Chapter 6

Letting herself inside her apartment, Melissa felt a little giddy to say the least. She smiled and laughed more than she had since her college days. This date was probably the best idea she'd had in a long time. She found it strange how Glenn didn't mentioned his family at all. The pain of losing them so suddenly must have been excruciating. She couldn't imagine losing her family like that. The thought made her chest hurt.

The next morning, Melissa awoke to her alarm and got ready for her day. She checked to make sure she had the documents she needed in her briefcase, grabbed her to go coffee mug, purse and keys, and left her apartment. She walked to her car and unlocked the door. When she was seated behind the wheel, she noticed a note under the wind shield wiper. She opened the door, got out and picked the note up. It read:

Melissa, I had

a great time

tonight. I hope

we can repeat it soon-

Glenn

Smiling, she slipped it into her jacket pocket and reentered the car. She started the engine and headed to her office.

Pulling into her parking space, she waved at her co-worker and friend, Rachel.

"Hey, Melissa! New car? What happened to the old one?" Her friend asked, holding her door open.

"I wrecked in Friday night in the storm," Melissa replied.

Rachel looked beyond shocked at her friends response, "What? Oh, my God! Are you ok? Do you need anything?"

Laughing, Melissa said, "Yes, I'm ok. If I wasn't I wouldn't be standing here. I did get a nasty bump on my head, though."

"Why didn't you call me? I would've come to the hospital to get you."

"I wasn't in a hospital. It was storming really bad. The man who found me, helped me and took care of me. He's a doctor."

Rachel's mouth slowly turned up into a great big mischievous grin. "A doctor, huh? Give me details. What's he like? Is he single? Cute? Sexy? What's his name?"

Rolling her eyes at her friend, Melissa said, "Uh huh! No dice! I am not playing this game with you, ok. He helped me, I said thank you by taking him to dinner. End of story."

"Aww, you're no fun!" Rachel playfully whined.

They made it to their offices and said their see you laters. Melissa checked the messages left on her desk by one of the legal secretaries employed by the firm. She read through them, and returned some phone calls. After her morning routine was done, she checked her e-mail.

Her phone rang, and she answered it, expecting it to be Rachel with one more attempt at dirt gathering. She was pleasantly surprised to hear Glenn's voice. Just as she answered, though, Rachel came into her office.

Rachel looked at her amused and made no attempt to leave. Instead, she took a seat in front of Melissa's desk and listened to her friend's half of the conversation. "Yes, I did have a good time." A few seconds of silence, then, "Yes, I would. I would like to see you again." A few more seconds of silence. "Well, how about if I came to you? That sounds great. I'll see you then. Alright. Goodbye, Glenn." Hanging the phone up, she turned to her friend, " Don't you ever knock?"

Giggling, Rachel said, "No way you're wiggling out this time. Whose Glenn? Where did you meet him?"

"Glenn is a friend of mine and it's none of your business where I met him." She retorted, adding, "What do you want anyway? Make it quick because I have a meeting to get to."

"Yeah, well I was wondering of you would be interested in a concert this weekend. It's Rod Stewart. He's gonna be in Louisville. I thought we would rent a hotel room and party, get drunk, and trash talks some men."

"Nope. Sorry, I have plans. Guess you'll have to find someone else to party hardy with." She said, gathering the materials she would need for her meeting.

Glenn came out of the tenth examining room he'd been in today. This was his last patient before he headed to the hospitals to make his rounds and help out in the ER if he were needed. It always put him in a depressed mood when he had to discuss a patients final days. The patient he'd just left was only twenty-three but would not see twenty-four. Some people would turn to drugs or alcohol as a release. But not Glenn. He like lifting weights and working out.

He never was much for alcohol. He tried pot once in college, but liked it so much he never tried it again. Maybe that's why he never had a lasting relationship. When he realized he like the woman, assuming she hadn't left yet because he worked all the time, he stopped seeing her. Almost as if he were afraid of getting addicted to her. He was pushing forty-five. Maybe Patricia was right. It was time to settle down. That would make Patricia happy enough to keep her from nagging him for a while, anyway.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind and left the building. He was thankful his office was within walking distance of one of the hospitals he made his rounds in. This hospital over-looked a major interstate which made commuting to and from it convenient.

He completed his rounds and headed to his car to drive to the next hospital. During the drive, his thoughts went to Melissa. She was so beautiful and intelligent. The odd thing was that he didn't mind the age difference. He really like her. She had agreed to a second date this weekend. If everything went right, he would be very busy for a while. He may even have to reconsider his decision to move to Ohio. The rest of his day went by fairly quickly.

He actually made it home before seven p.m. He went into the weight room to work out and lift weights for a few hours. He was able to work off the stress of the day and work up quite an appetite. He could smell the food Patricia had made for dinner. If he didn't go up soon, Patricia would be in to lecture him about eating after the food had gone cold.