Enough Time to Get It Right

Of course things never quite work out as expected. Instead of leaving with plenty of time to pick up Faye, I had to deal with an inappropriate comment made by one of the male IT guys. Normally HR handles these, but he was on probation from two earlier incidents. It was my prerogative to fire him, but I placed him on unpaid leave, pending a full review. The last thing I needed, was to find out he was somehow protected. Better to move slow, and drag others into the battle, than live with the shrapnel of a hasty decision.

Faye picked up after a few rings.

"Hey. You about here?"

"No. Had a problem at work. Take a Lyft or Uber ride to the hotel. I'll meet you there. Can you bring me a change of clothes?"

Sounded a little miffed "Is this how it's going to be?"

Arriving late was one of Faye's pet peeves. It had been the catalyst of more than one snit fit in our past. "Faye, enough. I have responsibilities."

After a short delay "Sorry. I just wanted you to be the first to see what I'm wearing."

"Well wrap yourself in my trench coat. I'll see you at the hotel."

I waited in the lobby for Faye's arrival. Her texts gave me progress reports. Traffic was a little worse than usual. It was a wise choice to have her catch a ride as we would have been more than a little late if I had tried to go fetch her.

Waiting in the lobby, I encountered a few of my employees and their families. Then, a face from the past.

"Elliot?"

Turning I saw her beautiful red locks, still dancing off of her nearly exposed breasts.

"Tia! This is a surprise. What are doing here?"

She wrapped herself around me, and looked up into my eyes. "Attending a conference. I've got some time and a room."

Out of the corner of my eye, who should I see? Faye. Fuming.

"Faye! Enough. Come here."

With fire in her eyes, Faye slowly approached.

"Tia, this is my wife Faye. Faye, Tia is someone I took comfort from before I met you."

Tia disengaged herself from me and spoke to Faye "My apologies Faye. I didn't realize Elliot had gotten married."

"No problem. That's a very sexy outfit you're wearing. Are you attending our party tonight?"

"No. I'm here for business and was shocked to see a familiar face. Look, I'll let you two get to your party."

With a squeeze of my hand, Tia left. I made sure to not admire her cute ass as she wiggled away.

Faye, still not happy with me "No! Not enough. We'll talk later."

"Yes dear."

Faye's smile, when she shows her teeth, is very sexy. My beige trench coat covered whatever I was supposed to fawn over.

"Let's find a family restroom."

Grabbing me by the hand, she dragged me through the lobby and past the elevators. Finding no family restrooms, she pulled me into an empty conference room.

"Do I need to be sitting to fully enjoy the show?"

"That's a great idea" as she stuck her tongue out.

Taking my seat, I watched as Faye slowly undid the buttons on the coat. She wore bright red nylons. The green skirt was about three inches above her knees. Her boobs were pushed abnormally high, and into a tight cleavage. The pullover red top clung to her.

I wolf whistled my approval.

"Don't you look sexy? I bet Santa wishes all of his helpers dressed like that."

"Not many toys would be made if they did!"

I changed into my jeans and sweatshirt. I looked about as bland as the cloudy skies earlier today.

+ + + +

Even though it was fairly evident that Faye was my date, it didn't stop several men chatting her up, even with me at her side. Faye knew she was oozing sex appeal, but never crossed a line. Twice I left her alone to empty my bladder, and both times found her surrounded by men when I returned.

Although an ego booster, the flirting from women wasn't helping me. I knew in my heart that they were flirting with me because of my position, not because they had any honest interest in me. Every time it happened, I could see Faye bristling. We both found ourselves having to deal with a little jealousy.

This was a family party, including a visit from Santa. After the line to Santa disappeared, Faye announced "I need to talk to Santa."

Dragging me across the room, a startled Santa watched as Faye sat on the corner of his chair. Taking his hand in hers "Santa, I want an undivorce for Christmas. I've been a good girl. Please! Pretty Please!"

"Well umm" he stammered and looked at me "I don't think I should touch that with a ten foot North Pole. I wish you well young lady."

Faye got up, her smile never varying, and pulled me to the dance floor. It was some sappy holiday song playing.

Looking up into my eyes, Faye quizzed me "You didn't sit on Santa's lap. How are you ever going to get what you want for Christmas?"

"I haven't been a good boy. I didn't pick up my date on time tonight. Another year lost. Oh well, maybe next year."

"I said I was sorry. What do YOU want for Christmas?"

"Something small."

"Well that narrows it down. Can I buy a clue?"

"If I have to tell you then I guess I'll be disappointed."

Faye's look of frustration, mixed with confusion, make me smile.

Taking Faye's hand "Let's make the rounds and then go home. It's been a long day."

As we were making our way to the car, Faye told me "They really respect you. You must be doing something right."

"Thanks. I've learned to listen. Sometimes all people want is the chance to explain what's bothering them. They don't always get what they want, but I do give them the chance to express themselves."

