****** A few weeks later******
It was the ringing of the phone that woke Kerry up. She fumbled for the phone and mumbled, “Weaver here.”
John’s voice brought her closer to being awake. “I’m sorry Hon, I thought I got all the time zones right. You want me to call you back.”
“No,” Kerry practically yelled into the phone, “it’s ok, I’m awake.” Johns voice even sounded far away she thought to herself. She propped herself up higher in bed, dragging the quilt comforter closer to her. “How’s it going there?” She asked. “I miss you.”
John leaned against the doorframe; “I miss you to. It’s a bit unusual here, that’s for sure.”
Kerry asked him “How’s everyone taking it?”
“Hard” he replied, “Not only do we have to deal with the suddenness of it all, but he left so much unfinished business”
Kerry could here the tiredness in his voice. He’d been gone for almost two weeks now. She was still trying to get used to being without him again. “How’s your Aunt Karen handling things?” She asked genuinely curious.
“She’s not doing so well. She held it together though the burial. But,” John sighed. “How are you doing? Anything new at work?”
The concern in his voice cheering her up slightly. John hadn’t seen her for almost a two weeks now. It was hard to believe that she had grown so much into his heart, into his very soul. Here he was in an absolutely beautiful part of Italy and all he found himself doing was thinking of Kerry. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, and so many things he wanted to show her while he was here. He wanted to hold her so bad that at times it hurt.
“Fine, you know, same old grind.” Kerry missed him so bad, dam these phone call suck she thought. All day long she waited to hear from him. She found herself wanting to tell him things that happened during the day. She found herself just wanting to hear the sound of his voice, or the feel of his arms around her.
“Romano went slumming again today. We had a 4-year-old with the stomach flu. She managed to throw up on his shoes. You know the expensive crocodile ones he insists on wearing everywhere. I wish you had seen it.”
John laughed “I wish I could have seen that. He didn’t take it well I presume? He hasn’t bothered your anymore lately has he?” A note of concern crept into his voice.
“Romano,” Kerry laughed, “Not hardly, other than that ---I expected better than that out of you-- speech he gave me. I think he’s afraid to, I mean.” She chuckled, “all I have to do is say the word sexual harassment, and watch him duck rapidly out of the room.”
John smiled, that’s my girl. She had more spirit than any women he knew.
“I shouldn’t be to much longer.”
He was trying to picture Kerry propped up in their bed. She’s probably got her Mickey Mouse quilt tucked up all the way to her neck. Dam he missed her.
“I hope not”, Kerry replied, longing for him making her voice huskier than normal. This living apart was so hard. Kerry found it hard to believe that she had ever thought she was content living alone. “Well I hate to leave you, but sweetheart, I have to run. Karen’s calling for me. I miss you.” His voice indicated regret that he had to hang up so soon.
“I’ll try to call you tonight.”
Kerry replied. “I miss you to. Take care of yourself.”
“You to”, was all she heard before the phone clicked.
************Several days later*********
Kerry limped towards her office, the days seemed to get longer and longer to her. The last two weeks had to have been the longest she had lived through in years. One of the few good things about having an office to herself she thought, is that you can mope there privately. Everyone was giving her wide distances. As if afraid that with John being gone it would immediately set her off. She knew her temper was bad at times, but she honestly didn’t think it was that bad. Sometimes she wished that she had closer friends. It would be nice to call someone and complain about John being gone, or to just plain talk about how good looking he was, and how lucky she was to have him.
She still wondered what he saw in her. She often wondered, especially when the pain in her leg was especially bad, why John didn’t look for someone prettier, someone livelier. Someone who could dance all-night or go hiking with him. She had seen some of his ex girlfriends. The words beautiful and stunning and young often came to mind. It was so hard not being jealous sometimes. She had missed his call yesterday. Just received a message on her machine “I miss you.”
Most of all she just missed him. If someone had told her that she and John would get together a couple of months ago, she would have laughed and dismissed them without out a backward glance. But now. Now her heart ached like it hadn’t in years. She knew he would be back, but that didn’t mean that it took away from her loneliness at the moment.
Kerry shook her head, “get to work Weaver” she sternly told herself. Moping around gets NOTHING done.
**************Several hours later**********
Kerry limped by admin desk. Her arms full of charts she meant to review at home. She spoke to Randi for a few seconds on some forms that needed to be filed when Randi interrupted her. “These came for you earlier.” She handed Kerry a large bouquet of red roses, in a crystal vase wrapped in plastic that had been sitting on the counter behind her. Kerry’s eye’s filled with tears and wonder.
She placed her work on the countertop, and grabbed a pair of scissors to eagerly snip the plastic and get to the card inside. The words “soon” were written on it. Randi curiously said “Who did you get the flowers from Dr. Weaver”. Kerry just smiled and said, “pretty aren’t they.”
She gathered them up forgetting to pick up her paperwork. “See you tomorrow, Randi.” She told her still smelling her flowers on the way out the door. Randi just smiled, nice to know that even Dr. Weaver looses it when she’s in love.
Kerry walked through the doors of her house still holding her flowers. She hardly wanted to put them down. She had made it as far as the living room when she looked up. John was standing there, light glinting through his handsome hair.
He stared at her for a few moments before saying. “You know, Italy isn’t as much fun, when you aren’t there to share it with me.” Kerry took one look at his handsome face. She nearly dropped the flowers in her rush to put them down, and flew into his arms.
He was home.
