...And Beyond... | To Infinity... Book Two [ON HOLD]

Chapter 6: Back to Work

Saturday April 18, 2021 - Chicago, Illinois

Desi POV

3:00 PM

"He really had them bill him?"
"Yes girl, like, I was telling him that he didn't need to do that, but he insisted and you know he's mad tall, so playin' 'Keep Away' with me with the release papers was hella easy for him. He's so stubborn, it's irritating sometimes."
"I keep tellin' you that you was puttin' it down on him a little too good 'cause you're stuck with his ass now; he ain't leavin' you, no matter how many pounds you gain or lose."

I push Lenni and chuckle a little. After leaving the hospital, I vowed to myself to never take me or my shortcomings or my hardships too harshly, only focus on bettering myself to be as strong and victorious as I can be. We were currently walking the halls trying to find catering when we started seeing black and gold balloons start appearing in the hallway. We follow the balloons and get to a darkened room. We step inside and the lights flash on.

"WELCOME BACK!"

Lenni has joined the huge crowd of people that popped out from behind the tables and chairs. I cover my mouth in surprise and walk over to start thanking and hugging everyone there. I've only worked a month with the company and all these people have gotten together to surprise me with a 'Welcome Back' party. No matter what happened or may happen between Joe and I, I'm definitely glad now that I took Lenni's advice and pursued this job. There was a cake on one of the tables, I had a few presents waiting for me on another table, and the buffet was set up as usual but with all my favorite foods: sushi, steak, mac and cheese, lasagna, fresh fruits, chicken legs, even chicken feet, and I know there are only two people in this whole place that would know all that I liked - Lenni and...Joe?

"Hey, um, where's Joe?" I ask walking up to Lenni as she was stuffing her face with a white chocolate chip cookie...and a double chocolate chip cookie.
"He's around, he'll show up soon. Get yourself a plate."
"I really shouldn't be eating anything so heavy what with the whole stomach pumping thing."
"Psh, please, that was all because you didn't eat."
"And I got roofied."
"Okay, but the fact still remains that you had committed to not eating, starving yourself because you were so depressed; please eat, I'm begging you. I didn't like sitting by and watching my best friend disappear in front of my eyes, not being able to do much for you without pushing you more into isolation. When Joe called me...I...I didn't know what to do; I don't know if I should cry or scream or hop on a plane, so cried while I packed, screamed after I called the Uber, then hopped on the next plane out to you."

She laughs but looks down sadly at her cookies and I could hear the sadness in her voice. She and I have been through Hell and back with men and we've always had each other's back, but this time around I had pushed her away, made her reluctant to do or say anything because I wanted to deal with the heart ache alone; only problem was that I wasn't dealing with it, I was ignoring it and subconsciously seeking to be as dead to everyone else as I felt inside.

"Don't cry, Len. You're here, I'm here with you, and you're making the decision to stay longer than you need to; that means so much to me."
"You're my best friend, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

We hug briefly before I grab a plate of some sushi, lasagna, chicken, and fruits and making my way out of catering in search of a very sneaky Samoan.

*~*~*~*

How the fuck am I unable to find a six foot tall wrestler with long wet hair and a sleeve tattoo? Where the Hell is he? Oh shit, now I'm lost. I'm so lost that I've managed to finish the plate of food I've been walking around with and I dump it in a trash can I pass by.