Heels

The next morning, Jackie awoke from the doorbell ringing earlier in the morning than she could say she appreciated. She stretched, blinked and yawned loudly, throwing a glance at the alarm clock on her bedside table. “6 o’clock? What the F…” She groaned loudly and dragged her ass out of bed, pulling on her robe, cursing the unknown person outside.

“Jackie Jean!” her grandmother called out as Jackie closed the door to her room quietly behind her and stepped barefoot onto the cold floor of the hallway.

“I’ll get it, lazy!” Jackie shouted in response, making her way to the door, “I thought people your age were supposed to love the mornings. Get up and get things done before the troublesome young people wake up and everything.”

“I’m old,” Geraldine responded, “I need to practice for being dead!”

Jackie could do nothing but shake her head and laugh, before opening the door finding no one outside. “Oh fuck you!” she yelled down the hall at the imagined tweens running down the stairs, laughing. She looked down and surprisingly discovered a little pink bag on the mat in front of the door. Slightly embarrassed from her shouting, she bent down, picked it up and brought it into the apartment.

In the kitchen, she peaked inside and found a note. ‘Good morning Jackie Jean,” it said in Casper’s neat handwriting, ‘I wanted to make sure you got this little gift before you got dressed. These will make your ass look pretty.” Her eyebrows rose and she tilted the bag, emptying its contents on the table. A heap of lace and frilly fabric landed with a soft poof against the tabletop. She picked up a cream-colored one and had to laugh despite herself.

“Jeez,” she whispered, “thanks.”

~

Garret didn’t say anything when they met for lunch. He just stared her for a long time, then sat down, his lips tightly pressed together. Jackie Jean scratched her cheek before sitting down across from him, folding her freshly manicured hands. He folded his hands as well.

“I see you’ve ordered already. Caesar salad, my favorite.” He said nothing, and Jackie picked at her food. “Okay, I know it’s different,” she said slowly, after a couple of minutes of silence.

“It is.”

She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her now curly hair. “And you don’t like it.” He didn’t say anything. Jackie felt sad. “It’s okay, I don’t like it either.”

When she opened her eyes he was searching her face, examining her new look. “It’s not that I don’t like it,” he said slowly, “it’s just so…”

“Different.”

“Yes. Not in a bad way though,” He assured her, holding up the palms of his hands, “it’s just… well, different.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “I know!” She said, “I mean, check out my brows,” she wiggled them around, “they’re barely there!”

“They’re definitely there,” he said, smiling, “just not in the same degree that they used to.”

She gave him a look, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

He avoided the question. “Look, if you don’t like them, they’ll grow back.”

“And my hair?”

“Your hair looks good.”

She picked up a lock of her brown hair, giving it a nasty glare. “It’s so luscious.”

“Jackie, you have the hair and the face every girl wants, what’s wrong?”

She let the lock of hair fall back and shook her head. “Nevermind, you’re a man. You don’t get it.”

“Give it a shot.”

Jackie looked at him for couple of seconds. “It’s just… It’s those women!”

“What women?”

“At my job…”

“What about them?”

“They’re so mean,” she said, “It’s like if you don’t have the perfect body, or the perfect hair, or the perfect face, you’re nothing. You’re ugly. Who you are doesn’t matter at all, it’s how you look that matters. I don’t like it, and now, with this hair and these nails, I feel like I’ve taken a bite of the enemy’s cookies. I’m a total sell-out.”

Garret frowned as she spoke, and leaned forward in his seat. “Well why don’t you refuse?”

“Because Casper ordered it,” she said simply.

“And he is all-powerful?”

“He’s my boss,” she explained.

“I’ve never heard of a boss that has any control over how his staff looks.”

She sighed and gave him an annoyed look, “Look, Casper is not the issue here, it’s those girls in the wardrobe. They poked me! And laughed when the clothes they gave me didn’t fit! And they tried to lure me out of my underwear and wear these thongs!” Jackie didn’t mention the fact that she was wearing one of those thongs right now.

“And why do you think they’re like that? It sounds like there’s a certain culture at that place, and from what you told me when we spoke last night, Casper is behind it. He sound horrible, I don’t like you working there.”

