I do not own Glee or its characters.

Friday September 11th

The next morning, I am awakened by the alarm on my phone. I reach over, pick it up and click the screen to stop it. Then I glance to see if any messages came from Mercy. A small frown forms on my lips when I see there are none. I yawn and stretch and then stand up and walk to the bathroom to shower. Once I'm out of the shower, I slide on a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt and then call Harriett to let her know that I am working at home again. She reminds me that she needs to place the catering order for my meeting with Rose & Potts next week. Holy Shit! I completely forgot about that in the wake of everything going on with me and Mercy right now. It's something to look forward to that's for sure. If I am not able to get her to talk to me before Wednesday, I know I will have that meeting. I instruct Harriett to order from Pandillo's. After I hang up the phone with her, I feel a little hope. I power on my laptop and meet her eyes again. Mercy please talk to me. I stare at her for several moments before I stand and walk into the kitchen to grab something to eat.

Settling back down at my desk, I hear the doorbell chime. I walk to the door and open it. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Sam Evans?"

"Yes, that's me."

"I have a delivery for you. Could you please sign here?" He hands me a clipboard with one hand as I eye the small brown envelope in his other hand.

"There you go." I hand the pen back to him and he hands me the brown envelope. I nod and smile and close the door. I look down at the envelope and notice there is no handwriting on it. I turn it over and open it. Looking inside it, my heart immediately drops. No. Dammit! No Mercy. I hurry into my office and write the word 'NO' on the envelope. Then I slide on my shoes, grab my car keys and slam the door shut behind me. She is not getting rid of me this easily.

As I sit behind the wheel of my car and make my way to her house, I try to calm my anger by thinking back to our first official date.

***********FLASHBACK Monday June 8th**********

"It's called Corks and Colors. You told me you like to paint so we can paint for a bit while we sip on some wine and then grab a bite to eat. What do you think?"

"I'm impressed. This sounds really fun. I'll admit I was skeptical when you told me to dress in something comfortable and something that I wouldn't mind getting dirty."

I grin at her and grab her hand to enter the studio. "Come on, I want to see you get dirty." She laughs out loud and follows me. The woman at the front counter escorts us to a small room toward the back and points out all of the supplies that are available. As Mercedes got settled in front of her canvas, I gave our hostess our wine order. The hostess excused herself and then returned with two wine glasses and a bottle of Riesling.

"That's my favorite."

"Good to know." I wink at her as I hand her a glass, uncork the bottle and fill it midway. "All right, let's get to it." I go to the sound system, turn it on and then listen as the room fills with soft music. I slip out of my shoes, then stand in front of my canvas and pick up a brush. "So, what are you going to paint?"

"It's a surprise. I'll show you when it's done. No peeking." She narrows her eyes at me. "What are you going to paint."

"It's a surprise. I'll show you when it's done. No peeking." I grin at her as she chuckles. "So, tell me about your childhood Mercedes."

"There's not much to tell. We grew up in a small town in Kentucky. My dad is a dentist and he was the only one in town back then, so we were pretty well known. My mom stayed at home with my brother Marcus and I until we were in high school, and then she went back to teaching. She taught science to fourth and fifth graders. She retired from teaching about seven years ago and has her own interior design business now. My dearest and best friend from kindergarten through high school was a girl named Francine. Everybody called her Frankie. She and I would do everything together. She was like my sister. We were going to take on the world together. After we graduated from high school, our plan was to move to New York City to study fashion design. Our brand was going to take the world by storm. Once we finished our degrees we were going to move to Paris and build our empire there. Frades – that was going to be the name of our brand."

"So, what happened? Why didn't you?"

"Frankie passed away the night we graduated from high school."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. We don't have to talk about this. Let's change the subject."

"No, it's OK. I don't mind talking about her. She is always with me, like my own personal guardian angel, you know?" She smiles timidly at me before looking back at her canvas. "She died of alcohol poisoning."

"I'm so sorry beautiful."

"Thanks Sam. But like I said she is still with me to this day." She focuses back on her canvas and we paint in silence for a few minutes. "So, tell me about your childhood. Do you have any siblings?"

"Yes, I have a younger brother and sister, they're twins. They both live in Seattle. Stevie is an architect and Stacie is a pediatrician. We grew up in Memphis Tennessee. My dad is a retired executive and my mom is an accountant. Our upbringing was pretty uneventful. We had this huge house with this gigantic backyard with a pool, so our house was the place to be. I've never had many friends though. The only person I was ever really close with growing up was my dad. He was, no, he is, my hero. He wanted me to make a career out of being an artist because I've always been into it, but I knew it would always be a hobby and not a career."

