Chapter 2

It was dark for mid afternoon. Or maybe it was just that every shade was pulled down and the lighting was poor in that particular room. Richie looked down at his watch again and tapped his pencil on the edge of his book. "Damn, where is that guy?" The thought of having a math tutor was hard enough, but being his puppet and having to wait for him to show up was more than Richie cold take at the moment. Duncan had said that after a week of being lost that he would help. By that, Richie thought that meant Mac himself was going to help, so he agreed to it. Little did he know, what McLeod really meant was that he would hire a tutor to work one on one with the struggling immortal. It was really not a situation that made him feel good about himself, but if it meant not letting his closest friend down, then he would suffer through it.

"Hello Richie."

The unexpectedly familiar voice pulled him back to reality. When he saw who it was that was greeting him, the room seamed to brighten up a bit. "Celeste! Hi! How are you?"

"I'm good, and you?" she smiled brightly at him.

"I'm alright. What brings you to the dark end of the study center?"

Celeste smiled again and pulled a nearby chair closer to her. She stood up on it, tapped the light bulb above her head slightly and the room lit up in florescent light. Richie looked at her shapely legs as she stepped down. "That bulb is a stubborn one. You have to tell it when you want it to work."

"Well that's great. Maybe now George will be able to find his way here." Richie looked annoyed by the thought.

"George?" Celeste inquired.

"Yeah, George Benson. He has been tutoring me for the last week and a half. He was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago."

"Well, George is gone. He transferred to another school unexpectedly." Celeste looked sorry to be the one to deliver the news.

"Oh, so you know him, eh knew him?" Richie looked upset as he inquired. "Any idea where he went? I'd like to go thank him for leaving me high and dry without even a word."

"Don't worry Richie, the math center has sent me to take his place. That is if you don't mind having me as a tutor."

"Oh, yeah. That's cool. When do we start?" the anger in him melted away quicker than it had appeared.

Celeste smiled, "Right now if you're ready."

"Great, let's do it." Richie felt his luck changing.

The pair sat down under the now bright lights and started reviewing the previous day's lesson. Something about the way Celeste explained it, seemed to make it much easier to understand. After what felt like a very quick hour had gone by, Richie was finishing up his assignment. "It's so much easier when you do it that way."

"I think so too. I don't know why they don't teach it like this. It would make the whole class easier." Celeste looked please that she could help. "Well, I have a class now. Do you think you are all set for now?"

"Yeah, I'm good to go thanks to you." Richie had appreciation written all over his face. This woman, unlike George, had been able to teach him without making him feel stupid. It was a feeling of genuine kindness and support. A feeling he hadn't felt since Tessa died 3 years ago. As soon as her face popped into his head, the sadness came flooding back like it was just yesterday. Richie realized that he was never able to truly let go enough to let someone new in. At least not in that way. Girlfriends had been a dime a dozen but no one had been able to make him feel loved the way Tessa had.

But there was something about Celeste. The smile, the laugh and the genuine concern and desire to help, that brought back that feeling for a few moments. How nice it was to not feel that empty spot, even if it was just for a few seconds. Tessa's death had been the worst day of his life. A day that he would never forget. Without even trying, Tessa had become the mother figure that Richie needed, even though he wasn't aware of that need until it was too late.

The memory of his own pain suddenly reminded him of a greater pain. The pain he still saw in his friends eyes. The pain that brought Duncan to his knees. The pain that Richie was afraid would never heal. McLeod hadn't had much interest in women since that day and Richie wished that he could take that pain away from his best friend. On many occasions he had tried to convince him to go out and have some fun hoping that he would meet someone who could help him through this dark time. No one could ever replace Tessa, but someone could love him enough to help ease the pain and dissipate the loneliness.

Just like the light bulb above their heads, Richie brightened up suddenly with a single thought. Could Celeste help Mac? Could she be the one to pull him out of the fog. She had been able to help him the way Tessa had, so maybe just maybe, she would be a good match for Duncan.

Celeste was still packing her bag when Richie suddenly blurted out, "Are you seeing anyone?"

She looked stunned by the question and to her surprise she answered honestly. "Um, no."

Richie's smile widened, "Would you be interested in coming over for dinner?"

"Oh, I don't know if that's a good idea Ritchie." She desperately tried to come up with plans that she knew she didn't have."

"Oh c'mon, it'll be great. I'll make you some dinner and we can just hang out for a while." Richie could beg with his eyes like no other.

"Yeah I guess." Celeste didn't want to hurt his feelings but knew that if he started to show any interest other than friendship, she would have to. Getting close to people never seemed to work out for her. "It will be nice to get together as friends." She tried to emphasize the last word of her statement, but Richie didn't seem to notice.

"Ok, great. So, I'll catch up with you after class then." Richie felt the excitement rush through his body like an adrenaline rush.

Celeste smiled one last time, hiding the dread she was feeling. "Ok, I'll wait for you in the courtyard." With that she picked up her belongings and headed for the door.