by Gail Sattler
After they disappeared out the door, Cindy took another dose of cold medication and crawled off to bed.
❧
Stepping out of the office elevator, Cindy immediately noticed a vase containing three flowers on her desk. This time the arrangement consisted of a red fascia, a yellow daisy mum, and a white carnation. Only two words appeared on the card. “Guess who?” The riddle didn’t take much guesswork to solve.
She set the flowers aside and immediately started working. Before long, Robert appeared beside her with more work.
“More flowers?”
Cindy mumbled her affirmation as she took the file from his hand and immediately started typing.
Robert stayed beside her. “He told me he wants to take you out to say thank you.”
She made a typo and backspaced over it. “I know,” she mumbled, trying to concentrate on the client’s contract. “But, I told him just to send me a few flowers, so he did. I’m sure he’ll soon forget about me.”
“Maybe,” Robert mumbled, studying the flowers. “Maybe not.”
Four
Another bouquet awaited her arrival. Today it was a red begonia, a yellow chrysanthemum, and a white lilac in a thin earthen vase. Lilacs were out of season, and she didn’t even want to venture a guess as to how much this little enterprise was costing him. The card mentioned his appointment with Robert, which she noted was unfortunately scheduled just before another visit from the annoying Glen Evans.
She had collected a stack of magazines to keep Glen occupied, but she needed to talk to Monty.
Monty arrived early. He stood in front of her, smiling, not even acknowledging his gift of the flowers on the corner of her desk.
Cindy couldn’t look away from his dark brown eyes. The beginning of laugh lines at their corners mesmerized her. She normally wouldn’t have associated laugh lines with his stark professional image, yet they somehow strengthened it.
She folded her hands on her desk. “Thanks for the flowers. They’re lovely, but I’d like you to stop sending them.”
“I thought you said you liked flowers.”
“Of course I like them, but you’ve sent so many that saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough.”
His smile widened, heightening the little laugh lines. Her breath caught. “I said once before that a few flowers would never say all that I wanted. How about going out to lunch with me so I can say everything I need to say? Would today work for you?”
She couldn’t think with him looking at her like that, so she pretended to study the flowers while she considered his request. If the daily flowers were any indication of his tenacity, she didn’t see any other option. “Okay, I have an hour for lunch. But don’t you have a job to get back to?”
He shrugged. “Taking a little longer for one lunch won’t matter.”
Robert buzzed. “Send him in.”
Monty picked up his briefcase and entered Robert’s office.
Cindy busied herself with the stack of work in front of her and was ready to punch in the final total on the current spread-sheet when Glen Evans arrived.
“Hi,” he purred, standing much too close to the front of her desk for her liking.
She buzzed Robert. “Glen Evans is here for his appointment.”
Instead of taking a seat, he continued to stand in front of her desk while she attempted to work. She tried to ignore him, but he planted his hip against the side of the desk, half sitting on the corner. She heard the shuffle of his shoes as he crossed his ankles.
“So, since I should be finished with Rob around lunchtime, how about joining me?”
“Sorry, I’m afraid I’m busy for lunch.” She smiled politely, then noticed Monty standing behind Glen, who was still leaning on her desk.
Monty cleared his throat, startling Glen and causing him to stand. The two of them stood facing each other, sizing each other up like a pair of bantam roosters. Cindy bit her bottom lip.
Fortunately, Robert chose that moment to buzz and tell Cindy that he was ready to see Glen.
Monty’s eyes followed Glen until the door closed, making Cindy wonder what was going through his head. He faced her again. “It’s only eleven-thirty. I’ll be back at noon, if that’s okay with you.”
“Yes, that will be fine.”
He nodded, and she watched him until he disappeared into the elevator, praying she’d done the right thing.
❧
Monty stood outside the building and inhaled a deep, deep breath of fresh air. He could expand his lungs all he wanted, and it didn’t hurt anymore. He smiled with the pure joy of freedom to breathe.
With a quick glance at the time, he pulled his cellular phone out of his pocket. He opened the car door and, sitting with his legs sticking out, rescheduled his lunchtime appointment, called his office for his messages, and caught up on a few calls. At noon, rather than going up and making a pest of himself, in case she wasn’t ready, he phoned from the parking lot.
“Good morning. Mr. Blackmore’s office,” Cindy answered in the sweet, melodic voice that had filled his dreams since the accident.
“Hi, it’s Monty. It’s afternoon now. Available for lunch yet?”
“I’m not sure. One moment please.” Music came on the line as she put him on hold. He smiled, admiring her professional phone manners.
“Yes, I can go now, and Robert told me to take an extra half hour. Did you have something to do with that?”
With the phone against his ear, Monty headed back into the building the moment she said she could go.
“Me? Never. I’ll be right there,” he said, already halfway up the elevator.
“Great. I’ll need just a couple of minutes to finish what I’m doing and . . .” She paused for a second. “Can you hold again? I have another call coming in.” The elevator continued to rise, and the door opened at the same time as Cindy came back on the line. “Sorry about that. I’ll be ready by the time you get here. Okay?”
