Common Bonds (Chapter 2)

Alex slowly woke up to hear a faint beeping close by her ear. It took her a moment to realize it was the alarm on her phone. How many had she slept through this time? She groaned and grabbed the phone off the side table and silenced the alarm before pulling up the clock app to see that she had only slept through one alarm and this was her second. Since she was up, she turned off the other 2 alarms and huffed to herself. Some habits never died, and sleeping late was one of hers. Even when John and the kids were still alive… she stopped herself and sighed… yes, even then she liked sleeping in.

She shook herself out of the thought pattern emerging and stretched her body across the bed, enjoying the feeling of her muscles and bones pulling and popping before curling back up onto her side. She lay there a moment before rolling onto her back and smiling. Today was going to be a good day. Here she was, living a new life, in a new country, with her own business, and things were looking up there. If things went well with Dave today she was hoping it would be the beginning of a fruitful business relationship. A smile crept to her lips as she thought about the man she had met the day before, then her eyebrow perked up as she analyzed her own thoughts. If she was honest with herself, Dave might be the first man she had even let herself be phased by in almost two and a half years, and she wondered why in the short time they had met and spent together at Anna's party he could already be catching her interest. Determined to let the day go where it would and not try and analyze every possible outcome, she hopped up out of bed and went about preparing for a shower.

After showering and getting dressed in a pair of jeans and purple sweater she went into what was her office, the second bedroom of her flat, and began preparing the paperwork she would need for Dave. She was grateful that Anna had introduced them, but was determined not to let friendship get in the way of what was proper business etiquette. She drew up a contract based on previous ones she had used, and as she printed it, she realized that they hadn't discussed compensation at all. With a slight frown and a hum, she grabbed her phone.

Hi Dave, just prepping for our arranged meeting later today. We didn't discuss ££- would you like to before we meet? You may decide it isn't worth your time?

She sent the text and frowned again as she tapped her fingers on the side of her phone, hoping that wouldn't be the case… She jumped slightly as the screen switched to an incoming call and the ringer immediately began. It was Dave.

She took a deep breath, "Hello, Dave?"

"Hi, Alex! Sorry, it was easier to call with the phone on my shoulder than text, my hands are a bit full right now." What Alex couldn't see was Dave was in the middle of making sandwiches for school lunches.

"Oh, no problem. So, should we discuss compensation before we meet later?" Alex grabbed the contract and other paperwork and put it into a folder with some brochure and website mock-ups she had been working on.

"No, no… I'm sure we'll be fine. I'm sure what you have in mind is perfectly fine. I'll see you at 10, right?"

"Okay, well if you're sure about that, then yes, I'll see you then. Looking forward to it." She perked her eyebrow up, accepting his answer and smiling that things were moving forward.

"Yup, same here – see you then. Bye."

"Okay, bye," Alex said and hung up the phone. At the same time, Dave let the phone slip from his shoulder and caught it with his hand to hit the END button before setting the phone down to finish prepping lunches.

Alex double checked her files to be sure she had everything she needed, grabbed the keys to the B&B that the owner had left for her while they were out of town and grabbed her coat before heading out the door.

—

Dave finished packing lunches into assigned bags and yelled out, "Alright, come on kids, time to go to school, let's get moving! Anna's going to be here in 5 minutes, she's dropping you off today!"

He grabbed his backpack and made sure he had his camera, extra batteries, and other needed items in it. He wanted to go by the office to do a little work on other projects before meeting with Alex. He also wanted to do a bit of research on the Bed & Breakfast they would be doing the work for so he could be prepared for what the location and building were like before arriving.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang and he ran to open the door. "Hello, Anna! The kids are almost ready. Thanks again for taking them to school this morning."

"Hello! No problem, happy to help. So, you're meeting up with Alex today?"

"Yes, we're meeting at 10:00 at the B&B she needs photos of," He said as she went back into the kitchen quickly to grab the kids' lunches and bring them around to their book bags that were sitting by the front door.

"That's lovely! So glad that worked out," she said with a bit of a mischievous smile on her face.

