She was having second thoughts as soon as she left the store. What about Fritz? He'd given her a beautiful brooch for Christmas; not only was it lovely, but it was also a family heirloom. What would he think if he knew she'd just accepted a date from a random stranger she'd met in a supermarket?

Yet the fact that he'd given her a sentimental gift didn't imply she 'owed' him anything, did it? After all, they were only platonic friends!

But would a man give a gift like that to a woman he only considered a friend? Certainly, Fritz had never said anything to her that could be interpreted as being romantic, but that didn't mean he wasn't attracted to her, did it?

The more important question was, how did she feel about him? The age difference was certainly a factor - that, and he had neither a car nor a babysitter for his nephews, so they couldn't go out on dates unless they brought the boys along.

However she tried to rationalize it away, she couldn't help feeling just a little guilty for accepting Brad's invitation.

On the night of the party, she put on her sexy black dress with matching heels and wore her favorite perfume, Tatiana. She watched for Brad's car through the front window and dashed outside when she saw him pull up. He whistled as she got in beside him.

"Wow, Jo, you look really hot!"

"Thanks. You look great, too." He wore black jeans with a gray sweater.

Jo enjoyed seeing more of the city through the car window than she had since her arrival. As it turned out, Brad's friend lived in a large two-story brick house with three windows on top and two beside the door on the bottom. Brad's friend met them at the door and let them in. He had longish dark brown hair and wore a New York Jets sweatshirt.

"This is Jo," Brad told him.

"Hey! I'm Dennis. Come on in."

The living room was darkly lit and had several long sofas, one against each wall. The Arctic Monkeys were playing full blast. Several people, three men and two women, were eating finger food and drinking beer or wine.

"Hi! I'm April," said one of the women.

"I'm Jo," said Jo.

"Want a Coors?" asked April.

"No thanks." Jo went into the kitchen to see what other drinks were available. She found a Seagram's Fuzzy Navel and took it back into the living room. More people arrived, and the party got livelier. Jo chatted some with April and a few others. She finished her Fuzzy Navel and had a couple more. She began to feel light headed and euphoric and was soon deep in conversation with a young man whose name she hadn't quite caught. She noticed people were pairing up and moving into other rooms in the house. The young man to whom she was talking took her hand and tried to get her to go upstairs with him. She refused.

What in the world am I doing here? she wondered as she watched Brad guzzle beer after beer. This isn't really my kind of thing at all.

Once again, Fritz's face flashed before her in her mind. What would he think of her if he knew where she was and what she was doing?

Eventually, the party wound down and people started to leave. Brad suddenly seemed to remember she was there.

"Ready to go, babe?"

I've been ready to go for ages, she thought to herself.

"Are you sure you're OK to drive?" she asked, remembering all the beers she'd seen him drink.

"Oh, I'm fine. I only had a few."

Jo was so glad to get away from the scene she decided it would be best to just not argue about it, and besides, she didn't have any other way home. She stepped out into the chilly night air with him.

As soon as they were on the road, she knew she'd made a mistake. Brad ran stop signs and zipped around corners as if he were steering a bumper car at the fair. She saw Brad pull into another car's path and didn't even have time to scream before she heard the crash.

Pain. Like she'd never felt before, worse than she ever could have imagined. Vaguely, she was aware of voices, of her body being lifted and placed onto a soft surface, but the pain was so overwhelming nothing else registered in her brain. Sirens wailed in the background; she felt herself being rolled over the ground and through a door.

Someone was beside her, talking to her, asking her questions.

"it hurts..." she gasped, and began to sob.

A pin prick in the arm was soon followed by a pleasant wooziness; then she was wrapped in the warm cocoon of sleep...

She awakened to find herself lying on her back in a white room. One whiff of the air told her she was in a hospital. An IV in her arm was attached to a bag on a pole beside her head.

What happened? Memories returned to her in bits and pieces...the party...leaving with Brad...

A nurse entered the room and smiled at her. "How do you feel?"

"My side and my head both hurt a little. What happened?"

"The car you were riding in was broadsided. You have three cracked ribs and a nasty head wound. No brain damage, thank goodness. We need to keep you overnight for observation, though."

Damn. I knew I never should have gone to that party - now look what's happened!

Sharon came to visit after lunch.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't get here earlier," she said. "I had a little trouble finding a sitter for the girls. How are you doing?"

"I'm really sore on my right side," Jo told her. "Every time I take a breath, it hurts. They told me it would be like that for awhile. How are the girls?"

"They're fine. I told them you were in an accident and got banged up a little but that you'd be fine soon."

Jo swallowed and stared at the ceiling. "Does Fritz know what happened?"