1 Author Notes: Oh my goodness, to be writing again. It's been so long. And as I've done many times in this story, I'm apologizing...again. For taking so long. Life is busy, I hope you can understand that. Anyway, this is the third chapter. There will be more. Even if it takes me till the end of my high school career, which is actually only a year. Lol. Enjoy.
Valentine's Day
Andy pulled off the yellow, plastic, poncho-like cover up provided by the ER and stuffed it into the trash can. Another patient dead and it was only early morning. It didn't surprise her much. While it was still devastating, throughout her days in the medical field, she had discovered that the beginning of a new year, especially around the end of January and beginning of February, mortality was high. People rushing about and such, getting presents for loved ones on Valentine's Day and also hitting all the New Year's Eve after sales, which caused car accidents, even robbery. Her patient though, had a heart attack...severely. It was so unexpected and made Andy wonder why she hadn't seen it coming. She hated standing there next to a patients husband or mother or some other family member and telling them that there was nothing more they could do. Sometimes she wondered how she had put up with people dying all around her for so long. Sometimes she wished she could just get away. But if she wasn't worrying about patients, she was worrying about her daughters and their safety and well being. Jessie and Lizzy were a hand full, especially being the single parent she was. Andy felt herself relieved sometimes when thy went to California to be with their Dad. Although she missed them terribly, she knew it was the best thing for them and her if they left once in awhile.
As she walked down the hallways of the hospital, she thought about how she wanted to also visit California. She had been thinking about it ever since New Year's Eve in New York with Les and the girls. But once she passed a bunch of doctors running towards the ER, she thought back to reality and how the thought of a vacation was most likely not going to happen anytime soon. Her schedule consisted of work and home. Before she had made time for other things but now, she just wanted to focus on the one thing she knew she could hold on to, medicine.
The clinic was noisy and packed full of people coughing and sneezing. Andy walked to the receptionist desk.
"Hawkins? Any messages?" She said dully.
"No. But something was delivered for you about fifteen minutes ago. It's in your office."
Andy nodded and turned to leave. "Give me a few minutes before sending in the next patient, will ya?"
"Sure will," Lana agreed and continued typing on her computer.
Andy pushed open the door to her office and stopped when she saw her desk. Beautiful white and pink roses where sitting in a clear vase near her computer. There were about a dozen of them all mixed together. She walked to them, jaw slightly dropped, and bent over to smell them. Andy noticed a card sticking out of one of the sides. She slowly grabbed and opened it. It was white and on the inside was a single phone number with the words "call me" underneath. She looked at the flowers in confusion and headed back out of her office to Lana.
"Hawkins, who delivered those flowers?"
"Just a delivery guy," Lana responded while handing a new patient information forms.
"Did he say who they were from?" Andy asked.
Lana shook her head. "Wasn't there a card?"
Andy held up the card and revealed the message to her receptionist/ friend.
"Eight, zero, three, five, five, two, six. Call me," She read aloud. "That's interesting."
"What should I do?"
"Call the number," Lana suggested and shrugged while sitting down in front of her computer again.
Andy pondered the simple suggestion and sighed. "They're beautiful flowers."
Lana nodded.
"Maybe I will call..."
Lana nodded again.
"Ok...send in the next patient and keep em' coming."
-----------
Andy headed back to her office after grabbing a quick bit to eat with Dr. Jackson. She had had to rush because her patient log was backed up forever. However, her curiosity had overwhelmed her and she just couldn't put off calling this mysterious person that sent her the flowers. The phone number had run through her mind so much in the past hours that she had memorized it by now.
Once she was in her office and had been able to sneak by without Lana seeing her and sending in more patients, she sat down and pulled the card from her desk drawer.
'Eight, zero, three, five, five, two, six. Call me,' She read silently and took a deep breath.
Her left hand picked up the receiver to the phone and her right hand dialed the number. After a few rings she heard somebody pick up.
"Hello?" It was a male voice that she didn't recognize.
