Together, forever!

Jacob buzzed his secretary to come in and straightened up in his comfortable chair. As his secretary Jill walked in, he flashed his best smile at her and winked. She looked straight ahead as if he didn’t even exist. Jacob was pleased with himself. She couldn’t even look at him because he was irresistible. She looked as if she would go down on her knees and beg him to take her then and there, he thought smugly. ‘Now Jill, cancel all my meetings for the day, I have to attend a personal meeting so would you kindly take of everything’, he said. She just nodded her head and kept on looking at the blank wall behind him. He stood up to leave and sucked in his stomach and walked out of the room without breathing. He thought he heard Jill mutter ‘stupid old fart”.

As Jacob drove towards his grandson’s school he couldn’t stop checking himself in the review mirror. Not bad he thought, a few specks of gray here and there, he was doing well for himself. He was fifty three and his large belly spilled out like a huge sack of potatoes. He chose to over look such minor flows and concentrated on his smile. No woman could ever ignore his sexy grin. ‘I’m still hot’, he assured himself as he stopped in front of the school. Soon he was on the road again. His grandson Michael sat looking out of the window with a sad expression on his face. Poor lad, Jacob thought. He doesn’t deserve this but what to do, he thought exasperated.

Michael was just eight years old. His parents were separated and he missed them immensely. His grades were slipping and he withdrew himself into his own misery. He doesn’t play with his friends during recess. He just sits in a corner all by himself gazing into the distance, lost in his own thoughts. He cannot sleep well at night. He wakes up screaming, drenched in sweat and throws tantrums for no apparent reason. His school nurse and his teachers were concerned. They have suggested that he sees a psychiatrist to figure out what was wrong. His parents and grandpa were worried too. It’s been a tough year for him.

Soon they were seated in the sitting area of the psychiatrist’s office. The silent atmosphere of the office made Michael nervous and he started to fidget. He nearly hit the ceiling when his grandpa’s mobile phone shrilled. The receptionist threw a dirty looked towards Jacob and she looked irritated. Jacob flashed his best smile and stepped outside to take the call.

Michael was suppose to meet the psychiatrist with his parents. He wondered whether they were already here. The receptionist informed them after calling Martha, his psychiatrist that he would join them after a few minutes and to make themselves comfortable. He stood up and walked towards the neglected fish tank placed in the left corner. He looked at the dirty fish tank with two little fishes, swimming aimlessly in the murky water. Maybe no one fed them, he thought. He walked forward and then he thought he heard his mom and dad. It was coming from the familiar room where he talks to Martha every day. He pressed his ears to the door and his mouth fell open with horror. He could hardly believe his ears. He started to shake and tears rolled down his little cheeks. He didn’t want to stand there anymore, if he was such a nuisance, he would run away and hide. He would never show his face to them. He ran away as fast as he could and was out of the back door within minutes.

Martha was worried. She hasn’t expected this from them. They certainly have more issues than poor little Michael. Michael and his grandpa were already here. Her heart fluttered at the thought of his grandpa. She couldn’t believe herself, she had a crush on him and at this age. She flushed and blushed and smiled coyly to herself like teenager. Ian and Mary were practically at each other’s throats. ‘I’ll leave you both now, try to compose yourselves and I’ll be back with Michael’. ‘We certainly have to have a session for both of you as well, but we’ll decide on that later’, Martha said crisply and walked out.
Ian and Mary looked at the floor unable to meet each other eyes after what just happened. Mary could not believe that they had a row in front of the psychiatrist. Ian felt miserable but he lost control and blurted out things that he didn’t mean. He never regretted the fact that they had a baby in the first place or he never wanted to give him up of adoption. He looked at Mary and his heart softened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean what I said, he said weakly. ‘Me too’, she whispered.

Martha touched up her make up and walked down the narrow corridor to greet Jacob and Michael. She was disappointed to see the empty chairs. She turned towards the receptionist who was busy playing Farmville on facebook and asked, ‘where are they’. ‘The kid went over there to be fascinated by the scrawny fish and the moron just went out to answer a call’, she drawled. She walked out and bumped into Jacob who was coming in. She blushed and managed a squeaky hello. Jacob flashed his best smile and they stood there gazing at each other. The receptionist looked at them and she found this hilarious and guffawed like a lunatic which eventually brought them back to earth.

Assuming that Michael had gone in without greeting Martha, together they went to meet them in her office. As they walked together Jacob’s hand brushed against Martha’s. She felt jolts of electricity passing through every nerve of her body. She looked up feeling dizzy with excitement and once again Jacob flashed his best smile. ‘I must get him to brush his teeth for often, Martha thought gaily. But they were surprised to find Mary and Ian all by themselves.

They searched for him in the office but he was nowhere to be seen. By then Mary started panicking and Ian looked helpless. Beads of sweat broke over Jacobs face but he took charge and ordered Martha to check the office while Ian and Mary went out to check. The receptionist looked up bored and drawled, ‘where can he go, it’s a dead end, come on people, get real’. ‘This is an isolated building among the woods’. “A tranquil atmosphere for the troubled’ she made a face while she mimicked Martha who refused to move the office to the city however much she insisted. Martha was furious but decided to let it go since Ian and Mary were getting hysteric. ‘Too bad no one would hire you, I just took pity in you because you are my niece’, she thought triumphantly and congratulated herself for refraining the outburst which was so tempting at that moment by clapping her hand thunderously in her imagination.

Jacob hurried through the back door. Where have he gone, please don’t be in trouble, he prayed under his breath. As soon he stepped out he saw Michaels shoe under the tree. He saw him sitting on a branch of the old oak tree. Soon Ian and Mary walked through the door followed by Martha who was insisting that they call the police right away. They all looked up and asked him to come down. He refused and kept on crying. ‘Nobody loves me, nobody wants me’, he cried, showing his real emotions for the first time. No sweetie, we all love you, please come down, Mary begged. But Michael continued as if he didn’t even hear his mother. I want everything to be normal, I want to live in our home with dad. I want to go and stay over at grandpa’s cabin for the summer, just like we used to. Ian put his hand around Mary’s shoulder and said in confident voice, you are coming home Michael, we’ll live happily ever after. It took they about an hour to convince little Michael that they did love him and everything was going to be alright. Mary rested her head in his shoulder and watched their son slowly climbing down the tree.

They did decide to get back together while they were left alone in the room. They did realize for a fact that since their separation Michael has lost his balance and they both knew that he was suffering. Besides, they loved each other, but the problems that they had were unsolved for a long time which made it impossible for them live under the same roof. But now, they have realized how much they have missed each other and they wanted to be there for their loving son.

Michael was happy. His shoulders weren’t drooped and his face was lit up by a bright smile. He was going home with his parents. As they drove off they saw Martha and Jacob standing in front of the building. Obviously they were flirting. Do you think they are in love? She turned to Ian and asked. ‘I think they sort of click, don’t you, Ian replied. Ever since his mom passed away six years ago his dad has been like this. Maybe once he started getting attention and love from Martha he would stop his excessive flirting, he hoped. Besides, Martha does seem to like him compared to the treatment he used to get from others. As they collected their belongings from the apartment where Mary and Michael lived and drove off towards their home both Ian and Mary knew that they would once again face obstacles. But this time they would act like adults and work it out. They would talk and solve their problems and live a happy life, together, forever.