Miscarriage and Depression Pt. 05

All characters engaging in sexual activities are 18 years of age or older.

Any grammar or spelling mistakes are my own.

Sheila and Beverly were in the conference room, getting it ready for the shift change meeting. That's where the first shift workers and second shift workers met and exchange information on any problems that had arisen that day. It was also where they passed along any scuttlebutt that happened, and they both knew that the topic was going to be Sofia hauling Joseph by his ear, into Jackson's office.

They had sat out the donuts and muffins on the table, along with the napkins beside them. They had all three coffeemakers going. Sheila and Beverly were one of the first hires that Jackson and Joseph had made when they started American Network Securities Systems. They loved working there. The people were wonderful. There was a good age mix of them. Some had families and some didn't. What made it all work so well together was the atmosphere.

Everyone loved working for Jackson. He took the time to know your name. Your wife or husband's name. Your children's names. Where your spouse worked. Where your kids went to school. All those important pieces of information that made you feel like the person cared about you. He knew how to talk to the individual. He could handle disputes easily between workers on the rare occasion they occurred. Jackson ran the day-to-day aspects of the business. He created, maintained, updated, and developed new software for the computer securities system.

Everyone tolerated Joseph. They all accepted that he came with Jackson. It's like tolerating the annoying cousin at the family reunion. Joseph brought in the whales. He could talk an eskimo into buying ice. He had no idea how the security systems worked and never wants to. He cared about the money, the parties, the publicity, the plane, and the women. He was all about the persona. That's not to say that he didn't have his moments. When Sheila dislocated her shoulder falling down the stairs, he popped it back in with ease. When the janitor gashed his arm, Joseph stitched it himself.

FLASHBACK

Sheila and Beverly were homemakers when they met Jackson and Joseph. They were selling pies, cakes, muffins, brownies, etc, at a school fundraiser when they encountered them. Joseph was talking with a well connected and rich businessman, when he walked by and picked up a cup of punch from their table. He didn't stop to pay for it, he just kept walking and talking. Jackson stopped though. He asked to borrow a pen on the table, when they said "yes", he picked it up and beaned Joseph in the back of his head with it.

Sheila and Beverly laughed as he came back to the table. Joseph mumbled an apology as he picked up a muffin, threw a twenty down on the table and walked away talking. Jackson apologized for his friend's rudeness and asked for a fork. He borrowed a chair from another table and sat down. He sat there for ten minutes eating their pastries, drinking punch and talking to them about their recipes, their lives, as well as their own hopes and dreams.

That was when they saw Joseph speed walking towards them and calling for Jackson. The rich businessman wanted to hear about the security process they could provide for him. That was when Jackson said the sentence that made Sheila and Beverly fall in love with Jackson.

"I don't care if it's going to cost us a million dollars, until you truly apologize to these two wonderful ladies here, I'm not moving from this spot."

They watched as Joseph pleaded for Jackson to go with him, but Jackson never budged. He sat there in that chair and ate a piece of pie.

Joseph did end up apologizing. Jackson stood up and paid for everything he ate. He complimented them on their wonderful products and left. They couldn't believe that a man would turn down that much money on the principle of mannerisms. It was a few minutes after he'd left, that they noticed a business card on the table. On the back, Jackson had written "Please call me."

The next day, Sheila and Beverly called him together on speakerphone. They could tell that he was happy they called. He asked if they would be interested in meeting him at his house to discuss working for him on a part-time basis. They felt a slight hesitation, but when he said that they could bring their families along, they agreed.

That afternoon, Sheila and Beverly met Tara. They immediately like her. She was a polite and courteous host. She got along with the children very well, which was a relief to not only Sheila and Beverly, but their husbands as well. She was beautiful and they liked that she had a high paying job of her own. What they liked most, was that not that she had a basic understanding of Jackson's work, but that they could feel the love between the two of them. Jackson and Tara were holding hands, giving each other sly little looks, smiling, finishing each other's sentences at times.