"Hi. Umm...this is Dr. Andy Campbell. I received a bou-"
"Ah yes, Andy. Hold on," The man said and his voice disappeared. She looked around in confusion and caught her eyes on the flowers. She thought once again about how beautiful the arrangement was.
"Andy?" A voice called from the phone and her eyes widened at the sound.
"Les?"
"So you got the flowers?"
Andy didn't respond. Of course it was Les. She should have known. What other man would send her flowers...
"Andy?"
Her thought broke and she finally responded. "I'm here."
"You ok?"
"Just a little shocked, that's all."
"Well, don't think there isn't a reason behind all of this."
"I should have figured. What do you want Les?" She asked playfully.
"To come away with me."
Andy paused, her smile quickly turning to a slight frown/shocked look, unable to even think about what to say to his answer.
Les thought she would react this way. "Not like that. Listen, my parents bought a new house in the Catskill Mountains in New York and I was wondering if you would accompany me to go see it. As if they really need my approval."
Andy didn't respond. Was he really asking her to go away with him...
"It'll be only a weekend. They have skiing and even though the lake near them is freezing, we could all take a hike..."
She still didn't say anything.
"Andy?" Les asked, nervousness clearly showing in his tone.
"I'm here." She answered, the same way as earlier in the conversation.
"Well...?"
"Les...I umm...what weekend?" She asked, trying to buy time to come up with an answer.
"The one after this one. The twelfth through fourteenth."
Andy thought about acknowledging that that was Valentine's Day weekend but she knew he already thought about that. "Let me get my planner out and I'll see if I'm free," She said, still trying to buy time.
Les rolled his eyes and then sat down on a near by couch nervously. "Ok."
Andy pulled the planner out of her purse and flipped to the next weekend. "Jessie," She said when she saw the dates.
"What about Jessie?"
"She's taking the PSAT's that weekend Les."
"How does that interfere with us?"
"Do what?"
"I didn't mean bring the kids," He said, screaming at himself cause he didn't make that clear before.
"Oh..." She trailed off. "I guess, if I can get Thornton or Corrina to look after them..then...I-I..I guess I can go..." She said slowly.
"Really?"
"Yes. I'll go with you."
"Great. I'll call them and say that we're coming."
"What do I need to bring?" She asked curiously.
"Warm clothing."
"That would be wise. New York is probably even colder then Philadelphia in the beginning of February."
"Yeah it's pretty cold here."
"Here? Are you in Philly?" She asked, slightly shocked.
"Why did you think you didn't have to dial long distance..."
Andy had never really noticed. "Oh...why?"
"Because if you're in the same state you don't have to dial area codes."
She laughed. "I meant why are you here?"
"Business," He said simply.
"Just business?"
"Well...maybe. We'll see."
She paused and smiled. "I better get back to my patients. It's pretty busy here."
"Yeah, I umm..yeah it's pretty busy where I am to. I better get back to what I was doing ya know, cause I don't wanna get behind on my uhh...business."
She laughed again. "Goodbye Lesley."
"Bye," He said and waited for her to hang up before he did the same. Les moved to put the phone back in it's cradle and went to the kitchen to grab another beer, smiling that she decided to come with him.
----------
"Why are you going to New York again?" Jessie Campbell asked while her mother was packing for the upcoming weekend. A week had passed quickly and Andy was getting excited about getting away. No matter where she went, a vacation was a vacation. She thought it would also give her a chance to see Les's parents. Even though they were divorced, Les's father had called Andy as soon as he could after she had kicked Les out. They had always gotten along the most. He was such a nice man and Andy thought well of him.
"Because," She responded. "Your Grandparents bought a house there and they want your Dad and I to come see it."
"Why isn't Lizzy going with you?"
"Cause she wants to stay here with you."
"No I don't," Lizzy unexpectedly answered from the doorway. Andy jumped slightly. "I think you and Daddy just want to be alone."
Andy paused and raised her eyebrows at her youngest child. "That is not true."
"Then why isn't Lizzy going?" Jessie asked again, trapping her mother.