Dave stopped in his tracks, "Anna," he drawled out her name longer than needed as if to warn her off from wherever her train of thought was going. He knew his (former) sister-in-law, and about six months after Sarah had up and left, she had started trying to draw his attention to various women.

"No, no, Dave. It's not exactly like that. I promise I actually hadn't even thought of introducing you two, although I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it until she mentioned she needed a photographer. But Dave, just hear me out," She waited a moment to see she had his attention. "Get to know her, you two have a lot in common, I think you'll find…"

Dave sighed and stood up straight from where he had been bent over at the kids' backpacks, interrupting her. "You mean other than having a friend/family member who seems to try too hard to be a matchmaker?"

"Please Dave, just be friendly, get to know her," Anna said with sincerity and softness to her voice that made Dave pause and look down at her.

"Oh, Anna, when am I not at least friendly? She seems very nice." He turned, hoping the conversation was over, and yelled up the stairs, "Kids, NOW!" With that all four kids came running from their rooms, thankfully all seemed to be put together. He said his goodbyes as they went out the door, then grabbed his helmet and backpack and made his way to his motorcycle, heading off to his studio.

Upon arriving, he dropped his helmet and backpack onto the couch and sat at his desk, jiggling the mouse to wake it up so he could begin his research. He quickly discovered why the B&B in question was obviously in need of some new promotional materials if their current website was any indication it looked like someone had taken the photos with their flip phone and the site was not the least bit appealing. Well, surely they couldn't go anywhere but up from here, he smirked to himself.

He spent the next hour working on photo editing before checking his watch and shutting down his laptop to head out to meet Alex.

—

Alex had a few hours to spare, which she had planned for. The B&B was just down the street from Brew, so she parked her car midway and walked down to Brew for breakfast. After a warm greeting from the employees, her part-time coworkers, she made her order and found a corner seat to get comfortable in. She grabbed her tablet out of her messenger bag so she could check emails. She had put in bids for several different clients and was hoping to hear back some good news. She took a sip of her tea and smiled wide as she saw not one, but two emails of confirmation from different clients. She sent back a few replies and as she ate opened up her calendar to begin planning out the timetable for both clients' work.

Her phone began beeping at her, an alarm she had set so she would remember when it was time to leave to head to the B&B. Yes, she knew herself well enough to know she would get so into work she would have been late. She turned off the alarm and quickly packed her bags, dropping her trash in the bin and heading out with a wave to the girls behind the counter.

It was a relatively short walk to the B&B, made even more comfortable by the brightly colored sneakers she wore. Alex was no-nonsense, she wore no makeup, her long, slightly wavy brown hair still damp because she never blew-dry it out of the shower (and often it ended up in a pony tail once dry). Her typical work attire was exactly in the style she was wearing today – jeans, sweater or t-shirt, sneakers. She only dressed up more when appropriate, depending on the client, and for special occasions.

She arrived at the B&B ten minutes early so she sat on the short brick wall that lined the sidewalk, crossing her legs up under her and pulling out the folder with the paperwork she had brought with her. She began flipping through the papers when she heard a motorcycle coming down the street. She wouldn't have glanced up, but she heard it slow down. As she glanced up, she saw it pulling into the space in front of her. One eyebrow raised and a small smirk crossed her mouth as Dave Tiler stepped off his motorcycle and pulled off his helmet. Well, there's a new bit of information… a motorcycle driver… interesting, to say the least, she thought to herself. She glanced over him as he turned away to briefly adjust things on the bike and strap his helmet down. He was also wearing jeans and a black leather jacket with what appeared to be a black shirt underneath. She was once again struck by the fact that her analysis was more than just… analysis… it was appreciation. She took a deep breath, shaking the thoughts as he turned and smiled at her. How was she supposed to shake the thoughts when he smiled like that.

"Dave, Hi!" She reached out to shake his hand.

"Hi, Alex. So here we are!" He took a glance up at the house ahead of them.

"Yes, this is it. It's a beautiful place. So, first things first, eh?" She turned and nodded him towards the brick wall, setting down the folder and pulling out a few papers. "This is a standard agreement, just so we're clear on what I expect of you and what you can expect of me. Including the rate at which I'd like to pay you if you are agreeable." Dave smiled as he looked over the paperwork and she got a slightly confused look on her face. "What, what is it?"

