Chapter 30
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"I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken -- and I'd rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived." - Margaret Mitchell
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Sam trudged into the Starbucks around the corner from the federal building. She needed high octane caffeine and she needed it now. She took her place at the end of a long line of suits to wait her turn before the caffeine gods. She was in the middle of trying to decide what coffee concoction she wanted to order when someone bumped into her, spilling their drink onto her shoulder. She turned around and saw a man with big brown eyes, chiseled features and wavy chestnut hair looking back at her.
"Oh, man, I am so sorry." He quickly pulled a napkin out and started dabbing her shoulder to try and absorb the coffee. "It's asses to elbows in here. "
"It's okay." Sam took one the napkins he held and started to try and get ride of the coffee as well.
"You have to let me pay for the dry cleaning," he offered.
"No, really its fine, you didn't do it on purpose," she said as she finished getting rid of most of the coffee spill.
"You have to at least let me buy your coffee," he insisted with a wide smile.
She eyed him carefully before deciding, "Sure, why not?" Who was she to turn down a very handsome man offering to buy her a coffee? Her eyes involuntarily went to his left hand and she saw no wedding ring. Sam quickly checked herself, why was she so concerned if this guy was married?
"Great, I'm David by the way. David Hewson," he introduced with an extended hand.
"Samantha Spade," she replied, shaking his hand. She waited for the inevitable Sam Spade reference but it never came. He just smiled and got in line next to her.
About twenty minutes later she and David headed out of Starbucks, coffees in hand. While they waited in line she had learned that he worked in advertising, liked to ski, and was very much single because before she even knew how it happened, they had made a date for Friday night.
"I don't care what you say, STYX is a great band and someday they will be appreciated for their genius," David commented. Sam thought it was so cute that he tried to sound serious but his laughing gave him away.
"It's so sad that you might truly believe that," she replied dryly.
David stopped at the corner and prepared to cross the street. He smiled at her and said, "So, I'll see you Friday?"
"Friday it is," Sam replied, smiling right back at him.
She watched as he crossed the street and wondered what she had gotten herself into? Two days ago she was crying about Martin and today she had a date with someone else. She felt slight tinge of guilt but reminded herself that she couldn't waste any more tears over Martin. They were over and it was time for her to move on.