"Because she doesn't need to be in the cold mountains when she is already sick, plus she's got homework that needs to be done."
"Come on, she's already over that stupid cold."
"Jessica Campbell, why are you arguing with me about this? It's just a weekend."
Jessie didn't answer and Andy dropped the clothes she was holding on the bed and looked at her daughter, finally realizing.
"No."
"No what?"
"No, you're not having a boy over here while I'm gone."
Jessie rolled her eyes. "Why do you think everything is about boys?"
"Because your sixteen and your hormones are racing and...no."
The oldest daughter sighed and sat on the bed.
Lizzy laughed, "I think I'm going to go do some of that homework..." She left the room.
Andy turned to Jessie. "Sweetie, I know having a boyfriend, especially as 'cute' as Josh, is great and everything but you are too young to even think-"
"Mom, we've already had this talk...please don't repeat it."
Andy sat in silence for a few seconds, watching Jessie, then got up to continue packing.
Jessie still sat on the bed and looked at her mom's suitcase. She noticed a silky blue dress-like nightgown and picked it up.
"Not going to be alone with Dad huh?" Jessie asked.
Andy paused across the room and then moved to grab the clothing from Jessie.
"It's just a nightgown," She responded and paused, sitting next to Jessie. "It's too early for that, believe me."
"What do you mean?"
Andy said nothing.
"Mom, it's been eight months since Milo-"
"I know," She said, cutting her off.
"Then what do you mean?"
"I mean, your father and I are not...getting back together...not right now."
"Then when?"
"I don't know if we ever will Jessie!" Andy slightly yelled, getting frustrated. "I don't know," She repeated quietly.
Jessie nodded and got up to leave the room. "I better go study or something..." She smiled with slight pity at her Mom and left.
Andy sighed and sat down on the bed, still holding the nightgown. 'It's too soon.' She reminded herself.
----------
The clinic wasn't too busy on Friday, something Andy was grateful for. Her bags were waiting at her house, fully packed, and she already had a comfortable outfit laid out for her to change into once she got home from work. Les was going to pick her up at six o'clock. She knew she wouldn't get out of the RWHC until at least five so the timing was perfect. When she got home, she decided that she would repeat the rules to Jessie and Lizzy and tell them to obey Kayla and Corrina. Andy had managed to persuade Corrina to stay with the girls from the time Kayla left to the time Kayla came home. And she had been lucky considering that an intern's shifts in the Emergency Room can last forever sometimes. Kayla had promised she wouldn't stay extra unless it was a true emergency that involved one of Andy or Lu's patients. Andy and Corrina accepted this much.
The last patient of the day was sort of boring to Andy. It was just an exam. A six month check up on one of her long term patients. When it was finally over and the woman left with many thanks as always to her favorite doctor, Andy headed to get her purse and briefcase. When she looked at the clock, she noticed it was only four thirty and she had an hour and a half.
Deciding that she didn't need to go home yet and she didn't want to see anymore patients, she decided to talk to Lu. After all, she hadn't seen her all day and was wondering how things were going.
The familiar voice of Dr. Delgado answered as Andy knocked on her office door. "Come in."
"Delgado," Andy acknowledged.
"Dr. Campbell," Lu said formally and then smiled. "What brings you to my office?" She asked from behind a stack of papers.
"Just visiting, I guess," Andy responded. "What is all that?"
"Well actually, Ms. Lana out there found a bunch of old papers concerning two patients and I have to look through all of them before I can leave just to make sure that they don't have the deadly disease they think they have," She answered, annoyance in her tone.
"I see," Andy laughed.
"Yeah, you're lucky. You get a vacation, I get papers!"
Andy laughed more. "It's better then not knowing right?"
"That's true. Anyway..." Lu said, changing the subject and putting her pen down to talk to Andy for a little bit. "So you're going away with your ex-husband huh?"
Andy rolled her eyes. "I'm going to see my mother and father in law's new house."
"Ex-in law's you mean."
She didn't respond.
Lu gave her a look.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just...it's none of my business Andy but, you seem to be longing for something."
