Terms and Conditions
The next morning, they are awake and watching the sunrise, though Tim plans on at least trying for a bit more sleep afterward. He'd lain awake for a long time, thinking about Arleen and Mary and their situations. He was yawning as he took a sip of coffee.
They've gotten that bench they spoke of, and she's curled up against him, her eyes squinty against the rising sun. She hears the phone ring and she whispers "Christ" and gets up, carrying her mug with herself. She snags the phone and answers. "Hello?"
"May I speak to Maria?" The voice on the other end was polite, but in a forced, almost mocking way.
"What do you want?" She hissed into the phone, knowing that voice all too well already.
The veneer of politeness was gone instantly. "I said what I wanted already. Jesus. Where's Maria? Put her on."
"Give me a good reason and I may consider." She said snidely.
"I don't need a reason to talk to my wife. Where is she? I know she's there, she didn't have anywhere else to go. Running off to her overprotective brother and his pet lawyer."
"Ex-wife, Joshua." She says sharply, gripping the phone tightly in one hand, not touching the 'pet' comment "Either give me a good reason or you can just find yourself a lawyer of your own and the contact you have can consist of court dates and terms."
There were a few muttered words, inaudible but definitely nasty, before he came back and said sullenly, "I need the password to her work computer."
"Why, exactly, do you need the password to her computer?" She asked, her tone softer at what she believed to be an honest response.
"She was my publicist. Everything's in there, my schedule, everything. I'd assumed that if she was quitting our marriage, she was also quitting her job." There's acid to his tone at this last part.
She moved up to Marys room and knocked gently on the door, all too aware of just how early it was. "..Mary?" She always felt it best to announce it as her presence and no anyone elses, though she wasn't sure why. She had the phone resting against her shoulder, though the earpiece was still against her ear.
"You have to yell louder than that. She sleeps like the dead."
"Shut the fuck up, Joshua, or you won't be getting that password." She snapped, before attempting Marys name once more, a teeny bit louder.
"I don't have to -" His voice cut off and there was a dull thud. "Fine," he growled.
Mary opened the door sleepily. "Arleen? Is everything -" She saw the phone and crumpled in fear, staring at it.
"It's fine you're not going to talk to him" She reassured her quickly, setting a hand on her arm, looking calmly at her. "He wants the password to your work desktop. Do you want to give him this information?"
Mary looked away from the phone to the hand on her arm and it seemed to center her. She thought for a moment, then looked back at Arleen. "Tell him it's our anniversary." Her eyes are cold.
Arleen raised the phone to her lips. "Here's a clue, big boy. It's your anniversary." She says it in a final way like she's about to hang up the phone, but she pauses, just in case he says anything.
His rolling eyes are nearly visible. "Jesus Christ, typical woman, why in the hell would that help me?"
"Aww... Poor baby. Why should I give you a hint? What would you be willing to trade us for a hint?" She asks, inspecting her nails "5 seconds..."
He uses his five seconds to begin making more threats, speaking through a rage so thick the words can hardly be made out.
"2....1...." She smirks. "Oh, sorry, you're out of time. Have a nice day." She starts pulling the phone away, holding back a laugh.
"Wait! Jesus. Fine. What do you want?" He is annoyed, but the rage is damped down.
"That's better. Please hold." She pushed the phone against her shoulder. "Is there anything you want, Mary? From him I mean?" She asked, smiling sweetly.
Mary stared at her a moment, not understanding the question, then her face cleared. "There are some things at the house..." she ventured, looking at Arleen for guidance.
She flicked her hair back. "You. Anything that is hers pack it up, and don't you dare break a single thing unless you want property damages on your list of crimes. On the porch by.." She pulls the phone away to check the time. "2PM. It had better be there when I get there. All of it." She glances to Mary, waiting for her to either make some demand about something particular or to give her the password.
Mary frowned as she realized what Arleen was waiting for. "It is our anniversary," she said shortly. "The day we were married. Month, Day, 4-digit year. If he can't figure it out from that..."
She tipped her head back into the phone. "It's your wedding day. Month, then day, entire 4 digit year. You're famous, I'm sure it's in some magazine or some shit. Or maybe your Wikipedia page?"
"God, how sappy. And how am I supposed to get to my Wikipedia page without the computer? Ask her that."
"Your local library or college campus should have accessible internet. Or you're rich enough, go buy yourself a laptop." She said, sneering into the phone.
Josh muttered a few more uncomplimentary things, then the line went dead.
She hung up the phone. "Sorry about that, go on back to sleep." She whispered, smiling in a reassuring fashion to Mary.
Mary nodded. She was pale, but there was a spot of fierce color on her cheeks. She closed the door and lay down again, though she had a feeling she would be awake for the day, now.
Arleen went back to the back door, glancing out to see if Tim was out there.