"I know what you mean. As much as I love the way I feel when I am painting, I knew that this wouldn't pay the bills." She giggles and I nod at her in agreement.

"More wine?"

"Yes, please."

I refill our glasses and then sit the bottle back on the counter. "So, tell me about your first boyfriend."

"Oh, wow. My first boyfriend, huh." She smiles as she dips her brush into the paint. "That would be Nicholas Cavanaugh. I was a freshman in high school, and he was a sophomore. He was this tall blond hair, blue-eyed god who I didn't think knew I was even alive. We were in the school's choir together and got partnered up for a duet during one of our assignments. We had to sing a male/female duet, but I had to sing the male part and he had to sing the female part. So, while we worked together on the duet every day, we got to know each other. After we performed Islands in the Stream, flawlessly I might add, he asked me out and we dated for three years after that."

"Why did you break up?"

"He was moving away to go to school in LA. It didn't make sense to try to have a long-distance thing when we were so young. I ran into him about six years ago though. He is an investment banker in Houston now and was in Atlanta for business meetings. I had been divorced for a few years by that time, but I still wasn't interested in any kind of relationship, although he seemed to want to pick up right where we left off after high school. We had dinner a couple of nights while he was in town and exchanged numbers, but that was the last time I heard from him." She takes a sip from her wine glass as she looks over at me with a raised eyebrow. "Now you. Tell me about your first girlfriend."

"Her name was Kaitlyn Banks. I met her the summer before my sophomore year in high school. She was working at a movie theater. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, but, that has definitely changed." I wink at her and she shakes her head with a small grin on her face. "I begged my eight-year-old brother Stevie to ask her for her phone number for me because I was scared to talk to her. Our first date was during one of her shifts. At that time, there was only two screens, so after she cleaned both she met me in the arcade, and we played games until the movies ended and she had to get back to work. Our first kiss was inside one of those instant photo booths."

"Aww, how cute."

"I know, I am, aren't I?" I bat my eyes at her.

She shakes her head and giggles. "Anyway, so why did you break up?"

"To this day, I still don't know. We dated until the beginning of the school year, and then all of a sudden, she stopped talking to me. She didn't answer my calls and anytime I went to the theater she would rush off without saying a word to me."

"Well that's strange."

"Yeah I know. The last time I saw her she was walking with a couple of her girlfriends at the state fair. I called out to her, but she looked at me like she didn't know who I was, so I just left it alone."

"That was a pretty douchey way to break up with someone."

"Yes, it was." I take a sip from my glass and eye her for a few moments. "Speaking of douchey ways to break up with someone, what is the worst way you have done it?"

"I mailed his key back to him."

"What?"

"I was dating this guy during my freshman year at Spelman. It just got to be too much. Drama all the time, he didn't trust me. He always thought I was out seeing other guys. So, I called him up one morning to tell him that it was time for us to end our relationship. He must have sensed what I was going to say because he kept talking over me and telling me that he would give me some space and to come to his place to talk about it when I was ready. After a week of trying to break up with him, I was over it. He had given me a key to his apartment early on, way too early in my opinion, so I just put it in an envelope and had it delivered to him."

"Well that's not too awful bad. I mean you did try to break up with him, but he wouldn't listen. How long did you date him?"

"We dated for less than two months. And I know it's not too bad, but I still hated doing it that way." She puts her brush down and then looks over at me. "I'm done."

"I'm not, so just stay over there."

"OK." She drinks the last of her wine and sits the glass down on the table. "So, tell me your douchey break-up story."

"Well, all of my breakups have been face-to-face except for one. That one I did over text message. She was a crier and I couldn't handle the thought of her crying, so I just sent her a message and told her that I thought she was a great girl but that our relationship had run its course."

"How did she respond?"

"She called me crying of course." She chuckles and I can't help but laugh as well. "OK, done. You go first." She waves me over and I walk toward her. I look at her canvas and see a pretty intricate painting of a waterfall. I smile at her and nod. "That's really good. I'm impressed."

"Thanks. Now show me yours." I grab her hand and pull her over to my canvas. I painted a picture of a red rose. The rose petals bend and twist to form the letters 'M' and 'S' in the center. "Wow Sam. That's beautiful." She traces her index finger lightly across the letters. "How did you get it to look like the letters are jumping off the page?"

