THR33 DIFFERENT WOMEN. Part 46.

It wasn't a plan exactly, it was simply how he expected things to work out. So when he awoke alone, Jay had some thinking to do. He lay there for a while. Not wishing to enter the bathroom for the early morning message she'd written on his mirror. His bladder began to protest. Peeing out of the window had some merits. It also had a few drawbacks. Eventually he came to the decision he'd have to use the facilities. Wipe the lipstick off the mirror again. Though why he kept doing that escaped him. Except Tianni sometimes came to his rooms, as well as several members of staff. Some of whom might come to the conclusion he'd written it himself for them to see. It was hard to remove, but what else could he do. Apart from get some kind of cleaning solution.

He hobbled over, his leg still stiff from the injuries. Keeping his eyes on the floor he took care of the most urgent business first. His bladder thanking him profusely. Next he made a toilet tissue mitten to initiate the laborious process. At first he thought she'd run out of red lipstick. Instead of a repetition of the previous messages, something new was daubed on the glass. "Help me", wasn't what he expected to find. How, was the first thing to enter is head. Who could he ask, coming a close second. Sophie was the only suggestion he could come up with. That wasn't going to happen. Not yet. Showering and shaving didn't help. Getting dressed became a confusing puzzle. Two odd socks and his underwear on backwards.

The best thing to do would be to go see Leilani. Or would it be the worst thing he could do? Doing nothing was tempting. Maybe she wouldn't come back tonight. That seemed reasonable. Which probably meant it was irrational. Unless he was missing something. He still couldn't dismiss this being an elaborate plot to get him fired, possibly from a large cannon. Marie Gagne, had a mind that could come up with this kind of thing. Duplicitous, warped and twisted. Women were like that. They never came after you directly. Always from an angle you never expected. Oh God, now he was turning into a misogynist. He liked women. They were much easier to deal with than men in a most situations. No, if Marie had been after him, she'd have come up with something far more straightforward than this. His ass would have been out of here long ago.

If only all women were like Sophie. She'd been lost and alone after Dale died. Smothered under a burden of guilt she hadn't deserved. Vulnerable and brittle. All he'd had to do for her was be there. Most of the time he'd simply sat and listened. The situations were similar. Comparable at the very least. The main difference being the woman concerned. He was going down the stairs when it hit him. Jay stumbled losing his cane and his balance. Barely preventing himself from falling. It couldn't be that simple could it? Only one way to find out. He was either going to succeed or fail. Jay wasn't even sure success would be beneficial to him or Leilani. Failure could be the best option if he was wrong. He'd have a word with Tianni before he did anything. Take a refresher course in how her aunt used to be.

Jay didn't see sight nor sign of her for the day. But that had been the case since this whole dream sequence had started. What if she didn't turn up? Would that be the end of it? Right now he didn't know which alternative he wished for. The soft click of his bedroom door opening filled him with both satisfaction and dread. The rudimentary ruse of putting some extra pillows in his bed seemed to have worked. When Leilani came in, he stepped out of the shower behind her.

"You can keep your clothes on. We're going to talk. You do remember talking don't you? It's something the two of us have never done together."

They sat in complete silence. Her face a stern, stiff mask. Her arms folded defensively across her chest. Those dark brown eyes boring into his. He sure as hell wasn't going to speak first. He'd already initiated a conversation. Both of his ears were turned on. It was something his parents had drilled into him. You have two ears and one mouth. Meaning you should listen twice as much as you speak. All he could hear now was the two of them breathing. The chair was too low for him. His leg was starting to ache. If she wasn't budging, neither was he. The discomfort was helping keep him awake anyway.

