It had been two and a half years since the divorce. Messy business. Expensive. Brutal really. Walking away from what was supposed to be full of hope and love. Now over and completely broken. Or maybe he was the one who was broken. Work, business, success…. those were the things worth investing in now. The occasional evening with some lovely woman or other. But no real desire to make any kind of permanent connection. Until….
She’d come charging into his office and, well, taken charge! Not quite like any woman he had met before. She hadn’t minced words, had provoked and accused and then stepped back to observe the reaction. He had been caught completely off guard, not just by the accusations but by the loveliness of the woman making them. She didn’t back down and came to the truth eventually as a result of her persistence. Now he couldn’t get her out of his head.
Even though she now knew that he had been blameless in all aspects of what had happened, he didn’t feel like he could just call her up and …. what? Ask her out? Suggest they meet for coffee? Start over again? And what if she laughed at the suggestion? He normally had pretty thick skin, but the prospect of being rebuffed - or worse - out and out rejected? Hard to pick up the phone with that potential outcome out there.
Since the loss of her husband, the focus had been work, and lots of it. The pain and loneliness poked through and overwhelmed her still from time to time, but good friends and gratifying challenges had been the solution.
Attractive men came along and she had seen a few of them for a variable number of dates. No one really could compete with the memory of the one she had lost. But then, in the course of an investigation, she had met a man who was intriguing, successful, and - beneath the prickly exterior - seemed to really care about things that mattered. He had listened to her, in spite of his initial resistance. Not all men could do that. Impressive. Memorable. She wanted to see him again socially, but the nature of the case made it difficult to just call him and suggest they meet for what? Coffee? Dinner? She wasn’t sure what to do with this person whose face kept popping up in her memory, seemingly calling on her to meet one more time. Because perhaps…? But no, she was fooling herself. No matter how much she wished it to be true, true love was something one was lucky to find once in a lifetime. Thinking it could happen again? Not bloody well likely.
Meeting up with an old school friend, talk had turned to what one was up to, had he met anyone interesting, how was work…the usual things. Finally, on a whim, he said “I did meet an intriguing woman recently but can’t really bring myself to call her given that I was a suspect in the murder she was investigating…”
Kerry raised his eyebrows. “Now that’s a new one! Who did you kill?”
“Very funny. Obviously it wasn’t me who did it, but since the case concluded, I keep thinking about her. She’s different, not a timid thing about her. She goes after things and she finds them. She persists, shakes things up, and keeps anyone from getting too comfortable. Which can be annoying and exciting all at the same time.”
“OK, so who is she? She has a name?”
Kerry looked startled for a second before taking a sip of his beer. “So what do you want to do? Can I help?”
“I wish I could meet her on neutral ground, make it seem like happenstance. Not planned. Then I can get a sense of if there’s anything there without having to put myself out there too far.”
Kerry hesitated. “I’m having a party Friday night, just a medium sized gathering of friends and acquaintances. You could come and I could invite her? She wouldn’t have to know that it was any kind of setup.”
“Actually it was her now deceased husband that I knew but we’ve met quite a number of times. I’ll figure out an excuse to include her if you want me to.”
He hesitated. Now that the possibility was imminent, he was a bit nervous about it. The sting of rejection and divorce was an all too recent memory. But then…. nothing ventured, nothing gained. “OK do it, but you won’t say anything about me?”
“No, of course not. And if she can’t come, we’ll think of something else.”
The prospect of a quiet Friday night with nothing to do loomed ahead. Normally such a thing was business as usual, but Madison was out of town and there was nothing on the horizon socially for weeks to come. She sighed and wondered if she should try to make plans with someone. The phone rang.
“Kerry. Hi! How are you? I know it’s been too long.”
Actually it had been since the services for her husband. Kerry and his wife had been close friends, but when you are no longer part of a couple, your social life shifts and you go back to doing things with other single people.
“Party? Friday night? Actually that sounds like a good idea. I was realizing I had nothing planned for the weekend and was trying to think of a way to get out. So sure, I’ll be there. See you soon! Can’t wait to see you!”
He nervously tied and retied the tie he was trying to put on before discarding it and choosing a shirt that didn’t require one. Ties weren’t really his thing anyway, and this wasn’t a formal occasion. The people there were likely to be business associates and mutual friends, people he and Kerry had both worked with over the years. And then there was Alexa. He couldn’t help but hope that she would decide to come, but even if she didn’t, this was better than sitting at home and trying to figure out how to ask out a woman that he wasn’t sure would even give him the time of day.
He called his car to come and drive him to the party. No driving if there was any chance of alcohol consumption! And doubtless there would be that!
She sat on the sofa with a drink in her hand, looking around at mostly unfamiliar faces. She was wondering why she had come at all. “Am I really so desperate?” she asked herself.
A tall good looking man came and settled on the sofa near her and struck up a conversation. He’d already had a bit too much to drink and that wasn’t attractive at all. She tried to ignore him, but when he persisted, she let him talk to her while surveying the room for an escape. She was about to get up and leave him when he grabbed her by the arm and said, “Come on, come dance with me!”
Caught off guard and thoroughly alarmed, she tried to pull away saying “I’m sorry I can’t, I am waiting for my friend to arrive.”
And from just behind her she heard a slightly familiar voice say, “Oh there you are dear, I have been looking for you. Come let’s dance.”
Taking her by the hand, he extricated her from the grips of her unwanted suitor and led her to the dance floor. And there she was looking into the eyes of Terrance Scott!
As they started to dance, he smiled and quietly said, “You looked like you needed to be rescued…I hope that wasn’t an unwanted move.”
She couldn’t help but giggle at the irony of being rescued by exactly the man she had been trying to figure out how to meet again. “Oh no, that was great. Thank you so much! Don’t feel like you’re stuck with me now, but I do so appreciate not having to dance with ‘Mr. I’ve had too much to drink’ over there.” They both laughed as they danced to the rhythm of an easy listening song that allowed for pretty much whatever step was preferred. After several songs he said “Have you eaten yet? He’s got a great buffet over there…”
As they headed to the buffet table, he thanked the party gods for working their magic and bringing him into the company of exactly the person he had wanted to meet again. Things were looking up!
theartofmadeline
romaincrisis
