Addie smiled as she rested in Mark's arms. They had a wonderful evening, first a delightful dinner at her favorite restaurant, Café Boulud, and now they were relaxing together watching her choice of a movie, Walk the Line. But then her phone rang. Addie looked at the unfamiliar number; she didn't even recognize the area code. She thought about whether she should answer it. Her mother had drilled good manners into her, and she had told Addie that a telephone should be answered. But that was in the days before voice mail and call screening, and Addie was enjoying watching the movie with Mark.

"You can answer the phone, Addie. I'll pause the movie. It's fine with me," advised Mark.

"Okay." She grabbed the cell phone next to her and answered. "Addison here."

"Addie, I'm so glad I finally reached you. I've tried your office number and your home number without success. It's Richard Webber."

Addie smiled, remembering working as an intern under Dr. Webber's supervision. "Richard, it's great to hear from you. I can't believe you tracked me down." She got up and walked to the bedroom so she could have some privacy for the call.

"It took some work to get your personal cell phone. But I still have friends at Mount Sinai."

"I'm sure you do." Addie responded. "It's good to hear from you, Richard. How's Adele doing?"

"She's worried about you."

"Me?" Addie was puzzled.

"Well, your husband accepted my offer and started work on Monday. I thought you would be coming with him, but he told me no. And when I told Adele, she got worried. "

"Derek is in Seattle?"

"Yes, he started working here on Monday."

"And it's not just a consult?"

"No, it's a permanent job, Chief of Neurosurgery. And I have an opening for a Chief of Neonatal Medicine. It's perfect for you."

Addie laughed. "Richard, I'm a devoted New Yorker. I'm not moving to Seattle."

"Can you explain to me why your husband has moved to Seattle without you?"

"What did Derek say?"

"He didn't. He just said that you'd be staying in New York."

"He knows me well. Did he explain why he left?" Addie twirled her hair nervously. She was concerned that Derek might have gone into detail on why he left her and that Richard might think less of her if he knew that Derek walked in on her having sex with Mark.

"No, but I've been calling him for months urging him to take this job. I'm building a great teaching hospital here. But I always told him I needed you, too. You'd be an amazing teacher, Addie."

Addie was relieved that at least Derek was being discreet. She responded, "Well, I'm staying here."

"So what should I tell Adele?"

"Tell her I'm doing fine, and I wish her well."

"I'm not giving up on you, Addie. I need your talent, and Derek needs you, too."

"I appreciate your concern, Richard, but I'm fine here."

She hung up the phone slowly and returned to the living room.

"Who was that?"

"Richard Webber."

"He's in Seattle now, right? Why was he is calling you?"

"He hired Derek."

"Wow. Derek's in Seattle."

"Yup. 3000 miles away."

"Well, that's good news, Addie."

"Good news?" Addie was puzzled. How could Derek moving to Seattle be good news? He loved Manhattan, having lived here since he started medical school at Columbia. She briefly thought of the many happy times they spent in the city – walking in Central Park, riding the Staten Island Ferry, eating at Café Boulud . . .

But Mark interrupted her thoughts. "Yeah. I love you. I'm so happy you've moved in with me. It would be awkward for Derek to be in New York now. He'd find it hard to see us so happy together."

Addie looked at Mark. "New York is a big city, Mark."

"Mount Sinai is a small world, Addie."

"I guess so. It would be hard for him to avoid both of us, particularly since we all have privileges at the same hospital. So I guess you're right. Derek's better off being far away. Until now, I've worried every time I've set foot in Mount Sinai that I might run into him." Her last confrontation with her husband was fresh in her mind. For a few minutes, she had been afraid that he would throw her out of their brownstone. While Derek had a vile temper when angry, she had never before been afraid of him.

"Me, too."

"It just seems so weird for Derek to move to Seattle, 3000 miles from his mother and sisters. He's always been so close to his family. His sisters have been calling me, asking me where he is." Addie thought for a moment about the frantic calls that had started last Sunday morning. First, Nancy had called, leaving a message, "Addie, please call. Mom says Derek left you. Let's talk about it. No matter what, you're my sister." Then Kathleen had called; her message was, "Hi Addie, Derek's not returning my calls. I'm worried about him. Mom told me he said he was leaving, but he didn't say where to. And he said he was leaving you. Mom didn't explain why. Please call." And most recently, this morning, she heard from Amy, and her message was "Hi Addie. What's up? Did Derek find out about you and Mark? I'm keeping my mouth shut, but the sisters are going crazy! Please give me a call." Addie had smiled at Amelia's loyalty to her. She had really enjoyed having a little sister.

"Well, now you know. You can call them in the morning and tell them he's in Seattle."

"I'll send them an email. I'm not ready to talk to them," Addie admitted.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Addie. We love each other."

Mark knew her so well. He had picked up on her guilt. "I'm married, Mark."

"Not for long, if I have anything to do with it," said Mark. "I have a different idea about who should be your husband." He kissed her.

"Mark, it's too soon. I'm still married."

"Your husband is in Seattle. He spent the past year and more ignoring you, and now he's left you."

"I'm not sure that it's fair to say he left me. He did walk in on us having sex."

"He could have stayed and fought for your marriage if that was his priority. But he ran way. And that's good for us. He can have a fresh start, and we can have New York to ourselves. You just said that you were worried about running into him. Not a problem any more."

"I still worry about running into his sisters. There's a tri-state obgyn conferene next month, and I usually see Nancy there."

"Well, we can't relocate all the Shepherds to Seattle, although that is a great idea."

"Mark, they were our family, too."

"I know. I love the Shepherds. And they'll come around. I'm sure they want us both to be happy."

"Not if it means Derek deserts New York for Seattle. And I think they'll be pissed when they learn that it was the sight of us in bed together that sent Derek running." Addie realized that Mark was not the best person to talk to about Derek. Mark wanted her. After feeling neglected by her husband for years, she was glad to get attention from a handsome, kind man. But Derek was her husband, and it wasn't that simple for her to walk away from her marriage. And she felt sad that Derek needed to put 3,000 miles between them, so far from his family. "Let's go back to watching the movie."

"Yes, let's see Johnny Cash meet the love of his life. I always love a true love story."

"Me, too, Mark."

"Good, because we're a true love story."

Addie laughed, "You're so cheesy."

"Yup, that's me, Mr. Romance."

"That's for sure, Mark." Addie smiled. She was really enjoying Mark's romantic side. It felt so good to feel so wanted. For so long, she had felt neglected by her husband. Now she had someone who adored her and spoke about adoring her constantly. But sometimes she wondered if she loved Mark as much as he loved her.