Chapter 5

Michael sat in his car outside the restaurant. He stared at the small drops of rain that speckled his windshield. Did he want to go in? This was Jane. This was real… he knew, even if he could not admit it to himself. He had not felt anything real in so long and he honestly did not know how to feel about their chance encounter.

The clock showed 11:55 am. He was to meet her at noon. He knew he could not go in. He could ignore her and never see her again. Miami was big enough. The chance of them running into each other again was slim. Again, Michael Cordero had no idea the works of fate upon him.

Just as he was thinking he should just leave, someone banged on his windshield. It was a parking attendant.

"Hey buddy, are you leaving or staying because the meter is at zero? You need to pay if you are staying.", the stocky uniformed man barked out.

Michael waved his hand and got out. "Staying." He finally said and he began feeding the meter with quarters.

He took a deep breath before entering the restaurant. And there she was. And she saw him and he saw her.

He gave her a small smile and a nod before heading over. He sat down and they just looked at each other. Her smile was sweet and familiar. The look in her eyes was nostalgic. He felt like he was living a de ja vu. Finally, he broke their trance and asked, "Uhh… what is good here?" She smiled before replying with various different options on the menu.

The next few minutes went along smoothly. They talked over the menu and ordered a couple drinks. Michael opted for a scotch on the rocks to help with the fluttery feeling in his stomach. Anxiety it was, he told himself.

"So, what have you been up to the past ten years." Jane said with a smile in her "Jane" way.

He took a large swig of his drink. He felt the warmth in his stomach from the drink. "Well, I'm divorced, and a cop turned cowboy back to cop again. It has been a journey. How about you?" He said in a nonchalant manner trying to shift the attention back to Jane.

Jane stumbled at first at the word divorced. "I uhh.. I'm…" She chuckled. "I'm sorry, you surprised me with the divorced aspect." She said softly.

Michael took another sip of his drink before responding, "Yeah… wasn't easy. We lost our baby and lost the marriage in the process." He finally said. His eyes watered. He grabbed his napkin and dapped them quickly.

Jane reached over and took his hand and there it was… both of their hearts glowing. "I'm so sorry Michael." She said it in the "Jane" way he knew and felt his heart warm. She was sincere and felt his pain.

"It's been a long time. I've healed as much as I'm going to. Please Jane, tell me about your life." Michael said.

Jane paused before responding. "I'm good. My books are all doing very well. The kids are thriving. Mateo is a teenager, so that is a struggle sometimes. Veronica is the apple of my eye. Such a sweet girl, always wanting to know more about life." Jane went on in a dreamlike manner. Everything was perfect, except her marriage.

"And Rafael?" Michael finally asked.

Jane took a sip of her wine before responding. "We are okay." She said softly.

Michael nodded in a knowingly manner. He knew what "okay" meant. Before he could respond, their food was delivered.

He felt his stomach growl having skipped breakfast. Jane smiled sweetly at him. "Let us dig in. This place is great."

They lost themselves in conversation. Catching up and the old days and soon the waitress was alerting them that they were closing for the dinner rush.

It was 4pm and Veronica was just finishing her after school activities. Thankfully, Xo had offered to pick her up since she would have her for the night.

"Wanna go grab a drink?" Jane said. She knew she should probably go home and prepare to meet Rafael and Petra, but at this point in time, she didn't want to be anywhere else.

"Sure." Michael said agreeably. They had a wonderful afternoon just catching up and talking over old times. No pressures or hanging on old traumas they had been through before or since their parting.

"I know a great place across from my apartment. You just wanna meet me there?" Michael asked as they paid their bill.

"Sounds great." Jane said enthusiastically.

They left and met 10 minutes later at his apartment parking lot. "Joes, across the street. Just a bar, but they have a great cocktail menu with small dishes if we get hungry later."

"Great." She said. She texted her mother as they walked over. "Getting drinks with Michael. Thank you so much for watching Veronica. I will give you more details tomorrow." She chuckled as she sent this text. She never thought she'd be in this place right now with Michael.

She heard her phone ding expecting it to be her mother replying. "Hey Jane. Are you coming out?" It was Petra. She hesitated before answering. "I couldn't find a babysitter for Veronica. You guys have fun!"

And so the night began.