"It's all in the shading." She continues tracing her finger over the painting as I inhale her sweet scent. At that moment I realize that this is the closest she has been to me all day. I place my hand on the small of her back and lean down enough to nuzzle my nose in the crook of her neck. "You smell so good lady." I lower my hand and wrap it around her waist. She turns in my arm and smiles up at me.

"Thank you, and thank you for this. I really had a great time."

"I did too but the night isn't over yet. Since we are dressed down, I thought we could go casual and have some barbecue." I rub my nose against hers as I feel her warm breath on my face. "Before we go though, I need to kiss you. May I?"

"Yes."

I press my lips firmly on hers and pull her into both of my arms. Her body presses against mine and I immediately feel dizzy. I feel her hands as they rub up and down my back. Our heads angle and my tongue slips between her lips. She moans and sucks gently on the tip of my tongue. My cock begins to stir, and I immediately slow down our kiss. Patience. Patience is my friend right now. I let my right-hand slide down from her waist and palm her ass. As our lips draw apart, I smile down at her and then kiss the tip of her nose. "Let's get out of here." I take her hand and lead her out of the studio.

**********END OF FLASHBACK**********

I pull in front of her house and notice that her car is not in the driveway. She must have gone into the office today. I pick up the envelope and get out of the car. As I walk toward the front porch, I hear my phone chime. I stop, pull it from my pocket and glance at the screen. I groan immediately. Apparently, my message to her last night was not clear. I slide my phone back into my pocket and continue to the front door. I take the envelope and put it in the mailbox.

Once I am back in my car, my phone chimes again. I look at it and begin to fume. This shit stops now. I click her number and wait for her to answer.

"Hi Sammy."

"God dammit Marley, stop texting me. I mean it. I don't want to hear from you unless it concerns Zack. Is that clear?"

"This does concern Zack."

"What does?"

"You and me becoming a family again."

"And that's never going to happen. I've tried to be cordial about this, but you think this is a game. We are the past. I am not interested in being with you ever again. I don't know how else to say it."

"You don't mean that Sam. Can't we just talk about this like adults? Just one drink. What's the harm in having one drink with me?"

"There is no harm in it, but I'm not interested. I've moved on and you need to as well."

"I'm not giving up on you. Zack needs both his mother and his father."

"And if you had kept your fucking legs closed, we could have possibly still been together."

"I made a mistake babe. Will you ever forgive me?"

"Yes, you made a hell of a mistake and I forgave you years ago."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Are you dense!? I DO NOT WANT TO BE WITH YOU. You exist in my life as Zack's mother, period. That's it, and that's all. There is nothing else between us. When will you understand that? And you texting me like you have been is doing nothing but pissing me the fuck off, so I am only going to say this one more time. Do not contact me again unless it concerns Zack."

"Sam, please. I have nothing left. You and Zack are all I have."

"Correction, Zack is all you have."

"You are really going to turn your back on me? The mother of your only child?"

"Don't even try it."

"Yes, I know you pay me alimony and provide for Zack but what about my well-being? Don't you feel some type of obligation in making sure that the mother of your only child is happy?"

"No, I don't. Look, this conversation is going nowhere. I am telling you for the last time do not call or text me unless it concerns Zack's physical well-being. If you continue to ignore my requests, you will hear from my attorney again and I will have you charged with harassment." I end the call and drop the phone on the passenger seat. I start the engine and begin the journey back to my apartment. Her incessant texting for the past couple of days has really gotten under my skin. She hasn't texted me this much in six years. As I wait at a stop light, I reach for my sunglasses but then realize that they are in my truck. I then reach up to lower the sun visor and a tattered piece of brown paper falls into my lap. My eyes follow it and I softly groan, knowing exactly what it is.

**********FLASHBACK Monday June 8th**********

"Table or booth?"

"Booth please." We follow the hostess to a booth toward the back corner of the restaurant. I gesture for her to sit and when she does, I slide in right next to her. She looks over at me with confusion. "I've sat across from you enough. I want to sit next to you. You know so I can feel you up properly if I want to." I smirk at her and she half-chuckles as she looks at the menu.

"Hi I'm Wendy. What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have lemonade please."

"And for you sir."

"I'll have the same. Thank you." Wendy leaves to get our drinks and I grab her free hand. "What are you having beautiful?"

