It Only Took Twenty Years Pt. 05

Chapter 16: Monday, July 25, 2016 (Morning)

It was 7:45 AM when I walked into the office suite. I actually did a double take of the numbers on the door to make sure it was, indeed, the correct one. Everything was in immaculate condition. The walls were repainted in a light shade of khaki, a far sight better than the original, dull gray. There was different, more casual furniture in the reception anteroom. There was a stranger at the desk.

"Can I help you, sir?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm Will Richards. This is my office, or at least it used to be."

The man rose from the desk and came around to greet me with an offered hand, which I shook. "No sir, you're in the right place. I'm Thomas Rhodes."

"Hi, Thomas. Are you …" I hesitated.

"Yes, sir, I'm covering for Ellena while you're still in town. Since you only need coverage for another week and a half, they put this newbie in that chair."

His self-deprecating nature was contradicted by his more-than-able appearance.

"No worries."

I looked around again, enjoying the newness of my surroundings.

"So, facilities repainted and everything just for little old me?"

"I wish I could say yes, sir, but a senior vice president from the Seattle area is transferring here in two weeks. This will be his suite. His staff sent specific requests."

I was a touch crestfallen but decided it didn't matter. I had less than two weeks remaining.

"Follow me and tell me about yourself," I said as I unlocked the door to my office. Of course, the window between the two rooms had been re-glazed and the blinds replaced. Though it had also received a new coat of paint and different wall hangings and plants, everything else was pretty much as I'd left it the week before.

"I've been at Extecha for two years," he began.

"What about before?"

"I served twelve years in the United States Marine Corps as military police, most recently at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. I transitioned to Marine Reserves two years ago and was hired by Extecha."

"That's fantastic. What's your rank?"

"Gunnery Sergeant."

"Outstanding. Can I call you Gunny?"

"Yes, sir, but I would prefer you didn't. Please, just call me Tommy."

His directness was atypical of a "newbie," and I liked it.

We conversed for ten minutes or so where I gave him the long and short of my expectations and tasked him with my first request.

"Can you check with employee logistics to make sure everything's been arranged and on track for my relo back to Dallas next week?"

"Of course, sir. I'll get right on it." He turned to walk back to his desk.

"Hang on a second." I had an internal debate for a few moments. "I think I want to change the plan if it doesn't gum things up too much. I want them to arrange transport for my car and book me a flight. I had originally planned on driving to Dallas, but I'm motivated to get back as soon as I can, and I don't want a fourteen-hour drive with an overnight in the way."

"Understood, sir. Let me see what I can do."

At 8:30, Andrew came in to fill me in on his coverage for the end of the prior week. It turned out to be a fairly quiet few days, and no surprises were encountered. We chit-chatted for a half hour before he left for a meeting.

I spent the next hour and a half sorting through a mile-high inbox of email, most of which was spam.

What are you up to? I texted Dawn.

Nothing. Nothing at all. Watching paint dry. Watching water not boil. Seeing if the grass is growing. I'm bored.

Wow. Productive day! 😁

I'm actually about to leave for the Galleria. Want to get some clothes before I start the new job.

Sounds fun! (not)

I might go to Victoria's Secret while I'm there.

I'll be there in a few minutes!

You wish! 😂 How's your day?

Just brisk enough to keep me busy. Office is all straightened up. It's even been revamped and refreshed a bit because an SVP is transferring here from Seattle. The facilities team here is better than back home, apparently. There's a new guy staffing the office. He's a Marine.

Nice! Glad it's all been sorted out.

Have fun shopping. And don't you dare go to VS without me.

"Sir, I have some information for⁠—" Tommy came in but stopped when he saw me using my phone.

"Give me just a sec."

He quietly nodded in acknowledgment.

Can't make any promises! I love you! 😘 Dawn replied.

Love you too!

I sat my phone on my desk face down. "What'ya got?"

"Logistics has you confirmed for the packers and movers. Packers will come at nine on Thursday morning. They estimate two to three hours to pack your personal belongings. Since yours is a small move, you're the first on the truck, and the last off. The movers are now slated to come that evening at 16:00 and be out by 18:00. They have two other clients to load the following day. They expect the truck to be on the road by 17:00 Friday. Their first drop is in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Saturday morning. Their second is in Rowlett, Texas, on Sunday morning. Yours is their last drop which is scheduled for Sunday evening as soon as the Rowlett delivery is completed.

