Our Love Saga

"Yes, the same as we use in the office. This isn't illegal or anything that might get you in trouble is it?"

"Nope. Like I said, without the Underwriters Laboratory seal and other regulatory certifications, the printer can't be sold. The laser printer engine inside it is the same as the one used by a couple of our major customers so I will need to go through them for any parts or supplies that might ever be needed, but as long as Jimmy doesn't try to claim a purchase of the thing on his taxes or eventually try to sell it to someone else, there's no problem with him using it indefinitely."

Samantha was nodding in understanding and then asked, "Will it come with any documentation or instructions?"

"No, but I can teach you or Jimmy everything you would need to know. When it's ready, I'll deliver it to your house and set it up on his computer for you."

"I kind of still want to give it to him as a Christmas present," Samantha explained. "Will I be able to get a box for it so it can be wrapped?"

I answered while I tried to locate a parking spot for us at Maggiano's, "The box that it shipped from Japan in is pretty beat up but I should be able to get the guys in the warehouse to help me find a suitable replacement. You give Jimmy the printer on Christmas and then let me know when you want me to come over and set it up for him."

As I pulled into the parking space and shifted the truck into park, Samantha placed her hand on top of mine and said, "Thank you, AJ. Now I have two-hundred dollars to spend on a nice Christmas gift for you."