"Longing?"
"Yeah, like you're acting like you want your old life back. Ya know, married with kids. Like you were before..."
"Why would I want that back?" Andy asked innocently.
"Everybody wants that. From what I hear, you had a pretty great marriage and-"
Andy cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable.
"Listen, I'm not trying to tick you off or get you thinking, I'm just saying that if you have a chance to reunite yourself with someone you once loved so deeply, then take it."
"You're the one who told me to kick him out in the first place Delgado."
"And you're the one who told me that he's getting help, for real this time."
"I know..."
"So, what are you waiting for?"
"I'm waiting until it feels ok," Andy burst out.
Lu looked at her friend with sympathetic eyes and nodded for her to continue.
"I'm waiting until I know I can commit myself again. I mean, I got out of one relationship and went straight into another and then...well you know what happened."
"What happened to Milo wasn't your fault nor was it meant to make you unsure about love," Lu said quietly.
"I'm not unsure about love. I loved Milo and I know he loved me and he loved my kids."
"I know," Lu responded and waited for Andy to say what they both knew.
"But I love Les to. He's always been in my heart no matter what. And duh I know he loves the girls, they're his children. Our children."
"So once again, what are you waiting for?"
Andy didn't respond. She looked out of the office windows to the clinic. "I'm afraid it won't work out," She said very quietly.
"But is it worth the risk?" Lu asked. There was silence. "I mean Andy, is the fear of getting hurt again worth the risk of having someone to hold you at night. Having somebody there through the good and the bad."
"Getting roses in the middle of the day..." She said, thinking of Les's gift. A smile formed on her face and she dazed off for a few seconds.
"It's the look on your face Andy. It shows that you want that again."
They sat in silence for a few minutes as both of them thought.
"I better get going," Andy said and stood from her seat across from Lu.
"Have a good weekend."
"I will. Have fun with your papers..." Andy smirked and headed out.
----------
Andy stepped out of the passenger side of the car and looked around. While she stretched her legs from the very long car ride, she couldn't help but notice that is was still cold in the mountains, yet the scenery made her forget and stare in awe. Snow had just cleared the area and the leaves on trees were still a bright green with a hint of brown. The wind blew, making the hair on her forearms stand on end, even with a jacket on.
Les made his way to the trunk of the car and grabbed their luggage. He joined Andy near the front porch and they both looked up at the house.
"I think they made a good choice," Les said, nodding in approval at his parent's big new purchase.
Andy nodded as well and followed him up the steps to the big front door made of what seemed to be solid oak wood. Within seconds, Rose Campbell's familiar face was smiling at them.
"Lesley!" She squealed and pulled him in for a motherly hug, suitcases still in his hands. Andy stood behind them admiring the lovely foyer. It was two stories with a shiny gold chandelier hanging above a spiral staircase. The walls where of the same wood as the door and there was a mantle on the nearest wall that held various decorations. A mirror was placed above the mantle and it hung in a way that made the foyer look twice as big as it really was.
"Hello mother," Les acknowledged after finally being released from his mom's grasp. He set the suitcases next to a single step that sat parallel to the tiled floor. It seemed to serve the purpose of leading the way into the family room, or at least that's what it looked like.
"Andy..." His mother trailed off, smiling at the other woman in the semi-room. Rose sighed with great emotion, happy to see her daughter in law. Even though that was no longer Andy's position in their family, Rose loved her almost as much as Les's father did.
"Rose," Andy smiled back and it was only seconds before the woman had their arms around each other. "It's been so long."
"Too long. Come, you must see the rest of the house."
----------
Rose led the way through various room, all with themes and gorgeous decorations. The house was two stories with three bedrooms and three and half baths. It was a mixture of wood and tile with leather couches and beautiful paintings ranging from family portraits to random animals stationed in African deserts. The fireplace in the family room was set ablaze and a plasma screen tv stood in one corner across from a sitting area made of a couch, love seat, and recliner chair. A glass table that matched another mirror above the fireplace sat in front of the biggest couch and on it rested several scrapbooks made by Les's mother. The room was well lit with sky lights and lamps placed throughout it. Andy looked around, noticing every detail. From the family room, there were two glass sliding doors that led to a patio and from the patio, there was a deck with pool and hot tub. Andy also noticed a bar area next to the hot tub.
