Sometime during the night, Samantha woke up and it took her a moment to realize where she was. It startled her to see Martin and that she had been sleeping on him. He was still sitting up, his head lolled off to the left. "Boy he was going to have a sore neck tomorrow," she thought. She got up, careful not to wake him and saw that it was three in the morning. She couldn't wake him up now and send him home. She eased his legs onto the couch and arranged him in more or less laid down position, she didn't want to move him too much and risk waking him. He looked so peaceful and he'd been there for her when she really needed someone. She unfolded a blanket and draped it over him, turned out the light, and headed to her own room.
The alarm rang a few hours later and she tiptoed into the living room. It didn't appear that Martin had moved at all, "Good," she thought, "at least he'll be rested." She started a pot of coffee to brew and went to gently rouse him.
"Martin, Martin," she said as she touched his arm with a tender shake, "it's time for you to wake up."
As he slowly turned toward her and opened his eyes she said, "Somehow we both fell asleep, but it's morning now and we have to get ready for work." He was now looking at himself, still in his shirt and slacks from the day before, finally comprehending that he had been sleeping on the couch. She continued talking, "I think that if you get up now, you have time for a cup of coffee and you can still make it to your home to change for work. Sorry that I don't have breakfast for you, but that would take more time and I wanted to let you get as much sleep as possible. I kept you up pretty late with my rantings last night."
Martin still hadn't said a word and Samantha was rethinking her decision of letting him sleep here last night. She figured that he was probably furious that he'd have to rush around this morning. But then he spoke, his voice soft, his words caring, "How are you this morning? Did you actually get some sleep?"
She stopped bustling around and turned toward him, "Yeah, I think I really did sleep, … thanks to you." She came to the couch and Martin moved over to make room for her to sit. She looked into his eyes and tried to express how thankful she was to him, but the words were awkward coming out of her mouth. "Thanks for, I mean, I appreciate, I just needed someone to listen and you, even though we almost, but you let me talk, about Jack I mean, even though you… Arghh, this is not coming out very well."
And with that Martin laughed, "No thanks is necessary. I'm glad you could talk to me and I hope you know it was not a one time deal, you still have lots to figure out and I'll be here for you for those talks too." He smiled at her and then looked at his watch.
She expected him to bolt off the couch and head for the door, but instead he lay back down and said, "Five more minutes, mom, just five more minutes."
Samantha laughed, glad to be at ease with Martin. She went to the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee and left his black like she knew he liked it. She carried the cups into the living room and finally Martin sat up. She asked, "Don't you need to get going, I mean, you can't show up to work in that wrinkled suit. Think of the rumors I could start."
"Don't worry about it. I've got an extra suit at the gym at the office, I'll just swing by there and shower and change, that way I don't have to waste an hour in traffic getting home and back to the office," he explained.
Samantha recoiled, "Oh, you do this sort of thing often huh, stay the night somewhere other than home."
Martin thought she looked hurt, even though she had no claim on him, but he set the record straight anyway. "No, I always thought it would be a good idea, however, I've never actually had to use the extra suit. What kind of a guy do you think I am?" he teased with her to set her at ease again. "So what's for breakfast?"
Samantha was relieved to learn that Martin didn't make a habit of sleeping at others' homes, but she didn't know why it should matter to her. Her thoughts returned to the present and she replied to Martin's question, "The usual, stale donuts from the lounge at the office. You're sleeping here hasn't turned me into a domestic goddess yet." She laughed and walked to the bedroom to get ready.
TBC
