have just nodded. The truth was, I paid my mother rent and paid my debts, but I could afford my own place.
“Marley, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to intrude or make you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that we’ll be here for a while and conversation will make the time pass faster.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just cranky.” He whipped out another Zesty bar and tossed it to me. It landed in my lap. I stared at it like a lifeline. “Thanks, you’re like freaking Santa Claus or something.”
“I got used to buying two, I guess,” he said simply. “Tell you what, if there’s a question you don’t want to answer just say ‘pass’, and I promise I won’t prod, okay? You can ask me questions too.”
I nodded, tearing open the brown wrapping on the protein bar. I knew this one would fill me up completely. “What does the ‘U’ stand for?”
“The U?”
“The U in your middle initial. I’ve been curious since the airport.” He smirked, and I immediately held up my finger before he could comment. “You can’t make fun of me about the airport debacle either. That’s our secret.”
He nodded. “Of course, Marley, I didn’t tell anyone, and I promise you I won’t.”
It must have been true, because if he had revealed the story, it would be all over the office by now. People would be stopping me in the hallway to ask me if I had kidnapped any old men lately, or if I was randy. A story like that would spread through our office faster than swine flu. Rick was a newcomer and telling such a story would have enamoured him to the boys’ club at Henley Inc, but he hadn’t. Of course, he already had enough charm and exuberance to belong to the boys’ club naturally. “The U stands for Ulysses.”
I burst out laughing, almost choking on the Zesty bar.
“You can’t laugh at me for that, Marley, just like I can’t laugh about your failed abduction.”
“Sorry, I won’t laugh, but I’m curious, why Ulysses?” I asked, holding my stomach to suppress my urge to giggle.
“My father was a history professor. He was infatuated with the Civil war period and General Ulysses S Grant, the eighteenth president.” Rick brought his legs up to his chest and folded his arms around them. He looked a little sad, and my heart swelled for him. “Any plans this weekend?” His question was an obvious attempt at changing the subject, and I was very glad to oblige.
“I’m going to the bakery with Stevie for wedding cake tasting.”
“That sounds boring.”
“Actually it’s the one duty as the maid of honour I’m looking forward to.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know, probably because I love desserts.”
“What’s the best dessert you’ve ever eaten?”
I stared off at the steel doors that were locking us in, suspending us between floors. I already knew the answer, but hesitated to respond. Most of the time, our casual discussions were fraught with intense verbal play, where I was left exhausted trying to work around the hidden meanings. This one was more open, and in a strange way that frightened me.
“Come on, Marley, is that too much of a personal question? Really?”
I shook my head. “No, of course not.” I smiled softly at Rick. “My favourite dessert was a German chocolate cake my mother baked about a year ago.”
“What was so special about it?”
“She’s made it a few times. It’s a different recipe now that she’s vegan, but that’s not why it was my favourite. My mom has always done these weird health cleanses. She was doing a sugar fast that week, which meant no desserts. It actually meant no sugar at all, not even in your coffee. I have no idea why my sisters and I agreed to do it with her, but we did. We were ready to rip each other’s hair out by the third day. My mother baked a German chocolate cake to celebrate our accomplishment at the end of the week. She’d made it before, but somehow it tasted like a thousand times more decadent. I mean, the cake was always awesome,
“Marley, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to intrude or make you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that we’ll be here for a while and conversation will make the time pass faster.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just cranky.” He whipped out another Zesty bar and tossed it to me. It landed in my lap. I stared at it like a lifeline. “Thanks, you’re like freaking Santa Claus or something.”
“I got used to buying two, I guess,” he said simply. “Tell you what, if there’s a question you don’t want to answer just say ‘pass’, and I promise I won’t prod, okay? You can ask me questions too.”
I nodded, tearing open the brown wrapping on the protein bar. I knew this one would fill me up completely. “What does the ‘U’ stand for?”
“The U?”
“The U in your middle initial. I’ve been curious since the airport.” He smirked, and I immediately held up my finger before he could comment. “You can’t make fun of me about the airport debacle either. That’s our secret.”
He nodded. “Of course, Marley, I didn’t tell anyone, and I promise you I won’t.”
It must have been true, because if he had revealed the story, it would be all over the office by now. People would be stopping me in the hallway to ask me if I had kidnapped any old men lately, or if I was randy. A story like that would spread through our office faster than swine flu. Rick was a newcomer and telling such a story would have enamoured him to the boys’ club at Henley Inc, but he hadn’t. Of course, he already had enough charm and exuberance to belong to the boys’ club naturally. “The U stands for Ulysses.”
I burst out laughing, almost choking on the Zesty bar.
“You can’t laugh at me for that, Marley, just like I can’t laugh about your failed abduction.”
“Sorry, I won’t laugh, but I’m curious, why Ulysses?” I asked, holding my stomach to suppress my urge to giggle.
“My father was a history professor. He was infatuated with the Civil war period and General Ulysses S Grant, the eighteenth president.” Rick brought his legs up to his chest and folded his arms around them. He looked a little sad, and my heart swelled for him. “Any plans this weekend?” His question was an obvious attempt at changing the subject, and I was very glad to oblige.
“I’m going to the bakery with Stevie for wedding cake tasting.”
“That sounds boring.”
“Actually it’s the one duty as the maid of honour I’m looking forward to.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know, probably because I love desserts.”
“What’s the best dessert you’ve ever eaten?”
I stared off at the steel doors that were locking us in, suspending us between floors. I already knew the answer, but hesitated to respond. Most of the time, our casual discussions were fraught with intense verbal play, where I was left exhausted trying to work around the hidden meanings. This one was more open, and in a strange way that frightened me.
“Come on, Marley, is that too much of a personal question? Really?”
I shook my head. “No, of course not.” I smiled softly at Rick. “My favourite dessert was a German chocolate cake my mother baked about a year ago.”
“What was so special about it?”
“She’s made it a few times. It’s a different recipe now that she’s vegan, but that’s not why it was my favourite. My mom has always done these weird health cleanses. She was doing a sugar fast that week, which meant no desserts. It actually meant no sugar at all, not even in your coffee. I have no idea why my sisters and I agreed to do it with her, but we did. We were ready to rip each other’s hair out by the third day. My mother baked a German chocolate cake to celebrate our accomplishment at the end of the week. She’d made it before, but somehow it tasted like a thousand times more decadent. I mean, the cake was always awesome,
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