When a Heart Finds WOW!

Janice proudly said to the receptionist, “Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Perry.” The young woman sitting behind the huge glass cubed receptionist desk showed no sense of urgency to assist Janice and continued to read her magazine. Again, Janice proudly said, “I’m here to see Mr. Perry; my name is Mrs. Perry.” Without looking up from her magazine, the young woman smugly responded with a confident, “The only Mrs. Perry I know was Marvin’s mother.” Immediately, Janice replied in an unyielding tone, “Excuse me, what did you just say?” The young woman soon sat up straight and redirected her attention from the magazine to the now irritated Mrs. Perry standing in front of her. She looked at Janice from head to toe, taking in her medium brown complexion, shoulder length hair with honey blonde highlights, her small frame dressed in a blue pinstriped pantsuit, white blouse and matching 4-inch blue pumps. Jokingly, the young woman answered, “Ah, I didn’t know Marvin was married.” Janice didn’t appreciate the woman’s unprofessional and not so humorous answer. “I’ll just bet you didn’t. Now that you know he has a wife, will you please page my husband?” The young woman rolled her eyes at Janice mumbling, “Yes ma’am, right away ma’am” before picking up the phone to begin her page, “Mr. Perry, please come to the front desk; your w-i-f-e is here to see you.” The young woman then slammed down the phone and pointed Janice to the reception area. “Have a seat Mrs. Perry. Your h-u-s-b-a-n-d will be right out.” Janice said a curt “Thank you” before sitting down in the micro suede, white and black striped chair. As she looked around the interestingly decorated law office, her eyes were instantly drawn back to the woman and her nameplate, Paula Morgan. Janice said under her breath, “Here we go again. Judging by the way Miss Paula is acting; she too has fallen into one of Marvin’s presentations of life.” Janice began to daydream about Marvin and his old tricks. ‘Marvin and I dated off and on for 10 years, more off than on. He is as handsome as he is intelligent and can definitely charm his way into your heart, underwear and bank account. Marvin stands 6 feet tall, slender build, light complexion, great sense of humor, sharp dresser, drives fast, talks fast, lies at the drop of a hat, is the best dancer and can accurately quote the Bible without hesitation. Marvin is a man who has the intelligence and the ability to become whatever he desires, but chose to be a connoisseur of manipulating women into getting what he wanted. He had a taste for everything expensive; fast cars, custom made cowboy boots, custom tailored suits, jewelry, laid out houses and beautiful women, all of which took money Marvin did not have. What Marvin did have was what some would call “Champaign taste and beer money,” along with loads of bullshit served up on a silver platter to anyone he could coerce into giving him the opportunity to present his package. Marvin believed it’s all in the presentation. If he presented a package well, meaning if he had all of the questions answered upfront, looked the part, acted the part and catered to the person’s desires and weaknesses, no one would ever question it or look too deeply to find out it’s just a lie. By the time they did figure it out or if they figured it out, he would be long gone. I loved Marvin’s old fashioned courting with plenty of dates, flowers, poetry, interesting conversations and romantic strolls near the water. I loved the way he made me laugh, the way he looked, the way he talked, danced and especially the way he enjoyed life, embracing each day as if it was his last. For some strange reason, I always had a difficult time staying mad at him. Of course, Marvin had a smooth way of talking. He could talk his way out of a wet paper bag. In the back of my mind, I knew Marvin was not always honest with me, but I was never sure what was true and what was not true. Three years ago, we ran into each other again at a local fundraiser. I was with an esteem group of politicians, business owners, judges and others who Marvin did not know, but he knew that anyone who was there was either someone important or knew someone important. I had been well aware that Marvin had his eyes on me as I had my eyes on him. Feeling the same chemistry that kept us coming back, Marvin decided that this time, he was not going to let me get away. Marvin prepared his comeback presentation. Little did he know that the next presentation he made to me would bring him what he always wanted and nothing he ever expected. That night, we exchanged numbers and immediately began to rekindle our old relationship. I promised myself that this would be my last time going down the same road with Marvin. We would either make the relationship work or we would leave it alone. Before, I always had a nagging feeling that someone else was occupying Marvin’s heart. This time, I feel we are closer than ever before and our relationship is different. There are no more games, no more schemes, not even the luxurious fancy cars Marvin once craved and would do anything to get. Marvin is content driving his motorcycle and when the weather is bad, he drives my truck. He even secured a steady job at a law firm and comes home to me every night. I am convinced that Marvin is definitely a changed man and he truly loves me. Marvin never married before and always said he would never get married. When he finally proposed to me last year, it took me by surprise, but without hesitation, I happily accepted. We’ve been married for eight months and the relationship seemed to be rock-solid until today.’ Janice was jolted back to reality as a loud banging noise came within a few feet of her. It was the parcel post man delivering several packages to the law firm. For a brief moment, Janice’s mind had taken her in the past to the days of doubt, jealousy and uncertainty. She rubbed the sides of her temple whispering to herself, “What am I doing? Marvin and I are happy. Besides, she is a young, uncouth receptionist, definitely not his type.” Janice stood up and walked back over to the receptionist desk. “So Paula, how long have you been working here as a receptionist?” The young woman also stood up. “Oh, girl please! I ain’t no Paula and I definitely ain’t no receptionist. I’m just sitting here while Paula is copying my case files for an important client of mine. My name is Linda Franklin, attorney at law, thank you very much.” Janice held back a laugh, thinking to herself ‘Who does she defend, all of the non-talking people of America?’ “Oh, I’m sorry Linda. I just assumed since…” Linda pointed her finger at Janice and sarcastically said, “Now Mrs. Perry, you know what happens when you assume...” Before Janice could respond, Paula, the real receptionist, appeared nervously holding several sheets of paper. Linda rudely snatched the papers out of Paula’s hand and yelled, “It’s about time!” Paula looked as if she was about to cry. She turned to Janice and in a low voice asked, “May I help you?” Janice felt sorry for Paula and wanted to tell her she didn’t have to take Linda’s abuse, but only said, “Yes, will you please page my husband, Mr. Perry, again?” Paula had a puzzled look on her face before asking Janice, “Who do you want to page?” Disgusted with both Paula and Janice, Linda threw her papers on the desk. She looked directly at Janice and nastily shouted, “I’ll go get him before you have a baby!”