It was a chilly fall night in Boston and it was closing time. Sam, Diane and Coach did their normal routine. Sam cleaned up the place while Diane helped him add up the days profit. Due to Coach's clumsiness and lack of knowledge of math, his number one job was to wake up Norm and drive him home. They had it pretty down pat and was over fairly quick. Of course Sam always double checked everything after saying goodbye to his employees, so he was the last one going home.
"Hey, Sam," he heard as he was walking up the stairs. He turned around to see Carla Tortelli leaning on the banister. He was suprised to see her. She was just here this afternoon to prove she could handle her anger. Big Eddie dropped the pending charges and threats after she succussfully shook off his wisecracks and insults. Sam was never more proud of her than he was that afternoon. Yet he was baffled as to why she would be here now. Did she camp out here the whole time after she left?
"What are you doing here, Sweetheart?" He asks enveloping her in a hug.
"Well," she says wrapping her arms around his neck. "I guess I came here to thank you."
"Thank me?" He asks letting her go. It was strange of Carla to be doing something like this.
"Yeah, you know. For not letting me go, for holding on to me when probably nobody else would. It was cool. I wanted you to know that."
"You're my friend. I always look out for a friend, you know that."
After he said that he noticed a smirk on Carla's face. Oh man, he thought to himself, when she smirks it's never good!
"Aw man, what are you thinking about?"
"When we first met."
"Oh no!"
Sam hated it when she would bring up that story of how they first met. He was at the bar where she worked, totally loaded of course. Being the Red Sox fan that she is and always has been, she came on to him totally. He didn't want anything to do with her he rejected her.
"C'mon man!" She exclaimed.
"Hey, listen, chick! I go to bed with whomever I want and I don't want you."
"Why not?"
"Because you have a face that could stop a clock! That's why, you've got to be the ugliest woman I ever met!"
"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" He asks her back in the moment.
"Nope. I know I'm the only female employee of your life you ever hired without ever going to bed with. You know how much that hurts!"
"You should feel special. You must be the only woman I ever treated like a human being."
Carla reacted to that as if he had punched her in the face. She stood there emotionless until tears started to fall from her eyes. Man did he feel like a jerk. He took her in his arms and kissed her hair.
"I'm sorry, Sweetheart."
"Don't be," she said breaking away and staring directly into his eyes. "I just realized that's the nicest thing any man has ever done to me."