Courtship by Proxy

As they pulled apart, Cammy gasped and Kyle simply said, "Wow!"

"I'm not as surprised as you appear to be," said Cammy, "but I came into this day more aware of the bond that my Sister told me she always knew was there between the two of you."

Kyle shook his head as he replied, "How can some alleged bond between me and your Sister have anything to do with what you and I experience on a physical level?"

Cammy smiled and said, "Kyle, I know it's hard for you to comprehend, but on so many levels, me and my Sisters are so in-synch that we really do feel, express, and experience the emotions of one another sometimes. Trust me when I tell you that Bubbles felt what I felt, and you felt her through me. Do you want to get to know me better, Kyle?"

"You or your Sister?" he asked.

"That's my point, Kyle. As far as today is concerned, we're one and the same. However, after today, it will be her through a different companion for you. It would be easiest for you if, starting now, you just pretended I was my Sister and showed me what you would show her to demonstrate your interest."

As she spoke these words, the car pulled into the parking lot for the restaurant. The driver opened the door for Cammy and helped her out, with Kyle following behind her.

"I'll find a place to park the car and be waiting here for you," the driver told them.

Kyle and Cammy thanked him, and then joined hands and walked into the restaurant to find Ellison Lawrence waiting for them.

As Cammy had predicted, Ellison Lawrence had been expecting her to join him and Kyle for lunch. She had been introduced as an associate, acting as a legal consultant specializing in corporate security policies.

When it came time to order their meals, Cammy squeezed Kyle's hand and asked, "If you order a pasta dish for us to share, I'll order us a salad to share. Would you like that?"

Kyle told her, "I would actually like that very much. Do you have a preference for a pasta dish?"

"It is so sweet of you to ask," she cooed. "I would prefer something baked, like lasagna or a baked ziti. I love the crusty cheese that results from baking those dishes. What about you and the salad? Anything you won't like on it?"

Kyle had never been as intimate in the ordering of a meal in his life, and he was looking forward to the results of this first experience. He found himself wishing that the two of them were alone instead of in a professional business setting.

"Excellent point on the baked dishes, lasagna sounds perfect. And as far as the salad goes, get whatever you want on it and I'll pick out anything that doesn't agree with me," he told her. He then addressed Ellison, "Sorry Ellison, but looks like you'll get to make all your own decisions and be forced to deal with the leftovers."

Ellison chuckled and said, "That's why I suggested this place. I relish having leftovers from here. Usually when I bring out-of-town guests here I also get their leftovers, but you two obviously saw through my plan and have foiled it."

Cammy giggled girlishly and said, "Oops". Kyle just laughed.

As they ate their lunch, Ellison and Kyle reviewed the progress of the proposal being prepared for QWERTY Solutions by Brandt Consulting, with Kyle mentioning that a Project Manager should be calling to introduce himself to Ellison by the end of the week. Once a Project Manager was in place, Kyle's participation would be minimal, but he would always be available to Ellison for any questions, concerns or issues that might arise beyond the scope of the Project Manager to address.

"There is an additional concern we have related to our overall IT policy," Ellison said, "and I wanted to bounce it off you to get your suggestions."

"Sure," said Kyle.

"The executive board believes we need to have a formal policy on social media," said Ellison, "and I tend to agree with them."

Squeezing Kyle's hand to get his attention, Cammy said, "Do you mind if I answer that for Ellison?"

Cammy had been silent through almost all the business discussions between Kyle and Ellison, so he was surprised that she offered to field a question now. Extremely interested not only in her response, but also in her presentation of it, he said, "Please do."

She smiled at him and turned to face Ellison, "You and your executive board are correct. Without a documented policy on social media you run the risk of seriously damaging your corporate brand, presenting an inconsistent and ineffective social media presence, and leaving yourselves liable in any number of work-related discrimination or harassment categories. While it would be easy to formulate a strict, enforceable policy that provides legal protection for QWERTY Solutions, from what I know of your organization, you pride yourselves on the work culture your employees have and your brand has received significant recognition for the quality of life you promote for your entire corporate family."

