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Chapter 5-b
April wanted to make certain that the handsome stranger
saw her. As she stepped out into the lobby, she deliberately
dropped her purse and the package. The silken negligee spilled out
of the package onto the lobby floor along with the
contents of her purse.
"Here...let me help you with that." Gary said, rushing over to
assist her. He tucked the paper under an arm then crouched down
to help gather some of the items
"Thank you," April said as she crouched down to help. "I can be
so clumsy at times."
As they worked to gather the items, April noticed that the
stranger seemed a bit uncomfortable when he picked up the
silky lingerie, his face flushing a shade of red as he lifted
it from the floor.
This guy is simply too sweet, April thought to herself. She reached
over, and gently took the garment from him, relieving him from his
dilemma.
"Thank you," she smiled placing the lingerie back into the bag.
"It's a wedding gift for a... friend."
"Yeah." Gary murmured as the both of them rose from the floor.
Looking at him, April could detect a boyish charm so different
and unique from what she was use to in the men she dated.
"April Chandler." She said, extending her hand to shake.
"Oh, Gary...Gary Hobson," he said as they shook. Her hand
soft and delicate seemed to fit perfectly in his. Oh boy.
On a bench in a corner of the lobby a little old woman sat
watching them. She had witnessed the young couple's
"chance" meeting and introduction. She smiled at the two
of them then winked at Gary giving her nod of approval.
Feeling uneasy about the whole situation, Gary nodded
politely at the old woman then quickly opened the door and
he and April stepped out into the cold February air.
"Well..y-you take care." He said as they headed towards their cars.
He removed the paper from beneath his arm and opened it to check
the headline. The article had not reappeared. Thank God.
"Nice meeting you. " April said. She hadn't
noticed a ring on his finger. She sneaked a glance at him out
of the corner of her eye. He didn't seem to have recognized
her from the Golden Spoon Restaurant either. Good.
As they walked across the parking lot together, neither one of them
said a word the only sound was the clicking of April's heels
on the concrete pavement.
"Well, you take care." Gary said as they reached their vehicles.
He unlocked the door to the Bronco and climbed inside.
April, unlocking her car door, was still trying to figure him out.
Surely an adorable guy like this had to be taken. He didn't ask
for her phone number which was strange. A man usually would
have asked for her number by now, married or not.
She glanced over at the Bronco still parked beside her car and noticed
that several pages from the newspaper the guy had been reading had fallen
into a puddle beside his car and he seemed to be searching for it.
She placed her package into the car and made her way
around to the driver side of the Bronco and tapped lightly on the window.
Gary glanced up and quickly rolled down his window.
"You dropped your paper." She smiled holding up the wet pages.
"Oh..ah..I was just looking for it." Gary said reaching over to
take them. "Thanks."
"I suppose they're ruined now." April smiled smoothing her hair back
from her face. Her hair the color of honey, wavered softly in the wind,
and smelled faintly of lemon blossoms.
"Yeah...well it's okay...I think." Gary laughed shaking the paper out.
"Chicago Sun-times?"
"Huh? Oh...yeah." Gary said holding the paper down slightly,
to hide the date.
April smiled then glanced around. "Do you know of a
nice place to eat around here?"
Gary sat, staring blankly at her. He still didn't know what had
happen to change it the article in the paper. Maybe just his
being here was enough to have changed the headline. But
why? He hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.
It was a moment before Gary realized that the beautiful mouth
moving before him... was asking a question.
April bit her lip, waiting for a response to the question she had
just asked. The look on this guy's face was simply priceless.
She was used to the "brain-block" looks she received from the
men she chose to talk to. But the looks were never like this one.
Simply adorable.
Gary raised his eyebrows. He hadn't heard a word she said.
"Excuse me...did you say something?"
April laughed then repeated herself. "I..I'm new in town
and don't know my way around. I was wondering if you could
maybe...recommend a nice restaurant."
Greenish-brown, April thought looking into his eyes. She loved his
eyes. They were kind of sleepy looking and In the broad open
daylight she could see the color of them more clearly. A mud puddlish
green. She smiled at the thought.
A gust of wind swept through suddenly, blowing the paper from
Gary's hand. Gary's eyes flew open and he watched helplessly as
the pages scattered across the parking lot.
"S'cuse me!" He sputtered, bolting quickly from his jeep, to
scurry after them.
April stood watching as Gary scrambled across the parking lot
trying feverishly to catch the wind carried pages. She thought
his behavior was strange, yet she watched
him in amusement as he scurried about. She had only known
him for a few minutes, and already, he had captured her heart.
