Chapter 69

Doug walked with Anna outside where, although it was still raining, it was really light. "Stay here" Doug said jogging to the car. He got in and pulled it up to the curb for her so she wouldn't have to get wet. Once she was in he started off into town. "If I'm not mistaken there is a Mikendricks down here somewhere..." Doug said glancing around as he drove. "You better not eat like a girl...why is it that women never eat on dates?" he asked as he found the entrance he was looking for.

"Because if we ate like we did when our men weren't around, we'd never get dates." She said laughing, "that and if I ate like a guy did, I'd never get into this dress. I'm kind of partial to my skinny butt thank you."

Doug rolled his eyes. "Oh come on...i hope you really don't think that. Besides with the way you were running on that treadmill i don't think you have anything to worry about. I'm afraid I'm going to get smoked come spring when we are going to run together." Doug liked saying things about the future that involved the two of them. He pulled into the parking lot and went to open the door for her. "My lady" he said with a wink helping her out of the car. With her heels on she was almost taller than him. Doug looked at her and tried to think about it. They were seated quickly in a nook by the fireplace. Doug sat down with her and ordered a bottle of wine quietly. After the waiter left he took her hand from across the table and gave her a smile. She looked so beautiful in the candle light. "So..." Doug started at an attempt at conversation. "Tell me something new with you. What'd you do all day?"

She smiled softly at him, "I was invited to speak at a conference in Boston, I co-authored a paper last fall before I left Philly and they want us to present our findings. It's nothing much really we were working on a treatment for premature infants and underdeveloped lungs..." She looked over at him, "we need to find something other than work to talk about. Surely two very smart and brilliant pediatricians have something else in common."

Doug nodded. She was right, he was sure there were plenty of things for them to talk about. "Well I'm really into politics but i can get pretty fired up about that." he joked. He was never good at thinking of things to talk about on the spot. Most of the women he had dated in the past he hadn't seen for their conversation. "So what did you think of those little old women?" he asked taking a drink of his wine. Maybe she would have something to talk about with a little more substance. "I don't know...ask me anything you want. Ill tell you anything you want to know." after Doug said that he immediately thought, 'well not exactly' but he wouldn't let her know that.

Anna gently shook her head, "those little old ladies were rather amusing Doug. Must say that I am not used to that at all, it was an experience we shall say and leave it at that...did you play ball at UK?"

Doug smiled. "Oooh. I guess i won't leave ya alone with them anymore. Ha-ha I can get a real good mental picture of you knocking them out." he said with a laugh finishing up his wine. "Yeah i got a scholarship...not a full ride or anything but i played point guard." he put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "I'm too short to get any further than college though. I figured medicine was a good second."

"I saw you tearing up that court. Didn't seem to bug you too much there." She heard the familiar ring tone of her phone. Walking on the sun was coming from her purse. "Excuse me for a second." She said as she flipped it open, "Anna...slow down Dan...where..what..." She put her head onto her hands, "no I'm in Lexington right now. I'll get there I promise. Soon Dan. Tell Angel I love her please..." Anna hung up the phone and fought back the tears that were stinging her eyes.

Doug listened to Anna's end of the conversation. From her tone and the tears in her eyes he knew something was wrong. He tilted his head to the side and scooted his chair closer to her. "Anna, what's wrong?"

"That was my brother." She said softly, "my...my...my niece was in an accident." She choked out. She couldn't tell him the truth, she wanted to but this was something that no one knew...only her and Dan knew...she hadn't even shared this with her ex-husband. "I have to get back to Chicago; I have to make sure she's okay. I can't be here if something happens."

Doug took her hand. He felt bad for her but she seemed awfully upset about a niece he hadn't heard anything about. "Anna I'm sure she's fine. There's nothing you can do in Chicago." Doug wanted to prevent her from making a made dash to the airport before they had all the information. The last thing he needed was to hear she was rushing and got into an accident. "Just calm down...we'll figure it out."

"You don't understand...I can't explain this to you...but I have to be there." She said as she jammed her phone back into her purse, "I have to get back to Chicago...I have to be there for her."

Doug backed up in his chair. He didn't quite see how she could need to have to go back right now...but then again he wasn't very close with his family. "ok." he said standing up. He threw some money down on the table and started for the door. "You can take my flight for Tuesday, or I can try to get you one for tomorrow."

She followed him outside, tears still streaming down her face. "I have to get there as soon as I can." She desperately wanted to tell him why, but it would hurt to bad to.

Doug stopped in front of her. "Anna..." He was going to ask what was going on but then thought she might tell him to leave it alone. He really didn't want to get into a fight with her but this was starting to annoy him. It felt like she wasn't telling him the whole truth...but he had to trust her. That's all they had. He looked up as he felt the rain come down harder. "Forget it come on..." he said taking her to the car. Once they were in Doug quickly shifted it into reverse and started down the road, forgetting to put his seatbelt on. "I can take you straight to the airport. It's about and hour or so away." he said turning the windshield wipers on high as the rain poured. After driving in silence for a little bit Doug decided he had to ask. "I never heard you mention you're niece before." he said as he sped down the highway.

Anna looked down at the floor and swallowed hard, "She's not my niece Doug, I lied to you...I couldn't handle telling you the truth, so I lied...Angel is my daughter...when I was a freshman in college I got wrapped up in a group that I shouldn't have. I went to a frat party and passed out...9 months later Angel came into the world...Dan couldn't have kids of his own so he agreed that they would raise her so that I could go on with my life and not have to worry about having to raise a baby on my own. She's my daughter...no one knows...hell she doesn't even know."

Doug couldn't believe what she was telling him. "What?" he asked in a harsh tone looking over at her. "Why the hell didn't you just tell me the truth to begin with? I thought we talked about how important honesty was."

"And I said that I wouldn't go after the secrets in your past, I assumed that it meant that you wouldn't push for mine." She spat back. "This is not something that I am proud of. I have spent the last 17 years hiding this from everyone...if she wasn't laying in a hospital we wouldn't be having this conversation right now and she would still just be my niece when you met my family. There are something that you just don't tell anyone and this was one of them!"

Her tone was pissing Doug off. His foot went down on the accelerator as he yelled back. "Oh yeah...like you get into my happy past when you followed me the hell out here! You know you have a pretty screwed up sense of reality if you think i would care that you have a daughter." Doug shook his head. He couldn't believe she lied to him about something like that. "You know that's just great that you planned on keeping this from me too...you could ask me anything and i would tell you! That's real great Anna. Now I know for sure how far our relationship is going to go!" Doug clenched the steering wheel and sped the car even faster down the wet highway.

"What are you saying Doug?" She snapped, "That because I couldn't tell you that I fucked up that's it? You don't get it do you? That I couldn't tell you not because I didn't want to but because there was too much riding on keeping it a secret, that it would probably shatter what's left of my family for this to come out into the open?" She fell back against the seat, "what do you think that this is some sick twisted game that I am playing? That I am enjoying this? Doug, slow down we are going way to fast."

"I don't know what the hell to think!" he yelled as he changed lanes to pass an 18 wheeler. "I don't know what you're doing...but lying to me about something like that isn't going to work. I mean who I would tell! So no i guess i don't get it! Maybe it's just not worth all of...THIS!" on the word Doug turned to look at her and brought one hand off the steering wheel. He changed lanes as he looked at her and didn't see the car break in front of him as he sped to 90 mph down the road.

"Fine!" She snapped back at him, "you win..." She looked up to see brake lights in front of them, "Doug look out!" She yelled.