Invisible In Plain Sight

We dated, stayed at each other's apartments and met more of our respective friends and family. My family loved Amy and thought she was perfect for me. Amy and I spent so much time together. Some of my friends thought we may be rushing things with the amount of time we spent together. I definitely didn't feel this was the case.

We were amazingly close, but somehow I'd never plucked up the courage to tell Amy I loved her. I had fallen completely for her but I had never found the right time or situation to tell her. I was sure she loved me, but I didn't want to say it and not have her return my feelings.

Time flew and it was now May. We had been going out for just over 3 months by now. At work one day, while Amy was out on site visits, I was called up to Lisa's office. Lisa wanted to discuss with me the upcoming conference for all of the company's retail stores. This 3 day event was being held on the Gold Coast the following Friday- Sunday.

This event was a showcase for our suppliers to display and discuss of all the products that our company would be selling for the next 6 months. This gave our stores the chance to be fully up to date with the product ranges we would be carrying. There were to be presentations from the executive team to inform the retail stores as to how the company was performing, any new initiatives we were doing, as well as acquisitions the business was making. Finally there was an awards night for the retail stores to recognise excellent performance.

Lisa wanted me to come with her to the conference to present about the new marketing direction my plan had set out. The new marketing plan was being rolled out in July and most of the advertisements had already been created. To be asked to attend and present at the conference was definitely a big career step for me. Of course I wanted to go and do this.

That night Amy and I were together at her apartment. After dinner we were cuddled up on the lounge when I told Amy all about this. The response I received from her was rather muted. Somehow she didn't seem as enthusiastic about this as I thought she would be.

Over the rest of that week, and up until Thursday, the day before I left for the conference, I worked on preparing my presentation. Amy was in and out of the office on site visits, so we didn't see each other much at work. We still saw each other most nights and stayed together more often than not. Amy seemed a bit 'off' however, ever since I told her about the conference. � � � � � � � � � � � � �

On the night before I left, Amy was at my apartment. We were watching a movie together, arm in arm. Just through the way she was acting, I could tell something was wrong. I asked her what was wrong and she said there was nothing wrong and that she was fine. Why didn't I leave it at that?

"But you're not acting fine." I genuinely enquired.

Amy turned and glared at me. Her usually gorgeous green eyes now burned.

"You want to know what's wrong. I'll tell you what's wrong. I don't want you to go away with her." She snarled.

"With who? Lisa? Sweetheart I'm going away for work. Not to be with Lisa."

"You had feelings for her. You told me that yourself. If she gets you away alone she will take you away from me."

"Amy you are the only one for me. She cannot take me away from you. I'm yours."

"She will get her claws into you and I won't have you."

"I'm going up for work. Not to be with her. I always want to be with you."

Amy and I argued and argued, going around in circles. She actually argued and I pleaded. She kept thinking that Lisa was going to steal me from her. I tried to convince her that this wasn't going to happen, but the more I tried the more upset Amy became. I could now see why her friends said that she was intense.

She shouted and argued with me about things that were just not going to happen. I kept saying Lisa was going out with Steve and that she never wanted me in that way. Amy refused to believe this and became even more argumentative. We argued for well over an hour when she finally grabbed her bag.

"If you go I'm walking out this door." She demanded.

I was shaking my head at the absurdity of all this.

"I have to go Amy. You know that."

With that she turned and went out, slamming the door behind her. I couldn't believe it. She actually left. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

******

I flew up to the Gold Coast that Friday along with members of the Executive team and some branch managers and team members from our Sydney stores. Lisa had flown up the day before to help get the conference venue set up. I tried to call and message Amy many times, but she wasn't answering me. I emailed her work and private email's and even messaged her on her socials. I got nothing in return.

Once at the conference venue, The Royal Pines Resort, I was very busy getting organised for my presentation the next morning as well as meeting with our suppliers. That first night was the presentation dinner for the stores and was a late night. I took it easy with the celebrations however, as my presentation was the following morning. Lisa was with Steve that night at the dinner, seated up at the head table.

