Dr. Sophia Jordan heard a knock at the door to her home on the outskirts of downtown Pittsburgh. She took one final look in the mirror before she answered the door, "Mr. Estes," she acknowledged him.
"I told you it's Harold," he chuckled, "May I?" he asked gesturing towards the living room.
"Yes, of course," said Sophia moving aside to let him in the house.
Harold entered the living room and handed her the flowers in his hand, "I know this is kind of stereotypical but I thought it would be nice and polite."
Sophia smiled and took the offered bouquet, "Thank you." She went into the kitchen to find a vase for the flowers.
Harold looked around the house for a few minutes waiting for her to return. He noticed a photo of Sophia and another guy far back on a high shelf of the bookstand, "Funny. I thought she said she was never married."
Sophia came back into the living room and grabbed her purse, "Shall we get going?"
Harold brought himself back to reality and nodded, "Of course." He opened the car door and let her before he got into the driver's seat, "You look beautiful tonight Sophia."
Sophia looked at him skeptically, "Harold."
"What?" he asked innocently, "Like I said, taking off the lab coat made a difference. It makes you even more beautiful than you already were."
Sophia blushed, "Well you do look a lot better in a suit. I always have loved and respected men in uniform."
Harold thought for a few moments before he remembered their first conversation at Three Rivers, "Oh that's right. Your father was a Marine right?"
Sophia nodded, "Yes, for twenty-five years. He enlisted right out of high school, got married, my parents had me, he served in Vietnam, and then retired when I was sixteen. And we moved back to his hometown of Pittsburgh. How about you?"
"Pretty much the same," said Harold "Didn't have the grades to go to college so I enlisted in the Army after I graduated from high school and I've been there for thirty years. I'm currently stationed at the Carlisle Barracks."
"Isn't that like three hours away?" asked Sophia surprisingly.
"Yeah," said Harold, "But Three Rivers is one of the best hospitals in the country so they chose to take me there. I was flown to the Pittsburgh airport and then brought by ambulance."
"But, there are plenty of good hospitals near there," said Sophia, "And more importantly, did you drive three hours for dinner tonight?" Harold just shrugged his shoulder and didn't say anything, "You did drive three hours for dinner tonight."
"I never said I did," said Harold.
"But you never said you didn't either," said Sophia.
Harold pulled up in front of the restaurant and went to let Sophia out of the car. They sat down and looked over their menus before the waiter took their orders. Harold poured the wine and raised his glass, "To an evening of being normal people."
Sophia chuckled and took a sip. She asked, "So how have you been feeling since the surgery?"
"Pretty good," said Harold, "I mean, I had an excellent doctor. What can I say?"
Sophia chuckled and shook her head, "Well I can't fully credit myself. Dr. Foster was an excellent teacher."
"Dr. Miranda? Foster?" asked Harold confusingly. Wasn't Miranda a little young to be Sophia's teacher.
"No, no," Sophia chuckled, "Her father, Dr. William Foster."
"Oh," Harold chuckled, "That makes more sense," he thought.
"Yeah, he was the one who founded Three Rivers, he passed away about a year and a half ago and left the chief of surgery position to me," said Sophia.
Harold nodded. He had the feeling William Foster was the other person in the picture with Sophia but he wasn't going to bring that up unless she did. After dinner Harold drove Sophia back home and walked her up to her front door, "Well it's been a lovely evening. Maybe we can be normal people again sometime," said Harold.
"I would like that," said Sophia, "But you never answered my question.'
"About what?" asked Harold.
Sophia whispered in his ear, "Did you drive three hours for this date tonight?"
Harold looked into her brown eyes and kissed her. It had been a long time since Sophia had kissed another man. She hadn't been involved with anyone since William Foster died. But somehow the kiss felt right. "Even if I had, would you not go out with me anymore?"
Sophia shook her head as Harold went to his car. "Goodnight Harold," she said.
"Goodnight Sophia," he answered back.