"I arranged transport for your car. The transport service will need you to drop it off at the Lexington depot by 23:00 next Tuesday night if you want to have it available for pickup at the Dallas depot when you arrive.

"I took the liberty of booking you on the first flight to Dallas on Friday morning. Barring delays, you'll arrive at DFW at 08:18.

"Next, I've booked you a rental car here in Lexington on Tuesday. An agent will bring the car to the transport depot. You'll return it at Blue Grass Airport. I've also arranged for a car service for you from DFW to the Dallas depot where you can pick up your own vehicle.

"Finally, sir, since your possessions will likely be out of sorts as you get ready to move, I've booked you a room at the Hyatt for Wednesday and Thursday nights, as well as at the Courtyard in Plano for Friday with a Monday checkout.

"I think I've saved you two days. If these arrangements are agreeable, sir, I'll store the vouchers, passes, and confirmations in an ESFS folder."

The man had recited it all from memory. He wasn't reading from notes.

"Thanks a ton, Tommy. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem at all, sir. Glad I can help. I've seen the signs."

"Signs?" I warily asked.

"Sir, my wife has put up with me being all over the world since we've been married. You said you were well-motivated to get back to Dallas. I've been where you are. I assume you have someone waiting for you there."

I was flabbergasted. "You are absolutely correct. Tommy, do you like Tennessee whiskey?"

"I'm a Marine, sir."

I stared at him blankly.

"That means yes, sir."

Tennessee whiskey is considered an epithet in Kentucky bourbon country, but no one had ever turned it down.

"Well, then, I'll bring you a little thank-you tomorrow."

"Understood, sir." He smiled and returned to his desk. I put a reminder in my iPhone to put a case of Jack in my car the next morning, then relayed the news to Dawn.

Yay!! 🤣 Your day counter went from thirteen to eleven! 😘 😜

Chapter 17: July 25 ⁠– August 4, 2016

Dawn and I spent time almost every evening when we could enjoy intimacy and closeness even though she was almost a thousand miles away.

Technology is so easily taken for granted. Dawn and I both recalled our early years when, on international assignments, it took a whole lot of tedious button-pushing on landline telephones and dollars per minute to make a call back home. Instead, a few taps could connect us together via high-definition video, and different taps could induce an orgasm. It could all be done anywhere there was decent Wi-Fi available.

During one FaceTime call, she mentioned she'd had her appointment with her aesthetician and revealed the results. It appeared to have been an uncomfortable hour. I asked if I could kiss it to make it better. She chuckled at that and put the camera close to her bare labia as I made smooching sounds.

On Friday, Drew and I attended the company leadership's "Extecha Range Day," an event attended by all the senior management and their direct reports as a charity benefit.

I managed to knock down only 122 of my 200 targets using a borrowed shotgun and $80-worth of dove loads. It was a fun day, but I got a bit sunburned, and my right shoulder was tender and bruised from the two hundred recoils. My division racked up a total of $17,990 in employee-sponsored per-point contributions which would be donated to the charity.

For my final Sunday in Lexington, I spent the afternoon botching a round of eighteen holes with my golf buddies because my heart just wasn't in it.

Not once since graduating college and moving to Texas had I ever considered myself homesick, but I considered my current condition as qualifying. Plus, the bruised shoulder didn't help my swing. I shot a dismal twenty-one over par, which earned me the privilege of buying sliders and the first round of beers at the clubhouse.

Moving day was getting nearer. On Tuesday evening, I dropped my car at the vehicle transportation company's Lexington depot. I drove the delivered rental back to my condo where I started inventorying and labeling the items that were to remain as I vacated it, all to prevent accidental "theft" if the movers were to mistake something as my property.

Wednesday was my final workday in my Lexington office. It took most of the morning for me to do a proper hand-off to Drew, who would be overseeing the final steps of the transition. All in all, the whole year-long endeavor was viewed as a phenomenal success.

Later that afternoon, celebratory cake and coffee were offered in the café with all of the other members of the transition teams from other departments. Most of the four thousand or so employees of the Lexington campus came and went to celebrate the milestone of the completion. I made it a point to say farewell to the two dozen or so folks of which I'd become fond, including Marcus and Jean, then packed two boxes of personal belongings and papers which the company would ship back to my Dallas office.