The following morning after a light breakfast, I continued preparing myself for my presentation. I was nervous, just wanting to make sure I had all the bases covered when I spoke to everyone. I checked my phone multiple times as I still hadn't heard from Amy. I flicked through the pictures we had taken together over the past few months. Seeing these pictures made me smile. I hoped she wasn't still mad at me, but the silence wasn't promising.

The morning's presentations began and I was seated at the front of the auditorium, nervously waiting for my turn to present. I hadn't seen Lisa yet that morning which was a worry. She was going to speak before me and then introduce me. I was looking over my notes one last time when Steve Gooding sidled into the seat next to me.

"You all ready to go Josh?" he whispered to me.

"Yes I am. Where's Lisa?"

"Ahhh.... She won't be down this morning. I'll introduce you if that's ok?"

"Yeah. No problems." I replied, now somewhat curious as to what had happened.

Applause in the auditorium broke my train of thought and Steve took to the stage. He introduced me and I took to the stage. As I looked out at the people there watching me, a little thought went through my head "Life is full of moments. This is one of them." I took a deep breath and began.

The next 45 minutes were a blur. My presentation went extremely well. The new advertisements looked great on the big screen and were well received. The branch managers seemed pleased with the outline of what the company wanted to achieve from the new direction in our marketing. When I finished there was good applause from the audience. Looking to the back of the room I could see Lisa was standing there clapping with a big smile on her face. I took a deep breath and a big sigh to release the tension. Steve shook my hand and congratulated me.

The rest of my day was a hive of activity as I visited with suppliers and spoke with store managers regarding the marketing plan and how it would affect their stores. I only had the chance to speak briefly with Lisa when I was moving between supplier presentations. She was pleased with my presentation. I checked my phone many times that day, but there was still no word from Amy. I messaged her to say my presentation went well and that I hoped she was having a good day.

After dinner that evening, we had a Casino night in the main auditorium. It had been transformed into a casino for the evening and everyone was given 'money' to spend playing the various games. The person who had the most 'money' at the end of the night would win a holiday. I quickly found out that I was lousy at gambling and in a relatively short time I had lost all my 'money'. This didn't worry me. I went to the bar and grabbed a drink, chatting with various people I had met while there at the conference.

Looking across the room I saw Lisa was sitting by herself, looking very down in the dumps. I took my drink and went over to join her. She smiled when I approached.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked in the classic manner.

"Hi Josh. Please sit with me."

Lisa was drinking champagne and I could tell she had definitely had more than one. After a brief chat about the conference I asked if she was ok. She opened up to me, telling me all about the argument she and Steve had the previous night. The fight was over something silly he had said that she didn't like. They had argued for a long time, fuelled by the drinks they had at the presentation dinner. Lisa said she was glad they were in the penthouse suite as they would have been heard throughout the resort if they were in a normal room. She then told me she slept in the second bedroom of the Penthouse just to be away from Steve.

The bar staff brought around more drinks and Lisa kept lamenting her situation. She was definitely drinking the champagne to drown her sorrows.

"Well Lisa, you're not the only one with issues on the relationship front."

"What's wrong with you and Amy, Josh?"

"We had a big fight before I left to come up here and she still hasn't spoken to me."

Lisa moved closer to me and put her arm around me.

"What was the fight about?"

I smirked a little before I started to explain.

"Well... you will laugh about this Lisa.... Amy didn't want me coming away with you. She thought somehow you'd try to steal me away from her while we were up here." I replied with a laugh.

Lisa raised an eyebrow and smiled. It wasn't a 'That's funny don't be ridiculous' smile. Her smile looked to me to be much more of a 'Hmmm what a good idea' smile.

Her right arm was around my shoulders as she moved a little closer to me in the seat. She turned slightly towards me as the fingers of her left hand were now gently playing with the buttons on my shirt.

"You know... We are both here... And after our fights... We are for all intents and purposes 'single'..." Lisa purred into my ear.

My heart was racing. Was she really doing what I think she was doing? Four months ago I would have jumped at this chance. This was actually happening. Everything Amy said was coming true. But I was with Amy now. My Amy.... My wonderful, gorgeous Amy.... My Amy who didn't want to talk to me...

