The Gemini

20 - Cold

November 8, 1988

Jody didn't mean to snap at the woman, she really didn't, it just came out that way. The simplest question was met with an attitude.

The patient had asked, "Am I supposed to take it two times a day?"

Jody answered, "That's what it says on the bottle, right? Then I guess that's what you're supposed to do."

"Does it matter if I've eaten or not?"

"Again, it's right there on the label. It can't get any simpler than that."

That was only one instance that she'd taken her annoyance out. Twice on the phone she got cross at innocent people. She became irritated at Regina and even smart mouthed one of the doctors. When it was Nikki's turn to endure the wrath, Jody found herself being called out on her subconscious antics.

"Girl, how long is this gonna go on?" Sticking a small bunch of BBQ flavored chips in her mouth, she continued. "If this is what you gonna be like without dick then give me the phone. I'll call him myself so y'all can get y'all act together."

She wasn't about to call him. She hadn't in all of this time. Neither had he called her. A week. Seven days. 168 hours. That's how long it's been and with each passing day Jody's hurt turned into anger. So she built a wall. The wall that was normally reserved for those who did her the most wrong. When it went up there was almost no way that it was coming down. Her cold shoulder was frigid and she could keep it up until either the other person apologized or one of them died. And she wasn't apologizing, especially when she did nothing wrong.

"I'm fine."

"Jo, you cutting people's throats left and right. One of them was a four-year-old."

The kid covered his left eye when she distinctly told him to cover his right. Her correcting demonstration wasn't that harsh. She didn't exactly snatch the Transformers toy from his chubby little hands. Besides, once he was finished she gifted him a sticker to make up for his tears.

At the vending machine Jody got a bag of peanut M&Ms.

"What happened anyway? I mean you were on cloud nine and then bam."

"Apparently all I am is a good fuck."

"Those were his exact words?"

"Basically."

Nikki shook her head, "Why do I feel like you're being dramatic?"

"I don't know because it's not like you were there are anything."

Eating another chip, "Hey, calm down. I'm just saying."

Ripping the corner of the candy bag, "And I'm just saying that you don't know what you're talking about." She picked out the green ones to eat them first.

Seeing that Jody was stuck on stubborn, Nikki gave up trying to make sense of the situation. "Alright so it's over. At least y'all found out quick. Now you can move on."

As jilted as she'd been feeling, Jody didn't even waste her time entertaining that thought. Moving on wasn't going to happen. Even though romantic feelings have been stunted and squashed, there was still a business deal at hand. She wasn't backing out of that because she had a piece in it.

His new star was still rising higher and brighter by the day. Roger hadn't been back to the club but Jody kept him spinning. Both tracks were still booming on the station. On the way home one day, she heard Lemon Crush and shut the radio off almost immediately. That same day she got a call from Neena requesting that she get him down to the station as soon as possible. The woman said that he was gaining a following and it was time that the world met him. Jody told her that she would see what she could work out. Pride made that statement a lie.