When Jackson took their husbands to show them his gym and garage after dinner, Sheila and Beverly helped Tara clean up in the kitchen. By the time the men got back, they were sitting at the dining room table laughing like old friends. Tara got up and got the guys something to drink and then left.

"Well, it's time to get down to brass tacks." Jackson said, as he looked at them.

"OK. What's the job?" Sheila asked.

That's when Jackson explained that he loved their pastries so much, that he wanted to hire them to bake for his office. In exchange, he'd front them the money they needed to open their own pastry shop. Both of them looked between each other, their husbands and Jackson. A few moments later, they noticed Tara walk back into the kitchen with his briefcase. He opened it up and pulled something out. He handed it to Tara, then she walked over and sat a check down in front of them for two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollars.

Beverly fainted but was luckily caught by her husband before she hit the floor. Sheila just sat there and stared at the check. Her husband was asking questions, wondering what the catch was. Jackson kept trying to explain to him there was no catch. He understood the hesitation. Beverly started being coherent. She took the check in one hand, and was holding her husbands' hand with the other.

"Sheila, Beverly." Jackson said.

They both looked up at him, as he looked back at them.

"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Jackson said, speaking directly to them.

Sheila and Beverly squealed with joy and at the same exact time said.

"We accept."

That day, their friendship started. Sheila and Beverly became Jackson's closest confidants, besides Tara, and he became theirs. They appreciated that Jackson had wisdom far above his age and was always honest with them. When both Sheila and Beverly went through their own divorces, both Jackson and Tara were there for them. They never forgot everything that Jackson had done for them, when he never even met them before that day.

When Tara cheated on Jackson, it devastated the both of them. As much as they'd come to like Tara, they loved Jackson and sided with him. They still talked to Tara and made it perfectly clear to her, not only where their loyalties were, but that they wouldn't play spy games for her. She had broken the vows she made in front of God and their families, and threw everything away for a nobody.

Sheila and Beverly knew firsthand how postpartum depression can affect a woman's state of mind, decision making, and everything in between. They did sympathize with Tara, but they could not understand how she could've pushed him and her own family away when they tried to help. She still frequented their pastry shop, and all three of them would sit down, have coffee and talk.

They didn't hate Tara. They saw the progress that she'd made in the almost year and a half, since she and Jackson had gotten their divorce. They knew that she wanted him back, and to be perfectly honest, they wanted Jackson and Tara back together. Both Sheila and Beverly were a smidge jealous of their marriage before it all went to hell.

On more than a few occasions, Sheila and Beverly would sit together or talk on the phone about how to get them back together. They talked about everything from a "blind date" setup to "flowers from an admirer" and everything in between. They had watched Jackson like a hawk stalking its prey since the split and they knew, that Jackson was miserable being single. He was a "relationship" man.

Jackson was continued to be the wonderful, honest, loyal man that he'd always been, but they could sense that just underneath, he was a ticking time bomb. They had seen him blow up a few times at work, which had never happened before. They knew he was drinking heavily for a period of time and had a fair share of flings since he split from Tara. He didn't have that tether to something outside of work that made him happy and fulfilled anymore.

The both of them had decided that they were going to carefully broach the topic of seeing somebody, when they found out that he was having sex with Sofia. They were cleaning the conference room when they heard some noises coming from his office. Curiosity got the best of them, and they quietly opened his door.

They saw Sofia riding Jackson hard. She had both feet on the couch and was riding his whole length, while he had his hands on her waist and was thrusting up to meet her. The shock of what they saw had them stuck. It was only a few seconds at most before they heard Sofia.

"I'm gonna cum again......aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhh" as she groaned and growled, with her voice full of pleasurable lust.

She was grinding her hips in circles, as her legs gave out and she fell to her knees on the couch. They finally felt their feet, and as they started to close the door, they heard Sofia start to sob.

"I've never cum this hard before, thank you Jackson, thank you papi."

Quietly as possible they closed the door and went back to the conference room.

"Oh my god, I'm surprised he's moved on." Beverly said.

"That's what you took from that?" Sheila asked.