"Don't you dare!"

~~~

Samantha's silver Honda CRX was sitting in the parking lot of the In-N-Out Burger location in Costa Mesa when I pulled in. We had been having lunch together almost daily since Maggiano's, but since that day, we always drove separately and one of us would always leave the company parking lot a few minutes before the other. Even this week, the one between Christmas and New Years', when our company was technically closed, she and I would share our lunchtime and review the project tasks for Mr. Yoshida's visit, or just talk about our lives.

A woman of true beauty need be only herself, lovely and open, warm and smiling; casting a gentle spell of support to those in need. In Samantha, I discovered someone who was teaching me how incomplete I was without our brief interludes. I was letting her in, seeing myself through her eyes, and my own perceived worth was getting tied up in her confidence in, and support of me.

The skies were overcast and threatening what amounted to rain in Southern California, so when I saw that Samantha's car was unoccupied, I headed for the inside seating area. Some may find it hard to believe, but I had never been to an In-N-Out Burger until Samantha introduced me to them just before Thanksgiving. While we didn't eat there exclusively, it had quickly become our default location if we couldn't decide on anyplace else.

I saw Samantha sitting at a table reviewing her copy of the project spreadsheet. We were both dressed casually, but there was never anything casual about the way that Samantha looked. Her poise and self-confidence, mixed with her classic beauty and style elevated her appearance regardless of how she dressed. I had come to appreciate her intelligence, including how she frequently changed gears in an instant and left me with comic mental whiplash.

Her smiling eyes had been following me since she saw me enter. I took a seat across from her and asked, "Are we still on for this afternoon?"

"Let me go order for us and then we can discuss things," she said.

Without waiting for a reply, she got up and went to the counter to place our order. I had been married to Linda for more than fifteen years and I knew without a doubt that there wasn't any restaurant in the world where she would have been able to order for me. Samantha had mastered my preferences at every establishment that we had been to together over the past month.

She returned shortly and took her seat across from me. "Sorry. To answer your question, Jimmy is supposed to be home by three this afternoon. Any time after that should be fine, but I'll page you when he gets home just to be safe."

"That's fine," I said. "Linda and Paige will be at some play with their Girl Scout troop, or whatever they call it, and Bryce is spending the day at the arcade with some friends. I won't be missed, believe me. So, is Jimmy excited to get the printer installed and set up?"

"I had to hide the power cord to keep him from trying to connect it to the computer himself," Samantha said with a laugh. Then she turned serious and said, "You seem kind of down today. What happened, did Santa leave you a lump of coal in your stocking or something?"

I forced a smile and said, "No, Santa brought me the traditional husband gifts of socks and underwear and the kids got me the tradition dad gift of a tie."

"Then what's wrong? Something at work?"

"It may be nothing, so I would rather hold off discussing it until I know more if that's okay. I'm expecting a fax at the office this afternoon that will confirm whether or not I have anything to worry about."

"Can you stay for dinner after setting up the printer for Jimmy? If you are going to have something to worry about, maybe we could try to find a solution for you then."

"I don't think so. Maybe I can take you and Jimmy out to dinner sometime though."

"With Linda?" she asked.

I shook my head, "Unlikely. Linda doesn't do dinner with another couple well. She's fine if it's just her and me, but with anyone else present, she becomes opinionated and believes that she is omniscient on all matters. It gets pretty embarrassing for everyone, except her of course."

"I didn't realize that she was lacking in social skills," Samantha said. "I assumed that since you told me that she was a room mother for Paige's class as well as her Girl Scout troop leader that she..."

"Those environments have her relating almost exclusively with kids, which she does okay for the most part. She is the head room mother and leads the Girl Scout troop so she is the Alpha female in those instances. I don't know if it is her insecurities regarding her former agoraphobia or the influence of her mother, but she feels that she needs to exert her opinions onto every other adult that she interacts with. She lacks a throttle on her opinion engine."

Samantha slid the receipt for our order across the table to me as the sign that I should go pick it up from the counter. I smiled in acknowledgment and went to retrieve our food. I brought the tray back to the table and all conversation was paused as we feasted on our food.

Watching Samantha eat was always an adventure. She was the neatest consumer of anything edible that I had ever seen. It's not like she was obsessively careful or took extreme measures to avoid making a mess. It was a reflection of her natural style and grace that must have conveyed to whatever she was eating that she was in complete command and would not tolerate even a drip of sauce from her burger. I never saw her soil a napkin during or after a meal.

We spent a half-hour after finishing our lunch to review the project task list. Samantha had agreed to handle the hotel accommodations and transportation for Mr. Yoshida to and from the airport. As she provided me with the details on her arrangements, I had to interrupt her.

"The Doubletree Hotel is fine," I said, "but tell them that the room can't be comped for Mr. Yoshida. He is a stickler for avoiding anything that might be viewed as unethical or of a preferential nature due solely to his position. We need to make certain that any gifts that he receives while here follow the Japanese gifting customs and not ours. Small tokens of respect are fine, but nothing over the top."

