"You're distracted today," Alexandra Mullen noted with some amusement as she took a sip of her piping hot cup of coffee. The bitter liquid warmed her up inside though she was convinced coffee smelled better than it tasted. She regarded Della with gentle patience and in Alexandra's line of work patience and being observant were necessities rather than luxuries.
Della Street started and shook her head to clear it, her face coloring with mild embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Alexandra. I've… just been thinking about someone I know. He's had a rough go of it recently in the romance department and I wish I knew how I could help."
"Without actually dating him yourself?" Alexandra teased gently. She and Della had known each other for some time as their mothers had been lifelong friends so Alexandra knew she could get away with some light teasing with Della. Still, there was a bit of an age difference between the two women so they hadn't really grown up together and Alexandra had returned to the Los Angeles area only recently. They were looking forward to spending more time getting to know each other.
"I should set the two of you up. Your work schedules seem pretty compatible from what I can tell," Della teased back, mischief lighting up those hazel eyes.
"But would he want a woman with teenagers?" Alexandra smirked, reflecting on how glad she was she'd chosen to return to Los Angeles and also for meeting up with Della in this delightful little mom and pop coffee shop. She was an outgoing, social butterfly sort of woman and she loved people, especially helping them. It was what had drawn her into the counseling profession. Many women shied away from fixups by their friends, but Alexandra liked to remain open to the possibilities. Everyone started out as strangers when they met; the catalyst for the meeting was irrelevant as far as she was concerned.
Della pondered that for a moment, sipping on her own coffee. She hadn't slept much the night before so her coffee was strong this morning with a good infusion of sugar. "He's a little rough around the edges, but deep down he's every bit a gentleman. He might."
Alexandra's aqua blue eyes lit up with surprise. "And does Mr. Rough Around the Edges have a name?"
"Hamilton. Hamilton Burger. And yes, we tease him about it sometimes," Della smiled, drawing her mug to her lips again, but stopped just short of a sip at Alexandra's sharp gasp. Setting the mug back down, Della gazed at her friend with concern. "Alexandra, what is it?"
"You know Hamilton?!" Urgency filled Alexandra's voice. "Oh my goodness, I don't know what to do here and usually I'm the one counseling others…"
Confusion knitted Della's perfectly sculpted eyebrows together. "Alexandra, please tell me what's wrong? Maybe I can help?!"
Flagging down the server, Alexandra requested a glass of ice water. She'd just had coffee, but the bombshell that Della knew Hamilton Burger practically mandated a calming glass of water. She pondered how to even start this story.
"Hamilton and I met in 1936 at a mutual friend's barbecue. George was the friend's name. They were sophomores and I was a freshman. I'd recently left my abusive boyfriend from high school and began dating Hamilton after meeting him at George's barbecue. We were together about a year when I found out I was pregnant. My ex, Darren Galloway, was also continuing to make trouble for us. I made the mistake of telling my parents about my pregnancy before telling Hamilton. My father was a psychiatrist with a stellar reputation in the area we lived. Naturally, he was mortified that I was pregnant out of wedlock and not even a shotgun wedding to Hamilton would have been enough to save his face as far as he was concerned so he packed us up and moved us to another state where no one knew who we were."
Taking a sip of the tall glass of water that had materialized in front of her, Alexandra took a long sip and set the glass back down. She stared into the clear liquid, unable to meet Della's eyes. It was obvious the situation still embarrassed her.
"It devastated me to leave Hamilton, especially without being able to tell him or explain anything to him. We were in love and had even spoken of getting married after college. My father wouldn't let me see him before we moved no matter how much I pleaded or tried to insist that Hamilton would do the right thing. I can only imagine how much my leaving without a word must have hurt Hamilton. I tried a few times to get a letter out to him. I even tried sending one to George to give to Hamilton, but my father intercepted them. I've never been very good at doing anything the sneaky way."
"What about calling him? Did you try that?" Della said, covering Alexandra's hands with her own in that comforting way she had.
Alexandra nodded. "I tried a few times, but I had to send messages through his parents since he was at school in the dorms so either they weren't delivered or Hamilton was too angry to return the calls. It was taking a great chance for me because if Hamilton did call back and my parents answered the phone before I could… He never did though so…"
The check arrived at the table and Alexandra snatched it up before Della could beat her to it and dug through her purse for the necessary cash, tossing it up onto the table for the time being while the two women continued their chat. The server returned a few moments later to collect the payment and hurried off with a delighted smile when Alexandra insisted she needed no change.
"Would you like to see him again?" Della asked cautiously. It felt like such a personal, prying question that she almost felt loathed to ask it. She almost couldn't fathom being in Alexandra's shoes and having to decide that, given the uncertainty of Hamilton's reaction after all these years. But she wanted to help her friend if she could. "I can arrange it if you'd like."
Alexandra pondered that for a moment, her pulse pounding in her ears as her heart clenched with remembered emotion. It terrified her and yet she was excited to see him again. What if he was still furious with her and wanted nothing to do with her and their child? What if he'd forgotten all about her? There were so many uncertainties both good and bad that Alexandra wasn't sure what to do. But Hamilton had a right to know what had happened all those years ago and remembering that gave her the courage to meet him again.
"If you could do that, Della, that would be wonderful. Helen is his daughter. He deserves to know that and meet her if he wants. I owe him an explanation and an apology. He'll have to decide the rest."