"That's all true," said Ellison.

"Okay then," continued Cammy, "then let's separate the IT security policies – which essentially deal with asset, data, and intellectual property security – from the social media policy that deals more with marketing strategies, personal employee behavior and communication etiquette."

Kyle was impressed, and he saw that Ellison was as well. He supported Cammy, "That makes very good sense Ellison."

Ellison nodded and said, "I agree. So what is the best way to get started with developing a separate social media policy?"

Cammy continued, "The best place to start is with someone else's hard work. Chris Boudreaux has already compiled a database of more than 240 social media policies from some of the world's preeminent brands and organizations, and has it posted online. I will e-mail you a link to his database, and I recommend that you identify policies there from work cultures similar to those espoused by QWERTY Solutions, and then have your legal team emulate these in the development of your own. Being able to promote social media policies derived from well-known and respect companies similar to yours will make acceptance and implementation with QWERTY Solutions personnel much more palatable as well."

"You seem well versed in this subject, Cammy. Would you consider a consulting arrangement with our legal department to develop our policy?" asked Ellison.

Cammy shook her head and replied, "I'm flattered, but I have a VERY exclusive arrangement with Brandt Consulting, and Kyle Mason in particular. If you request my assistance through him, I would do anything I could to accommodate you, but only under those conditions. That being said, this really isn't very difficult, and I would suggest that you resist efforts by your legal team to farm this out to someone else. Your in-house legal department should always take the lead on any policy development or they would be poorly positioned to defend themselves and your company in court."

Kyle was more surprised by this statement than anything Cammy had said during their lunch. Did this mean that he had a chance of seeing her again after today? He looked at his watch and saw that they would need to be returning to the airport soon in order to check-in in time for their flight.

"Ellison," Kyle started, "Cammy and I need to start back to the airport. I really appreciate you taking the time to meet with us, and I will follow up with you on Friday to make sure that everything on the proposal is still on track." With a smile he added, "I have already taken care of the lunch tab, so don't wait around for a check or you'll be here all day, but don't forget your leftovers. By the way, I had a second serving of lasagna added so you won't be slighted by me and Cammy sharing our lunch."

Kyle stood and taking Cammy's hand helped her to rise from her chair. They both shook hands and exchanged farewells with Ellison before walking hand-in-hand to the waiting limo in the parking lot.

The driver held the door open for Cammy, and she once again slid in and moved over so that Kyle could slide in beside her. Once the door was closed, she took Kyle's hand in hers and rested her head against his shoulder.

Cammy whispered in his ear, "Kyle, I have never had a meal – breakfast, lunch, or dinner – as wonderful as that. Thank you."

"You didn't think there was too much garlic in the sauce?" teased Kyle.

"That depends on whether or not it presents you with any inhibitions about kissing me again," she said.

Kyle considered her words for a minute before responding. He lifted her chin and placed his lips on hers. The kiss began as a friendly peck, but her arms quickly locked around his neck and he knew that this kiss would rock his world. Their lips parted, their tongues danced, and the same symphony of movements they had been experiencing all day continued until the limo pulled up to their departure gate.

After the plane had taken off and all the pre-flight announcements had ceased, Kyle turned to Cammy. "I want to see you again, Cammy."

Over the partition separating their seats, she wrapped her arms around his right arm and told him, "You will Kyle. I'm never going to let you go."

"But what about your Sister?" he asked.

She giggled and shook her head. "Kyle, you still don't understand. I AM my Sister. What you have with me, you have with her and what you have with her, you will have with me. You have shown me the best day of my life, and I will never forget it."

Kyle put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her as best he could with the separation between them. "You're right, Cammy. I don't understand. It is hard for me to believe that the way you and I 'fit', and the comfort that you instill in me can transcend to someone you say I know, but don't recognize. Maybe I'm being too logical, but it just doesn't compute for me."

