The satisfying hum of an air conditioner sounded in Scott's ears just before the accompanying blast of cool air hit his face as he opened the door to Julia's apartment, still in his flannel shirt and oversized jeans. There was a quick shuffling of feet, and Scott, who had bent to untie his shoes, saw Julia dart into the kitchen, pulling the bouncing coiled telephone wire behind her.

"Just a second!" she cried. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll bring you something to drink."

Those words sounded pretty good to him, so he bent over and tugged his shoes free, flexing his toes and enjoying the cooling sensation that flooded through his body as fresh air struck his sweaty socks. Though it was late in the year, the day had turned unseasonably warm. He was able to get more done because of it, but it had made for some uncomfortable time spent beneath the hoods and carriages of the automobiles he'd been repairing.

Scott walked across the carpet to the old couch and was just about to sit when he realized how filthy his rear end and back probably were. He stood, unsure of what to do, so he wound up thrusting his hands into his pockets and waiting silently.

Finally, Julia stepped around the column that separated the kitchen from the living room. "Okay," she said into the phone, her voice raised audibly from the level she'd been speaking at before. For the first time, Scott grew suspicious as to her conversation. "Alright, we'll be there shortly. Mmm, hmm. See you soon. Bye bye."

She was wearing an old navy-blue sweatshirt with "Academy" written across the front. Apparently, the air conditioning hadn't been for her benefit. Her hair had been washed and she was wearing eye makeup. Something, he knew, was in the works.

She replaced the receiver onto the phone hanging on the wall and smiled a positively dazzling and excited smile. "Hold on!" she cried. She rounded the corner and Scott shuffled his feet nervously. When she appeared again, she was carrying a large glass. When she handed it to him, he held it up, regarding its contents. The liquid inside was almost clear but had a whitish yellow tint. A couple of seeds near the bottom verified that the contents was indeed lemonade. The amusing thing, Scott noted, was that there was far more ice in the glass than lemonade.

"It's lemonade," Julia declared proudly.

"Thank you," Scott said, smiling.

He tipped the glass back and the sheer coldness of the drink stung his teeth. When the lemonade poured over his tongue and down his throat, it was all Scott could do to keep from coughing it up. His eyes closed tight and his lips puckered.

"It needs sugar, doesn't it?" Julia inquired, sounding disappointed.

"Whoo," Scott said, shaking his head. He opened his eyes to see Julia's large brown eyes looking at him imploringly. It was obvious she was trying extremely hard to please him and to cater to him. "It's great," he said. "It's just been a while since I had it homemade."

He tipped the glass back and downed the contents with a couple of gulps. With his tongue already shriveled, the rest of the glass honestly didn't seem too bad. In fact, it was satisfyingly refreshing. Julia happily took the glass from his hand and turned back for the kitchen.

"I'll get you a refill," she said. "Then you can get cleaned up."

"Cleaned up?" he asked. "Where am I going?"

"We need to go pick up Rachel."

"But I thought you…" The words came out of Scott's lips before he could stop them. By the time he'd reined his tongue, Julia was already rounding the bend again with his second glass.

"I changed my mind," she said, answering his unfinished question. There was a tone in her voice that made it clear she didn't want to be interrogated about it, so Scott decided to just keep a good thing going.

He took a few drinks from his glass, and licked his lips. "What do I do with the, uh, dirty clothes?"

"Just throw them in the hamper. I'll get them later."

Scott nodded. He tossed back the remainder of his lemonade and let out a sigh, suddenly wishing he had more. "Thank you," he said.

"You are very welcome," Julia said, smiling. "Now hurry up. We have a long drive ahead of us." Her voice trailed off as she disappeared once again around the corner.

"Wonderful," Scott said to himself as he bent to pull off his socks and headed down the hall towards the bathroom. He had barely turned on the water and jumped behind the curtain when the door opened. "I'm setting some clothes for you near the door," Julia's voice carried over the sounds of running water, and then the door shut again before Scott even had time to complain. A look of concern shadowed Scott's face. The sentiment wasn't lost on him, but he wasn't exactly the type of person who enjoyed being waited on hand and foot. Julia's sudden turn in behavior was quite unsettling.

He hurriedly bathed and dried himself. The only razor he found had obviously been used, presumably by him. He held it up, examining it closely, and finally decided to wait until he could get a new one. A little stubble never killed anybody, he told himself.

His clothes were neatly folded and stacked right by the door, just as Julia had said. He dressed. Khaki pants and a light blue, button-up shirt, and… a tie? Scott frowned, holding the strip of fabric before him. Things were definitely heading in a direction he wasn't looking forward to. Sighing, he flipped up his collar and began knotting the tie. Skilled fingers made short work, and he examined himself in the mirror to mixed feelings. It felt good to be dressed up. It gave him a sense of dignity. The shirt was obviously too big for him, and seemed to hang like curtains at his side. He tried tucking the excess into his pants but that didn't help much. The pants, too, were held up only by the belt pulled tight around his waist. He shrugged and gave his hair a final run-through with his fingers, and then he opened the door and stepped out into the hall where cold air struck his still damp skin and hair.

Julia darted out of her bedroom carrying some black shoes, polished to shine. "Here you go," she said. "Your old dress shoes. I hope they still fit…" She hurried past him into the bathroom and Scott noticed that she'd changed from the sweatshirt into a button-up shirt of her own, striped vertically with all different colors.

"Hey," Scott said. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" she replied, her face in the mirror as she touched up her lipstick. As he watched, she grabbed the towel and wiped away some of the condensation.

"You don't have to do this," he explained. "Fix me drinks, pick up my clothes. All that stuff. I don't mind taking care of myself. I'm used to it. I'm good at it."

Julia shot him a quick glance, looking simultaneously puzzled and amused. She chuckled and then went back to work on her makeup. "You were working all morning, and I appreciate it." She stepped away from the mirror and approached Scott. He stiffened as her hands touched his arms. She dropped her hands.

"Sorry," she said. Scott, embarrassed, looked away. "Look," Julia continued. "You surprised me this morning. I woke up, and I was sure you were gone for good, and I was going to let you go. And then, when I went downstairs and you were working. For us. Well…"

Scott raised his eyes and looked into Julia's. They were glistening, and she was smiling.

"It gave me hope," she said. She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes delicately, trying her best not to smear her eyeliner. She gave a quick laugh. "I decided today's a brand new day. We can start over."

She stepped away, walking briskly down the hall, and she grabbed her huge purse from the kitchen counter. "Hurry up," she said. "Or we're going to be late."

"Late?" Scott said as he dropped the shoes to floor and started wiggling his toes into them. "Late for what?"