"This place is gorgeous," She said, her eyes still moving from one thing to the next.
"Thank you," A man's voice came from the kitchen. Andy recognized it immediately and smiled. Les's father, James, stood in the doorway, a tray with four drinks in his hands. He walked to them and set the tray down on the glass table. Rose, Les, and Andy had taken a seat on the couches but when he approached they all stood to greet him.
"Andy," He said first. He looked up and down her and smiled. "My favorite daughter in law."
Andy laughed and wrapped her arms around the old man. "My favorite father in law," She responded in his ear. "Always."
Les looked at the two and once they had broken their hug, they stood close, as if James was Andy's best friend. He smiled, liking the fact that they were still happy to see each other, after everything they'd all been through.
"What about me Pop?"
Les's father waved a hand as if not even caring. "Hi Lesley," He said dully but then chuckled. James moved from Andy and gave his soon a quick hug.
Andy smiled at this. She enjoyed seeing a loving relationship between parent's and child. She also enjoyed having such a good relationship with James. It sort of made up for her own father's absence. Her father was always there, but never emotionally, even to this day.
"So, Andy? How have you been?"
"I'm ok."
"Just ok?"
They all took a seat and Andy continued as Rose passed out the drinks. "Life has always been hectic and hard at times but other than those things, I'm good."
"How are my beautiful grandchildren? We haven't seen them in ages," Rose commented.
"They're fine. Jessie is taking her PSAT's this weekend so she's pretty nervous. Lizzy is good. She's growing up."
"Did you bring any pictures?"
"Well, no," Andy laughed. "But I have some in my wallet. The ones I always keep in there."
"Well break them out," James ordered playfully and Andy got up to get her purse from the rest of her luggage. When she returned, she fetched her wallet and handed it to Rose, already open. Les's mother leaned next to her husband and looked at them. The first was of Jessie and Lizzy at Christmas a few years ago. The picture was taken outside in the snow, smiles on both their faces. Rose flipped the plastic over to see another picture of the children, this one taken during summer. Rose flipped it again and saw a picture of Milo. It was a professional one. He was standing near a desk and had his hospital jacket on.
"Umm...is this man related?" Rose asked sarcastically and laughed. She held up the wallet for Les and Andy to see. A sharp breath made it's way through Andy's lungs and she took the wallet from Rose's hands gently.
"No," She said.
James and Rose looked from each other to Andy and Les. Les sighed and looked at Andy. He didn't say anything, knowing that is wasn't his place.
Andy kept silent and closed her wallet, placing it back in her purse. James looked closely at her, noting the sad expression on her face and decided to change the subject.
"So, who's hungry?"
"I'm starved," Les said automatically and awkwardly, they all moved to the kitchen to eat dinner.
----------
Later that night, Andy sat on the patio outside the family room. Rose and Les had gone upstairs. They had wanted to make sure everything was set up ok for Andy and also catch up some what. The patio was screened it, making it warmer than outside, but Andy still wore her jacket. She was sitting on a glider with an empty spot next to her. Her purse was on the floor and her wallet was open inside. She held the picture of Milo in her hand and looked down at it.
"So who is he?" James's voice rang from the sliding glass door. He saw the picture and when Andy looked up at him with the same sad expression on her face, he moved towards her and sat down on the glider.
"He was my boyfriend," She responded quietly.
James nodded. "I figured as much."
Andy looked at him with still sadness and also confusion. "But-"
"The look on your face when we asked who he was," He interrupted. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Andy paused for a few seconds and looked from the picture to the darkness outside. "His name's Milo," She said slowly. "Dr. Milo Morton. My colleague. My friend. Then my boyfriend. He was...an amazing man. An amazing doctor."
"Sounds pretty amazing..."
Andy laughed. "He was."
