CHAPTER TWO

Approximately twenty minutes from Adrian's apartment, Sharona Fleming sat in a small, elegant restaurant, staring blankly at the man across from her.

The man in question was a late thirty-something publisher that she had met at the grocery store the other day. She remained in the dark about what exactly it was that he published, but from the looks of him, she preferred to remain that way.

When she had approached their table fifteen minutes ago, the nurse predicted that this evening would be nothing short of horrendous. Her date donned a royal blue blazer, a white collared shirt with some sort of blue splatter paint design on it, and a royal blue tie. God. She hadn't even looked under the table to see if he were wearing the matching dress pants, though she would have bet her life on it. And she certainly didn't want to think about what kind of shoes this guy had chosen. To top it all off, he had put so much gel in his hair that it was practically dripping off the ends.

Why did I agree to go out with him?
she wondered. Oh, yeah. When Sharona had first met the man, he had on a gray business suit and had used only a quarter of a bottle of hair gel.

Talk about a one hundred and eighty degree turn.

Sharona tried to make it her policy not to judge a man by what he wore, but her last date with someone with such awful taste in clothes had been a total disaster. The man proved to be an egotistical nutcase who had done nothing but talk about himself the entire night. So, naturally, she assumed that this man would be just like his predecessor. And she was right. They must be related, she decided.

The blonde groaned in annoyance as her date began yet another sentence with "I". I this, I that. She considered flinging her butter knife at him. Not that she wanted to murder the man or anything. If that were her intention, she'd have already requested a steak knife from the waiter. But perhaps the shock of having an eating utensil hurled in his direction might shut him up for a minute or two.

Sharona sighed. She had better tune this guy out before she lost it. As she watched motormouth's lips flap, she started to wonder if she should just get up and go.

But that would be impolite. After all, the man was only bragging about himself to try and impress her. She should be flattered.

But she wasn't.

I could pull an Adrian and tell him that I think I left the stove on, she pondered. Then again, I am getting a free meal . . . I guess I'll just stick it out. But as soon as he pays the check, I am out of here.

And with her consistent lack of sufficient funds, Sharona could use all the free meals she could get.

As she continued ruminating over the dilemma, she began to trace the rim of her water glass with her index finger, hoping that this activity would provide at least some distraction.

Every few seconds, Sharona would nod and smile, giving the illusion that she was paying attention to the irritating creature in front of her.

Her thoughts drifted to Benjy. She was so proud of him. His math grades had been improving, and she couldn't be more thrilled. She had practically squeezed the life out of him when he had showed her the B- he'd earned on his last test.

Just then, the bells above the restaurant door jingled, bringing Sharona back to the present. As she watched the elderly couple step inside, she couldn't help but wish that it were Adrian who had walked through that door.

Facing forward, the nurse smiled to herself. Sharona remembered the time that Adrian had interrupted one of her dates awhile back. She and whatshisname . . . Kyle? No . . . Carl? Was it Carl? . . . Yeah, it was. It was Carl. Not that it mattered, anyhow. She never heard from him again after that night.

Sharona recalled how upset she had been when her boss came over to their table and sat down. And she had been mortified when he blew the whistle on Carl for lying to her. How could he embarrass the man like that!

But as angry as she had been then, Sharona would have had the exact opposite reaction had Adrian intruded tonight.

Glancing at the door one last time, the blonde heaved a heavy sigh. She began praying that their meals would be ready soon. For God's sake, how long does it take to make a chicken Caesar salad!

The ringing of her cell phone jolted Sharona out of her thoughts. "Oh, thank God!" she exclaimed as she fumbled for her purse, nearly knocking it off the table. As she rummaged through its contents, it suddenly occurred to the blonde that it might not be Adrian on the other end of the line. There was the possibility that something had happened to her son.

"Uh, excuse me," she told her date, putting the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Sharona, I-"

Upon hearing the timid voice on the opposite end, the woman exhaled in relief. "Oh, my God! Adrian, I am so glad that you c-" Sharona stopped abruptly and raised her eyes to the man seated across from her. She sounded a little too excited about having their one-sided conversation interrupted, she realized. And as nauseating as her date was, Sharona didn't want to hurt the guy's feelings. Clearing her throat, she expelled the elation from her voice and adopted a more serious tone. "Adrian? Yeah, yeah, I'm still here. What's wrong?"

"Sharona, I, um, well, I-I . . . See, um, uh . . ." her boss stammered, upset with himself for not rehearsing what to say prior to calling.

His assistant grew concerned. "Adrian, are you okay?"

"Well, um . . . I . . . I, uh . . . There's this . . . uh . . . There's this mouse . . . in my house . . . There's a mouse in my house. And, uh . . . i-it's staring at me, and . . . giving me a-a look. You know, like a . . . a look. And . . . I-I need you, Sharona. Now. Please. Please, hurry. I-"

"Adrian, I'll be there as soon as I can, okay? I 'm leaving right now." So saying, the blonde hung up, replaced the phone in her purse, and rose to her feet.

"I have to go!" she ecstatically informed her date, no longer interested in the complimentary dinner.

The man regarded her with a bewildered expression. "Uh, now?"

His fleeing companion nodded eagerly. "Right now!" Sharona confirmed, pulling her jacket from the back of her chair.

"Why?"

"Oh. Well, my friend's in a little bit of trouble. Some mouse is giving him dirty looks, and he needs me to get rid of it. No big deal," she explained with a casual shrug.

The repulsive creature snorted. The nurse cringed.

"Your friend's afraid of a little mouse? Well, I see the job of loser is no longer available!" he guffawed, laughing hysterically.

His departing date shot him a look. "You know, you're right. You've already filled that position!" she retorted.

With that, Sharona turned sharply on her heel and quickly walked to the door, making a long-awaited exit from egotistical freak number two.