"I think a pulled chicken sandwich with green beans and slaw. What about you?"

"I'm going to have a pulled pork sandwich with potato salad and BBQ baked beans."

"Sounds good. Do you think I could have a little taste of your baked beans?"

"You can have a little taste of my anything you want." I raise her hand up and kiss it softly. Wendy returns with our drinks and then takes our order. Once Wendy leaves, I take her hand again to my lips. "So, I want to know more about you. Tell me some of your favorites."

"Well, my favorite color is purple. My favorite food is Mexican. I don't watch a lot of television, but two shows that I watch when I can are Scandal and Criminal Minds. I DVR every episode. There is no way I could choose a favorite movie, but I like most genres. I guess sci-fi would be my favorite genre. Favorite wine is Riesling. Favorite dessert is Ben & Jerry's cherry cordial ice cream. Favorite author is Maya Angelou and favorite book is The Notebook."

"The Notebook was a movie too, right?"

"Yes, it was but the movie didn't do the book justice, in my opinion, but that's usually the case when a book is turned into a movie. The book is always ten times better." I nod my head in agreement. My hand is still holding hers and I have to admit that I am a bit surprised that she hasn't made a move to remove it. "Hey, let me out. I need to use the ladies' room."

"Sure, just pay the toll." I grin at her and lightly tap my lips. She leans in and gives me a lingering peck. I smile at her and then slide out of the booth. I sit back down on the opposite side and grin as I think about how the evening has gone so far. I know this woman is different. My behavior around her lets me know she is different. I would normally be trying to get her in bed, but I am not trying that with her. Hell yeah I want her in my bed in the worst way, but with her I am willing to wait. I want her to know that I want more than just sex with her because I do. I want her around for a very, very long time so I have to take things slow, but not so slow that she thinks that I don't want her. She comes back to the table and slides back into the booth. I stand and slide back in beside her. "All better?"

"Much."

"Good. Now we were talking about favorites. My favorite color is green. I'm a sci-fi freak too. I love Avatar. Best movie ever made, hands down. My favorite food is Japanese, but I like Mexican too. I cannot remember the last time I even watched television. If I turn it on, I am usually checking sports scores or watching a movie. I don't read much so I don't really have a favorite book or author. Favorite dessert is peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I like brown liquors like scotch and bourbon but will have tequila shots from time to time." Wendy returns with our food as Mercy tears off a couple of paper towels for us. She hands me one and then places hers in her lap. "This looks good."

"Yes. It looks delicious." She takes a forkful of green beans and puts them in her mouth. "Mmm. These are really good. Almost as good as my mom's." She chews the food in her mouth as I taste a forkful of baked beans. She watches me and then arches her eyebrow. "So, how are they?"

"Awesome. Here have a taste." I take another forkful and raise the fork to her mouth. She opens and then closes her lips around the fork. As I pull it slowly from between her lips, she closes her eyes and moans softly. The sound takes a direct beeline to my cock.

"Mmm." She opens her eyes and chews as a smile plays on her lips. "Those are good. Wow." She finishes chewing as she lowers her eyes back to her plate. "Do you want to try some of my green beans?"

"I want to try some of your everything. And I'm not just talking about what's on your plate." My eyes burn into her profile. She looks over at me and our eyes lock. She smiles at me shyly. "You have no idea how bad I want to throw you on this table and lick every part of your body." She begins to lower her eyes back to her plate, but I stop her, taking her chin in my hand. "That little moan you just did has me hard as a fucking rock. I want to make you moan like that all-night long." She says something but I don't hear her. Blood is rushing from every part of my body straight to my cock. I'm trying to picture anything but her splayed across the table in front of me while I feast on her. I hate to have to excuse myself off to the bathroom to relieve my erection but if I have to I will. "I'm sorry what did you say?"

"I said what's stopping you?"

I blink rapidly, surprised by her question, but I am definitely not going to back down from answering it and making my intentions known. "Several things actually. First and foremost, would be that I don't feel like spending the night in jail although it would be totally worth it. I also don't want you to think that I am just trying to get in your pants. Believe me, I want to set up permanent residence there, but I want more than that. I want to date you Mercedes. I want to be your guy. I want to know everything about you. I want to get to know Ally and I want you to get to know Zack. I know I just met you yesterday, but I cannot fight the attraction I have to you. It's like you said. We were destined to meet, and I feel we are destined to be together for a long time." She moves her eyes back to her plate and I study her. Internally, I wonder if I've said too much. Good job Sam. She thinks you are a freak now.

