Chapter 3
*~* Molly *~*
As we enter the practice this morning, Barbara gives off the vibes of the Energizer Bunny.
She’s buzzing with excitement, and as much as I enjoy my job, I couldn’t possibly match her enthusiasm.
I knew she was happy in her work, but this is a real eye-opener, I have to say.
If she gets this excited about getting here each morning, she must be in severe depression to leave at the end of the day.
Entering my office, I park my butt and listen as Barbara starts to hum and then sing. She’s singing something about ‘happy talk’. I think she’s taken one too many vitamin supplements with her breakfast this morning. She doesn’t sing normally.
Jamie looks in through the door and says, “Hello,” while frowning and nodding to the reception area from where the singing is still coming from.
I shrug my shoulders and raise my eyebrows. “Don’t know, and am not asking,” is all I say quietly.
“I thought maybe you’d given her a raise or something,” Jamie whispers back at me, then laughs.
“God forbid. If she’s this happy on a normal day, imagine how she’d be after a raise. She’d be bouncing off the walls, for heaven’s sake.”
Most of the morning I spend reviewing work schedules and making sure there is adequate coverage for any vacations coming up.
The schedules are three months in advance, so I don’t expect to find any issues.
I then go over the previous month's expenditures, and as expected, the total for the pharmacy side outweighs everything else by far.
Needing a drink and a bite for lunch, I head to the kitchen or breakroom, depending on how you look at things, to see what I can scavenge.
If not, it will have to be a trip to the local deli.
Walking into the kitchen, I see Barbara standing with her back to the door, refilling the coffee machine.
Her butt is wiggling from side to side, and she’s still singing away to herself. This time it’s a song I recognize.
“Always look on the bright side of life,” followed by some out of tune whistling, I might add.
“I don’t know what you had with your Cheerios this morning, but can I have some for breakfast tomorrow, please?” Barbara gives a little squeal as I startle her from her happy place.
“Oh, fuck! Oh, shit, now you’ve made me swear. Fuck. Now I’ve done it again. Don’t do that, Molly. Knock or something!” Barbara blushes furiously at her foul language, which just makes me laugh at her. “Honey Nut Cheerios to be precise. They have more of a zing to them.”
“Well, whatever has you so happy, I’m all for it. Good for you, girl.”
Barbara throws me a beaming smile and goes back to finish making the coffee and singing her heart out.
Before I get to find lunch, Breaker appears from nowhere, waving bags in the air with both hands.
“I brought lunch. I noticed you didn’t take anything this morning, so being the kind and thoughtful husband that I am, I brought a bunch of pastries for you and for your team.” He grins at me as though expecting praise for his actions.
“Well done, husband. Just don’t expect any more gratitude later, that’s all.
” I eye him up and down, as I know full well what he would be expecting as payment for his generosity.
He just might get something if he plays his cards right.
I’m not averse to letting him think he’s gotten his own way, when it’s me that has got what she wants, all along.
Disappearing out the door, Breaker returns moments later with Jamie and Tom in tow.
“Everyone sit, have a pastry, and let Uncle Breaker tell you the story of Percy the Python.”
Everyone looks at me with owl-like eyes, and I splutter, “Don’t look at me like that! I didn’t know that’s what he calls it!” I look daggers at him as I wonder what the hell is going to tell them.
“It’s not about my dick, you perverts. It’s about Percy the Python, the snake.
Now, once upon a time there were four guys who opened a pet crem…
” He then goes on to tell us what happened at the pet crem earlier and that poor Cannon has been getting called snake names since he got back to the clubhouse.
“I could help him with his snake problem. I’d turn his python into a spitting cobra in no time.
” Barbara looks at us in horror as she realizes that she just said that out loud and not in her head.
Blushing even more than when she swore, she looks at us all brazenly.
“What’s wrong with helping a fellow human being in a tight spot? ”
“Depends if you’re wanting to help them out of a tight spot or put them in one, I suppose,” I say to her, all the while trying desperately to keep a straight face. Jumping from her chair, she dashes out of the room. Jamie, Breaker and I burst into raucous laughter.
“So, who’s looking after Percy now?” Jamie asks Breaker.
“They hadn’t found the damn thing when I left the clubhouse, so I can’t answer that. Pres isn’t going to be happy if they don’t sort this mess out. Can you imagine the press if they got hold of this story? The puns and jokes would be endless. It wouldn’t do our reputation any favors, either.”
Lunch over and Breaker sent on his way, I’m back in the office.
The curse for being so organized is the spare time it generates.
I must spend the equivalent of a full day per week just looking for things to fill my time with.
I put the doctors on a four-day week some time back, and I think it’s time I did it for myself, too.
I could be on call if needed or maybe do two half-days.
Then what would I do with myself on my time off?
It would probably just lead to more sex and Breaker, he’d love that!
Walking into Jamie’s office, I see her studying some paperwork spread out on her desk. “Whatyadoin’, girl?”
