A Cartridge in a Bare Tree

Leah was on her phone as Perry walked out of the bathroom, still drying his hair. He’d just finished taking a shower & had nothing but a bath towel wrapped around his waist. She had the phone pressed to her ear, intent upon listening, hoping that Corbin would finally pick up, & so hadn’t noticed his meager attire.

“Still no luck?” he asked. Calling every five minutes had become fifteen before they’d left the restaurant last night. At the house it had become every half hour, then around midnight they’d cut back to each hour. At three in the morning they had decided to get some sleep & try again when they woke up. This was her hoping she could be Corbin’s seven o’clock wake-up call.

“No, just went directly to voicemai…. Oh my gosh! Put on some clothes why don’t you!” She’d noticed. But the way she turned her head & shielded her eyes made him think that just maybe she thought he had enough to look at that she shouldn’t dare.

“Sorry, but my clothes were pretty rank after last night. I thought I should probably put them through the wash before we lose electricity. Do you have something I could put on, a house coat or robe perhaps? I didn’t bring anything else with me.”

“I may have something. I’ll have to…. No, don’t sit down, please! At least not until I’m in the other room.” She scurried off to her bedroom to check for what might work in her closet before he got himself settled. Perry was not only beginning to feel comfortable in her home, but a little peacock-ish as well. It was nice to know that he at least had some effect upon women. He sat down in the same chair he’d been in last night—the cushions were beginning to conform to his bottom—picked up a magazine from the rack & began thumbing through it.

It was Forbes magazine, the most recent issue. He looked back to the rack & saw that next she had Popular Mechanics followed by The Wall Street Journal, both were also the most recent issues. He looked up at her bookshelves & for the first time noticed that a lot of what she kept on them were past issues, not only of these three but Time & Newsweek as well. From where he was sitting, he estimated they had to go back at least six years, maybe more. He could also tell they were well worn. She hadn’t just read them once but had poured through them repeatedly.

It was then it occurred to him that the issue of Forbes he held in his hand hadn’t been closed when he picked it up. She had it folded open to page eighteen where she had already made some notes & underlined select passages. Her thoughts on the article were both provocative & insightful. He was impressed.

For the first time he began to realize that she wasn’t just a pretty face, she was a force with whom to be reckoned. He’d spent the past six months trying to deal with his attraction to her & figure how to ask her out without blowing it. He’d never paid attention to how well she did her job. She understood things, not just as they came across her desk, but throughout the entire office. She could anticipate & head off hitches before they became problems. She’d done it repeatedly with him. Each time she helped him he thought maybe she was flirting. But no, as he thought about it, he realized she did the same for everyone. When she had to be gone, the office didn’t run as smoothly—not by a long shot. She was the one to whom you turned if you needed something, though usually she beat you to it. Corbin was fun, but he didn’t notice things the way she did. She was the office.

He could hear her rifling through her closet, muttering to herself things like, “No, that’s not the right color for him; that would never fit; oh, that would be cute; I wonder if he’d try it on for me.” Finally, he heard her say, “This is it. It’s perfect!”

She came out of the bedroom hiding whatever she had found behind her back. She pranced on tiptoe as though trying to sneak up on him, slipped around behind his chair, then flipped it over his shoulder & held it right beneath his neck.

It was a barely pink, almost completely sheer baby doll nightie. It was the kind of thing five minutes ago he could have imagined presenting to her as a Valentine’s Day gift. Now he was thinking a power tie might be more appropriate. He was becoming a little intimidated.

“Where’d you get that?” he laughed nervously, almost losing his towel turning around. “Have you ever even worn it?”

“It was a prank gift a couple of Christmases ago,” she replied, clearly quite pleased with herself. “That’s right, you haven’t had the privilege of attending one of our office Christmas parties yet, have you?”

“Not yet. I’ve only been with the company about six months.”

“Ah, you’ll love it. We always have a blast.”

“So, who gave it to you?”

“Oh, just one of the guys from the warehouse who happened to draw my name. He thought it would be funny, & he was right. Until he began leading a chant demanding that I try it on & model it for them.”

“What did you do?”

Leah threw her shoulders back, held her head high, & said, “I told them it was too small & not quite my style.” She began to laugh, “I suggested maybe he should try it on instead. It should be about the right size for his manhood.”