"I feel a connection with you too, Sam. So, let's just see where this goes, OK?" Her eyes meet mine again and she smiles.

"Deal." I take her hand and kiss the back of it again. "Now let me taste those green beans." She chuckles and feeds me a forkful. "Mmm good."

"I know. You want to try the slaw?"

"Sure." She feeds me some slaw and then I feed her some potato salad. We both agree that all the sides are quite tasty. As we continue our meal, we laugh and talk about our lives and our families. After finishing, Wendy offers us dessert and we both decline. I give Wendy my card and she returns with the bill so that I can sign. After I sign the bill, I place the bill face down on the table, leaving the pen on top of the slip. I look over and her and grin. "You know, at some point, I'm going to need your phone number." She smiles back and nods. She tears a paper towel from the spool on the table and then rips a corner from it. She picks up the pen, scribbles on it and then hands it over to me. I take it from her fingers and look down with a smile. Holding the paper in one hand, I slide out of the booth and hold out my other hand for her. We stroll out of the restaurant hand in hand, and this time side by side. Once we reach the car, I open the door, usher her inside and then jog around to the driver side. I slide into the seat and then lower the visor enough to tuck the paper under it.

I walk her to her room. "I had a great time Sam. Thanks again."

"You're welcome beautiful." I lean against the wall and look down at her. "Too late for a nightcap?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I have another eight o'clock call tomorrow morning."

"Damn those early morning calls." I rub my chin with my finger. "Would you be interested in brunch tomorrow? I could order something from room service.

"Are you sure? I don't want to monopolize all of your time. You don't have anything else that you need to be doing?"

"Yes, I am sure and no there is nothing else I need or want to do. I want to spend as much time with you as I can."

"Then brunch tomorrow sounds great. Say around 10:30?"

"10:30 it is." I lower my head as she raises hers and our lips meet. I wrap one arm around her waist as the other cups her face. She softly moans and my cock hardens but this time there is no need to slow down. This time I can and will relieve myself once I am in my room. Right now, I just want to savor the taste of her lips on mine. There is a hint of BBQ sauce still there and it tastes sweeter than it did on my sandwich. I feel her fingers toying with the hair at the nape of my neck and it is driving me wild. I suck lightly on her bottom lip before licking the ridge of her top one. She sucks lightly on my top lip before licking on the ridge of my bottom one and then snaking her tongue in my mouth. The intensity of the kiss has me feeling a bit dizzy as my hands lower to palm her ass. We continue kissing for several long moments before I feel her drawing our connection to a close. She leaves a long, wet, lingering kiss on my lips when she pulls away and clears her throat.

"Good night Sam."

I lick my now kiss swollen lips before answering through a wide smile. "Good night Mercedes."

**********END OF FLASHBACK**********

I enter my apartment and slide out of my shoes. I go back to my make-shift office and settle in behind my desk. I check my schedule and see that I have another day of back to back conference calls. I pick up my phone and decide to call her, even though I don't know whether or not she is listening to my messages. She has to know that I am not giving up on us. She is too important to me. Both her and Ally are a part of my life now and if I have my way, they will both be in my life permanently.

Mercy baby I got the key, but I don't accept it. I took it back to your house and put it in your mailbox. If you are going to break up with me, you are going to do it to my face. I'll be at the bistro, our bistro, tomorrow at eleven. Please come. Just please come. Please. I miss you.

I end the call, close my eyes and say a silent prayer. I'm not sure what I want to happen. I want to see her, but I don't want to see her tomorrow at the bistro. If she shows up, I know it will be to break up with me. If she doesn't show up, then I won't know if that is because she doesn't really want to break up with me, or, if it is because she didn't listen to my voice message, or, if she just isn't entertaining the idea of breaking up with me face-to-face. I need to be sure that she listened to the message. How can I do that? I glance down at all of the messages I have sent to her for the past couple of days and they just show the word 'Delivered' beneath them. None of them show 'Read' like they did before this all happened. I have a thought and it immediately makes me cringe. No, I won't do that. I am not stooping that low. I am not using the kids. They don't need to be involved. I'll just have to think of some other way.