“I’m gonna buy you some work boots to wear around here. You walk quieter than Spirit when she’s out in the woods.” Jamie has a hand to her chest, so I guess I scared her like I did Barbara earlier.
“Maybe I should walk around coughing or whistling or something. I can’t help it if you all lose control of your senses every time you concentrate. I thought all of us women could multi-task?” I tilt my head to one side as I wait for her response.
“I can multi-task. I just can’t hear you sneaking and creeping and skulking around the building all the damn time.” Jamie leans back in her chair and scowls at me.
“Ooh, skulking. I like the sound of being a skulker. Maybe I’ll get a new desk nameplate with that on it. Molly Alexander – Office Skulker. What do you think?”
“Definitely not. You are not having something on your desk that announces to the world that you are a skulker. You’d have to take a cut in your salary if you downgrade yourself, too.” Jamie smiles at that thought.
As we are discussing my possible demotion to skulker, Barbara walks past the open office door.
Now, when I say walks past , I’m not doing her movement justice.
She’s still damn well singing, and this time it’s Bobby McFerrin’s ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy.
’ The way she walks, I can’t describe. It’s sort of a sashay with some upper body shaking going on.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’d been to a bar during her lunch break.
“What has got into her today?” Jamie asks as she watches Barbara, too.
“I wish I knew. If we could bottle it, we could make a fortune in no time. We’d be millionaires in a week.” I shake my head in wonderment.
“If we mixed it with your skulking abilities, we could end all wars.” I look at Jamie as I don’t follow her train of thought. “All the soldiers in every army worldwide would be so happy, and they wouldn’t be able to find each other to fight!”
“Except for the sound of their singing belting out over the battlefield, you mean! That is so lame, Jamie. Really?” I laugh at her face as she wrinkles her nose and curses me for spoiling her idea.
“Go back to your own office and leave me in peace. I’m busy.” She turns her attention back to the paperwork on her desk, and I scoot behind her so I can peek over her shoulder to see what she’s doing.
“You’re opening a bar?” I state as I look at the blueprints she is studying.
“I’m not. The MC is. They bought the bar they were after, and Fury and Mateo are going to run it.
I stole a copy of the plans so I can see if I can find any flaws in their ideas.
So far it all looks good. I know Mateo has been studying customer flow and shit like that.
He’s put in a lot of hours already. I have seen nothing that looks out of place so far. What about you?”
Studying the plans over her shoulder, I trace a finger through the projected traffic flow. “The only thing I can see is that there could be a bottleneck getting to and from the restrooms. That space there looks very tight. Other than that, it all looks good to go.”
“Humph. Trust you to spot something I didn’t. I should have known better than to ask.” Jamie folds her arms across her chest in mock anger.
Leaving Jamie to it, I return to my office and see that it’s almost time to call it a day.
Taking two seconds to tidy my already tidy desk, I grab my purse.
Just as I reach the door, Breaker appears, grabs me and plants a fierce kiss on my lips.
I almost give in to his passion when I remember where we are and push him away.
Shouting goodbye to Jamie, she appears from her office and gives us a wave. “I won’t be far behind you. See you tomorrow.” With that, she disappears back into her office.
Barbara is standing by the main door, and I have to say she looks like she is just as excited to leave as she was to arrive. She looks like she’s going on a date, too, all smart and lipsticked up to boot.
“Ready to go, Barbara?” Breaker asks her to my surprise.
“Oh boy, am I ever,” she replies all girly and giggly.
“Come on then. We’ll drop you off on our way,” Breaker tells her.
“Oh no. Cannon is picking me up. We arranged it this morning.” She beams at the pair of us.
“No. He’s not coming. I said we would drop you off as we’d be here anyway and save him the journey.” Breaker smiles back at her.
I watch her face as he tells her this, and the look she gives him makes me flinch. If men weren’t so stupid, Breaker would have run for the hills.
Letting fly with a series of curses that turn the air blue and has Jamie rushing out of her office to see what has happened, Barbara stamps her foot so hard, I think she cracks the building foundations.
She storms out the door and straight to her Toyota.
Tires squealing, she leaves a cloud of smoke as she peels out of the parking lot and into traffic without slowing.
Jamie and I look at each other and then at Breaker.
“What did I say?” He looks blankly at the pair of us, and we shake our heads at him.
“Next time Cannon is supposed to come to the practice, for any reason whatsoever, I suggest you keep your meddling nose out of it. Otherwise, you may find yourself needing the practice's professional services.” Jamie blows the breath from her lungs in a long breath and walks away.
“Come on, husband of mine. Let me explain what you just did while we’re on the way home.”
“We’re not going home. I have other plans for us tonight,” he tells me with a smirk, as though it’s some mysterious surprise.
“You have so much to learn, my husband, so much to learn.” Putting my arm through his, I lead him out to the waiting hog and let out my own breath of resignation.