"Oh, sorry – it's just… well, you are VERY organized, Alex! I mean that in a very good way, please don't get me wrong. You might be the first person I've ever worked with to provide just adequate documentation the foot I step in the door, or on the pavement as the case may be." He smiled again and picked up the paperwork to read over it. "Yes, yes, this looks perfect. I told you there'd be no issue. Do you have a pen I can borrow, I'll sign off on it right now."

She visibly relaxed and smiled, "Perfect, yes here you go." She pulled a pen out of her bag and handed it over. He signed off on the agreement and then she did the same. "Also, I brought along some mock-ups of items I've already started working on for them. Thought it would help you to see the feel I was going with. I'm not opposed to changing it if we feel the pictures taking us a different direction, though. So please, don't feel trapped by what I've already done…".

She handed over a few more pieces of paper that he flipped through. "Oh, Alex, this is brilliant! I don't doubt you are going to do a miracle for their business! I checked out their website before I came…."

She shuddered, "Oh my, yes, well… it doesn't take much to improve on that. Thanks though, I'm glad you agree. She smiled as she kept her eyes on the papers they were viewing. "Well, shall we go on inside? The owners are away on vacation, so our timing is perfect – they won't be hanging about and we can get whatever shots we need… although I might want to get a nice shot of them when they get back."

"Sure, sure, let's get on. I've got everything I should need in my bag."

As they walked up the few steps from the street and up the sidewalk to the house, a ringing began from Dave's jacket pocket. He quickly slipped the phone out and let out a short groan when he saw the number on the screen. "I'm so sorry, Alex. Can you just give me a moment? This is my kids' school – I've got to answer."

"Oh. Sure, sure, no problem." Alex paused and turned away to give Dave a sense of privacy, pretending to look at the exterior of the house. Plus, she was hoping any sign of surprise wasn't showing on her face. Kids? She mulled that one over a bit while she heard Dave giving short, curt answers to whoever was talking on the other end of the phone line.

"Yes, yes, I understand. No, I don't find the behavior appropriate either. So you'll be keeping him in today? Okay, yes, I'll come in the morning to discuss. Thank you. Bye." There were pauses between his statements, but it was obvious someone had gotten into trouble. He hung up the phone and glanced back up at Alex as he put the phone away. "I'm so sorry about that. Appears my son decided it was okay to get into a fight at school today."

"Uh oh, well, it's no problem. I understand," She paused a moment, then decided to go ahead and ask. "So you have kids?" And a wife then? She thought to herself but didn't want to seem too nosy.

Dave seemed a bit surprised, "Yes, five of them actually. One grown and on her own basically. Others live at home." He paused, then raised his eyebrow, "You mean Anna didn't mention any of this to you?"

Alex smirked, "No, no she didn't. You know, for the stickler on details that Anna is, now that I think about it she was very quiet about anything to do with you."

"Yes," Dave chuckled, "that is rather surprising, I'd agree." How peculiar, he thought to himself, Anna was so insistent that he get to know her, and obviously hadn't told either of them very much about each other. He had a choice to make, did he tell her now, or later – about Rita, Sarah, why he was taking calls from his kids' school in the middle of the day instead of a wife he no longer had. He opted for later. "So, shall we go in?"

"Yes, let's do that." She nodded in agreement, deciding if he wanted to get to work and avoid personal details, she wasn't going to push him, even if something inside her desperately wanted to know more about this man and his kids – she was fighting that curiosity as best she could for now.

—

An hour and a half later, Dave & Alex had gotten great shots of each room, some close-ups of particular details that Dave found beauty in. Alex enjoyed watching him work and felt sure his photographs were going to turn out excellent. She loved that he found interest in the smallest things, seeing how they could be used for her work. They spent their time discussing how each photograph could potentially be used, as well as admiring the place itself.

As they drew to an end of the work, Dave glanced at his watch. "I should get going. I want to work on these," he held up his camera, "While it's still fresh in my mind. I'll let you know when I'm done and send them over to you? Hopefully later today."

