It was two evenings later when she called him. Sharon had had another horrendous day at work, compounded by two cranky kids, but she knew she couldn't let another day go by.

"Andy, hi, it's Sharon," she said into the phone as soon as he answered.

"Sharon, hey, ahh, everything okay? What do I owe the pleasure?" Andy asked.

"I hope you will forgive me for not calling sooner, to thank you, I mean. Thank you for paying for our dinner the other night. You didn't need to do that. It was a very kind thing to do. I really appreciate it, and the kids loved the ice cream and cookie they were brought too."

"Oh, you're welcome," he said, relaxing into his couch. Sharon, on the other end, wasn't relaxing at all. She was sitting at her kitchen table, her headache growing, along with her mountain of bills. She'd just finished paying everything she could right now, at least until her next payday. Things were tight, tighter than she wanted them to be. She'd spent a fortune flying back East when her dad was ill, and while her mom had offered to cover her plane ticket, she'd refused, too proud to accept any help. Since then, she'd been digging out from that, along with the few other things that had snuck up on her-new tires for her car, almost $1000 in random car repairs, a new water heater, and just tonight, she'd had to pay the deposit on school for Emily again for the fall. Her baby girl was growing up, and even though she was already a student at the Catholic school in kindergarten, the school required deposits be paid each year in February for the upcoming year. She didn't even want to talk about the fact that Emily was almost ready to burst out of her school uniform already. Sharon had really wanted that to last all school year, but Emily was growing quickly. Now, she was afraid to replace it, fearful that she'd need yet another set of uniforms for the next school year. Raising kids was so costly, and all of her extra expenses didn't help. She was a mess, hair going in all directions, some of it because she was stressed and constantly playing with it. She needed to go to bed, but she really needed to get this call out of the way first.

"Sharon?" Andy called, and Sharon snapped out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "It's been a long day. I trailed off there. I wanted to thank you and explain why I didn't call sooner. I was hoping to thank you in person at work, honestly, to try and offer you the money you spent on our pizza," she said softly.

"Sharon, I just did that to be nice, no money needed," he told her. "Haven't you done things just to be nice?"

"You bought dinner for the kids and me. It wasn't necessary," she said. "You're in as much of a financial strain as I am."

"Maybe," Andy nodded on his end. "I live alone, though, and even Sandra isn't taking money for the kids right now. I'm just putting it in the bank for them because she claims I'm worthless. Look, if you want to talk about money or whatever else, I'll listen."

"Things are just tight," Sharon blurted out, "tighter than I want them to be. The strain of my trip home when my dad-" she trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud. "I'm a one income house," she started again, changing direction of her end of the conversation slightly, "with two kids, a house, family across the country, and it's just-it's getting to me right now. I had some unexpected expenses lately with the house and car. I just feel like I can't get ahead. Things are just tight, and I'm sorry for unloading on you. It's just been getting to me."

"We all need to talk sometimes," he said quietly to her. "I'll listen."

"No, I mean," she gestured with her hands there at the table, almost like someone could see her through the phone, "my mother is coming out to visit soon. That's stressing me out too."

"She is?" Andy asked. As long as he'd lived at the house, Sharon's parents had not come to visit, and that had been almost a year. She'd not spoken to them much either back then, telling Andy things were strained. Now, though, with her dad passing away, he wondered if things were better. "That's good, right?"

"Maybe, I suppose," Sharon admitted. "Honestly, I needed some help, and I thought with everything, it might be a good distraction. The kids' school and daycare will be closed for spring break soon, and I needed some daycare help. Before, I've been able to pay someone to watch the kids or before Ricky, to watch Emily, but it was actually cheaper for me to fly my mom out here to watch the kids. She'll be helping me out with that. Things are still awkward with us, but she's been hounding me to bring the kids to visit, not understanding that I can't just drop things at work and walk out. I lost all my leave time with my dad, and anyway, to get her off my back and to get some help, I'm flying her here. It still costs me, but it isn't nearly as much as paying someone to keep the kids for spring break would be. Why am I telling you this?" Sharon asked, Andy hearing a slight chuckle to her voice.

"Ahh, maybe because I asked and said I was willing to listen," Andy offered. "Sounds like a lot on your plate still."

"Always," she sighed loudly. "The kids then got Valentine's Day cards in the mail from both Jack and his parents. I believe his parents reminded him that he had kids. Jack sent each kid a $10 bill, which is pathetic in itself. Their grandparents did better than that, sending each one a $20 bill, but that's about the extent to their interaction with the kids. No return address from Jack, which is just as well, just a postmark of Vegas. I'm sure the $10 he sent each kid was won in some tournament. The only silver lining there is that Emily needed new ballet shoes because she's growing so much, and the pair she needed cost $30 from her ballet studio this evening. Thank, Jack," Sharon said sarcastically as she dropped off. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "You don't need to hear my issues. I'm always dumping."