One page landed in a puddle nearby and April dashed over to
retrieve
it before it was completely soaked. There were a few others
pages
that she was able to peel up from the damp concrete and she
paused in her rescue to watch in awe as Gary struggled to
retrieve one page that had flown against the antenna of a car.
Gary glanced over to see her awkwardly holding on to a few
crumpled pages she had managed to collect. She seemed
amused at his predicament and was laughing only to stop
abruptly to chase after another page that blew past her. Her
light brown hair blowing gently about her as she bent
to retrieve the newspaper from a puddle.
At that moment, Gary thought she was the most beautiful sight
he had seen in a long time. He blew out a breath then rubbed
his face trying to block out the thought. He didn't even want to
think about it. Besides, the paper would never allow him a
relationship anyway.
April was still holding on to the pages she had recovered but,
she was confused. Why was this guy so concerned about a
newspaper?
They managed to collect all of the pages, and headed back
towards their cars with Gary scanning the parking lot for any
they might have missed. Satisfied that they had collected
them all he suddenly felt embarrassed over his sudden outburst
and felt a need to explain his peculiar behavior.
"I'm ahhh..I...had scribbled a very important phone number on
one of the pages," he murmured.
"Really?" was April's only reply as she handed over the pages
she had recovered.
"Thanks huh?" He said, taking the paper. Out of the corner of his
eye he observed her. Cheeks flushed pink from the wind, her blue
eyes sparkling happily as she gently swept a wisp of hair behind
an ear, which was a habit Gary noticed that she did. For the first
time, he noticed the gentle cleft in her chin, and her full red lips.
Right now, he was feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time
and he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
"Th-thanks for helping, huh?" He mumbled averting his gaze
to focus on the disarrayed pages that he held. He hoped
that his face hadn't revealed what he had been thinking.
As they approached their cars, Gary suddenly remembered
the question April had imposed before their little excursion,
and his heart skipped as he contemplated asking her back to
Mcginty's for lunch. He was hungry, and forgotten that all he'd
had that morning was milk. But with the butterflies he was now
feeling in his stomach, he wasn't so sure he could eat.
Remembering the paper, he stole a quick glance at one of the
crinkled pages and disappointment set in. Another headline
had appeared, but he could barely make out the wording,
the paper was now wet and tattered. Holding paper closer he
struggled to read.
'Child's Arm Severed In Washing machine Mishap'
Oh boy. He glanced up from the article knowing that this would be
another lunch date opportunity he would miss.
To be continued................
Chapter 5-b
April wanted to make certain that the handsome stranger
saw her. As she stepped out into the lobby, she deliberately
dropped her purse and the package. The silken negligee spilled out
of the package onto the lobby floor along with the
contents of her purse.
"Here...let me help you with that." Gary said, rushing over to
assist her. He tucked the paper under an arm then crouched down
to help gather some of the items
"Thank you," April said as she crouched down to help. "I can be
so clumsy at times."
As they worked to gather the items, April noticed that the
stranger seemed a bit uncomfortable when he picked up the
silky lingerie, his face flushing a shade of red as he lifted
it from the floor.
This guy is simply too sweet, April thought to herself. She reached
over, and gently took the garment from him, relieving him from his
dilemma.
"Thank you," she smiled placing the lingerie back into the bag.
"It's a wedding gift for a... friend."
"Yeah." Gary murmured as the both of them rose from the floor.
Looking at him, April could detect a boyish charm so different
and unique from what she was use to in the men she dated.
"April Chandler." She said, extending her hand to shake.
"Oh, Gary...Gary Hobson," he said as they shook. Her hand
soft and delicate seemed to fit perfectly in his. Oh boy.
On a bench in a corner of the lobby a little old woman sat
watching them. She had witnessed the young couple's
"chance" meeting and introduction. She smiled at the two
of them then winked at Gary giving her nod of approval.
Feeling uneasy about the whole situation, Gary nodded
politely at the old woman then quickly opened the door and
he and April stepped out into the cold February air.
"Well..y-you take care." He said as they headed towards their cars.
He removed the paper from beneath his arm and opened it to check
the headline. The article had not reappeared. Thank God.
"Nice meeting you. " April said. She hadn't
noticed a ring on his finger. She sneaked a glance at him out
of the corner of her eye. He didn't seem to have recognized
her from the Golden Spoon Restaurant either. Good.
As they walked across the parking lot together, neither one of them
said a word the only sound was the clicking of April's heels
on the concrete pavement.
"Well, you take care." Gary said as they reached their vehicles.
He unlocked the door to the Bronco and climbed inside.
April, unlocking her car door, was still trying to figure him out.
Surely an adorable guy like this had to be taken. He didn't ask
for her phone number which was strange. A man usually would
have asked for her number by now, married or not.