The day was surreal in some ways. It wasn't like I was leaving a job as Dawn had, but having worked in Lexington for a year, it felt like it. At 4:00, I pulled out of my favorite parking spot in the structure for the final time.

I drove back to the condo complex and stopped at the leasing office where I signed the exit paperwork and was given a temporary gate security code the movers and packers could use to gain access to the property. I drove the few hundred yards farther to my building.

I stopped at my neighbor's and retrieved my spare key and returned his to him. That poor guy arrived six months before I had and expected another year on his assignment with his own employer.

Before I'd left for work that morning, I stripped the bed, collected all the dirty linens, and put them all in the washer. After the machine completed its job, I transferred them to the dryer and continued the task of sorting through "mine" versus "theirs," checking every single box on the inventory list provided by the leasing office. I'd broken two plates, one bowl, and two coffee mugs, and made sure I indicated those variances on the sheet. I reckoned they'd hold back a charge from the deposit Extecha had paid.

I packed my duffel and walked out the door. It felt a little strange leaving my condo to go to a hotel with no one there waiting for me.

"Good evening, sir. Checking in?" the front desk clerk asked.

"I am," I answered as I placed my driver's license, corporate credit card, and iPhone on the counter. The cell displayed the confirmation QR code on its screen. The agent scanned it with a handheld reader.

"Welcome to the Hyatt Regency, Mr. Richards. How was your trip?" he asked.

"Nah, no trip yet. I started packing up today for my move back home, so no comforts back at my place."

"I see. Where's home?"

"Dallas. I've lived here for a year now. I love the horse country, but I can't wait to get back," I answered, entertaining his small talk as he did whatever he was doing.

"I have you in a king suite on the third floor, away from the elevators, and checking out on Friday, is that correct?"

I nodded as he wrote the room number down on a key sleeve. Room 311.

He programmed a card and placed it in the sleeve. He handed it to me with my credit card and ID. "Elevators are that way, sir, enjoy your stay," he said and pointed across the lobby.

"Thanks a bunch."

I turned toward the elevators and took a few steps when an idea stopped me.

"Sorry to sound nutty, but would room 1609 happen to be available?"

"The Premium Suite? I'll check," he quickly responded.

He interacted with his terminal again. "As a matter of fact, sir, yes, it is available."

"Would it be too much trouble to change my room?"

"Not at all, sir, but it is a considerably higher rate than what you have now. But, if you wish, you can upgrade with your World of Hyatt points. You have a sizable balance."

"Yeah, let's do that."

Type click type click.

"If I can just have your room key back for a moment?"

I handed it to him. He reprogrammed it, discarded the paper sleeve, then placed the card in a new one on which he wrote the updated room number.

"Thanks," I said over my shoulder.

I headed toward the elevators and texted Dawn.

Heya, sweetheart!

Hi, baby!

Guess where I am

Disney World.

The elevator arrived on the sixteenth floor where I disembarked. Before I opened the door, I took a picture of the room number placard and sent it as my reply.

Where R U?

I opened the door, put my bag on the chair in the front room, then took a picture of the bedroom from the door and sent it. A couple of moments later, FaceTime alerted. I answered the video call.

"Hey." I smiled into my camera.

"What the heck, Will? What are you doing there?" she said with a broad smile. I saw tile behind her. Her voice sounded hollow.

"The packers are coming tomorrow morning. My admin had the presence of mind to book me a hotel since my stuff needed to be ready for boxing up at the condo. No sheets upon my empty bed, no place to rest my weary head," I added with dramatic flair, conjuring the couplet from thin air.

"Your admin is a smart guy. Same room, huh?"

"Yep. Special request."

"Show me around. For old time's sake."

"Your voice sounds weird. Where are you?"

"Taking a hot bath."

It was dark outside, so I turned on more lights and then switched cameras. She narrated my movie as she watched.

"That's where you like seriously felt me up for the first time. I miss the feel of your hands on me," she said. "Aw, that's where we had burgers in bed."

"We had a lot more than burgers," I argued playfully.

She continued her narration. "That's where I was the first time anyone licked my booty!" She chuckled. Her comment made my dick twitch.

I smiled at her. "God , I miss you. You're in the bathtub, huh? Can I see?"

