"Dave, you're coming to the party tonight. I have a few people that want to meet you," Ray Peoples said looking uncomfortable, "Look, I'm sorry. I really am but you need to get out sometime...and as this is a company-wide gathering..." he stopped seeing Dave nod, "Ok. Great." He stopped and looked at his most valuable employee, "I wish I could say something, anything...um, thanks. I talked to Cherie and well. um...look we'll see you there, Ok?" He turned and headed back to the elevators.
Dave Stansfield looked at his screen. It had been three months. Three months since he was sitting right here when he got the call from Denise at the front desk that a couple of policemen were here to see him. It was one policeman and one policewoman but it didn't change the bad news about the accident, the crash that ripped his reality right out from under him. He didn't remember falling to the floor, but the memory of Denise kneeling on the floor, tears streaming down her face will forever be stuck in his mind. Everybody loved the twins. For the last 7 years, they were the most spoiled little girls on the planet. Denise, Jennifer, Jessica, and others always got them birthday presents, always remembered.
Dave wiped away the tears and thought about Leonard Hofstadter's mother saying "Buck up sissy pants," and tried to get hold of himself. There had been a few company get-togethers since the accident but he couldn't face the sympathy, the genuine tears in the eyes of his co-workers. He looked at Mr. Peoples as the doors closed. He loved the man who was more like a father than his own. This caused Dave to chuckle. His father walked out when he was in kindergarten. He'd gotten home and half the furniture and all his clothes had been cleared out. He couldn't even remember the last time he saw him or what he'd last said.
He stood up trying to suppress the bad memories that always seemed to flood his brain once the gate opened. His father left him and his mother. Then as his mother was hot many of the boys in his class kept offering to ease her loneliness. It got more graphic as the boys got older and they finally understood what they were talking about. Chip Davies was the worst, and then he slept with her their senior year. He shuddered remembering coming into the kitchen and seeing Chip behind his barely clothed mother, hands under her tee-shirt playing with her breasts. His grin accompanied by his overt humping against her ass still haunted him.
Dave felt like slapping himself. 'Stop with the memories!' he thought, 'Don't even think about Laura at the prom, don't...' The images of his date naked on the grass behind the auditorium, lavender dress tossed aside, Chip's ass rising and falling between her legs flooded his brain. Again, the sneer on the arrogant boy's face. He picked up the phone, "Jennifer, can you tell Mr. Peoples I'm leaving early so I can get ready for that thing tonight? Thanks, you too. I know. It was more than a suggestion. Later," he sighed as he hung up.
"Cherie," Dave smiled as he climbed out of the car, "I thought you'd still be at work."
"I was, but Ray called and told me to make sure you...we get to the party tonight on time. I guess there's a bunch of execs flying in," she frowned, "and we both know how much you hate mingling with those types."
Dave nodded, "Christ! Usually a bunch of self-important puppets mouthing the same clichés and somehow using verbs and nouns and nouns as verbs. If I hear 'Let's sunset the project...' one more time..." he moaned, "Nevermind, don't worry about me, I'll be ready and on time." He held the door checking out how nicely dressed she was. The red outfit hugged her curves, accentuating her impressive assets, and was as short as possible without being slutty.
Cherie chuckled, "I love how you've never gotten tired of looking at my legs," she commented.
"I love how you call Mr. Peoples Ray," he replied.
"Mr. Peoples sounds formal and he's told you over and over to call him Ray. Anyhow, I've called him Ray for as long as I can remember. I know how you guys are and if calling him Ray doesn't work for you, why not call him Dad?"
"You can call him Dad, I'm not going there. Anyhow, I'll get changed, and let's grab dinner over at Angelo's."
Cherie nodded and looked at the picture on the mantle, "This is my favorite picture," she said with tears in her eyes, "They were so beautiful," she said wiping tears from her face.
Dave took the picture of the three blondes at the beach, the two girls looking like their mother. They would have been 8 years old next week. He hugged Cherie tightly, "Mine too. I remember Hanna saying it was the best day ever and Hailey grinning and nodding," he choked back a sob.
Cherie held on, "And just a week later..."
* * *
"Excuse me, I have to go greet somebody," Ray apologized to the three men he'd been talking to. "Dave, great to see you here and on time. Cherie, I knew I could count on you to get our boy here," he kissed the girl on the cheek.
"Hey, when Ray Peoples gives orders..." she grinned, "It was good to get him out of the house finally."
"I'm amazed you got him here on time," he chuckled.
"I'm right here," Dave grumbled, "Where's the bar? I think I need a drink, then I'm going to find a place to plug in my laptop. You know the issues we've been having with the memory leak? I think I narrowed it down..."
"Over there, Cherie, grab his laptop bag and I'll lock it safely up. It's a time to relax, though we have a half dozen suits flying in from St. Louis that want to meet Dave. Three are candidates for the VP of Operations. They heard about Dave's work here," he patted the man on the shoulder, "I'll find you when they get here. I haven't met them yet," Ray looked over towards the entrance. "Some guys named Edward Sykes, Chelmsford Davies III, and Fred Smith," he sighed, "all MBAs with managing Operation teams. Chelmsford the third. I'll bet that guy got beat up a lot in school," he muttered.
"They're the guys from MilliTech?" Dave asked, "I heard they are pretty cutting edge with their infrastructure and DevOps implementation," he sighed, "I hope they're more than just suits." He looked at Mr. Peoples, "No offense but something about the tie must choke off logical thought."
"Damn! I need to put that on my signature," the CEO laughed. "Go on, go loosen up. Cher, I'd like to talk to you later if you have time away from babysitting," he smiled before heading back to the group of men he was chatting with.
Dave and Cherie went over to a table in the corner, "You hate these things but I love them," she looked around, "All the women are dressed to the nines and the guys are looking hot," he grinned, "You're allowed to look. Who is the redhead in the slinky black dress over by the plants?"
"That's Megan from Business Objects," Dave looked over, "She is pretty, and knows her shit. What a brain," he sighed.