"Of course. What else would I take away from what we just saw?" Beverly replied.

"Did you see the size of that thing. It was as big as my wrist and long." Sheila said, and started giggling.

"For heaven's sake Sheila, he's our closest friend. You shouldn't be looking at him that way."

"It was right there staring us in the face Bev, how I could not look it."

Beverly turned red from blushing.

"He definitely was bigger than anyone I had before, but that doesn't matter. He's our friend Sheila. We have to make sure she isn't going to hurt him."

"OK, OK, you're right Bev. It's just that I haven't had anything between my legs that haven't required batteries since the divorce."

"Me too." Beverly replied shyly, as both women started laughing.

They went back to cleaning the conference room. There was a meeting in there already, and another meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Both Sheila and Beverly decided that they would discreetly poke around and find out more about her. So for the next month, that's what they did. Sheila and Beverly knew that when you offered people pastries, they tend to open up a lot more during conversations.

They found out that Jackson and Sofia had signed a legal document, waiving the no sexual contact clause in their contracts, from the company attorney's secretary. They found out from people at work, that Jackson and Sofia had been sleeping together for at least a month. Everyone at work was happy for them both. They all loved Jackson and just wanted him to be happy.

People at worked liked Sofia for the most part. They always questioned how Jackson had found her. She was friendly to everyone but held an extremely hard line, when it came to deadlines and being on time. Every penny the company made, at some point ended up on her desk. She was in charge of payroll, paying the bills, basically anything that had to deal with the finances. Before Denise had retired, she had given Sofia her full endorsement and blessing. Sheila and Beverly had decided that they didn't have to worry.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

Sheila and Beverly were just about done in the conference room, when Sofia came through the door. She didn't see them as she sat down in a chair. She brought her hands up to her face and started crying louder. They were surprised by her unexpected entrance. Moments later, Beverly started walking towards Sofia. Sheila followed behind her.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Beverly asked.

Sofia jumped slightly, startled at the realization that she wasn't alone in the room.

She saw Beverly and Sheila walking towards her. She didn't think anyone would be in the conference room yet.

"Nothing, I'm fine" she replied, wiping her eyes.

"Well tears don't fall for no reason dear." Beverly said, while sitting down next to her.

Sofia noticed that Sheila had walked around her and sat down in the chair on the other side of her.

"It's nothing. I just need a moment. That's all." Sofia replied.

She couldn't help or stop her bottom lip from trembling though. Beverly noticed, then reached over and gently patted Sofia on her hand.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure us two old birds have been through before." Beverly said softly.

There was a few moments of silence, as Sofia looked at her. She could feel herself wanting to break down and talk. It wasn't that she didn't feel safe or couldn't trust them. It was that she was brought up in a household where emotions were not openly shown. Sofia heard Sheila get up out of the chair. She watched her walked over to the door that connected the conference room to Jackson's office.

She wanted to scream out no, but knew that that would only bring about a bunch of questions. Sheila opened the door, looked inside then back at them.

"Jackson has gone for the day, let's step in here and talk. The shift change meeting is about to start."

Beverly stood up and Sofia found herself following suit. They walked into Jackson's office and Sofia sat down on the end of the couch. It crossed her mind that she'd just had sex in here and he was already gone. Beverly sat down next to her and had her hands in her lap. Sheila walked over, grabbed the chair, moved it to the end of the coffee table and sat down with her legs crossed.

Sheila had turned on Jackson's desk lamp, and moved the head so that the light was facing them. Sofia felt their eyes on her. She was wringing her hands and she felt tears start welling up in her eyes again. She felt Beverly start rubbing her back.

"What's wrong Sofia? We can help." Beverly said.

Sofia looked over at Beverly and Sheila. She noticed that Sheila had a weird look on her face, and she was looking around Jackson's office. Beverly was looking at her with a genuine look of concern on her face. That comforted her. After taking a deep breath, she let it go.

"I had to break up with the guy that I was seeing. The worst part about it is that I've fallen in love with him." she said quickly.

"Oh I'm sorry sweetie." Beverly replied.