"We could go up to your room, away from everyone here..." I could feel her breath on my neck.

I turned and looked at Lisa. Her face was close to mine, her hazel eyes drawing me in. I had to buy some time.

"Why don't I go and get a bottle of bubbly and we can continue this conversation in private?" I somehow managed to say.

"Mmmmm sounds good Josh." Lisa purred.

"I'll be right back."

As I got up to leave Lisa squeezed my bum. My face was flushed and my heart was pounding. What in hell was I doing?

I made my way through the crowded room towards the bar. My mind raced trying to sort out the jumble of thoughts fighting in my head. As I approached the bar I saw Steve Gooding chatting with someone. Seeing him instantly confirmed in my mind what I had to do. I moved across towards them and when they finished chatting I quickly grabbed Steve.

"Hey Josh what's up?"

"Steve I was just chatting to Lisa.... She told me all about the fight you two had and she is drowning her sorrows pretty bad."

"She is?... She hasn't spoken to me all day." He said in a slightly dejected manner

"You want her back don't you?"

"Yes I do. I love her."

"Can I suggest something?"

"Of course."

"She is sitting over the other side there. Go and get a bottle of champagne and take her away from here, somewhere private. Start talking with her.... Before either of you do something stupid."

"Ok Josh. Thanks mate."

Steve headed straight to the bar and did indeed get a bottle (a much better bottle than I could have chosen). I moved through the crowd and found a suitable vantage point to see Steve arrive at Lisa's table. She looked around and saw me in watching on. I smiled at her and nodded my head. She gave a little smile and turned her attention to Steve. I turned and walked back in the direction of the bar. I definitely needed a drink after that.

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

The following day I played golf with a couple of our suppliers, finished off the conference and after innumerable delays at the airport I finally made it home at 9pm. I was exhausted after the whole weekend both physically and emotionally. Amy still hadn't been in touch at all and this really worried me. I messaged her to say I was home and I couldn't wait to see her at work in the morning. I knew she would be at work tomorrow as she didn't have any site visits this week on her schedule.

I slept in a little longer than I wanted to on Monday morning and as such I arrived at work about 30 minutes later than usual. When I arrived in the office I expected Amy to be there. On my commute I prepared myself for whatever greeting she may have for me. Whether she was glad to see me or if she was still angry with me, I was ready. When I walked up to our cubicle she wasn't there. Her computer wasn't on and her hard hat and hi-vis vest were sitting neatly at the side of her desk. Her bag wasn't there either.

This worried me. I tried to convince myself that she was just running late, but I was now sure she was still angry with me. I sat down and went about my work. My colleagues came and chatted to me about the conference, wanting to know the gossip. I chatted but kept an eye out in case Amy arrived.

It had been about an hour since I arrived when I noticed Amy's boss Malcolm moving through the 'Projects' cubicles, talking to his team. He looked across to my cubicle and saw me, looking somewhat surprised. He came straight over to see me.

"Josh, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Amy."

"Why...What's happened Malcolm? I haven't spoken to her since before the conference. We had a fight...."

"She had to go home. Back to Wagga. Her father had a massive heart attack and is in a very bad way..."

My head slumped down. Poor Amy. My poor Amy. She was so close to her Dad. He was such a nice man. He was so nice to me when I met him. I truly enjoyed his company. Amy must be devastated. I instantly knew what I had to do.

I excused myself and went straight upstairs to Lisa's office. As I went to knock she saw me and called me in, asking me to close the door behind me. I sat down in front of her desk as she began to speak. She looked very contrite.

"Josh I'm so sorry for Saturday night. I shouldn't have said those things or tried to... I'm so embarrassed by my actions."

"Lisa it's ok. We were both in a tough place. I just need to speak to you."

She could see the sad look on my face.

"What is it Josh?"

I told her all about Amy's father having the heart attack, how Amy was down there with him, how I missed her so much. I was in tears by the time I spoke about how I missed her. Lisa came around and gave me a hug as I cried into her shoulder.

"Josh you have to go down there and be with her. Grab your things and go. Take as much time as you need."

"Thank you Lisa." I said as I wiped my eyes.