"Why did you save my life. You said the first time was a mistake. So why did you take a bullet for me?"
Startled didn't describe how he felt. Shocked was the wrong word. The dumb wisecrack his brain came up with would be the equivalent of slapping her face.
"Because you were worth it."
That almost came out as a question. Jay only understanding it was true, once the words formed. She snorted her disbelief.
"Would you do it again?" She challenged.
"In a heartbeat." His instant response rocked her for some reason.
A bitter smile crossed her face.
"Because you can make love to me. You can possess me. Use me."
The accusation was understandable.
"We didn't make love. We fucked. You fucked me. I allowed you to do it, even though I could have stopped it at any point. I have no idea why I didn't until last night. You said I was inside your head, well you're inside mine. And not for the obvious reasons.
"Liar. You said you regretted it. That I was worthless."
"Yes." She was surprised he'd admitted it, he could tell. "I was angry. I was in physical pain, and most important of all I knew losing you would have hurt Tianni more than she could bear."
"She'd have got over it." Leilani snapped back.
As soon as she'd said it he could see the hurt on her face.
"No. You never get over losing someone you love. It leaves a chasm in your life. Time doesn't heal that kind of wound. That chasm will never grow any smaller. All that happens is you avoid going anywhere near it if you can help it."
"We barely communicate." Her voice cracked. "I should have been there for her. When.."
The color drained from her face as she remembered.
"How you feel now, that's how she'd have felt if you'd killed yourself." Her face dropped further. "Look, I'm an idiot. Just ask Miles. I act without thinking. I can't resist the comical barbed comment. I'm a smartass. I say things without thinking, Tianni loves you." He chuckled ruefully. "And I love that little angel so much, there's nothing I wouldn't do for her."
When she suddenly stood his leg jarred in reaction.
"I'm leaving now. You're not going to try to stop me are you?"
He sighed despondently. Just when he thought he was getting somewhere, it had gone to shit.
"No. You're free to go whenever you like."
He slowly shook his head as Leilani made her way out.
"I'll see you tomorrow then. Same time."
The door closed behind her.
"What the fuck!"

Coincidentally his leg felt much better the next morning. The foggy disconnected feeling had faded as well. Still lingering, but no longer a bother. He was going to rid himself of the cane, until Shania showed up. Doing house calls now. They'd have to do dinner when Miles got back. That brought a smile to his face. He was tempted to just show up one evening. With a nicely chilled bottle of wine in one hand and a bunch of flowers, for the lovely hostess, in the other. It would be worth it just to see the look on Miles' face. His wounds were healing well, but Jay should keep using the cane for now. As he walked her to the entrance, partly to demonstrate her advice was wrong, Jay saw Marie and Leilani talking to one another as they crossed the hall below. Nothing suspicious about that. Was the lie he had to keep telling himself for the rest of the day.

Having managed to get some time with Tianni, Jay was in what he chose to call an ambivalent mood. She and Rory were far too comfortable together. They had little things they did. He was jealous of all of them. Rory maintained a formal distance and a professional manner, but the small signs, signals and smiles that passed between them irked him. Especially the way he opened doors for her. He should have asked Shania if he could get back to work. Which, he'd have assured her, wasn't really work at all. Maybe he needed the services of Marie. In case Rory became a problem. He definitely needed to get himself together. Sophie had been correct as usual.

His suite felt empty. Nothing had changed, apart from his becoming envious of Rory. He poured himself a strong drink. Then poured it back into the bottle. Spilling a lot of it as he did so. There was a knock on his door, to which he didn't respond. The staff always did that before they entered. The knock was only a warning someone was about to enter. So when it was repeated he became puzzled. It had to be Holly. She was a stickler for the correct etiquette after all. He swung the door open, catching his guest as she was about to knock for the third time.

"You stink of booze." Leilani announced as she drifted past him, carrying an iPad. "Sorry I'm early, only we've got a lot to get through."
Her speech was confidently delivered, before he detected her nervousness.
"I'll just consult my busy social calendar. Lucky you. A windows opened up."
"Careful. I might throw myself out of it. And you won't be there to catch me."
That was a joke. In far different circumstances he'd have laughed. Leilani looked uncertain as to how that would be taken, so he smiled. Which made him chuckle. Most of the tension left her.
"I haven't got a lot in, apart from coffee and milk... What are we going to be doing?"
She sat down at the table, placing the iPad in front of her.
"Getting to know each other." There was one of those meaningful pauses. "I know an awful lot about you from Marie.. The trouble is... I don't know who I am anymore. I was hoping you could tell me"