“Fine by me.”
He stood in front of her, but she hadn’t noticed him yet.
“Bye,” she said into the phone in her hand as she raised her head. She jumped when she saw him.
“Bye,” he said into the cellular phone. He snapped it shut and tucked it into his breast pocket.
Cindy glared at the phone in her hand and hastily hung it up. “Very funny,” she grumbled.
Monty grinned. “You said you’d be ready when I arrived.”
“Just for that, I should take that extra half an hour to comb my hair.” She reached under her desk to pick up her purse and rose to leave. Monty noticed the other secretaries watching them, smiling. He nodded and winked, causing one of them to blush, then he followed behind Cindy to the elevator.
❧
After she stepped inside the open elevator door, Cindy turned to face Monty, finding herself exactly eye to eye with him. Considering her heels, that made Monty about five-foot-ten. Not that he was short, but after spending so much time with Troy, she wasn’t used to it anymore.
He blinked but said nothing.
Monty held the door open as she got into his car. The new blue Mercedes was spotless, inside and out. She ran her hand over the soft leather upholstery. “Nice,” she mumbled, checking out the rest of the interior. She’d never been inside a car like this before. “I guess the yellow one must have been written off by the insurance company.”
He smiled at her description of his state-of-the-art car. “Yes, it was. I decided to get something with an automatic transmission.”
“I couldn’t help but notice you have a bit of a limp. Will it go away?”
His cute little grin disappeared. “No. In addition to a number of pins to hold me together, one leg is now a little shorter than the other one. But I can walk, which is more than they first expected. Do you have a favorite restaurant in the area, or should I choose?”
“Anything you choose is fine.” Cindy forced herself to smile. She didn’t go out often, especially just for lunch, because
this was one way of saving money for her college courses in the fall.
He steered into the parking lot of a restaurant where the price of one lunch would pay for nearly a semester’s worth of textbooks.
On the way in, she couldn’t help but notice his pronounced limp, nor could she stop herself from looking down when he spoke to the hostess. The sole of one of his shoes looked thicker than the other.
Once they were seated and their orders taken, Monty leaned forward in his chair, rested his elbows on the table, and cradled his coffee cup in his palms. “This probably sounds like a line, but I want to know everything there is to know about you.”
She could understand his curiosity, given the circumstances. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t really do anything interesting.”
Monty smiled, returned the cup to its saucer, and leaned back in his chair. “I doubt that. Not everyone would do what you did.”
She knew he was referring to that night five months ago. “I have my Industrial First Aid ticket, so it was a natural thing to do. In fact, I had my first aid bag right beside me at the time. I was just on my way home from a practice. We didn’t win the trophy, but we did place second.”
He raised his eyebrows but said nothing, so Cindy continued.
“Many companies need employees with industrial first aid certification rather than just simple St. John’s Ambulance training. I don’t know how it started, but once a year there’s a big competition between company teams. We set up phony emergencies to practice, and I’m on a team with some of the guys from the last place I worked before Circuits, Inc. It’s nice to keep in touch.”
He smiled. “Yes, it would be.”
Again, he didn’t comment further, so Cindy prattled on about her first aid team and the funny things that sometimes happened at the practices. His attention never once wavered until their lunches arrived.
Unsure of what to do in front of a stranger, Cindy steeled her nerve and bowed her head despite being in a public restaurant, meaning to pause for a quick moment of silent prayer before eating.
“Cindy?”
She blushed and opened her eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
When he reached across the table to rest his hand on hers, she tried not to flinch. “Can we give thanks together? I do have a lot to be thankful for.”
Unable to speak, she nodded. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, so she did the same. He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze before speaking barely loud enough for her to hear in the public setting.
“Dear Lord, thank You for this day, for the blessings You’ve bestowed upon us, and for the life You’ve given us. We thank You for this food we’re about to eat and pray for Your continuing guidance and blessings in the days to come. Amen.” He squeezed her fingers again, then released her hand.
She nodded and mumbled an “amen,” then fumbled with her fork. Of all her preconceived ideas about Monty, that he would be a Christian was not one of them.
“Now where were we? I believe you were telling me about coming in second place in that competition.”
“Uh, yes,” she mumbled.
“I know it’s a difficult and grueling course. You must be proud of yourself.”
“Not really. The skills are good to know.”
Silence hung in the air.
“So, what else do you do with yourself? I already asked Robert if you were married. I hope you don’t mind.”
She shook her head.
“I’d like to get to know you better. Unless you’re already seeing someone.”
Again, she shook her head. The only male she’d spent time with lately was Troy and she simply didn’t have those kinds of feelings for him. Besides, lately Troy had been seeing a lot of Erin, which, in a way, she found a relief.
Conversation drifted to general topics, allowing her to relax, but inside, her mind was doing cartwheels. Rather than talk about herself, she had so much she wanted to ask him.
When the conversation lagged, he again steered it toward more personal questions. “So, what do you do for fun? What do you do with yourself in the evenings? What are your hobbies and interests?”
