Fae Second Chance

Chapter 6 - DC

Chapter 6

A few months pass and then it was time to head back to DC for the next session.  I had packed my bag and John’s and then I made sure all the files I would need for work and my computer were packed and sitting by the door.  John was on his phone as usual.  Once everything was done, I announced I was ready.  John looked at the bags by the front door and frown.  I followed his gaze and try to figure out what I had forgotten. Nope his two large bags and mine were sitting all packed tight.

“Why are you bringing that?”  He pointed at the laptop case.

“I need it for work.  I told you they were letting me telework while we are in DC.”

“You were serious about that?  I thought you would take a leave of absence or just quit.  We are going to be extremely busy in DC and you will not have time to work.” 

“I will have a lot of down time while you are at the Capital and with the time change, I can get a lot done around your schedule.”

He still did not seem convinced and just kept frowning at the bag.

“I have already told them this will work.  I can’t change it now.” 

He grunts and grabs one bag and walks out of the apartment.  I drag the remaining bags out and leave them by the elevator.  Then I grab my purse and laptop case.  As we go down to meet the town car, John just stares straight ahead.

He finally speaks, “I am going to need you to be ready to attend a dinner with Clark and his wife as soon as we are back in DC.”

Ugh, he couldn’t of tell me this sooner.  I would have scheduled the flight to leave out last night not this morning.  This man was trying to make this as difficult as possible.   “Fine, dear,” I muttered.

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DC is not the beautiful city it once was.  The vast green areas have been paved over and many of the historic building and monuments have been destroyed.  Every corner has rumble or huge industrial like office buildings.  Even the apartment complexes are very plain and square.  Everything is a shade of gray.  I walk into our DC apartment.  The cleaning crew came by and made sure the place was spotless and the fridge was filled.  The doorman helps me lug up our bags, I tip him, and he disappears.  John left me at the apartment complex front door and went straight to his office in the Capital building.    

I unpack our bags and since I still had a little time till I needed to get ready for dinner, I pulled out my laptop and got a bit of work done.  A couple hours later I look at my watch and hide the laptop and files in the entertainment cabinet and get up to get dress.  I text John to figure out what he wanted to wear so I could lay it out on the bed. 

He comes in a little while later.  I have already showered and fixed my makeup.  I am busy finishing my hair when he walks into the bedroom.  He looks over his suit and turns to me, “What are you wearing?” I point to the dress that is hanging up by the closet.  He looks it over and states, “That’ll work.”  He then starts to strip dropping his clothes wherever they fall and heads to the bathroom to start getting ready himself. 

When I am finished with my hair I get up and start picking up his mess and straightening the bedroom.  I grab my dress and walk into the closet to change.  I knew he would approve of this dress.  It has a very 1960 vibe.  It also covers everything above my knee and has very little cleavage.  All I need is a little pill box hat and white gloves and I would look like I step out of a vintage magazine ad. 

When I exit the closet, I see John has changed and is fussing with his tie.  He looks at me and states, “I don’t like those shoes.  Wear the black ones with the strappy thing on them.”  I kick off my comfortable wedges and put on the black very uncomfortable heels with the ankle strap.  Lucky me I marry the only man who pays attention to a woman’s shoes.  Actually, I just noticed he has a really unhealthy obsession with woman’s footwear. 

When John decides everything is perfect, we head out the door to dinner with Clark.  As we sit in the car, I go over what Jordan has taught me in my head.  I will not be using my magic to assist John anymore, so I concentrate on turning it off.  The restaurant is fancy and dark with light jazz playing in the background.  I see Mr. Clark and his wife sitting in one of the only well-lit corners.  The looks on their faces is telling me this is not going to be a social dinner.  John holds the chair out for me, the perfect gentleman.

We sit and the waiter walks up to get or drink orders.  Once the waiter has left John sits down his menu and looks at Mr. Clark.  “Mr. Clark, it was nice of you to invite us tonight.”

Clark drops his menu annoyed and looks at John, “Yes, well I wanted to get a brief update on how it is going in Border City.  You know we cannot lose it.  All this talk of secession and starting their own country.”

“Doesn’t Border City and the magic side operate independently of us?”  I ask.

John turns and glares at me.

Clark laughs, “Yes they do, but they still pay taxes.  Can you imagine the revenue lost if they separate?  The corporate tax loss alone would bankrupt us”

“Those are business headquarters I see there?”  I am totally confused.