Cammy squeezed his arm around her tighter and said, "Kyle, all that needs to compute with you right now is that you are loved by a woman who will move heaven and earth to make you recognize that. Her expression of that love may test your logic and sensibilities, but there are valid reasons for her right now on why this has to be. Tell you what, I will ask her to call you tonight so that you can hear the same directly from her. Would that help you at all?"

"I don't know," said Kyle. "I'm struggling with separating her from you. I know you. I know I 'fit' with you, I know I want and desire YOU. She is the great unknown for me. Can you understand that?"

"I can," Cammy said. "It was one of the biggest hurdles my Sister faced in her plan to demonstrate her love for you. 'How would you recognize it as her versus one of her proxies?' I will tell you Kyle that I do love you, and if life with my Sister doesn't live up to your expectations, I will be waiting in the wings for you until my dying day. However, I will repeat again for you, I am my Sister, and my Sister is me."

"How will I get in touch with you?" asked Kyle.

She pulled one of her business cards out of her purse and handed it to him. "I will always be there for you Kyle. Always."

Kyle put the card in the pocket of his shirt and spent the rest of the flight simply enjoying the scent of Cammy and the feel of her against him. He had never felt so physically synchronized with a woman... well he needed to reconsider that. He remembered back to when Karen Mayes and he were still friends and they would spend hours in a pool playing a variety of games that kids played in pools. The times when she would be sitting on his shoulders, or wrapped around his back as they fought to dunk other couples brought back similar memories of two bodies that seemed to fit together as naturally as he had felt with Cammy today. When Karen began to tower above all the other boys at school, Kyle's growth seemed to always mirror hers so that the 'fit' between them never wavered. Even once Karen stopped being his friend, on the few occasions when they had been forced to dance together, it was obvious to Kyle that the same 'fit' was in existence between them. He doubted that she sensed it, but he never forgot it. This perceived compatibility between himself and Karen, and the inability of any other girl to match it played a role in Kyle's future relationships, until today with Cammy.

As the plane landed and taxied to the gate, Kyle asked Cammy, "Can I buy you dinner?"

She stood beside him in the aisle of the plane awaiting the door to be opened. "You're not tired of me yet?" she asked.

Kyle pulled her to him so he could hug her properly for the first time all day. "Cammy, I don't think I could ever get tired of you. It's hard to explain, but it is more the things that I don't feel around you than the things that I do which amaze me. I don't feel fear, I don't feel confusion, and I don't feel indifference. What is it about you that takes all the bad feelings away and leaves me open to nothing but hope?"

"I feel the same way Kyle," she said. "Let me powder my nose when we get off the plane and then we can discuss dinner."

As soon as they entered the terminal, Kyle pulled Cammy to him and gave her a kiss that he hoped would curl her toes as much as it did his. After she caught her breath, she excused herself and went to the women's restroom across from their gate. Fifteen minutes later, when she hadn't returned, Kyle asked a female TSA agent to check on Cammy in the restroom. When he was told that the restroom was empty, Kyle knew that she had slipped by and gone on her way without him. He pulled her business card from his pocket and dialed the number on his cell phone. When the call was answered "Ciro's Pizza", he knew that he would never see Cammy again.

Kyle retrieved his car from short-term parking and began the short drive from the airport to his apartment in Costa Mesa. He compared Cammy's disappearance to the way he felt when Karen Mayes had rejected his friendship. Why did every relationship he have always bring up some comparison with Karen Mayes? Maybe it was because he had known Karen for so long and that their relationship provided some 'point of reference' or 'benchmark' upon which other relationships could be compared? Kyle couldn't say that he had 'loved' Karen Mayes, but he had to also ask himself if that was only because she wouldn't have allowed it, and had that really mattered?

No, it hadn't mattered. Kyle had loved Karen Mayes – even if it was a platonic, brotherly love. Kyle knew that he would have done anything for her, given his life for her, but there was nothing romantic about that. Or was there? She had been his motivation and his inspiration. When he had started designing databases for companies for profit, it was with the expressed intent that the revenue would be to benefit Karen. When he sold licensing agreements for thousands of dollars, it was intended for Karen's college education. Kyle had to admit that virtually everything he did while in high school was for the benefit of Karen Mayes. Was that what brothers did, or what hopeful boyfriends did?