“Besides the first aid thing, I like to go hiking. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. ”
He sighed, staring off into space for a few seconds. “I obviously haven’t been able to do much of anything since the accident. I think I miss hiking most of all. Where do you like to go? There’s a great trail up the mountain at Golden Ears Provincial Park that’s a real challenge. I’ve yet to try the one that goes to the peak. Maybe someday we could go together?”
She tried not to let her mouth drop open. She would have guessed his tastes leaned toward an expensive health club. “You like to hike?”
He nodded. “I find the trails a great place to escape to get my head together.”
Cindy enjoyed a brisk walk in the forest. Hiking was also cheap, the only cost being the boots and backpack, which lasted for years, plus the gas to get out of town.
“Want to go hiking together? Although, I’ll be going pretty slow, compared to what you’re no doubt used to. And I’ll have to stick to the level ground. I’ve been cooped up so long, I think I’ll go stark raving mad if I don’t get out soon. Most of all, I’d really enjoy your company.”
“I guess we could go slow and easy, maybe take a lunch and make a day of it.”
The words barely out of her mouth, Cindy realized what she had just committed herself to. Instead of convincing him to stop sending more flowers, she had obligated herself into spending an entire day with him.
She folded her hands in front of her on the tabletop. “I’ve answered all your questions. Turnabout is fair play. Besides hiking, what do you do for fun? So far, we’ve only talked about me.”
Monty laid his fork down to thoughtfully swirl the last of his coffee at the bottom of the cup.
“Lately I’ve spent most of my time working. Aside from hiking, I sometimes go sailing when I can get away for a day on the weekend, which isn’t often anymore.” He paused to drink the last sip of his coffee. “I was doing some work on the boat the day of the accident.” He laughed without mirth for a second. “I fell in, and, boy, was that water cold. I had to either drive home soaking wet and freezing or strip down to my underwear with the heat up full blast. Good thing I found an old pair of shorts on the boat.” He smiled, and his ears reddened. “Afterwards I was pretty embarrassed, but at the time, though, I didn’t care. I really thought I was going to die.”
His laughter disappeared. “I really thought that was the end, Cindy. I don’t think there’s any way to say thank you for something like that, but if it wasn’t for you and God’s timing, I wouldn’t be on this earth today.”
Cindy gulped. Monty reached across the table, touched her hand, and gave it a little squeeze. His tender gesture reminded her so much of the pitiful way he had tried to do the same thing in the car that night. The memory almost brought tears to her eyes. “I don’t know what to say,” she choked out.
“I’m sorry, I really meant to keep today lighthearted. I think I’d better get you back to work.”
They made pleasant small talk until they reached her office. He parked the car and escorted her to the main entrance. Before she had a chance to say good-bye, he clasped one hand between his larger ones. “May I call you at home?”
She pulled her hand away, nodded, and hurried inside.
Alone in the elevator, she leaned against the wall, trying to will her heart from pounding so hard. She had expected a stilted and awkward conversation, but instead, she had enjoyed herself. Making arrangements to see him again had fallen into place naturally. However, seeing him again was a very bad idea.
Before she completed her industrial first aid course, the instructor had recommended a book to the class. She had been so impressed with it that she’d decided to buy it rather than check it out from the library. One of the chapters described common responses of a victim toward their
rescuer.
From his reaction to their first meeting in the office and his wanting to somehow pay her back, to the flowers, to their get-to-know-you lunch, he displayed the classic symptoms in the correct order, according to the book. The book cautioned rescuers that in a male/female situation, it was common for many victims to mistake their extreme gratitude for affection, erroneously believing themselves to be in love with the rescuer. The projected outcome of such a relationship was doomed from the start, having been based on unrealistic or false expectations.
The elevator door swooshed open. Brenda, Melinda, Ann, and Susan stopped what they were doing, lifted their arms at the same time to study their watches, and shook their heads in unison. Cindy wondered how much they’d practiced their little performance while she was gone.
“Very funny,” she groused as she marched to her desk.
Cindy squeezed her eyes shut at the onslaught of four voices bombarding her at once.
“What’s he like?”
“Did he take you somewhere really nice?”
“He sure is good looking, isn’t he?”
“What did he say?”
“Is he as nice as he looks?”
“Did he ask you out again?”
Cindy threw her hands up. “Stop it, all of you!” Four pairs of eyes burned into her. “We had a nice lunch, and yes, I’m going to see him again. Okay?” She tried her best to ignore them and resumed her work. Before long, they took the hint. As she typed, her mind ran through a mental checklist of her meager selection of shoes, and which ones had the lowest heels, then she kicked herself for thinking about such a thing.
❧
“Are you running away from home or something?”
Cindy sat in the middle of her bedroom floor surrounded by all the hiking supplies she had just pulled out of her bedroom closet. Partly because of her new job and partly because of spending so much time with Troy, she hadn’t been hiking since last year. She hadn’t realized until she talked to Monty how much she missed it.
“I’m going hiking next weekend with Monty.”
Erin snorted. “Sounds like fun,” she said, not at all sounding like she meant it. While Cindy shared many interests and activities with Erin, hiking was not one of them.