A few hours later, Zack gets home and goes into his room. He comes back out a few minutes later and I see him grab his duffel bag from the hall closet. It seems like he is getting his things together to go to his mother's. I must have gotten the weekends mixed up because I thought he was going to be here this weekend. It's not a big deal. He's old enough to decide where he wants to spend his weekends. I finish up my call and then walk down the hall to his room. I notice him packing more clothes than he usually does for a weekend with his mom. "Planning on coming back anytime soon, son? I thought you were going to be here this weekend."

He keeps his eyes down toward his bag and continues stuffing clothes into it. "I thought I would stay with mom for a while." He walks over to his game console and begins unplugging it.

I am momentarily rendered speechless. He said for a while, not for the weekend. I clear my throat and watch him as he continues to unplug everything. "That's fine buddy. But can I ask why?"

"No reason. I just thought I would give you a break for a while and stay with mom."

"But I don't need or want a break from you Zack." He looks up at me for the first time since I walked to his room. His eyes are bloodshot. He's been crying. "Zack, what's wrong?"

He shakes his head and turns his face away from me. "Nothing dad."

"Yes, it's something. You've been crying. Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"It hurts dad."

"What hurts Zack?"

"I was starting to like having them around. And now that they aren't, everything has changed. It just hurts too much to be here and not be able to do the things that we used to do." My breath hitches as he drops his console on the bed, sits down and looks up at me with the saddest eyes I've ever seen. "Thursday nights have been my favorite night of the week since July. That's the night we always spent together. We had dinner and played cards and then me and Ally would go play a video game while you and Cedes pretended to clean the kitchen." I chuckle softly as he looks up at me with a pained expression. "It felt like we were a family dad. I felt complete. I felt like I had a sister and the best stepmom anyone could ever ask for. And now it's just gone, and it hurts." He takes a moment to catch his breath as tears roll down his cheek. "And I don't even like referring to Cedes as stepmom. That word just sounds so wrong for her. She is the best. When I stayed the night with them, it felt so right. After you called to tell us good night, she came up and told us good night and then she kissed me on my forehead. It made me feel special. It made me feel like I was important. And now, now I…."

"I'm trying Zack. I am really trying but I cannot force her to talk to me. I want to fix whatever went wrong but I don't know how to do that if she won't talk to me. I miss her too, so much. I miss them both."

He darts off the bed and his voice booms at me. "Try harder." It's the first time he has ever raised his voice to me, and I am shocked. We stand there locked in a stare before he breaks down and cries. "Why can't we be a family? Why can't she love us? What's wrong with us?" I rush forward and wrap my arms around hm. I hush him as his tears spill onto my shirt. I don't know how to answer his questions. Truth is I never knew he felt incomplete with just me. Maybe Marley was being sincere when she said that he needed a family. As his sobs subside, I take his shoulders in my hands and look him in his eyes.

"Zack, I will make you this promise. I will do whatever I have to do to fix this. I promise you. You just have to be patient son. Just give me some time."

He nods as his sniffles echo in the room. "I'm still going to go stay with mom for a while if that's OK with you."

"Of course it's OK. I will miss you and I love you."

"I love you too dad."

After dropping Zack off at his mother's, I am seated on the couch in my now empty apartment. I have a glass of scotch in one hand and my phone in the other. I've done a little detective work in order to get in touch with the only person I think can help me. I hear the phone chime and look down at the text message that has just arrived. I stand and go to the door, opening it as he reaches it.

"Thanks for coming." I extend my hand to him and he shakes it. I gesture for him to come in and then close the door. We walk into the living room. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"No, I'm good." He takes a seat on one end of the couch. "Now tell me what's going on."

"She just stopped talking to me. Completely out of the blue. We were planning to meet for lunch for our usual Wednesday date. I called her as I was leaving my office and told her I was on my way. She said OK and that she would see me when I got there, but when I got there she was gone. She told the waiter to tell me goodbye. I started calling her immediately, but all my calls were going straight to voice mail. I sent her text messages too, but I don't know that she has received or read them. I went straight to her house after leaving the bistro, but she didn't come home that night, or she came after I left. Yesterday, I went to her house, but she wouldn't open the door. She just kept telling me to leave. So, I had to talk to her through the door. Then today, she had a messenger return my key. I took it right back to her house and put it in her mailbox. I'm not giving up without a fight. I just keep leaving voice messages and sending text messages, but I am not getting any type of response."

"OK, wait a minute. So, you two didn't have any type of argument?"

"No, the last time I spoke to her everything was fine. I was on my way to meet her for lunch."

"This definitely doesn't sound like her. It almost seems like she got scared or something."