"Was?"
She hesitated more now and then slowly looked from the picture to James. Her face was full of partial grief and partial remembrance for the man in the picture. "He died back in July."
James nodded and put his arm around Andy's shoulders. "I'm sorry."
Andy nodded this time and with James's approval, laid her head down on his shoulder. "I miss him."
"I know you must."
"But I need to move on," She said firmly after awhile and picked her head up off his shoulder in order to retrieve her wallet from the floor. Then, calmly with a tear running down her cheek, she placed the picture of Milo in the back of her wallet, leaving it's previous spot blank, and closed it.
They sat in silence. James simply let Andy sit next to him like he would whenever her and Les had fights or whenever she just needed to be comforted. It was one of the reasons Andy loved him so much. James couldn't explain his connection to Andy. He never had a daughter. Les was his only child and he knew that from the stories Andy had told him, that her own father wasn't what she needed at times. He felt he could relate with her and some of the problems she faced. He felt as his she were his own and knew that they would both always feel that way.
----------
The following day was pretty mellow. Andy woke to Rose's home style cooking and after breakfast, they all took a real tour of the house and property. Before they knew it, it was noon and time for lunch. While Les and his father sat in the family room watching old videos that they had found in the attic of their old house, Andy and Rose were in the kitchen making sandwiches for all. After lunch, Les led Andy to the back of the property and they walked through miles of uphill forests. They were gone for hours, exploring the wilderness and enjoying each others company. Andy was amazed at how much they talked about. Anything and everything that crossed their minds was now all in the open.
Once they were back at the house, Rose had prepared dinner and all of them were starved. Throughout the meal, they talked of various topics, none too tense or concerning though. It was a pleasant dinner. Afterwards, they all sat down near the fire and did more talking while sipping on very expensive wine. Rose noted that tomorrow would be Valentine's Day and that James better have gotten her something that just sang "wear me on one of your fingers." Andy and Les laughed at her words.
It all seemed surreal, as if things had never changed. The only missing part was Jessie and Lizzy but when Andy thought about it enough, it wouldn't have been the same with children around. Later on, once they were all yawning and longing for the soft comfort of cotton sheets and pillows, Rose and James resided to their bedroom, and Andy headed to one guest bedroom and Les to another. The house was quiet at night, just the way Andy wanted. It was relaxing and she fell asleep instantly.
----------
The sun was high in the sky when Andy woke. She looked at the clock and saw that she had slept over ten hours. Everything must have exhausted her. Her body was limp in the bed, except for her arms which reached above her head and stretched. When she was finished, she brought them back down to her side and looked around the room. Noticing her door open and considering that she had shut it before going to sleep the night before, she looked around more closely to see what was going on. Her eyes caught the dresser drawers across from the queen size bed that she lay in. Propped up against the small mirror was a heart shaped box of chocolates with pink lace that held a small card attached to it. Her jaw slightly dropped and she hurriedly got out of bed and walked to them, straightening her nightgown on the way.
Andy admired the gift before taking the card in one hand and opening it. A butterfly was on the front and when she lifted the flap, she recognized the hand writing.
"My dearest Andy,
Please meet me by the lake we saw yesterday in the woods on the back of the property at noon. A surprise awaits you. Bring the chocolates. I know you'll want some of those to.
Truly yours,
Lesley."
She read the card once more and kept staring at it as thoughts ran through her mind. She didn't know if it was such a good idea but it sounded so lovely. She was also curious to see what the "surprise" was. It piqued her interest and she decided that if it got out of hand, she could control it. She placed the chocolates and card on the bed and looked at the clock once more. It was already eleven fifteen. She had around forty minutes to get ready and five minutes to walk back there, give or take some. Immediately she jumped in the shower and after washing throughly, she stepped out, drying herself off. She added a nice hair style of blown dry and straightened and put make up on her face that made her features stand out from the rest. Since she was meeting Les in the woods, she dressed in jeans and nice shirt with tennis shoes. Her necklace with the one pearl in it hung around her neck as usual and she slipped her class ring from medical school on the finger it belonged to. After checking in the mirror once more, she headed from the room, grabbing the chocolates on her way. Looking at the watch she had managed to slip into her pocket while dressing, she saw that she had ten minutes to make her way to the woods. The house was empty downstairs and she wondered where Rose and James were. As she reached the back yard, the cool February air caught her hair and flung it behind her. She smiled at the nice breeze and the fact that it was finally getting warmer, even in New York.