Samantha nodded and said, "Got it. I'll make sure his reservation gets corrected. What else?"

"See if the hotel can put him in something other than a suite, and definitely nothing better than his two assistants will be staying in. When Mr. Yoshida learns that this is the hotel that all of our visiting employees, customers, and business partners use, he will want to experience the same level of accommodations that they would normally receive. Also arrange to have the hotel shuttle pick him up from the airport instead of a limo service. If I'm not available to take him back to the airport when he is departing, he can take the hotel shuttle back."

"Or I could drive him," Samantha offered.

I smiled and said, "Not in your little sports car, you can't. Remember that there will be three of them traveling together."

"I suppose you're right, but what about you and your truck? Wouldn't you have the same issue?"

"The extended cab has two flip-down seats. My kids ride on them all the time. Being from Japan, Mr. Yoshida and his assistants will be familiar with the seating arrangements in my truck and have no problem with them."

"You know best."

I smiled at her and said, "There's another thing that I would like your help with..."

"Sure, what's that?"

"I have requested that the contact at each location create a presentation for Mr. Yoshida that describes what their organization or department does that aligns with the corporate mission statement and core values. I know that a few are going to focus on their business results instead, and I'll deal with those myself. I would like you to review each of the presentations as someone not intimately familiar with what most of the other locations do to see if they are providing a clear understanding of where they fit into the overall corporate picture."

"Surely Mr. Yoshida has a better understanding of what each group does that I do," Samantha said.

"I know for a fact that he does," I agreed, "but he will want to see how the groups perceive themselves as part of the corporate family. I have heard from managers in Europe where Mr. Yoshida toured over the summer that he voiced dissatisfaction with what he was shown by them. He can read spreadsheets and financial reports himself. What he wants to be shown is whether people believe in what they do for the company."

"Okay, I can do that. I'll stop by the hotel on the way home and make all the changes. Anything else?"

"You can't do that," I told her. "You are an hourly employee who is not scheduled to work this week. Meeting me for lunch and reviewing the spreadsheet could already be viewed as a violation of California labor laws, but handling business with the hotel while off the clock is a very clear violation of those as well as company policy. It can wait until next week."

"Okay, I understand, but as far as our meeting today is concerned, it can't be considered work-related if you allow me to give you the Christmas present that I got for you now rather than while at my house."

I chuckled and said, "Then I guess I should give you the gift I have for you now as well. It's in my truck. Come on."

Samantha smiled her brightest smile as she took my hand to help her from her seat and walked beside me to the parking lot.

"I need to get your present out of my car," she said. "I'll meet you at your truck in a second."

I nodded and headed for my truck. Samantha had joined me by the time I had unlocked the driver side door. She followed me around to the passenger side where I unlocked and held the door open for her. She settled onto the seat with a wrapped box on her lap before closing her door. I returned to the driver's side and reached behind the seat to retrieve the wrapped present I had placed there before taking my seat and closing the door.

We exchanged the wrapped packages and she said, "You go first."

"Why don't we do it together?" I asked with a grin.

Samantha's eyes showed me more affection than I had ever seen from my wife when she said, "Because I want to watch you and I want you to watch me. Please go first."

Without replying I began removing the ribbon and bow from the package. Like everything else I had seen from Samantha, the wrapping job on the package appeared professional and performed with obvious pride. I didn't want to disrespect the effort that Samantha had put into the wrapping job, but I could also sense her growing impatience as I tried to remove the wrapping without damaging her work.

I finally had all the wrapping removed from the plain white box. It was your typical shirt gift box and as I lifted the top off, I saw that it was serving its intended function. Underneath the precision folded tissue paper was a light blue long-sleeve dress shirt.

"I hope you don't mind," Samantha said. "All I've ever seen you wear are white dress shirts, so I thought that you might want to try a little color for a change."

I laughed and said, "I would love to, but maybe I should explain why I have only worn white shirts, until now that is."

"I'm listening," she said with a grin.

"Well, the first reason is that I get up early, as you know. I always try to be considerate of Linda still being asleep in our bedroom while I get dressed, so I leave the lights off. Not being able to see too well in the dark, I decided long ago to stick with white shirts so that I wouldn't have to worry about coordinating colors. I have brown, black, blue, and gray suits, which white shirts all go with. The same thing with ties; white shirts will generally handle whichever tie I pick out for the day."

Nodding in understanding, Samantha said, "I guess it makes sense when you get dressed at home, but what about when you travel? Do you pack your suitcase in the dark or get dressed in the dark at your hotel?"

"No, but it does eliminate any need for coordination of things when I pack if I stick to just white shirts. I suppose it has just become routine, but I will break out of my rut to wear this shirt, I promise. Now open your gift."