"But scared of what?" I pause as my mind races. "She hasn't said anything to you? I mean I know that I have no right to ask you to break any confidences you two may have, but I'm going crazy here man. My son broke down and cried today. That's how much he misses her and Ally, and it's only been two days. I don't know how to fix whatever is wrong because she won't talk to me."

"She hasn't said anything to me. But let's see if I can get something out of her." He takes his phone out of his pocket, then stills and looks over at me. "I like you Sam. You are good for her. You make her happy and I know Ally thinks the world of you too. But just so you know, my only loyalty is to her and Ally." I nod and he moves his eyes back to his phone. He puts the phone on speaker and brings his index finger to his mouth letting me know to stay quiet.

"Hey Spence"

"Hey Merce. How are you?"

"I'm OK."

"Just OK?"

"Yeah just OK."

"Why is that? You are usually great or good. What's wrong?"

"Seriously Spence, I'm fine. Let me get Ally for you."

"No, I called to talk to you and it's a good thing I did because something is wrong. Now, you can either talk to me about it over the phone, or I will be on my way to your house."

"It's complicated."

"So uncomplicate it. Start from the beginning."

"It's not that simple."

"OK, so let's try it this way. Is it work?"

"No."

"Is it your family?"

"No."

"Is it your health?"

"No."

"Is it Sam?"

(Silence)

"So, it's Sam. What happened? Do I need to kick his ass?"

"No." She chuckles softly and I tear up. I miss that sound.

"OK, so I'm confused. What has you down then?"

"I broke up with him."

"What? When did this happen?"

"A couple of days ago."

"Why did you break up with him?"

"It just wasn't going to work out between us."

"What does that even mean, Merce? I mean what does he have to say about this?"

"I haven't talked to him."

"He hasn't called you?"

"He has called and left voice messages and sent text messages, but I am not responding to him."

"Why not? What are his messages saying?"

"That he misses me and to talk to him."

"So why won't you talk to him? I have to say I'm completely confused as to why you broke up with him, so I'm sure he is too. Did something happen with him that you aren't sharing with me?"

"No, look Spence, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I need to move on and forget about him."

"Merce, listen, you are not going to be able to move on until you talk to him. Just give him that. You can't go about this hiding in the shadows. If you really want to move on from him, you need to look him in the eye and tell him that."

"You're right, I know. He sent me a message earlier that he is going to our bistro tomorrow."

"Then respond to him that you will meet him there. Be an adult about it and face him. Sure, it will be hard, but it will be better in the long run."

"I'll think about it."

"Either that or respond to his messages."

"No, I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Spencer, I swear you can be such a pain in the ass sometimes, but I have to tell you that you are the best ex-hubby in the world. Thanks for checking on me."

"Nice way to change the subject Merce, but it's easy to be the best ex-hubby when my ex-wifey is you. I am going to let it go for now, but this conversation isn't over love."

"I know it's not. Give Alistair a hug for me."

"Will do. Tell Ally I'll be there to pick her up in an hour. Love you."

"OK, love you back."

Spencer ends the call and then looks over at me. "There you go." He slides his phone back into his pocket. "For what it's worth, I'm just as confused as you are. It sounds like she misses you, even though she didn't say it. I'll keep trying to get her to talk to me about why she broke up with you. But I have to warn you, she is stubborn. It's going to take time, how much, I have no idea."

"Thanks Spencer. I really appreciate you doing this for me." I stand and shake his hand again. I escort him to the door and after he leaves, I fall back down on the couch. Now I just have to wait and see if she reaches out to me.

After a quick dinner of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, I take a shower and then climb under the covers. I'm completely out of sorts. She hasn't reached out to me. The apartment is quiet and lonely. She has been my life all day, every day for the last three months. I don't know what I am supposed to do to get through this. We've had only one disagreement our entire relationship and that lasted for only a few hours. She didn't shut me out then, she talked to me, well yelled at me in fact, until we resolved the issue. Man, how I wish she would just yell at me now. A chime sounds from my phone and I jump up to check to see if it's her. I take it from the nightstand and stare at the screen in confusion.

September 5th

The sender shows as 'Unknown' with '(000) 000-0000' listed as the phone number. What are these dates? First November 27th and now September 5th. Neither of the dates mean anything to me. These dates mean something to someone and apparently, they are supposed to mean something to me too but I'm not picking up on it. And honestly, I don't have time for riddles right now. I place the phone back on my nightstand and try to get some sleep.