I pulled into the parking lot with Wendy still on my mind. She was still that delicate, yet feisty person I loved. But now there were a couple of upgrades, like her hips and her breasts.
She was going to be my wife, and naturally, we were going to do what all married couples did: fuck. It was inevitable, especially considering my appetite for her.
“Sam!” Benson called, running over to my car. I was just reaching my silver cane to pull myself out of this short car.
“Sam, there you are! We have the Morgans here to review over some paperwork. I think we potentially have some Japanese clients coming too,” Benson informed me, his eye sparkling. Anything that had to do with money made him giddy.
“Good. The more the better. Any word on Gallock?”
“Not yet. But if he so much sneezes our names, we’ll know.”
I begun to walk back to the building with Benson when my phone rang and buzzed in my pocket.
I dug it out on a whim, and realized it was Wendy calling me.
“Plus, I need to see this wife of yours soon. Don’t hold go holding out on me—”
“Sorry, Benson. Let me take this real quick.” I answered the call. “Hello, Wendy?”
“Sam, I need your—” she broke into a barrage of coughs “—I need your help.”
“Are you okay?” I griped the phone tighter. “Why are you coughing like that?”
“Fire, we had a fire just now,” she said, coughing again after her sentence. “I need your help.”
“Are you safe? Did you get out?”
“Yeah, we’re out. But our apartment is gone.”
“Wendy. Hang on, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes!” I hung up the phone and spun around on my heels to jump back into my car.
“Wait, the office is this way!” Benson said, following me.
“I can’t go right now. I have an emergency.”
My stride was suddenly strong, to the point that I almost didn’t need my cane.
“But, what are we going to do about the Morgans?”
“Handle it for me Benson. You are my business partner, right?”
I smiled and opened my car door.
“Okay. I got you then. Hope everything works out okay.”
“Thanks.”
I got in and closed my door. In only a few seconds, I found myself flying down the freeway. I was actually keeping up with traffic this time. If anything, I thought I was speeding.
I checked my speedometer and sure enough, I was hitting seventy.
I wasn’t technically speeding, but it was faster than I should have been driving knowing what could happen in car accidents. Suddenly, though, all I cared about Wendy.
I had told Wendy fifteen minutes. But I sped over to her place in less than ten. The smoke could be seen all the way from the freeway.
The closer I approached her building, the more the firetrucks and ambulances began to whiz by and then other cars piled up. Not wanting to get in the way of the emergency vehicles, I threw my car to the side, parked it, and jumped out the car… leaving my cane behind.
A small ache radiated in my hip. But now wasn’t the time to think about myself. Wendy needed me.
And I was going to be there for her.
A police officer saw me walking toward the building and ran over to stop me. “Sir, you can’t get too close. There are still active flames.”
“I’m looking for my wife!”
“Check over there. Anyone we pulled out will be in that area of ambulances.”
I dragged my body over there faster than my legs willed. Looking around, I couldn’t find Wendy.
I pulled my phone out, ready to call her again until I heard her small pixy voice over the rush of water and sirens.
“Sam!”
I turned around a few times, but finally saw her waving. She was sitting at the back of an ambulance with her father. They both had on oxygen masks.
Taking hers off one more time, she called my name again to make sure I had a stable visual on her. “Sam!”
“Wendy! I’m coming.”
I ran over to her and she stood up to hug me.
“What happened?” I asked her.
“Someone fell asleep while frying something in oil,” Mr. Monroe said, frowning. He shook his head in annoyance and placed his mask back on.
“Ugh. Idiots. You two can stay with me,” I offered.
“Not me,” Mr. Monroe said.
Wendy perked up and sat down by her father. “Why, Dad?”
He looked up at me then back at her. “Wendy, I’m a mess. I need help. It’s not fair for me to hold you back. Look at him. Sam’s got it all together. He may not have had it together in the past but he sure does now, and everyone deserves a second chance. That’s who you deserve. Me? I’m going to put myself in the city center rehab for my alcohol problem. I hurt this family enough.”
Tears welled up in Wendy’s eyes. “Dad—”
Mr. Monroe held his hand up and stopped her from arguing against his decision. “Sam,” he said, looking up at me, “Take good care of her.”
It’d be shitty of me to not help him too. No wonder Wendy didn’t want to leave her dad.
“I will. I’ll help you too. The city center rehab isn’t the best place to go to. I know of a great, private place that will help. I know some people in the high stress business field that have gone there and had great results. It’s on me. Take it.”
Mr. Monroe gave it a good thought.
I pulled Wendy by the hip to my side. “Please, take it. After all, I have your daughter.” I winked.
He laughed with a few coughs thrown in.
“Fine. You’re right. Thank you, Sam.”
“You have me, huh?” Wendy asked, shaking her head at me playfully.
“Yes,” I answered. “And I’m sure glad I do.”