Tim was still on the bench, eyes closed, lightly dozing. His coffee was on the seat beside him, where she usually sat. He wasn't entirely asleep, but he was comfortable with his eyes closed.
She moved out there silently, being mindful to be careful. She picked up his mug and settled down in it's place, settling against his side.
He stirred as she returned, opening his eyes and smiling at her. "Who was that?" he asked sleepily, sitting up a bit.
"Guess." She said flatly.
Tim looked puzzled for a moment, then frowned darkly. "He called this early? What did he want?"
"He needed to get on the work comp. He needed the password. It's their wedding date. He's going to pony up all of her possessions for that little piece of information. I go and get them at 2." She says, leaning against him.
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked immediately, before laughing wryly. "He didn't know when it was, did he."
"Nope. I told him to look it up online. He told me he needed the password to do that. I told him he could easily get a new computer." She smiled. "Do you want to come?"
Tim didn't answer at first. He was torn. He didn't want her going alone, though he knew she would take someone with her, but he didn't want to see Josh, even accidentally. "Yes," he said reluctantly. "Or rather, no, but I'm going to anyway."
She gave him a look. She drug him back to bed, just so they could lay around for a while. Finally at Trouble not leaving them alone she got up and fed him and dug around for something. She ended up making their basic breakfast, asking Tim how Mary liked her eggs.
She left the plate for her, ate her own, and was showered and ready to go by 12. She was calling in her favors and getting everything together. She drove and again Charlie trailed behind. She got out smoothly, closing the door behind herself, looking deadly in her pencil skirt suit and dangerously high heels. She, again, had her hair back. She rang the bell, seeing nothing on the porch, and folded her arms under her chest.
Josh opened the door immediately, wearing all black and a shit-eating grin. "Lawyer-bitch," he greeted her cordially. "I haven't gotten the password yet. My new laptop won't arrive for a week. So Maria's shit will have to wait." He jerked a thumb behind him, where a pile of about twelve boxes sat in the foyer. He narrowed his eyes and grinned as if to say, Now what are you going to do, bitch?
"Pretentious-asshole." She returned. She stared at him. "How fucking stupid do you have to be to not head on down to the best buy and get yourself a laptop?" She asked, getting in his face a bit, obviously annoyed, pointing a finger at him and it's almost touching his chest.
He batted her hand away with a glare. "Don't touch me. And I had someone order one for me. I don't need to go anywhere for what I need." He shrugged. "In any case, no password, no shit." He leaned against the doorway, eyeing her and leering a bit.
She sighed heavily. "You have to have a filing cabinet in there somewhere... There should be a clue in there. Christ, a photo of the two of you on your wedding day? Something? How can you not remember your own wedding day?"
"I remember it," he said, a bit defensively. "I just can't...remember when it was." He folded his arms and for just a moment, there was a crack in his arrogant asshole demeanor. "I didn't want to be there anyway," he muttered.
She sighed. "I... You want help finding the date?" She whispered, giving him a steady glance and dropping her courtroom face
He stared at her for a moment, then dropped his eyes and nodded, just a bit. He stepped back from the door to allow her inside.
She thinks for a faint moment, but you catch more flies with honey... so she steps inside, glancing around.
The foyer is spacious and done up in soft rose marble. The house itself is pretty impressive. It's obviously an older house that's been restored. In his black, Josh looks out of place and uncomfortable among the wooden trim and antique furniture. "The office is upstairs," he says quietly, starting for the wide marble staircase.
Tim is watching Josh closely, coldly, and his eyes widen as he sees Arleen's hand batted away. Shortly after that, Josh slumps a bit and she's walking into the house. He calls her immediately. She'll hear the phone ring almost immediately after both feet are on the marble.
She blinks and pulls her phone out of her pocket. She sighs at Tim and accepts the call. "It's fine, Tim." She says, following Josh up the stairs "I'm going to help him find out what the date of his wedding was so he can get on his computer so I can take Marys things."
Tim pauses, confused. "The date of his wedding? They were married on June 21st."
"What year?" She asked, sounding a bit annoyed.
"2002. What does this have to do with picking up Mary's things?"
"He needs the password for her work computer and that password is their anniversary." She whispered, wandering over to the computer, bending at the hips instead of sitting in the chair. Once it connects through she writes the password on a sticky note and sticks it to the monitor, but out of the way so he wouldn't move it. "There you go, Josh." She says in a kind tone, the phone still against her jaw
Josh sits at the chair, inputting the numbers written down. The screen clears immediately. The background is a publicity shot of him, shirtless, wearing the black feather earring and copious amounts of eye makeup. His pale cheeks color a bit and he quickly turns off the monitor.
"Thanks," he mutters, leaning against the desk and looking much less like a confident, arrogant pop star and more like a man who has just realized that he's being left alone. "Everything is downstairs. I was careful." He doesn't look at her.
