Margaret awoke on Saturday morning around 7:30 to get ready to do her weekly jog in Valley Green. Her cousin Edith usually went with her and this Saturday was no exception. Edith's looks differed markedly with her cousin's. Edith was slightly taller than her petite cousin with long, golden blonde tresses that shone especially bright in the sunlight. Her looks had lead Edith to briefly consider a career as a model before deciding it was much too difficult to pursue. She instead settled on studying economics and now worked an as analyst at a local banking firm.

Margaret and Edith were roommates who shared their modest two bedroom apartment in the Chestnut Hill section of the city. They were also best friends and cousins who shared almost every stage of life of together. The only time the two were ever apart was during high school when Margaret decided to leave Germantown Friends, the school that she and Edith attended since primary school, and attend the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Edith decided to stay behind at their school since most of the friends they shared were still there. Margaret, on the other hand, wanted a change from her routine and decided the best way to go about that was to leave the school behind. Margaret never regretted her decision. She made lifelong friends from different cultures and social strata. Even during this period, the two often met after school and during weekends. They were reunited once more in college sharing first a dorm room during freshman and sophomore years and then an apartment during junior and senior years.

While Margaret and Edith were driving to the park, Edith's phone rang. It was her fiancé, Max Lennox. He was calling to confirm their lunch date and also asked if Margaret was coming.

"Why would Max want me to come along on a lunch date?" asked Margaret suspiciously.

"Oh come on Margaret. You have nothing better to do today."

"I didn't know you were planning my schedule Edith. Besides, it seems really odd that you two would want me to come along unless you had some ulterior motive."

Margaret knew that Edith and Max were trying to match her with various friends of theirs but she didn't appreciate their efforts. Margaret was correct in her suspicion. They were trying to set her up on another date.

Edith was relentless in begging Margaret to come. Margaret could never resist Edith's pouting and thus decided to come along.
"I'll only come on the condition that you won't set me up with some awkwardly shy bore like that last guy you try to set me up with."

"Oh, I promise you will love him!" said Edith smiling.

As the week progressed, John had begun to come to terms with his breakup from Anne. Although he was not happy with the manner in which Anne dissolved their relationship, he was becoming increasingly happy that it was over. In a strange way, he was content that Anne had brought about the inevitable. John was happy that it was Saturday and that the week was at an end. He woke up early to get ready to go jogging at Valley Green.

Although the park was quite a distance from his Society Hill home, he found that he liked the tranquility and serenity that Valley Green offered more than Kelly Drive-which is where he usually jogged during the week, time permitting. He loved the abundant greenery of the park as well as the animals-chipmunks, otters, drakes, even raccoons-that abound in the park but scarce in other parts of the city. To John, the park was a natural refuge from his urban life, a refuge that offered a country feel.

John parked his car in the parking lot of the park and walked to the trail that was filled with walkers, joggers and bikers. Just as he was about to turn on his iPod, he saw a most incredible sight. Two women running in his direction; one was a pretty blonde wearing a navy blue t-shirt that read "Penn" in red letters with white shorts while the other was a petite and pretty brunette, wearing a pink t-shirt that also read "Penn" in white letters and black shorts. The second woman looked strikingly familiar to the woman who had rebuked him in Starbucks earlier in the week. Pausing, he let them approach. He realized then that the brunette was indeed Margaret.

He never thought he would meet her again and part of him was hoping that he never would. However, there was another part of him, a part of himself that he didn't want to acknowledge, that was bewitched by this woman, who had still managed to slink her way into his thoughts intermittently throughout the week. He couldn't believe that she was right before his eyes yet again.

"Is that man staring at us?" thought Margaret as she saw the tall figure standing still and alone. Margaret became disconcerted as she wondered why the man was staring at her and Edith. Edith came out of her jogging imposed reverie to notice her cousin's discomfort. Realizing that her cousin was looking towards a mysterious man, Edith directed her gaze towards the source of her cousin's apprehension.

"Margaret! Who is that man? Why is he staring?"

"I have no idea but he is creeping me out! If he tries anything funny, we'll gang up on him. He can't possibly overpower both of …"

While Margaret was speaking to her cousin, they came closer upon the man making Margaret realize that he was no stranger at all but the man she had verbally attacked earlier in the week. Margaret's fear immediately turned into mortification that she should have to face him again.

"Margaret, what's wrong? Why did you stop speaking?"

Edith realized that there was some tense recognition between the two and decided to let her cousin explain what was going on instead of prodding her for more information.

"Oh, hell! I didn't think I'd see him again!"

"You know him? I don't know why you wouldn't want to see him again. He is absolutely gorg…"

"Edith, he's a horrible jerk! He's the guy I told off in the Starbucks on Monday. Just keep running past him like you don't notice…"

Just as Margaret was finishing off her thought, John began to jog towards them and stopped as he met them. He was directly in their path, forcing them to stop. He wasn't sure why but he felt some sudden compulsion to confront Margaret once more.

"Margaret? I believe we've met" said John with a smug smirk that grew with the noticeable discomfort that Margaret was feeling in his presence. It made him feel a keen sense of control, something that was lacking in their first encounter.

Margaret was uncomfortable but not only because she was in his presence. Standing face to face or rather face to shoulder since there was a considerable height difference between them, she noticed various physical features that she had failed to note during their first tempestuous encounter; the rich blue of his eyes, his squared jaw covered by just a hint of stubble, his thin but still chiseled chest and arms that she could make out from his t-shirt. She felt uncomfortable being confronted by him and angry for finding anything remotely attractive about him. Margaret felt her attraction to him took away the little control she had in this delicate situation. Wanting to regain the upper hand, Margaret lifted her head rather defiantly so that her eyes could see straight into his.