She glanced over at the Bronco still parked beside her car and noticed
that several pages from the newspaper the guy had been reading had fallen
into a puddle beside his car and he seemed to be searching for it.
She placed her package into the car and made her way
around to the driver side of the Bronco and tapped lightly on the window.
Gary glanced up and quickly rolled down his window.
"You dropped your paper." She smiled holding up the wet pages.
"Oh..ah..I was just looking for it." Gary said reaching over to
take them. "Thanks."
"I suppose they're ruined now." April smiled smoothing her hair back
from her face. Her hair the color of honey, wavered softly in the wind,
and smelled faintly of lemon blossoms.
"Yeah...well it's okay...I think." Gary laughed shaking the paper out.
"Chicago Sun-times?"
"Huh? Oh...yeah." Gary said holding the paper down slightly,
to hide the date.
April smiled then glanced around. "Do you know of a
nice place to eat around here?"
Gary sat, staring blankly at her. He still didn't know what had
happen to change it the article in the paper. Maybe just his
being here was enough to have changed the headline. But
why? He hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.
It was a moment before Gary realized that the beautiful mouth
moving before him... was asking a question.
April bit her lip, waiting for a response to the question she had
just asked. The look on this guy's face was simply priceless.
She was used to the "brain-block" looks she received from the
men she chose to talk to. But the looks were never like this one.
Simply adorable.
Gary raised his eyebrows. He hadn't heard a word she said.
"Excuse me...did you say something?"
April laughed then repeated herself. "I..I'm new in town
and don't know my way around. I was wondering if you could
maybe...recommend a nice restaurant."
Greenish-brown, April thought looking into his eyes. She loved his
eyes. They were kind of sleepy looking and In the broad open
daylight she could see the color of them more clearly. A mud puddlish
green. She smiled at the thought.
A gust of wind swept through suddenly, blowing the paper from
Gary's hand. Gary's eyes flew open and he watched helplessly as
the pages scattered across the parking lot.
"S'cuse me!" He sputtered, bolting quickly from his jeep, to
scurry after them.
April stood watching as Gary scrambled across the parking lot
trying feverishly to catch the wind carried pages. She thought
his behavior was strange, yet she watched
him in amusement as he scurried about. She had only known
him for a few minutes, and already, he had captured her heart.
One page landed in a puddle nearby and April dashed over to
retrieve
it before it was completely soaked. There were a few others
pages
that she was able to peel up from the damp concrete and she
paused in her rescue to watch in awe as Gary struggled to
retrieve one page that had flown against the antenna of a car.
Gary glanced over to see her awkwardly holding on to a few
crumpled pages she had managed to collect. She seemed
amused at his predicament and was laughing only to stop
abruptly to chase after another page that blew past her. Her
light brown hair blowing gently about her as she bent
to retrieve the newspaper from a puddle.
At that moment, Gary thought she was the most beautiful sight
he had seen in a long time. He blew out a breath then rubbed
his face trying to block out the thought. He didn't even want to
think about it. Besides, the paper would never allow him a
relationship anyway.
April was still holding on to the pages she had recovered but,
she was confused. Why was this guy so concerned about a
newspaper?
They managed to collect all of the pages, and headed back
towards their cars with Gary scanning the parking lot for any
they might have missed. Satisfied that they had collected
them all he suddenly felt embarrassed over his sudden outburst
and felt a need to explain his peculiar behavior.
"I'm ahhh..I...had scribbled a very important phone number on
one of the pages," he murmured.
"Really?" was April's only reply as she handed over the pages
she had recovered.
"Thanks huh?" He said, taking the paper. Out of the corner of his
eye he observed her. Cheeks flushed pink from the wind, her blue
eyes sparkling happily as she gently swept a wisp of hair behind
an ear, which was a habit Gary noticed that she did. For the first
time, he noticed the gentle cleft in her chin, and her full red lips.
Right now, he was feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time
and he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
"Th-thanks for helping, huh?" He mumbled averting his gaze
to focus on the disarrayed pages that he held. He hoped
that his face hadn't revealed what he had been thinking.
As they approached their cars, Gary suddenly remembered
the question April had imposed before their little excursion,
and his heart skipped as he contemplated asking her back to
Mcginty's for lunch. He was hungry, and forgotten that all he'd
had that morning was milk. But with the butterflies he was now
feeling in his stomach, he wasn't so sure he could eat.
Remembering the paper, he stole a quick glance at one of the
crinkled pages and disappointment set in. Another headline
had appeared, but he could barely make out the wording,
the paper was now wet and tattered. Holding paper closer he
struggled to read.
'Child's Arm Severed In Washing machine Mishap'
Oh boy. He glanced up from the article knowing that this would be
another lunch date opportunity he would miss.
To be continued................