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12:30 came fast. She still could not understand what had come over her. Since arriving at work she found herself constantly checking her wrist watch. The officer had not called her back, and she wondered if that meant she would be seeing him at Stuart's, or maybe he was too busy to check his phone. That would, after all, make sense, she thought, since he was an officer and had important things to do. Or maybe he reconsidered since I made myself look like an idiot yesterday and decided to just forget about it.

Elizabeth could not even figure out why she was so concerned about getting her book back. The publishing company had given her three copies which meant she had two copies of her missing book at the apartment. She didn't necessarily need the book back. Maybe she just wanted to have all of her books just in case, well, Jake set the apartment on fire. The again, she could have just ordered more copies once she found a new place.

Damn it, she though as she stood across the street waiting for the light to change, Why are you over thinking this? Just get your book, thank the officer, and get your lunch. She was not worried about him staying wrong. She was convinced that if he showed up he'd probably be in a rush.

The light changed signaling her time to cross. She took a deep breath and began to step towards the clearly visible Stuart's.

It was not a hugely popular restaurant with flashy signs or gimmicks. It was just a quaint little place with a maroon banner above the entrance that lit up at night. She was quite fond of their tomato bisque and avocado salad. She had just a glass of orange juice in the morning due to the fact that she liked to leave before Jake woke up. She was not a morning person, so she knew that she would have little patience for his immaturity. The combination of her empty stomach and the thought of the hot, rich soup made her moisten her lips as she neared the small restaurant.

She was so deeply occupied in her thoughts of feeling the warmth of creamy tomato soup that she barely noticed a young officer standing near the entrance with a copy of Rabbit Ears tucked under one of his arms.

There he is, she thought.

She began to rehearse different things she could say to appear less awkward than she had before, but nothing seemed to satisfy her nerves. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she approached him.

"Officer John?" she said softly wondering if he preferred to be addressed by title. She did her best to appear indifferent even though she could feel her heart racing.

"Elizabeth," he responded with a smile, "I got your message."

Elizabeth examined his features once again; short black hair, brown eyes, and very boyish. There was something haunting about his smile. It seemed sincere, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes. Still, it was infectious to her, and she couldn't help but break away from her false indifference and smile back.

"You have my book?" she asked as her attention was still on his face and not on the book tucked under his arm.

"Oh, yeah," he said raising his eyebrows. He handed her the book. Once she had the book in her hand she had realized she truly had not missed it at all. She examined the cover that she had seen numerous times since it had been delivered to the apartment with the other copies, and then looked back up at his face.

"I'm sorry about this," she said, "I really appreciate you taking the time to return this to me."

He shook his head in response. "It's really no problem."

"Well, thanks anyway," she said.

Things began to feel awkward again as they simply stood there for a few moments smiling at one another in silence. "Would you like to get something to eat?" he said breaking the silence. Elizabeth bit her lip. "Aren't you busy?" she asked, "I mean, I wouldn't want to be the one to distract you should you be needed elsewhere."

He let out a light laugh. "Well, if I'm needed I'll get a tip," he explained, "and I'll unfortunately have to cut lunch short. Hopefully, that won't happen, though," she laughed uncomfortably as she did when she first ran into him the day before. "Well, I guess it could be a nice little fun break," she said.

He held the door open for her as they walked into Stuart's. They grabbed a table next to the window and a waiter handed them both a menu upon seeing them take their seats. "They have amazing soup here," she said to the officer sitting across from her, "their tomato bisque is yummy."

Ugh, did I just say the word, 'yummy?'

She felt her cheeks flush as she buried her nose back in her menu. "I'll give it a try," she heard him say. So much for not looking like an idiot, she thought.

There was another uncomfortable silence after they placed their orders, but he was gracious enough to break it again. "So, you're a writer?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but I've only been able to publish with independent companies," she explained, "but I'm just happy to have my books published."

"The kids really seemed to like you yesterday," he said, "That's at least the impression I got from my friend, Jeremy."

She smiled. "I'm glad to know that," she said, "but I'm terrible with names."

"He's a crazy kid," he smirked, "He used to stay at the orphanage, but since he got sick we've been doing our best to help him get the proper care he needs at the hospital."

"How bad is it?" she asked.

"He started to have these really bad headaches and they told me that he would wake up at night very sick to his stomach," he explained, "The doctors performed a few brain scans and found a tumor."

Elizabeth didn't know what to say. "Goodness," she said, "I'm sorry. I can't even imagine what he's going through."

"None of us can," he said, "but the kid would have you believe there was nothing wrong with him. He's a typical 'tough guy.'" John laughed, but Elizabeth could tell that he and Jeremy were good friends and that he was truly concerned about his well being. It made her want to smile, but she held back knowing that it wouldn't be appropriate. "How are they going to treat him?"

"He's being treated with chemotherapy, and his doctors are planning a surgery for him," he said, "I try to visit him as much as I can. I just don't want him to feel like he is alone."

Elizabeth looked down at her book. She realized the kids were sick, but she started to question why she picked such a sad story. Her overall message in the book was forgiveness, but she realized that maybe what the kids needed was a good happy ending. How could I be so stupid? she wondered to herself. "That's really nice of you," she said, "to visit him like that."

He shrugged. "He needs a friend right now."

Once they were done eating he offered to pay the bill, but she insisted on paying her part. She even offered to pay his, but he insisted on paying for his own half as well. "Thanks again for returning my book," she said, "I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it," he said, "I just figured since you had obviously put time and effort into getting a good story published that you would want it back."

She raised an eyebrow. "So, you read it?"

"Yeah," he smirked, "Couldn't help myself."

"Well," she said as she reached into her bag and took out a pen, "It's yours."

She signed her name on the front cover and wrote, "Thank you!" underneath it.

She handed it to him and he looked at her questioningly. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I can just order another one from the publishing company," she said not wanting to admit that she had two other copies.

Elizabeth knew she was cutting it close now, but she liked talking to him. Still, she needed to keep her job. "I should probably get back to work," she said regretfully.

"I understand," he said with a nod.

She held out her hand. "It was really nice meeting you." He accepted her hand and shook it. "Same here."

Later that night after class, Elizabeth opened up her laptop and began typing. She decided that her published stories were too sad, and that these kids needed something a little more uplifting. Happy endings may not be my expertise, she thought, but I'm going to do my best to give them that.