Kyle had just gotten a drink and returned to his living room where he had been watching the final innings of the Angel game on TV when his home phone rang. The Angels were winding up a series in Texas, and the two hour time difference had the game wrapping up at about the same time one of their home games would just be starting.

Kyle picked up the wireless handset to his home phone, fully expecting a telemarketer to be on the other end. No one who called him on a regular basis would call on his home phone, because they all knew that he was on the road so much. "Hello."

"Hi Kyle, it's me."

The female voice was digitally altered, and Kyle detected an accent denoting southern US influences, but he sensed that the accent was also a ruse. "Cammy?"

"Yes and no," she said. "I'm sorry Kyle. I love you so much and I know that you don't understand me, but please try to be patient with me."

"Bubbles?" he asked.

She giggled, "I'm sorry, but it's funny to hear you call me that name. Only a few of my Sisters ever call me that."

"I don't have an alternative name for you at the moment," Kyle told her.

"Kyle, you can call me anything you want. My name isn't important. What is important is for you to understand two things..."

"What two things?" he asked.

"First," she said, "you need to understand that I have loved you since the day we met, but I have been broken the whole time. Kyle, I have been so broken, but to your credit, you never tried to fix me. You always have simply accepted me, and I treasure you for that. I'm almost entirely fixed now, but I'm still somewhat fragile where my feelings for you are concerned. This is why I need to maintain some degree of separation between us until you fully understand the second thing."

"What is the second thing?" he asked.

"The second thing is that you love me too."

"I do?"

"Yes silly boy, you do. I have never doubted your love for me, but I need for you to recognize it yourself before I feel completely safe revealing myself to you."

"Man, this is so confusing..." Kyle moaned.

"How you can love someone and not know it?" she asked. "Or how I can feel what you experience with one of my sisters acting as my proxy? I admit that this will be a challenge for you Kyle, but as you said today, trust is built best from pro-active honesty between two people. I'm going to take a chance here telling you something that without the proper context may come back to haunt me, but it is the truth."

"What?" said Kyle.

"I know far more about you than you would probably be comfortable with right now. I'm not some psycho stalker or anything, but when you love someone as much as I love you, their life becomes an obsession of sorts. For example, I know that the first girl you kissed was Linda Flynn. I know that you lost your virginity to a girl two years older than you who you met at your first party at UCLA. I know about you building databases for companies while in high school and that you were making a six figure income by the time you were seventeen, but everything was saved to pay for the education of the girl who lived next door to you at the time, Karen Mayes. I know that when she left for college and didn't require your financial assistance, that you reinvested the money into your business so that by the time you graduated from UCLA, you were worth more than two million dollars. I know every post or air base that you were stationed at while in the Air Force, and I even know the names of everyone who treated you after your injury in Iraq..."

"Whoa... now you're getting into some dangerous territory," Kyle said. "The circumstances of my injury are classified and there is no way that you should know about them."

"Okay Kyle, I'll forget that I know them if it makes you happy."

"It's not a matter of making me happy," he said. "It's a matter of you knowing something that could get you arrested."

"Why would me knowing about the circumstances of your injury get me arrested Kyle?"

"Because the information is classified secret and not just out there in the public domain," he told her. "Only people with the proper clearance levels should be able to access the details."

"Kyle, I did not access any information on you illegally or without the proper clearance, so I'll leave it to you to draw whatever conclusions you want. The bottom line is that I have knowledge of you and your life that is extensive, and I wanted you to know that. Pro-active honesty, Kyle. If me or one of my proxies mentions something that you would think that we shouldn't know, I wanted you to understand how that could be."

"Kyle, this isn't a game for me. I have never lied to you, and I never will. This isn't all about me, Kyle... it's about us. I am so sorry that I don't have the strength to be more direct with you right now, but I really am trying. Please help me... help us."