"Yeah, that'd be great." They walked out of the house together and started out down the sidewalk. "I've got a shift at The Brew tonight, but when I get home I'll look for your email. Once I get the photos and start finalizing all the materials and the website, I'd love to have you take a look, if you don't mind."

"Sure, sounds good. See you later, then." Dave unstrapped his helmet and put it on before hopping onto the motorcycle. He started up the motorcycle then waved. Alex waved back and started to walk away as he pulled off.

Hours later, Alex was working her shift at The Brew. She stood behind the counter, having just rung up a customer's order, and felt her phone vibrate in her apron pocket. She wiped her hands off and quickly grabbed it to check the text.

"Ready to send over the photos, what's your email so I can send you the link?"

She typed a quick reply with her email address and dropped her phone back into her pocket. She was pleased now on multiple accounts with Dave. Without having seen the actual photographs, she had an idea from seeing him work that he was a decent photographer, and now he was also quick in getting back to her with the work. It didn't hurt that he also seemed to be a nice guy who didn't creep her out. She had dealt with that a few times, too.

That night when she got home from work, she quickly got into her PJs and made a cup of tea before sitting comfortably into her office chair and pulling up her email. A few minutes later she grabbed her phone and started typing.

A: "These photos are amazing! Thanks so much!" She set the phone down and started working on the materials. It was another half hour before her phone buzzed.

D: "Sorry, bed time for the kids. Glad you like them. What's your timeline like?"

A: "I'm working on it now. I'm a night owl. Hoping to have pieces ready for proofing tomorrow. Would like to show the client when they return home next week with hopefully very little changes on their part."

D: "I'll leave you to your work then. Hope it goes well."

Another hour later and Alex and finished several of the pieces and was uploading pictures to the test website. Her phone buzzed again.

D: "Still working?"

A: "Yup, almost done."

D: "You really are brilliant! Couldn't sleep, thought I'd check on the night owl."

Alex smiled. Was he thinking about her?

A: "Thanks, I love my work. Do you have some time tomorrow that you could look over everything?"

She noted that it took a bit longer for an answer as the three little dots popped up on her screen and hopped for a while.

D: "I've got to be at the kid's school for a presentation tomorrow morning, and have clients tomorrow afternoon."

She was starting to type a response when another text popped up.

D: "How about dinner? If you wouldn't mind a house of raving lunatic children, you're welcome to come over and we can look at everything after dinner? Anna and Robin are coming over, too."

Her jaw hung slack for a moment. She started typing and stopped multiple times. Then another text popped up.

Dave's heart was racing. He was laying in bed in his pajamas, and one moment had decided to text Alex again, the next moment he was suddenly inviting her to dinner with him and the kids. He growled to himself and hit his phone against his head a moment. He was jumping ahead way too fast, but it just seemed like the right thing to do at the moment. Now he was sure he had messed up. He started typing again.

D: "Sorry, that may be a bit too personal, I didn't mean to be awkward. We can meet Wednesday morning first thing at my studio."

Alex checked herself for a moment. Why did this seem like such a big deal? Even if it was a dinner at Dave's home, he was a nice guy and her friends would be there as well. And she had a proposal she wanted to pass by Dave sooner rather than later.

A: "No, no. That's okay. Dinner tomorrow is good.

Dave let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. So maybe he hadn't messed things up.

A: "What time should I be there? Should I bring anything?"

D: "6 pm okay? Nothing needed."

A: "6 is good. Address?"

D: "5 Hillingdon Drive"

Alex looked over her work with a deep breath before popping her neck to one side, then the other, and closing out all the windows on her computer screen. She grabbed her phone again and typed.

A: "Think I'm done for the night."

She turned off the lights to her office and made her way to her bedroom, sitting her phone on her bedside table before going to brush her teeth and wash her face before bed. When she came back to bed and got under the covers she saw her phone light up.

D: "Good night then."

A: "Good night."

Not quite ready for either of them to divulge about their past yet, but it's going to happen in the next chapter! At least for one of them – maybe both!