"Yes, we have. You must excuse me for not catching your name previously but it was rather hard to do when a certain insolent man made a scene in a café."

John winced at Margaret's comment but quickly regained his composure. "Ah, yes it's rather fortunate to not have an insolent man making a scene now. Still, it must be disappointing not to have an opportunity to offer yourself as a hero to garner the praises of all the park goers. By the way, my name is John Thornton."

Margaret immediately caught the intention behind John's statement and felt a strong urge to respond. Edith, seeing her cousin's rising indignation and wishing to avoid an altercation between the two, tried hard to pull her cousin away so that they could finish their jog.

"My name is Edith. It's very nice to meet you John. Margaret, we should be finishing our jog. We have to get back to the apartment soon. Margaret!" John waved at the duo; feeling satisfied that he had gained the upper hand in this encounter.

Margaret pulled away from her cousin, causing Edith to let out an exasperated sigh. She walked back to John who thought that their meeting was over and thus turned on his iPod to begin his jog. Before he could get far, Margaret had managed to catch up to him. Tapping him on the shoulder, she was able to gain his attention and make him turn around.

"Oh, I thought you had left the park."

"No, I didn't leave. John, that's your name right?" John nodded allowing Margaret to continue "I think you insinuated that I took the actions on Monday out of some desire to gain attention and approval from others. That is furthest from the truth! Unlike you, I believe in treating people with respect and kindness! That was the only thing that motivated how I spoke to you."

John watched Margaret intently as she spoke. He thought she was supercilious to be sure but also incredibly beautiful, more so than any other woman he had encountered. Her words left him spellbound and made him listen to and gaze at her with an intensity that discomforted Margaret.

"You believe in treating all people with respect and kindness except me. Margaret, I cannot excuse how I treated the woman in Starbucks and I did apologize to her. I wish you could extend the same courtesy to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a busy schedule and I must continue running before attending to other things. Good day."

Margaret watched John slowly fade into the trail of the park. Who was this man who seemed to inspire all kinds of emotions to come out of her? Their first meeting she could surely dismiss to chance but now they had met again and Margaret had a prescient feeling that they would meet once more. Why was this man awkwardly bursting into her life and at this time?

"If only all women were as fortunate as you to get into arguments with gorgeous British men?" Edith jokingly said, breaking Margaret's reverie. "You didn't tell me he was so hot. Only you could be antagonistic with such a hot guy."

"Edith, his arrogance detracts from any attractive qualities he has."

"So you admit that you find him attractive."

"Well, I can see why a woman would be attracted to him but he is still a jerk!"

"He did seem a bit smug but also rather charming. Oh, I bet a lot of women are fawning over him! You would be the only one who isn't."

"Well, they're welcome to him with my good wishes!"

With that, John was dropped from the minds of the two for the time being. Margaret, however, began to think about him more intermittently despite her best efforts not to.

Edith and Margaret stopped briefly at a local café to get coffee on the go before heading back to their abode. It was about 10:00 when they arrived home. They decided that they should begin to get ready for their lunch date promptly since they were scheduled to meet Max and Margaret's blind date at noon.

On the ride to the restaurant, Margaret tried to pry more information from Edith about the mysterious lunch date to little avail. How many times had she been the object of one of Edith's good hearted but ill fated schemes to match her up with "the perfect guy"? Margaret was perfectly content being single and not looking for anyone, which only frustrated Edith. She couldn't understand why Margaret, with her charm, intelligence and good looks was not actively seeking out anyone. It was surely not due to any lack of interest on the part of the opposite sex. Margaret received her fair share of offers for coffee, dates, lunch, etc. but usually turned them down. The only time she went on dates is at her cousin's request.

"Well, you can at least tell me where we're going" said Margaret.

"Bliss on Broad Street."

"Well, at least we're in an area with plenty of cabs and a subway station…in case I have to run for my life from the date you're setting me up with."

"Oh Margaret, whatever. You haven't even seen him yet and you don't know how you'll react to him. Although I suspect you'll be very surprised."

"We'll see."

"Here's our stop. Margaret, I am so excited!"

"I'm glad one of us is."

"At least try to get half way excited. We'll be at the restaurant in a minute."

Edith and Margaret walked up the steps of the subway station and onto the busily crowded Broad Street. Margaret was all too glad to be off the train. There was a Phillies game taking place later in the afternoon and the train they caught was crowded with fans making their way down Broad Street to Citizens Stadium.

Max met Edith and Margaret in front of the restaurant and escorted them in. They were led to a comfortable booth where they were seated against an oak wall that encased a glass case enclosing very serene and rich blue water. "Max, where is he?" asked Edith.

"He called me. He is on his way and should be here shortly."

"Perfect!"

Just as Edith spoke, Harry Lennox walked in. Edith and Max noticed him before Margaret. Hearing Harry's name, Margaret finally looked in the same direction and saw that it was indeed her former lover. Margaret was dumbfounded. She had to admit to herself that Edith had definitely outdone herself this time. Edith was right that she would be surprised. Harry walked over to the trio with a lightness and gaiety to his step that was the result of knowing that he would see Margaret once more; the woman who had remained in his thoughts all through law school and his time in Boston, the woman whose memory brought him back to Philadelphia.

Margaret's astonishment caused her to have a delayed reaction to Harry's arrival. Max hugged his brother and Edith did the same, giving her future brother-in-law a peck on the cheek as well. When Harry finally turned his attention to Margaret, she still appeared to be in a bit of a stupor. Forcing herself to say something all Margaret could say was "Harry! I am surprised to see you."