Clark is really chuckling now and patting my hand like I am a child. “Yes dear, apparently Border City gives them good benefits to set up their headquarters there.  Something about having the right workforce, but still being seen as a human company.  The government doesn’t argue since we get the federal taxes. It’s a win-win as far as I can see.”

John has taken my other hand under the table and started to squeeze it, it’s the universal sign of shut the hell up.  I pull my hand away from his and join both my hands together under the table.

“That’s interesting, I did not know any of that.”

Clark smiles back at me, “Of course you didn’t dear, we don’t advertise it around.”

Clark then turns to John and asks him how his time in Border City is going.  He goes over some points about the work the mayor is doing to improve life in the city and what new companies are considering moving to the area.  At the start of the conversation, he grabbed my hand and has held it the entire time.  Soon the food is delivered and the conversation stalls.  I reclaim my hand and we all start to eat.

After a while, Clark’s wife looks at me and asks, “So dear, what do you think of the city?  I can’t imagine living somewhere like that.”

I clear my throat and say, “It’s actually very beautiful and modern.  Nothing like I thought it would be before we moved there.  We live in the human section of the city.  It’s not too different than DC actually.”

John interrupts and turns to Mrs. Clark.  “The creatures seem to segregate themselves.  It’s all very interesting.  I am grateful that there is a human area, so my lovely wife does not have to interact with those things.”  He turns and smiles at me.

Mrs. Clark smiles all approving to John.  These people are all so fake. There is no telling how many magic people are sitting in this restaurant right now hiding their true self because of people like this.  John and the Clarks would freak out if they found out anyone around them was magic.  Hell, they might be borderline magic themselves and not even know it.  I feel like stirring the pot and annoying John seems like a bonus.

“There are some areas that are mixed,” I announced. “They are beautiful subdivisions, and you would know it was anything out of the normal.  There are also couples from different species.” 

Mr. Clarks turns towards me, “Really, I did not think they mixed.”

John clears his throat nervously, “Yes well, there are human and magic couples as well as different types of creatures couples.  I have to say though the human types tend to stick with other human types of magic.”

I shake my head at John.  They were all human type.  Granted some could shift into animals and some were bigger or smaller depending on their species, but we all look basically the same.  

Clark asks John, “You covered all of this in your report?”

John reaches under the table and grasps my hand. “Yes sir, there is a whole section about it.”

Clark nods and looks back at his plate and starts to finish up his dinner.

We finish dinner in near silence and when the waiter comes to ask about desert, we all decline.  We are now back in the car heading to our apartment.  John is fuming and I can see he is trying to control his temper before he speaks to me.

“What did you think you were doing asking questions and putting in your input?” 

I am stunned at him, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You are supposed to sit there and be pretty.  Make me look like the perfect husband.  You are not to interfere in my business, and you are definitely not supposed to have an opinion on how things are done.”

He slams his hand onto the steering wheel. “Do you understand me?” He shouts

“Yes John,” I say as I scoot as far over in my seat as I can.

We drive the rest of the way in silence and when we get back to the apartment I head straight to the bathroom and lock the door.  I can hear him raging through the apartment.  Once it is all quiet, I open the door and look out.  I do not see John anywhere.  I walk into the living room, and I see him sitting on the coach with a glass of something in his hand.  He is staring at a folder and does not hear me walk in.  I cautiously back into the bedroom.  I change and climb into the bed. 

For the next few days, I ignore John completely.  I finish his dinner and have it sitting on the stove but when he comes in, I get up and go into the bedroom.  On about day 3 he knocks on the bedroom door and then he opens it.  He has a large bouquet of flowers, and his head is hanging down.   “I am sorry,” he states.  “I didn’t mean to lose my temper.  It is the whole thing with Clark and this assignment.”

He walks up to bed and hands me the flowers. “Do you forgive me?”

Do I forgive him, I guess that is the question?  Part of me wants to run for the hills and part of me wants to stay put.  I know it doesn’t make any sense.  But I am broken, no man wants a broken woman and John wants me.  Also, where would I go?  Do I go back to Border City, stay here, go back to my parents?  And now I know I have magic what does that mean. I don’t even know what to do, so I just stay.

“Yes, I forgive you.”

His smile is so large.  He puts the flowers down on my nightstand and pulls me up into a huge bear hug. 

“You won’t regret this. I love you,” he exclaims as he kisses me.

The problem is, I already do.