"You're not," Andy told her, "quite the opposite. You're always the one willing to listen. Hello, have we met? I'm the one who showed up on your doorstep after you'd had that awful trip to Florida, drunk, and ready to dump on you."

"Enough about me," Sharon said, almost as if he could hear her regaining her composure. "Tell me what is going on with you. Again, sorry I didn't thank you before now for dinner. I was going to catch you at work, but I realized that you were off for a few days. It's been busy and-"

"Sharon," Andy said, cutting her off from another ramble. He could hear in her voice that she was agitated or nervous or both, and he just wanted his friend Sharon back. It seemed now so long ago that they two had been sneaking around, enjoying each other intimately, but things now were what they were. "You're welcome. I hope you had a nice evening."

"That was one of the kindest things someone has done, and I appreciated it, even though it was not necessary. So, please, I hope that I didn't cause you to spend the last bit of money you had now that you are not working that security job. Any new leads?" Sharon asked.

"Maybe," Andy told her. "I might have a very part-time job doing some security at some baseball games, like the actual MLB. It would be almost a sub role, like I'd be covering for guys when they are really short-staffed or need extra people, but it's something. The good thing would be that it's a security job, but it's not reliable, as in a certain number of shifts a month."

"Oh, well, that is great, Andy," Sharon said. Andy could hear the enthusiasm in her voice, a welcome sound after she'd sounded so glum. Maybe he could cheer her up. "That sounds right up your alley," she said.

"Yeah," he nodded into the phone. "It's something. To be honest, I'll do about anything right now if I'm not working. It keeps my mind off not seeing the kids as much. I can't believe they are moving away so soon. It's like I want a second job, but I don't want anything that will prevent me from having the flexibility to see them."

"I'm sorry you are losing the kids, Andy. On that topic, you deserve an answer. I'll go to the wedding with you. I know you need the support," she explained.

"Thanks," he said with a sigh of relief. "I really appreciate it, you having my back. Just so we're clear, ahh, I hate to say this, but you know that it isn't really somewhere for you to bring your kids, right?"

"Oh, sure," Sharon explained.

"I was just going to offer to cover your babysitter because I'm the one asking you to step away from them for the evening," Andy offered.

"I'll take care of it, Andy," Sharon said, almost in a snap of a tone. She quickly recovered, "Thank you, though. I did understand that this wasn't a kid-event, and I wouldn't want to be distracted with my kids when you need someone there as a friend."

"Right," Andy said. "Thanks for being a friend, Sharon."

Andy heard Sharon let out a loud sigh, and he waited for her to say something. Finally, he cleared his throat and was about to speak, but Sharon did before he could.

"This is hard," Sharon blurted out.

"What, exactly?" Andy asked. "We've become good friends over the last couple years, Sharon. I hope that we still have that."

"We do; we are," Sharon said. "I think I'm just tired."

"Want to get some dinner or coffee, maybe when your mom is here?" Andy offered. "I mean, I don't want to tear you away from your visit with her, but from the sounds of it, you could maybe use a night away from her. I'm offering to take you to dinner or coffee if that would be helpful."

The line was quiet as he could tell she considered the offer. She was considering it, considering how things would go if they went to dinner. She knew where things could not go that evening; they couldn't end up back at Andy's place as they'd done so often back last summer and into the start of the school year, all before her horrendous trip home where she ended up dealing with her father's death. It had been fun and easy to fall into bed with Andy when the two had given into that temptation before. Now, though, things were different. She couldn't go back to that; she knew he didn't understand her stance on that now, but she knew that going forward, it had to be clear. This dinner wouldn't be the last time they'd go anywhere. She'd already promised the wedding.

"Actually, it would be a wonderful relief to get a break from my mom one evening," Sharon admitted and sighed. "I know I'm a horrible person saying that, especially after just losing my dad, but she and I can only be pleasant so long together. I wish it was better. It used to be better, but there's this tension. Maybe you and I can go to dinner one of the nights Emily doesn't have ballet. That would just leave my mom home with the kids. I am going to tell her I have to work late. I don't need a lecture on dating as a divorced Catholic woman, but to clarify, this isn't a date," Sharon explained. "My mother would jump to that, but just so you and I are clear, I'm paying for this dinner, and I cannot go back to your apartment."

"Okay," Andy chuckled lightly. "Yes, Ma'am, and you sound like the boss right now," he continued to chuckle. "Just to be clear on my end, you are always welcome to stop over at my place. I'm not going to drag you into bed, Sharon," he said in a teasing tone. "You've made it clear you don't want that from me, and I respect it, as I respect you. Friendly dinner."

"Now that we've agreed on that, let's look at the calendar," Sharon told him.