Chapter Four

“I need to get out of town now that this engagement is over. I need something to keep me occupied besides work. I think I’ll go to Africa, anyway. I’ve already paid for the trip, so what the hell. I can be miserable here or on vacation. I might even feel better if I’m on Safari. How could I not? If I go perhaps I can get the other half of my money back.”

Charlene took a deep breath and looked up from the desk in front of her covered in random papers ready to be placed in envelopes and files. An old Vogue Magazine sat neatly tucked under some papers up at one corner.

Charlene liked to look at at the fashions worn by movie stars walking the red carpet, now and then. She liked to talk with the other women at work about them when they had a spare moment. Some, like her, found those pictures interesting as well as the stories about who was dating who. She didn’t have a man in her life at the moment. She had never had a man in her life up until now. She was twenty-nine and thought it was time. She knew it was on her, even if she was rather shy around men.

Charlene found them unsettling and unfathomable most of the time. She knew what most men wanted from a woman and wasn’t sure how to tell a good man from a bad one. And she didn’t want to have her heart broken over and over again. She had heard those stories from her coworkers more times than she could count. Those stories had scared her.

Her parents couldn’t make a go of it and they were wealthy beyond measure. “How was an average working girl going to make a man interested in her?” she often wondered late at night while lying in bed alone with her thoughts.

And then there was the whole sex thing. If a relationship on a friend basis was too difficult for her, how was she going to fare in an adult relationship where attraction and intimacy was involved? She had few good role models to follow other than the stars in those magazines, and who knew if those stories were even true.

Joe stood over her desk after coming in for a quick question. Charlene looked up at him and noticed that Joe looked better than usual, or so she thought. “May I come into your office before we leave work tonight? I want to talk with you about something important?” “Sure Charlene, is everything alright?” “Yes, more or less. I just need to talk with you for a few minutes before we head home.” “Fine Charlene , no problem. My door is always open to you. I’m just going home to a slightly messy apartment to sit with myself, a beer or two and ponder my situation.”

At the end of a busy and trying day, Joe had forgotten that Charlene had wanted to talk with him. He sat deep in thought, finishing up a short report on a new author. Then the phone rang. He was quickly brought back to reality. When ever he was alone with her, even when he was engaged to Suzan, his mind often wandered. She was a beautiful woman but never seemed to mention or have a man in her life. “What was that all about, ” he had wondered more than once. She knew all about his personal life and his many failings.

“This is Charlene, Mr. Monroe, may I come to your office now? I’m just closing up shop here.” Joe was startled by the phone ringing. Then he remembered their earlier conversation. “Sure Charlene, same here. Come on by.”

The offices were glass boxes with a few wooden frames holding them together. There was no privacy or hiding places for anything untoward to occur. Charlene liked that. It was one of the reasons she decide to work where she now worked. She had had a few issues with men at her last job and had decided to leave. She kept the reasons for leaving, to her self. She didn’t want to seem petty and immature. But the truth was that she was both. Not in a bad way, just in a sweet sort of “young girl” way though shew was twenty-five at the time. She was not as worldly as her parents or many of her friends. She was different and her meds added to that to some degree.

Charlene was often a little drowsy or slightly out of it when on her meds. She tried to appear as normal as possible but many noticed her lack of energy and calmness when calmness wasn’t the right response. Joe had noticed it also but couldn’t put his finger on what it was about her that was different. He thought that perhaps her parents came form the south and lived life at a different pace. Charlene’s work was always on time and very precise. She made few errors.

Charlene opened the door and walked in. She had done this a million times before, but this time was different. “Hello Charlene, have a seat.” Joe waited for her to start the conversation. She took a deep breath as she sat down and looked at Joe. She took in every crease and crevice of his face and loved what she saw. His jaw was square and his eyes reflected what she knew was kindness, in them.

“Her’s a thought Mr. Monroe, why don’t I go with you instead of you going alone. You have told me so much about the trip and I have done much of the planning. I know everything there is to know about it. It will be much easier for you if I were to go with you, don’t you think? You will have a much better time if I were to come with you.” Joe sat in silence, thinking of the proper answer. “Just as a platonic traveling partner.” “Oh my goodness, that might be awkward.”

I”ve been thinking of going to that part of the world myself after all of the planning I have done for you and Suzan. Your honeymoon had just rekindled the thought I had of my own and had put off. I haven’t taken a vacation in a very long time, with my mother being ill and such. I have had my hands full with her.” Joe then remembered her stories of her mother’s and father’s long divorce and her mother’s following illness. “I’ll pay my own way of course.”

Joe had done little research on this trip himself. Suzan knew that and it was one of the reasons she was mad at him. That was the main reason for their last argument. He knew little of what was in store for him in Africa and seemed to have little interest in the trip as far as Suzan could tell. He had just seemed concerned about the cost of both the wedding and the honeymoon.

“Let me think about this idea of yours, Charlene. It seems risky at best on the face of it, but I’ll give it some serious thought tonight at home. Charlene thought to mention that she could come over and talk it over with Joe, but she quickly thought better of it. The thought of coming to his apartment scared her a little but she was going to everything to make this happen, no matter how scared she felt. “Tomorrow after the morning meeting will talk more about this, I promise.” “That’s enough for me Joe, thanks.”

They each gathered up their belongs together. Joe closed his briefcase and Charlene slung her purse of her right shoulder as they left the office together. Joe walked next to her to the elevator and waited for her to enter first. As it arrived at the ground floor, Joe stood still in the far corner as Charlene departed. He followed her and then caught up to her. They reached the front doors in twenty feet. Joe tried to think of something to say. Charlene smiled up at him and turned to the right with a “See you tomorrow Joe.” “Yes, Charlene, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Charlene had never expected to be so brazen. It had made her almost sick to her stomach. But she was determined to get Joe, come lions or elephants or dust storms. She was going to go on Safari with this man, no matter what it took.

It was late and everyone was looking for a taxi to stop for them. Men and women of all shapes and sizes scurried along the sidewalks with their collars held closed around their necks. The wind was cold and bitting.

She and Joe had talked about this honeymoon trip at lunches for months on end. It was no surprise that she had decided to come once his engagement was off. She thought that he seemed less than excited about his future marriage. She wondered if he even still wanted to get married to Suzan sometimes.

For months now, Charlene sat on her soft leather couch at night in her two bedroom apartment and thought about Joe. The large tenth floor apartment had a million dollar view of the skyline and the river below her through the tall, wide windows. She saw herself with Joe in a Jeep on the wide plains of Africa looking for wild animals with the mountains at her back. Later when the African night would arrive with a wide sky painted dark blue with a million stars over head, she dreamed of kissing Joe once for every star in the sky.

Joe sat in his little apartment and wondered what Charlene had on her mind. He wondered how she could afford to go on such an adventure. It wasn’t cheap and she didn’t make that much money, or so he thought. He had no real idea what she was paid. It all seemed a little mysterious in an interesting way. Joe thought that he deserved a little adventure after what Suzan had put him through. Maybe this trip with Charlene might be just the ticket.

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What might Suzan be up to? You might find out tomorrow.

Be nice to someone tomorrow. They may be lonely and afraid.