“What Does Everybody Want?” Al Snow? In a romantic story? You better believe it. Rating: NC - 17, some sex. Chapter 1 “Sweetheart..have you seen my head?’ he asked, walking into the bedroom. She turned to smile at him. “Al, honey. I think it’s on your shoulders.” He grinned and shook his head. “You’ve been living with me way too long,” he said. “And loving every second of it,” she said, kissing him sweetly. “Now if you’re talking about your....ummm.....other head, it’s in the hall closet.” “Why do you keep sticking it in there?” he asked. “I can’t stand the way she looks at me,” she said with a laugh. “And people think I’m weird,” he mumbled as he left the room. She laughed softly as she returned to folding the laundry. A job anybody would normally hate....but with a husband who was on the road so much, something as simple as matching his socks became a pleasure. She could hear him in the hall, humming and talking to that stupid mannequin head. Yes..Al Snow did have a strange sense of humor. And people did think he was weird. But he was also the most loving and gentle man she had ever known. When she thought back to how she had met him, she was always surprised that he had even bothered to give her a second look. She thanked God everyday that he had. He stuck his head back in the door, giving her the smile that always made her heart skip a beat. “We’re off to the arena. What time will you be there tonight?” he asked. Probably around six,” she replied. “I have a couple of kids to see at the hospital ..then a couple of quick errands.” “Then I’ll see you later,” he said, disappearing into the hall. “Hey what about my kiss?” she called. She got to the door just as “Head”, Al’s mannequin appeared . “Were you talking to me?” he said in a crazy woman’s voice. “Al what did I tell you about that?” she teased. “Oh you mean it was me you wanted to kiss?” he asked. “Come here,’ she said, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him against her. He kissed her softly. She leaned back and smiled at him. “One more,” he whispered, pulling her into a deep kiss. “Al, you’re going to be late,” she said quietly. “So I am,” he said, lifting her and carrying her to the bed. Chapter 2 The day they met had been one of the worst days she could remember. Being a psychologist had always been a very interesting way to earn a living. Having the ability to help people was one of he joys of Elise Dillon’s life. But on this particular day she would have traded places with almost anyone on the planet. It had started early that morning when she was informed that her staff was being cut back. As a result she would be more than doubling her case load. It was her job to see to the critically ill patients on the pediatrics ward and their families. There were times it could be a heartbreaking job. Nothing was worse than seeing a family lose a child. That was when she and her staff had to work their hardest. But there were other times when the ending was much more happy. You never knew which you were going to get...but that was part of the job. When she had read the memo, she couldn’t believe her eyes. In her view, giving these patients and their families some much needed emotional support was as important as any medicine. She read the memo over and over just to make sure she understood it. She slammed out of her office and down the hall to the chief administrator’s office. His secretary looked up as she stormed in. “Mr. Harris can’t see you right now,” she said, rising to block the door. “Oh, I think he can,” she said. “He gave me strict instructions....” “I don’t give a damn what he gave you,” she said. She reached out for the doorknob. The secretary grabbed her hand. Elise looked down and then up into the frightened woman’s eyes. “You can move it...or you can lose it,’ she said, looking back down at the secretary’s trembling hand. She reluctantly removed it. “Smart girl,” she said, entering his office. Chapter 3 He looked up when the door opened. “Elise...what a nice surprise,” he said. “You want a surprise? I’ll give you a surprise,” she said. “Oh now you aren’t going to threaten to quit again, are you?” “Roger. how in God’s name do you expect me to do my job when you keep cutting my staff?” she asked angrily. He looked at her over his glasses. “Elise, you conveniently forget that I have to answer to a board of directors. If we expect this hospital to make any money, then we have to cut costs.” “At the expense of the patients?” “We debated long and hard before we decided where to make our cuts,’ he said. “Obviously we chose what we felt were our less.....critical..... areas.” Elise let out an exasperated sigh. “If this keeps up..I’ll be working by myself soon.’ “Oh don’t be ridiculous. The entire department would be terminated before that would happen.” “That’s a comforting thought,” she said, turning to leave. “Oh by the way,’ he began. “We’ve scheduled a visit for the pediatrics ward today. I thought you might want to be there.” The kids loved having visitors. It helped to break up the very long and often boring time they had to spend in the hospital. “Oh really? Who is it?’ “Let me look,” he said, rummaging through the seemingly bottomless pile of papers on his desk. “I can’t remember the name off hand. He’s one of those wrestlers. WWF, I think.” Her mouth hung open. “What is he going to do....put them all in head locks?” she asked. “I hardly think so,” he said, looking up at her. He continued to search for the paper. She just shook her head and left. “Here it is!” he said triumphantly, holding up a piece of paper. He looked to see that she had gone. “Charming woman,” he thought, dropping the paper back into the pile. She was filling out some forms at the nurses station when she saw him. He was walking down the hall towards the lounge, pushing a young boy in a wheel chair. When they got next to her, the boy looked up and smiled. “Hi, Elise,’ he said brightly. “Hi, Charlie,” she answered, noting that he was looking just a little thinner. “I see you have a new friend,” she said, looking up at him. Charlie grinned. “I can’t believe it,’ he said. “They told me someone famous was coming today..but man, I never thought it would be Al Snow! This is sooo cool.” “I take it you’re Al Snow?” she asked. “The one and only,” he said, holding out his hand. She shook it reluctantly. “I see him on TV all the time..but I never thought I’d ever get to meet him,” Charlie continued. “Well I hope you have a nice visit,” she said, heading back to her office. “It was nice meeting you,” Al called to her. She turned back to see him smiling. “Same here,” she said. “So who’s the sour puss?” he asked Charlie as they continued on to the lounge. Charlie laughed at the description. “That’s Elise...she’s a psychologist. She comes around and talks to all the kids and the parents. She’s really pretty cool.” “You mean she doesn’t always look like she swallowed a lemon?” Charlie laughed again. “No. She’s usually smiling.” “Maybe meeting me was too much for her,” he said with a laugh. Chapter 4 She walked by the lounge an hour later and she was amazed to see him still there..only this time surrounded by more people than she could count. Not just children but nurses, orderlies, even a couple of doctors. