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Title: Alone, Land of the Living
Author: Lorraine
Category: Original fiction, fem slash, POV
Rating: PG
Alone, Land of the Living
The time came for me to return to work. I'd been on paid medical leave. When Kira and I met, I'd been three quarters of the way through it. I was in remission, all my counts were good and I was eager to get back to the land of the living.
Kira had sat in the middle of my bed while I held my cell phone to my ear, her fingers playing with the hair that was still too short. I called my boss, Alfonso and was gratified at his response when I told him I was ready to return to work. I'd had a job with him as a sales rep ever since I'd graduated from high school, he'd taught me everything I knew.
When I was diagnosed he was as concerned as if he were my father. He gave me as much time as I needed to adjust mentally, then physically when I grew too tired to drive from one appointment to the next. He stepped back from his role as Internal Sales Support and handed the job over to me, citing that he needed to spend more time at home. It was still a hard job, but nowhere near as taxing as being out on the road. I knew why he gave it to me and I loved him for it.
I like to think I surprised him by taking over the job and doing it even better than him. However, this was his business, he would never just hand over an important position if he didn't have complete faith in me. I knew he'd be glad to have me back.
Still, while I held my cell phone to my ear and spoke to him for the first time in months, I was nervous. After all, I'd practically fallen off the face of the earth. I was afraid he'd be hurt, I should have known better. He greeted me like a daughter and had me come in the next day.
I walked into the place after having been away for 6 months and had to choke back the tears that sprang into my eyes. There was a banner and a cake and the entire staff (or at least the ones that weren't on the road) with Alfonso standing in the middle of the group, clapping. I did start to cry when they began to sing, "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow."
I was heartsick that I'd left these people for such an extended period of time. I hugged and kissed my way through the crowd, exclaiming over who was pregnant and who had a new baby with a casualness that I made me proud.
At long last I was able to retreat to my office. I shut the door behind me and gasped, Kira had sent an enormous arrangement of two dozen red roses. The card was simply signed, "K." I was filled with conflicting emotions. Was this more discomfort over the woman/woman thing or was she being careful, not knowing my work situation? I resolved to talk to her when I got home that night.
In the meantime, though, I had the roses on my desk, right where I could see them at all times, despite the enormity of the arrangement. Until I had a picture of her to put on my desk, these roses would serve, in a very lovely way, to remind me of her when the job got busy and the stress threatened to creep up on me.
She called me once, at a prearranged time and loneliness for her hit me like a ton of bricks. For the first time, since I'd started working for Alfonso, I wanted the day to end. I had something better waiting at home.
Author: Lorraine
Category: Original fiction, fem slash, POV
Rating: PG
The time came for me to return to work. I'd been on paid medical leave. When Kira and I met, I'd been three quarters of the way through it. I was in remission, all my counts were good and I was eager to get back to the land of the living.
Kira had sat in the middle of my bed while I held my cell phone to my ear, her fingers playing with the hair that was still too short. I called my boss, Alfonso and was gratified at his response when I told him I was ready to return to work. I'd had a job with him as a sales rep ever since I'd graduated from high school, he'd taught me everything I knew.
When I was diagnosed he was as concerned as if he were my father. He gave me as much time as I needed to adjust mentally, then physically when I grew too tired to drive from one appointment to the next. He stepped back from his role as Internal Sales Support and handed the job over to me, citing that he needed to spend more time at home. It was still a hard job, but nowhere near as taxing as being out on the road. I knew why he gave it to me and I loved him for it.
I like to think I surprised him by taking over the job and doing it even better than him. However, this was his business, he would never just hand over an important position if he didn't have complete faith in me. I knew he'd be glad to have me back.
Still, while I held my cell phone to my ear and spoke to him for the first time in months, I was nervous. After all, I'd practically fallen off the face of the earth. I was afraid he'd be hurt, I should have known better. He greeted me like a daughter and had me come in the next day.
I walked into the place after having been away for 6 months and had to choke back the tears that sprang into my eyes. There was a banner and a cake and the entire staff (or at least the ones that weren't on the road) with Alfonso standing in the middle of the group, clapping. I did start to cry when they began to sing, "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow."
I was heartsick that I'd left these people for such an extended period of time. I hugged and kissed my way through the crowd, exclaiming over who was pregnant and who had a new baby with a casualness that I made me proud.
At long last I was able to retreat to my office. I shut the door behind me and gasped, Kira had sent an enormous arrangement of two dozen red roses. The card was simply signed, "K." I was filled with conflicting emotions. Was this more discomfort over the woman/woman thing or was she being careful, not knowing my work situation? I resolved to talk to her when I got home that night.
In the meantime, though, I had the roses on my desk, right where I could see them at all times, despite the enormity of the arrangement. Until I had a picture of her to put on my desk, these roses would serve, in a very lovely way, to remind me of her when the job got busy and the stress threatened to creep up on me.
She called me once, at a prearranged time and loneliness for her hit me like a ton of bricks. For the first time, since I'd started working for Alfonso, I wanted the day to end. I had something better waiting at home.