She flopped down on the couch across from him. Apparently, the towel wasn’t bothering her anymore. “Man, that was a fun party. But don’t worry, I got even with him.”

“What’d you do?” Perry was becoming quite engrossed in her story.

She laughed again. “I’m not telling you. I could get your name this year! Or you could get mine, in which case I might very well be needing it.”

She then sprang from the couch, grabbed his hand & led him to the bedroom closet. “C’mon, I’m pretty sure I’ve got something that’ll work for you.” She pulled a simple blue velour bathrobe from the right side of her closet.

“It’s my brother’s. He forgot it here last time he came for a visit. It should be the right size for you. I think you’re about his height.”

She flopped down on the bed as he tried it on over his towel. She had to admit, she liked the way he looked—athletic, but not like he spent all his time in the gym, more like he enjoyed playing basketball with the guys. The robe was a little short on him, not quite down to the knees. She didn’t mind, though. He had nice legs. And a cute butt. If she hadn’t been crushing on Corbin for so long, she might think Perry could give him a run for his money.

Corbin! They needed to try him again. She rushed out to the living room & pressed his number. Perry followed her, tying his sash as he entered the room.

“Still no answer?” he asked.

“Straight to voicemail. Where could he be, Perry? Why won’t he answer his phone?”

“I have no idea,” he answered, suddenly feeling tired. “His phone may have died. Or he could still be asleep. Maybe he just doesn’t feel like answering. But there’s nothing we can do right now other than not get too upset & keep on trying.”

That’s one of the things she liked about Perry. He didn’t have to fix things when he couldn’t or provide answers he didn’t have. He usually made you feel as though he was really there with you, listening rather than trying to figure out what he was going to say next or “mansplaining” things. She appreciated how he always seemed open to her expertise & willing to learn from her. She knew in part it was because he liked her, & that was okay. He treated her well. She had no idea, however, just how much his appreciation of her talents had grown in the past twenty minutes.

Corbin had never been that way. He usually paid so little attention to her that she never would have guessed until yesterday he might feel something for her. He tended to be competitive & insecure, always trying to prove himself. When Corbin was around, he exuded testosterone. She could smell it oozing from his pores. With Perry it was something else she couldn’t quite put her finger (or nose) upon, & it intrigued her.

She sat there for a few moments, considering what she should do next. Then she got up, walked over to him, took him by the hand & said, “C’mon. I’ll show you where the laundry is.”

She took him to a small room just off the kitchen, showed him how the machines worked & where she kept the detergent & dryer sheets. He almost missed her instructions, however, as his attention had been drawn to a curious object propped up in the corner: a stick with what appeared to be an ink cartridge attached to it.

“What’s that?” he asked.

Leah looked over her shoulder & smiled. “That? It’s just another prank gift from a Christmas party a few years back. It was the first year Corbin was with us & he’d drawn my name. It’s a cartridge in a bare tree, you know, like the Christmas song. ‘And a partridge in a pear tree.’”

She turned a bit wistful. “I’ve had it ever since. Honestly, I can’t imagine being without it.”

After a few awkward moments, Perry broke the silence by saying, “Well, I suppose I’d better get my dirty clothes for the laundry before someone has to explain to your brother the wear & tear on his robe.”

“I’m going to try him again,” Leah replied. It hadn’t been an hour yet, but Perry thought he shouldn’t quibble. This was something she needed to do. He knew it weighed heavily upon her. He just wished he could help calm her anxiety.

He picked up his shirt & pants from the floor of the guest room, then retrieved his socks & underwear from behind the door in the bathroom. Man, he could be a slob, even with just five things he’d been wearing. Even his jacket was slung haphazardly across a chair, dragging a sleeve across the floor.

At least his shoes were where they belonged, on the mat by the front door.

As he made his way back to the laundry room, he noticed Leah sitting on the arm of the couch, listlessly holding her phone in her hands, & staring out the front window. Or rather, she was staring at the snow which was already piled up & covering all but the upper right-hand corner of the window. She looked so far away, & he thought her eyes were beginning to look a little watery.

He loaded his clothes into the machine, filled the laundry detergent cap to the bottom line & poured it in. He set it for a medium load, regular cycle, & pulled the knob to turn it on. As the water began to fill, his gaze returned to the object leaning against the wall in the corner of the room.

“A cartridge in a bare tree,” he mused. “That’s good. I’ll have to remember that one.”