Sofia looked over at Beverly with a small smile. She noticed that Sheila was now sitting forward and looking around.

"Why did you break up if you love him?" Beverly asked.

Inside Beverly's heart broke. She knew that Sofia was talking about Jackson. She could only imagine how horrible he must be feeling right now. She decided that she and Sheila would call him later, but right now, they had to deal with Sofia first.

"I'm not sure you'd understand." Sofia replied, as she reached onto the coffee table and grabbed a few tissues.

"I'd certainly like to try sweetie. At the very least, it might feel better if you got it off your chest." Beverly said to her.

"My family still has very old school views and traditions. I love my family and they would be heartbroken if I fell in love with and brought home a man that didn't have Catholic values. If he wasn't at least a Mexican man, they'd completely disown me."

"That sounds horrible Sofia. I'm so sorry." Beverly replied.

Sofia laid her head down on Beverly's shoulder. She felt safe and felt like she could talk to her.

"I know that if I were to stay with him and my family did disown me, I'd be happy for a while, but in the end, I'd miss my family. I want my parents to walk me down the aisle when I get married. I want my husband to present me with Las Arras Matrimoniales (thirteen gold coins). I want my Silk El Lazo (wedding laso), and to do the La Vibora de La Mar (the snake dance) at my reception. It probably sounds crazy to you, but I know that if my family isn't there for my wedding, I'd regret it and be miserable for the rest of my life." Sofia said between sobs.

All Beverly could do was stroke her hair and listen to her pour her heart out. She was sympathetic towards Sofia's feelings. While she didn't understand much about Mexican culture, she did know how important family is. She could also understand what Sofia was talking about. Having her father walk her down the aisle. Having everyone you love be there to share in your most wonderful day.

Beverly was telling her that everything would be OK in the end, when Sheila stood up.

"Jackson's gone!" she said.

"Yes, he went home for the day." Beverly replied.

"No. He's gone. Look around Bev."

Sofia sat up, as both she and Beverly looked around Jackson's office. Sheila put her cell on speaker phone and speed dialed Jackson. They heard his phone ring not only on her phone but a semi muffled ring from inside the office. All three of them looked at his desk. Shelia ran over and open the middle drawer. The ringing got louder. She pulled out his cell phone and showed it to Beverly and Sofia. Shelia walked over to them.

"How do know he didn't just forget his phone?" Beverly asked.

Sheila walked over to the mini fridge, bent down and picked up the power cord. He had unplugged it from the wall. Then she walked over to his desk and picked up the power cord for his computer and tower. Finally she walked over to the bookshelf against the far wall and pointed to the middle shelf. Beverly just stared at it, then they heard Sofia gasp as she put her hands over her mouth.

"What was there?" Beverly asked out loud.

"The picture of him and his grandfather when he graduated from bootcamp is gone." Sofia said.

"He always kept it at eye level, so that he could see it when he looked up." Shelia said with some anger in her voice.

Sofia leaned back into the sofa and started crying again. Her hands fell to her sides. She felt Beverly reach over and pull her into her body. She cried into her shoulder once again. Sheila looked at Beverly.

"You find out what the hell happened between them. I'm going to drive over to his place and see if I can catch him." she said.

Shelia walked out of the office. Beverly just held Sofia as she cried and continually repeated, "I'm sorry" over and over. A few minutes later, they heard Jackson's phone ring again. Shelia had sat it down on the coffee table. Beverly reached over and picked it up. It said that Joseph was calling.

"Hello Joseph" she answered.

"Beverly? What are you doing with Jackson's phone?"

"He accidentally left it here in his office."

"What are you doing in his office?"

"I'm cleaning. Lord knows if Shelia and I don't clean both of your offices, it'd never get done." she lied.

"OK. Listen. I got a message from him saying that he's leaving and not coming back for a while."

Beverly felt Sofia get up off the couch and watched as she ran out of the office.

"Something personal came up Joseph. I'm sure he'll be back in a few days after he gets clears his head."

"Sofia dumped him, that's what happened." Joseph said.