spilling and we start swilling."

"Drink first."

"Ah-ah." He poured out the amber liquid but kept both servings out of her reach. "We played by those rules and I recall a lack of tat. Fool me once..."

"My ex got my number. He wants to talk things out." She reached over the bar and grabbed a glass from his hand.

When more information didn't dribble forth, Peter added, "And?"

She downed the whiskey and shrugged. "I didn't answer. I don't want him back, if that's what you're afraid of." A second or two after she gave the obligatory whiskey twinge. "Would never take him back."

"Aww, that's sweet of you , but you don't need to assure me. I'm awesome." After following suit and shooting his glass, "Another?"

"Yeah." Julie took off her coat and started to relax a bit.

"Why did you break up?"

"He cheated on me. With one of the partners at the firm he worked for."

Peter couldn't help the face he made -- it was reserved especially for lawyers. The next round was easier to dish out. "What a fool. Not for just being a moron but wanting to do that for a living, too."

"It gets better." The second shot disappeared a little slower than the first, yet she still beat Peter's draw. "He wanted us to take a break -- said he loved me and needed time. That maybe the break would get us back to the way we started out. Somehow I figured out where he'd be. It was a fancy club he'd taken me to once for a work party. Spotted his secretary watching over the club... watching over Mike as he's making out with not just the partner, but her husband as well."

A low whistle escaped his lips. "That deserves another shot. Call it a prescription."

"Thanks, doctor." She slid the glass over to him and he carefully slid her refill back. "It's not the bi-thing that got me out of there. Looking back, I knew we weren't going anywhere. Separate apartments, separate lives, me making concessions for him and excuses."

A faint frown marred Peter's face before he caught up with Julie's shot. "You didn't deserve that."

"No, it wasn't just him. I wasn't all that into it either. Told myself I was, that everything was for him." She sipped the whiskey slowly, noting that slightly sweet oak taste. "I never demanded anything of him, never asserted myself. It takes two to tango. I left because he betrayed me. Cheating and lying is where I draw the line."

"I'll be sure to remember that."

"You better."

A few sips later, Julie looked ready for a nap and the second customer of the day ambled in.

"Good gravy, what happened to you?"

"Meddling mother."

"Well, it's always five o'clock somewheres, I say." Walt offered his best sympathetic smile from across the way. Approaching slowly, he took a seat beside Julie. "You have work tonight?"

"Nope. Had a nice appointment at the doctor's and took the day off." At Walt's worried look, she felt the need to explain. "Hurt my big toe and I'm putting off starting the meds until tomorrow when I'll need it."

Peter looked Walt up and down, puzzled. "What brings you in so early, Walt. Usual?"

Walt was still dressed in his work jumpsuit. "No, no beer yet. I'll probably be coming back in later though after I've cleaned up. Took the walk to let you know Chris won't be in. He called the shop to let us know they'd be towing his hunk-o-junk in sometime tonight. I guess he's stuck in Boston until tomorrow."

"Thanks for the heads up. Get back in tonight for the game. You get to watch the home game and look for his mug on the tv all night."

Julie may have been tired but she knew that tonight wasn't exactly a slow Tuesday for C&P. It was a Friday with not only the Celts but the Bruins on too. Different cities and channels, of course. "If you need help, I can stick around tonight."

Looking at Julie now, Peter noticed that grimace she wore in had left. She seemed almost relieved though still very tired. It was a guess for him that it took all her grit to get out everything about her ex. She probably needed that nap. "Sure. But how about you head upstairs for a little. Drink some water. Lay down and get some rest. I don't want to see you before five-thirty."

"Actually, that sounds like a very good idea. Just a cat nap, though."

"Five-thirty," he said with a serious glare. "You'll just be standing around on that bum leg if you come in 'fore then. And use those meds, Jules. I don't want people to think I beat the staff or employ the walking wounded."

"Okay." With a little hop, she was a leg up on the stool, leaning over the bar, and kissing the wits out of Peter. "See you later."

Julie left with a happy smile on her face, going out the side door to Peter's flat upstairs.

Walt's chuckle woke Peter from his reverie. "Like I said, if I were thirty years younger, there would be no chance I'd let you have her..."

"I'm sure your mystery lady would be happy to hear that. Especially since she'll be in later tonight with the usual suspects."

With a flush Walt smile and walked in his usual cantor to the door. "Well then, you will definitely see me later."