“Because I look different?” Jackie felt her annoyance rising.

“No,” he said, obviously trying to keep calm, “because you’re different.”

“If you don’t like the way I look, just say so.”

“It’s not about your appearance Jackie, I would think you were gorgeous if you would only smile. You don’t smile anymore.”

“It’s been a week. Don’t you think you’re being a little over-dramatic?”

“A week without a smile or a laugh, no, I don’t think I’m being over-dramatic. You used to laugh all the time. It’s obviously because of this new job. You’ve complained over how bad it is yourself! How do you expect me to interoperate that?”

“Like I’m stressed out and don’t need you jumping down my throat at the first lunch we have together! God, why can’t you just be a little supportive?”

“Supportive of you being unhappy? Really?”

“I’m not unhappy!”

“Okay, then smile.”

She flashed her teeth in what looked more like a sneer than a smile, and he gave her a deflated look. Jackie slumped her shoulders. They looked at each other for a moment before a little smile found Garret’s lips and he reached out over the table, touching her hand. “You’re stressed out. I’m sorry. I just miss you.”

Her eyes softened as she looked at him. “I miss you too Garret, a lot. I know it’s been crazy, but I think and I hope that things will settle down.”

“Well, as long as you want to do this, I’ll back you.”

“Thank you. I’m glad we’re doing this, even though you were being a prick.”

“I’ll take that. And you look magnificent.”

“Thank you.”

He smiled at her and tightened his grip on her hand ever so slightly. “Listen,” he said, and Jackie’s brows rose, noticing he was blushing, “I’ve been thinking some lately – you know how they say distance brings you closer… or whatever – I was thinking that maybe-”

Beep beep beep beep beep.

His eyes darkened as her beeper went off, and her brows twisted. “Hold that thought!” she said, fumbling through her purse, finding the damned thing. “I just have to…” Her frown deepened as she read the number on the little screen. “Fuck. It’s Casper. I have to take this.”

“Really? Right now? Isn’t this you lunch?”

“Yeah, but you know, doesn’t care.” She dialed the number. “It’ll just be a sec, probably wants me to pick up coffee or something.”

“Doesn’t he have other assistants who can do that for him?” Garret sounded incredulous.

Jackie held up a finger to silence him as she put the phone to her ear, and he sat back, looking pissed off. “Hi, hello? Casper?”

“Jackie JJ!”

“Yeah. You paged?”

“That I did. Listen, I’m sorry to cut your lunch short,” he said, not sounding sorry at all, “But I need you at the office.”

“What, right now?”

“No, tomorrow. That’s why I’m using precious time to call you now, see.”

Jackie rolled her eyes. “I’m having lunch.”

“I know, but really, I’m doing us both a service by ending it before you get to dessert. By the looks of it, it’s your favorite part.”

Jackie clenched her jaw, ignoring the insult. “Would it be okay if I just had ten more minutes?” She pleaded, “I just… I need this.”

“I don’t pay you to come in ten minutes, I pay you –and rather nicely if I should say so myself – to be here now. But of course, you are welcome to find yourself another job.” His voice was so sickly sweet Jackie almost threw up her salad.

As tempting as the offer was, she gave in. “Fine. I’ll be there asap.”

“Good, do a little jog, it’ll be good for you.”

She hung up. When she sat back down Garret looked sullen. “You have to go.”

“Emergency.”

“I’m sure.”

She gave him a pleading look. “Garret, don’t be mad. We’ll have dinner someday, and you can tell me what you were… you know, about to say.”

“Just go, Jackie,” he said, leaning forward and rubbing his face with his hands.

“Not if you’re mad.”

“I’m not mad.”

“I can tell you’re mad.”

“I’m really not. Dinner some night, really.”

She looked at him with a forlorn look in her eye. “Okay,” she mumbled.

“Go on,” he said and she stood up, and hovered by his chair. The smile from before re-appeared on his lips and she smiled meekly back. “Give us a kiss then, and tell the home wrecker he’s an ass.”

“I think he already knows.”