"Go Josh."

I left Lisa's office, jumped in the lift, gathered my things and was out of there in a couple of minutes. Reaching my car I headed off home. Once there I grabbed a bag and threw a few clothes into it before racing back down to my car. It was just after 10am and I plugged the details of the hospital in Wagga Wagga into my GPS. It was a 5 hour drive to get there. Starting my car I headed off.

The traffic seemed to be impossibly heavy. Every lane change I made in the city seemed to be the wrong one. I couldn't believe how long it took to get onto the Motorway to get out of the city. Once on there it was relatively smooth driving. I had to stop at Goulburn to refuel the car and then I was back on the road.

My GPS guided the way and I managed to arrive at the hospital just after 3pm. I drove around the carpark until I found a spot. As I walked through the carpark towards the main entrance, I saw Amy's car parked near the front. This made me smile a little knowing she was here. I went inside and headed to the enquiries desk, where I asked about Mr Peterson. The assistant there told me he was in the Cardiac ward. I asked where this was but was told only immediate family could go up there to see him. I thanked the lady behind the desk and walked away.

Looking across the lobby I saw the main bank of lifts. The sign by the lift indicated that these lifts serviced all of the major Wards, including the Cardiac Ward. Turning around I saw that directly opposite the lifts was a coffee shop. If I couldn't go up to the ward to see Amy, I'd just have to wait for her to come down. I went into the coffee shop and ordered a coffee and a sandwich. I checked on my phone but Amy still hadn't replied to my messages. It made a little more sense to me now as to why she hadn't messaged me back. She probably wouldn't be able to use her phone in the ward.

Sitting there I didn't know what to do or what to say when Amy did come down. Would she even want to see me? Was she still angry at me? Could I convince her that nothing happened while I was away- even though this was indeed the case? Every time the lift doors opened I looked across expectantly, but it was never her.

Minutes turned into hours, the daylight outside transitioned into night. Amy still hadn't come down or messaged me. Noticing the time was now after 7pm I looked at my phone and organised some accommodation for the night. Doubts were racing through my mind. Was it really Amy's car that I saw in the carpark? What if something had happened to her father? What if she really didn't want to see me? My thoughts were broken when I heard a cough next to me to get my attention. The coffee shop was closing the person that worked there told me. I thanked them for letting me sit there.

Exiting the coffee shop, I decided on my next course of action. I was going to ask for a piece of paper at the enquiries desk. With this I was going to leave a note on Amy's car, to let her know I was down there and I wanted to see her. I was also going to tell her where I was staying that night. Just then my attention was drawn across the lobby as I heard the lift bell ding again.

The doors opened. Out stepped Amy. My wonderful, beautiful Amy. She looked visibly drained and tired. She was wearing jeans and a jacket, her hair was tied back in a loose pony tail. I was about to call out to her when she turned her head and looked towards me. In that instant our eyes met. Amy's face broke into a crinkled smile and she ran across the lobby towards me. When she reached me she leapt into my arms and wrapped herself around me. I held her as close to me as I could. Her face was buried into my shoulder as she cried like a child.

Holding her close I stroked her hair and her back, consoling her as best I could. She lifted her face out of my shoulder and kissed me. I kissed her back, as a feeling of euphoria swept over me. Amy finished the kiss and moved her face back slightly. With my finger I gently moved the tears from her cheeks.

"Josh what...what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice cracking a little.

"I heard your Dad wasn't well so I came straight down as soon as I heard. To be here for you."

"You did that for me?"

"Of course I did. I'd do anything for the girl I love."

"The girl you... Love?" Amy asked, her tear stained green eyes looking into mine.

I hadn't meant to blurt that out, but it was exactly how I felt.

"Yes Amy. You're the girl I love. I love you Amy. I love you so much."

"I love you too Josh." She said before scrunching her face up in tears again, crying into my shoulder.

The emotions of this moment hit me and I teared up too. Amy loved me. She really loved me. I held her close and didn't ever want to let go. We hugged right there in the middle of the lobby as the world moved around us. Once again we seemed invisible to everyone else and I couldn't have cared less. My world was in my arms.