She panned the camera over herself. The tub was full of bubbles, but she scooped some away from a breast and gave me a closeup of a nipple. "I miss you, too. Oh, man. That was exactly two weeks ago to the day. Might even be close to the hour."

"It's weird. In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday."

"I know what you mean. I was just thinking the same thing."

There was something missing in her voice. It wasn't just the acoustics of her surroundings.

"Are you okay? You sound like you're not feeling well."

"I'm not. It's been a bit of a day."

"What's wrong?" I flipped back to the front camera and settled onto the couch.

"Can I be straight with you for a minute?"

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

"I'm trying to ease some cramps with a hot bath. Mother Nature is on her way."

"Ah."

"Sorry to be so unladylike."

"Dawn, you are perfectly ladylike. I mean it."

"You're so corny," she smiled at me. "And that's one of the things I love about you."

"Is it true that orgasms help cramps?"

"Yeah, sometimes."

"You want me to help?" I offered.

"No, not really." She frowned at me, pooching out her lower lip. "My brain isn't up for that right now."

"I'm sorry you feel crummy."

"You're so sweet." She winked at me. "If I don't gross you out, we can probably fool around a little when you get here."

"Stop talking about yourself that way, or the first thing I'm going to do when I see you is spank you," I admonished with a smile.

"What are your plans for Friday?"

"I get back to Dallas Friday morning. Taking the earliest flight. The movers don't show up in Plano until Sunday night if everything stays on schedule."

"Are you going to go into the office, your apartment, a hotel or what?"

"Would it be okay if I come to your place?"

"Jeez, Will! I thought you'd never ask!" She laughed. "I need to get out of the bath. Call you back in a few minutes?"

"Sure."

I filled the ice bucket from the machine in the hallway then poured myself a drink and waited for Dawn's call. Yes, I remembered to grab the partial bottle of Single Barrel that Dawn and I had binged on the night before she left. I wasn't going to pack it or pour it down the drain.

When Devo called me back, she'd snuggled into her bed. I saw she was wearing comfy-looking fleece pajamas. I so wanted to be there with her. I wanted to hold her close to me and smell her freshly washed hair. It shocked me how much I yearned to be with her. I still felt like a love-addled schoolboy.

We gabbed for about an hour until she saw my eyes getting heavy. It was close to midnight my time, eleven o'clock for her.

"Baby, you look like you're about to check out. You need to go to sleep. I took an Aleve PM when I got out of the bath so I'm feeling pretty cozy myself."

"Devo. Hey. Don't hang up. Plug in your phone and stay on FaceTime with me so I can hear you sleep."

I meant it as a bit of a lark, but she humored me. I don't think I'd slept as soundly since the night before she returned home. It turned out that she was equally comforted. There was no substitute for the warmth and closeness of her sleeping next to me, but her virtual presence did feel good. At some point during the night, though, the call disconnected itself.

Thursday was the busy day. I ate a breakfast consisting of a ham and cheese omelet with jalapenos plus hash browns at the Bluefire before I left for the condo.

My first task was to empty the fridge and freezer. Thanks to Dawn's carefully crafted meal ideas, I'd whittled down the groceries to the bare minimums so there wasn't much to be thrown out. The remaining non-perishables would be packed for the move.

I went through the inventory checklist again when the packers arrived. Those four women had mad skills. They spent about ten minutes walking through the condo and getting a feel for what was to be done. Two of them then went to the van and brought back several bundles of cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, foam, tape, and bags.

"Why are you lining those boxes with plastic?" I asked one of the ladies.

"It'll keep your clothes and linens from smelling like corrugated cardboard when you unpack."

I wished the Dallas packers had done that. I had to re-launder or dry clean every stitch I had when I arrived.

The condo was a flurry of activity as the ladies assembled box after box, packed them, sealed them, and barcoded each one. The crew leader and I went through the checklist one final time, ensuring everything that I didn't own remained where it belonged. I made damn sure each and every one of my Jack Daniel's cases were double-boxed, padded, and labeled with separate codes. Once I was satisfied, she used a barcode reader connected to her laptop and scanned the code on every single box or item of furniture that was to be moved. Fifty-seven boxes and a few dozen other items were inventoried. She sent a PDF copy of the manifest to my email and also forwarded the data to the movers.