Page 95 of Bookworm and the Beast
Oh shit.
Had Jack filed a lawsuit against me or something? Breach of trust, violation of contract. He had threatened to sue the owner of the newspaper. Would I be personally liable as well?
I wanted to drop the thing and leave it on my desk, run out of the building and back to my apartment. Where I might as well start packing.
But I thought of my father’s words this morning and stayed. Fingers trembling, I opened the envelope and withdrew a stack of paper from inside.
Oh.It wasn’t a lawsuit. It was… this wasn’t for real, was it?
It appeared to be the final chapters of Jack’s book. I fanned through them to make sure.
Yes, on the last page I saw clearly printed the words, “The End.”
I pulled off the blue folded sticky note affixed to the first page and opened it. It was a note from Jack.
Dearest Bonnie,
This is me putting my life—and my heart—in your hands. Do what you will with both of them. I trust you. More than anyone in this world. And I’ll keep working to do better on that and everything else that needs improvement. Because I love you more than anyone in this world.
Love, Jack.
Now my hands shook for a whole new reason.
I looked down at the pages Jack had sent. He’d given me the ammunition to ruin his book launch and his career if I chose to. He’d given me his complete trust.
It was the best gift I could ever have hoped for. I reached for my phone, intending to call him, but then I noticed it.
On the first page, in the spot where the sticky note had been attached, there was a book dedication.
To my wife Bonnie, my inspiration and my happy ending.
I started crying—not a delicate sniffle with one beautiful, glistening tear.
It was a loud, unladylike ugly cry. My co-workers stuck their heads out of their cubicles to see what was wrong with me.
Even Sterling popped out of his office. “Whatisthat godawful sound?” he moaned. “It’s worse than that old hog Matilda Morris Hunt after she read my article on her.”
His assistant turned to him. “Oh, Mr. Gaston. Your father just called about that. He wants to talk to you ASAP. Sounded pretty upset—apparently her husband is a business associate of his or something, and Mr. Hunt was pretty steamed about some of the ‘ad-libbing’ you did in that piece.”
Like a spooked turtle, Sterling’s head retreated back into the doorway.
“Sorry. Sorry, everyone,” I managed to say to my office mates. “I was just reading something. I’m okay.”
And I was. I was more than okay. I was filled with the kind of joy you read about.
My wife Bonnie?Hiswife.
And then someone spoke up from behind me. “It’s that bad huh? I guess my fans are going to be disappointed.”
Jack’s voice.
I jumped out of my chair and whirled around to see him standing just outside my cubicle. My heart soared. And I cried some more.
“It’s a real tear-jerker,” I said as he pulled me into his arms.
He kissed me and kissed me and kissed me. When we finally came up for air, Jack smiled down at me and lifted a hand to wipe the tears from my face.
“So, I finally came up with an ending.”