I let Faye drive as I'd only gotten ninety minutes of sleep. That turned out to be a good decision as I fell asleep in the passenger's seat.

+ + + +

Once home, we stripped and made love. I must have been exhausted as the last thing I remembered was rolling off of Faye. The sun was shining bright when I awoke.

We banged the headboards a few more times, and then the conversation turned to Tia.

"That red-head. Was she better than me?"

"Enough. Were your legion of lovers better than me?"

"Enough."

We snuggle, but it wasn't over.

"Did you know that red-head when we were married?"

"Faye, if you're concerned that I ever cheated on you, the answer is no. I met her after we divorced. It was a one night stand. She just wasn't my type. If your lovers were your type, you wouldn't be here with me now. I'm here with you. If that isn't enough for you, then we have a problem."

That green eyed jealousy thing had a hold on Faye as she responded "Sorry. She's so beautiful. I'm no match for her."

"Not true. You've got something that she doesn't have."

Taking a second to think "What?"

"My heart."

I felt Faye's tears dripping onto my chest as we snuggled.

Sunday evening, on the road to drop Faye off at the airport, the grilling continued "Tell me!"

"I like your hair?"

That resulted in my shoulder getting punched.

"No, tell me what you want for Christmas."

"I already told you. You appeared to be listening at the time."

"Something small. That is the worst description of a gift I have ever heard. Let's do this like charades. How many letters?"

"Three."

"Sex? You want sex? How many more times do you want sex? I think I've worn you out every time I'm back here."

"You have. That's not it. Guess again."

The wheels were spinning. "Is it something I can get for you?"

"Yes."

"So you'll be disappointed if I don't give it to you?"

"Very. A smart woman like you has two weeks until Christmas to figure it out. Since I'm headed your way in two weeks, I assume your boyfriend won't mind me spending the holidays with you?"

Without skipping a beat "I don't know. Let me ask him. Do you mind if I have you over for the holidays?"

"No, I don't mind at all. See you in two weeks. I love you."

The tears flowed quickly. "That's the first time you've said that since we got back together. I was afraid I'd scare you away if I said it first. I love you. I love you. I love you. I was stupid to ever divorce you."

We both had tears in our eyes when she headed towards the airport screeners. The last thing she did, before she left, was pull another greeting card from her purse. I opened it as she walked away.

It was a simple card. It said "I Love You" on the cover, and repeated it about fifty times inside. Faye blew me a kiss as she walked away. I responded in kind.

+ + + +

Every day I'd wake to find the same text.

"Tell me what you want for Christmas. This is killing me."

I responded with "Actually, now that I think about it, there are two things I want. They both are spelled with three letters and the first letter is the same. Is that not amazing?"

It was Christmas Eve when Faye scooped me up from the airport. After feeding me, we spent the evening snuggling on her couch, listening to holiday music.

We made slow sweet love that evening. After exchanging 'I love you', we dozed off.

Christmas morning found us opening boxes containing shirts, belts, blouses, and lingerie.

"I never could figure out what to get you" Faye whispered with puppy dog eyes.

"Well, maybe after I give you this next gift, you'll figure it out."

I dropped to one knee, took her hand in mine and asked "Would you undivorce me?"

"YES! I get it! YES!"

Pushing me to the ground, we kissed and cuddled.

"So what was the second three letter word?"

"You."

That resulted in the best blow job I'd ever received.

+ + + +

We had several 'talks' attempting to resolve how a long distance relationship could work. I invoked 'enough' a time or two more than Faye did. A day before I was scheduled to head back east, I learned that Ken Collins had suffered another heart attack and decided to retire. Although I'm not completely qualified, they wanted me to interview for the position.

"Why the somber look?"

"The guy I'm subbing for has decided to retire. They want me to interview for his position."

"Oh my! That's great news. I'm proud of you. So, I repeat, why the somber face?"

"Us. How is this going to affect us?"

"Well if you are chosen, I'll pack my bags and join you. Although, only if you agree to one condition."

"Pray tell, what is that condition?"

"That we start a family right away" with a twinkle in her eye.

"And if they send me back to Ventura?"

"Well in that case, I'll pack my bags and join you. Although, only if you agree to one condition."

That had me chuckling "Maybe we should practice a few more times before I leave."

"I was thinking the same thing."

+ + + +

Epilogue:

With only a witness attending, Faye and I remarried in a quick and simple service.

I started teasing Faye about 'my first wife did this', 'my first wife did that', and she took it to another level.

"Well my first husband..."

The back and forth banter makes us chuckle.

The number of times we've had to resort to using 'Enough' has dwindled to almost never. The value of learning how to listen cannot be underestimated.

When it came time to replace Ken Collins, those with more seniority won out. I had shown that I could manage as a director, and that shaped my career. Whenever a temporary director was needed, Faye and I would travel to wherever. It was a few years later when the Boulder director's position became available. I was chosen as his successor, and now our parents can visit their grandchildren without having to track us down.