She feels for him and she has no idea why. But she backs off, shuts off the phone and starts carefully moving things outside. She again feels that little twinge of worry that she has done something to upset Tim. She doesn't look at the car as she shuffles all the things out of the house.
Josh stays out of her way. She won't see him again until a court date is set.
Tim gets out and helps her move boxes, stowing some of them in the trunk, the backseat, and a few in the police cruiser that thankfully wasn't needed. He notices that she seems worried, but for the moment he puts it down to wanting to get this job over with as quickly as possible.
She made sure they had everything and closed the door behind them. She wandered to the car, shutting off the recording device that she had kept in her pocket, sliding into the drivers seat. She paused, fiddling with her keys as if waiting for him to snap at her for going into the house. She starts the car when it doesn't happen and gets them home.
Tim is silent on the drive home. He had wondered why she'd gone in, but she had explained that Josh had needed help finding the password to Mary's work computer. His stony silence is far more about Josh's inability to remember the day of his wedding than at Arleen going inside the house, especially considering the boxes had been inside. He gets out and heads for the police cruiser to unpack it first, picking up a large but fairly light box and carrying it to the front porch.
His silence only scares her more. Like the pressure is building and he'll wait for the right second and just explode. She and Charlie help get everything unloaded and into the house. Charlie bids her good-day and she thanks him faintly, almost wary of Tim.
Moving the boxes has gotten Tim's blood pumping a bit and his anger at Josh has subsided. He sighed, setting the last box down inside the house. "That's over, at least. Should we let Mary know we're back? She might be sleeping, but she might want to check and make sure everything is here." He is too distracted by trying to decide what to do to notice Arleen hanging back from him.
She nodded a bit, wandering up to check on Mary. She knocked on the door gently and, as always, whispered. "Mary?"
Her room had a window seat and Mary was curled up on it with a book. She hadn't gotten a chance to read a good book in a long time. She glanced up, startled at the quiet knock. "Come in, Arleen." She put a bookmark in and set the book down on the cushion beside her.
She opened the door and slipped inside. "We have your things." She said. "If you want to check and make sure everything is there and okay.."
She looked at the clock, surprised. "It's later than I thought. Yes, I'd like to just make sure..." She followed Arleen to the hallway, smiling at Tim and thanking him for his assistance in transporting her things. She opened the first box, which was full of clothes, and put it aside without looking through it.
Arleen took the chance to change out of her professional attire and get into some more comfortable clothing, and then sneak away into the kitchen.
Josh had packed everything with remarkable care and patience. He'd even wrapped her leaded crystal candlestick holders in newsprint, which is something he must have learned from a movie. She couldn't remember teaching it to him, and she was sure his family had never done anything like it. They would clean up easily enough and they were undamaged. It didn't take her long to sort through the boxes and realize that everything was there. She closed the lid of the last box and walked to the kitchen. "It's all there. Everything is fine." She seemed subdued as she got herself a glass of water.
She glanced at Tim with a bit of confusion, having made herself a bit of tea and curled up on the couch, still keeping distance.
Tim got up and crossed to Mary, leaning on the counter, staying a bit away from her. "Are you all right?"
She nodded. "It's just...very final. That's all." She finished her water and started water for some tea. "I think I'll just take some tea into my room for the afternoon."
He nodded. "Of course. We'll let you know when dinner is ready, if you'll be in the mood for any." She gave him a small smile and nod, then busied herself getting a mug and choosing a type.
Tim crossed back over and sat beside Arleen, putting an arm casually around her shoulders. "I'm glad there weren't any problems today."
She sighs, he isn't attacking. She should know he wouldn't, but she was still so nervous about it. All men had the potential to turn, it just takes one thing to piss them off. She is a bit tense in the shoulders as she leans against him.
He notices her tenseness for the first time, but misinterprets it as pain. "Are you all right?" he asks, concerned, turning toward her and running his eyes over her face, his hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked weakly, looking almost apprehensive. Though at the tenderness she relaxes and melts a little.
He relaxes a bit at her obvious confusion at his question. "You looked as though you were in pain. I thought maybe you'd hurt yourself, lifting the boxes." He brushes her hair back from her face with a quiet smile.
And the rest of her tenseness just flutters away and instantly she berates herself for thinking so low of him. She pressed against his scarred side and settled her head on his shoulder, saying "I love you so much.."
He blinks, a bit surprised by the suddenness of that, but he tightens his arm around her shoulders. "I love you too, Arleen," he whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
She touched his scar, relaxing completely against him.
He didn't know why every time her hand brushed against his scar, it relaxed him. It had always been the opposite before, by far. He used to tense up if anyone even came within a foot of it, not knowing it was there. He leaned back against the couch, just enjoying the way she felt curled against him. Mary finished making her cup of tea and paused in the doorway, watching them. Tim raised his eyebrows as if to ask if she needed anything, but she waved him back down with a smile, continuing on to her room.