As she approached the woods, she glanced around and remembered which way the lake was. Taking a sharp turn to her right once she was in a few feet, she found it within minutes. Her surprise was there and she saw it immediately. Across the lake, sitting near the water was a big blanket and a picnic basket. She could see a bottle of champagne and a bottle of orange juice sitting next to it and some other stuff in a plastic bag. Les was no where in sight at the moment so Andy, while looking around, walked around the lake and to the blanket.
"Surprise," He said, catching her off guard from behind one of the trees. She jumped slightly but then smiled at him.
"What is all of this?"
"Let's just say a nice lunch."
"And these?" She asked, holding up the chocolates in one hand.
"That's chocolate."
"No really, I thought it was apples..." She said quickly with sarcasm in her voice.
"Ok, so, those were a gift...for Valentine's Day," He admitted innocently and walked towards her more.
"They're my favorite kind," She noted, looking from the chocolates to him.
"I know," He responded, moving even closer. Les looked into her eyes and stared. He didn't want to break away but when he noticed that she was starting to look uncomfortable, he backed away and motioned towards the food. "Shall we?"
Andy hesitated but then took a seat on the blanket. He sat across from her and started digging into the basket.
"You hungry?"
She nodded, then noticed the champagne and orange juice again. "What's this for?"
"Drinking," He said, this time, his voice with sarcasm.
She shook her head in humor and looked around as Les pulled out two glasses and mixed two drinks together for them.
"It's beautiful out here."
"Kind of like you are," He said unhesitatingly. He had been wanting to tell her that for awhile.
Andy blushed and glanced at him. She looked at his features and automatically thought about how different they were from Milo's. The thought shocked her and she tried to brush it away but the more she kept blocking it, the more it came back. While Milo was dark, tall, with very little hair, and his facial features made him look twice as young, Les was light, tall, with a balding spot, and his facial features were plain. She also noticed that Les didn't have any of the adorable quirks Milo had. Or at least none that were showing at the moment. She thought about how wonderful it had been experiencing somebody new. Experiencing new perspectives on everything she'd ever been through. Milo had cared about her instantly. He catered to her every need and want. Les had been the one who hurt her, not Milo. And the only reason she wasn't with him instead of sitting by a lake with her ex-husband was because he was no longer alive. But then again, she had said that she wanted to move on. But was it too soon? Was she rushing into another relationship just like she had done after Les left? Was it worth the risk of getting hurt again? She didn't have answers to these questions, but thinking about them made her uncomfortable in her current situation.
Andy shook her head and looked at him once more before getting to her feet.
"Where are you going?"
"I think we should go back," She said quietly.
"Ok, I can take you back to the house," He responded, a puzzled look on his face.
"No, I mean...you should go back to California..." She said more clearly. Les stood as she was talking, the look still on his face. "And I should go back to Philly." She turned to leave.
Les stood in place, confused as ever as he watched her walk away. She made her way around the small lake and towards where she had come from. Her eyes met his as she turned to look at him once more.
"I'm sorry Les," She semi-shouted and continued walking, the sound of fallen branches and leaves crushing under her feet. She left, Les standing behind her, sadness sinking his heart to the very bottom of his chest. She left, questioning herself on what could have possibly happened if she had stayed.
End
I hope you guys enjoyed that as much as I did writing it. I'm gonna try and wrap this fic up pretty soon. I have a couple more holidays to go but who knows how long that will take. Sorry it's been forever, once again. I've explained how life is before so you'll just have to forgive me and live with it. Lol. Reviews are always welcome, in fact, they're wanted so you better write me one!