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she could see he had their undivided attention. He seemed to be holding at least three simultaneous conversations as well as signing autographs. Elise studied him carefully. He wasn’t at all what he expected. No tattoos, no shaved head...in fact he seemed very normal. She hadn’t realized that she was staring until he looked up and winked at her. Embarrassed at being caught, she turned quickly and walked away. She knew she was being downright rude to him...but she was unsure how to correct the situation. “He’ll only be here a little while longer,” she thought. “I can always drop him a note.” She looked at her watch. Most days she worked straight through lunch. But for some reason she decided to break her routine. She stood in the coffee shop and picked up a salad. She stepped outside and crossed the street to a small park. Finding an empty bench, she sat and began to eat. During the day she seldom had two minutes to herself. She planned to enjoy the solitude. He stood at the window and watched her. There was something about her that he found too compelling to ignore. Yeah, she was attractive...very attractive. But that wasn’t it. Charlie had said she usually smiled....and even though he hadn’t seen it himself....yet.......he thought it was probably true. “You ready for a lunch break?” He turned to see Mike Daniels....the man in charge of accompanying WWF Superstars on their personal appearances. “I think I’ll just take a walk,” he said, glancing out the window to make sure she was still sitting there.” “Are you sure?” Mike asked him. Al nodded. “I can always grab a hot dog or something.” He walked up behind her. “Nice day, huh?” She turned quickly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “Is your little visit over?” she asked. “Not quite,” he said, flashing his smile once more. “I’m on a lunch break.” She noticed that he had absolutely no food with him. “On a diet?” she asked. He looked down and then realized what he meant. “No, “ he laughed softly. “I thought I might just grab a hot dog.” “That’s very brave of you,” she said. “Just so you know....the entrance to the emergency room is right over there.” He laughed. Not only because she was funny but because it was so unexpected. “Can I get you one?” he asked. “No thanks,” she said. “I don’t have a death wish. Besides I have to get back to work.” “There are some great kids up there,” he said. “I know,” she said quietly. “To be honest, a lot of them don’t seem so sick.” She smiled sadly. “Well if you’re here everyday, you get to see just how sick they really are. A one day visit can be very deceiving.” She gathered up her lunch and prepared to go back to the hospital. “Look, I know how sick they are,” he began. “Do you really? Somehow I doubt that. Maybe you should come back right after one of them has had chemotherapy. It’s quite a dose of reality. She walked away. He should have been angry by her uncalled for remarks. Instead he was touched by her concern for these kids. Her words only served to make her more attractive to him. Chapter 5 He spent a few more hours with the kids in the afternoon. He didn’t see her..but she was still on his mind. He thought about the kind of work she did. It couldn’t be easy having to deal with sick kids. Then throw in their anxious parents..and you really had your hands full. “You must be some special woman,” he thought. He had signed his last autograph and was heading for the elevator when he saw her. She was sitting in the lounge talking to a very young, very nervous looking woman. Al assumed it was the mother of one of the kids on the ward. He watched as she held the woman’s hand and listened intently. Suddenly the woman burst into tears. Almost instinctively, Elise reached out and gathered the sobbing woman into her arms. She let the woman cry and then whispered something in her ear. The woman nodded, wiping her eyes. She stood up and hugged Elise. Al watched as the woman made her way down to hall to her child’s room. He turned to see Elise coming out of the lounge. Without even being asked, she told him. “Her daughter is dying....she probably won’t last the night.” Al looked back down the hall. “The poor thing,” he whispered. “I hate this part of my job,” she said quietly, as she walked back down the hall to her office.” “It must get to you,” he said, falling into step next to her. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,’ she replied. “Listen...I know I’m probably the last man you’d ever want to spend time with....” She looked up at him with just the hnt of a smile. “But I thought maybe I could buy you a cup of coffee? Maybe a little something to eat?” “I don’t know...” “Come on,” he urged her. “I’m one hell of a nice guy.” She finally smiled at him. “Well it took all day, but I finally did it,” he said, grinning at her. “I wasn’t very nice to you today,” she admitted. “No..you weren’t. But I’m willing to overlook it.” She searched his face. “I’m kidding,” he said. “You have an...unusual...sense of humor.” “Oh come on..you can say it. I’m weird.” Now she was laughing. “I don’t know that I’d go that far.” “Oh don’t worry. You won’t insult me. Weird is what I do for a living.” “You know as a psychologist...I can tell you there are treatments available for you.” He narrrowed his eyes to look at her. “Now I’m kidding,” she said. “We could be in big trouble here,” he said with a laugh. as he followed her into her office. |