Samantha was beaming as she tore open the wrapping on her present. Obviously, my wrapping didn't deserve the same respect as hers did. She quickly reached the point where she could see what was inside the wrapping and I saw a tear appear at the corner of her eye.

"I can't believe that you remembered," Samantha said as she finished unwrapping the boxed personalized stationery set. It had been our second or third lunch when she had mentioned that she had been taught to always acknowledge someone's kindness with a written thank you and told me that she had already started thinking about what she was going to write to thank me for letting her work on Mr. Yoshida's visit with me.

"Of course, I remembered. It helped that I had to stop that very same day at an Ace Hardware store and there was a Hallmark store in the same center where I could get that set ordered for you before it slipped my mind."

Samantha turned in her seat to face me more fully and said, "Thank you, AJ. Now the only question is scented or unscented?"

I'm certain that she saw the confused expression on my face because she quickly clarified her question, "Do you want my notes to you to be scented with perfume or unscented?"

In the days before cell phones became common, a lot of girlfriends and wives had become accustomed to their men often coming home with the smell of a strange perfume on them. All it took was for the man to use a payphone or some woman's work phone to have the last perfume that the phone was exposed to transferred to the man's hand and ear. Linda had become immune to the smell of strange perfume on me over a decade prior.

Seduction doesn't always wear a little black dress. It doesn't need high heels or a short hemline. From our very first encounter, Samantha's perfume had stimulated me in a way that no woman's scent ever had. I understood enough about the science behind perfumes to recognize that they generally smelled different on a woman than they did when spritzed in the air or onto paper. I knew that Samantha's perfume scent, regardless of where I smelled it would affect me the same way every time.

Though I would never act upon it as things currently stood between us, it was impossible for me not to be attracted to Samantha. I had been since our first encounter when I caught her falling from the chair. I had been attracted to a lot of women over the years, but Samantha presented me with the greatest struggle to resist the attraction I had ever faced.

"What is the name of your perfume?" I asked out of curiosity.

"It's called 'Tabu'," Samantha said with a grin that told me that she knew the effect it had on me and that she appreciated it.

"How appropriate," I thought. I made my decision, "Let's stick with unscented."

The disappointment in Samantha's eyes was brief, but I saw it none the less. I said, "Your fragrance is a treat for me. It's part of your presence and I would like to keep those times special. Are you okay with that?"

"Of course. I consider my time with you special too. You've become someone very dear to me, AJ, and it bothers me to see you as melancholy as you have been today. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make things better for you."

I nodded and squeezed her hand in mine, "Thanks Samantha, I appreciate that. I better get back to the office and see if the fax has arrived. I promise to share more with you later today when I come by your house."

I got out of my truck, set the shirt box onto the driver's seat, and walked around to open Samantha's door for her. I was surprised when she stepped out of the truck and moved towards me. As her body moved against mine, she placed her arms around me and her head against my chest for our first embrace. I returned her embrace by hugging her tightly.

A low mewing moan escaped from her as I held her. The embrace didn't last as long as either of us would have wanted. As I walked Samantha back to her car, I sensed that she wanted to say something, but she remained silent. She unlocked her door so I could open it for her.

She turned and looked up at me. The hint of tears was once again present in her eyes as she stretched up and place a gentle kiss onto my cheek. She asked, "Can I call you at your office when I get home?"

"You can try, but depending on what the fax reveals, I might not be there very long before I have to leave to take care of some things."

"Okay, but I miss being able to talk to you. If I can't catch you in your office, I'll page you when Jimmy gets home, unless you want to just come over when you're done taking care of whatever you have to do."

I smiled down at her and said, "I think it would be best if I wait until your husband is home to visit your house. We wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong impression about my visit."

Samantha pouted and said, "It's not fair that a man and woman can't have an open friendship without someone getting the wrong idea."

I kissed her gently on her forehead and said, "We both know that the fact that we are both married complicates our relationship and how others see it. Let's continue to be considerate of other people's feelings and things will be fine. I'll see you later today, I promise."

She slid into her seat and said, "Okay, AJ. Drive safe."

I closed her door as she started the car. I remained standing in place as she backed out of her space and headed for the exit. Once her car had disappeared from view, I returned to my truck and drove back to my office.

~~~

The page arrived just as I was beginning to back out of the parking space at my bank, so I pulled back in to check my pager.

"07734"

I glanced at the pager message and smiled. Samantha knew that my pager would support alphanumeric messages but she insisted on sending only the numbers that when read upside down would spell, "hELL0". It usually came only when I was traveling and meant that she wanted me to call her at her desk number. Today it meant that she was telling me that her husband was home and I should head over to install the printer for him.