Kate sat hunched over her steering wheel, ready to cry. She felt just like the dismal, damp day outside. She had barely made it out of the driveway this morning, and her day was already in the toilet. Why did her tire have to go flat today? That she was going to be late for work was bad enough! But it just had to be a day when there was an early meeting with all the department heads. She probably wouldn't get fired over it, but she would surely get called on the carpet for being late. Just what she wanted for her fortieth birthday. She got out of the car and started to put the jack together.
Kate was busy trying to fit the jack under the car, swearing under her breath, when she felt a tap on her shoulder and a deep voice say "Can I help?" She jumped up, startled, and fell backwards into a pair of masculine arms. "Hey, easy!" he said as he helped steady her on her feet. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just thought you could use a hand." Kate turned and looked into a pair of deep blue eyes set in a handsome tanned face. A handsome young face. She guessed him to be in his late twenties. He was wearing a pair of worn blue jeans and a T-shirt.
"Thank you," she replied with a smile. "I guess I don't really know how to do this. My husband used to take care of this kind of thing for me."
He knelt to look at the jack and then back at her. "Used to?" he questioned. "By the way, my name is Dillon." He turned back to the car and in no time had it off the ground and was changing the tire.
"I'm Kate. Yes, he used to," Kate answered. "About 8 months ago he decided his best friend's wife was more exciting than I am and divorced me. Funny thing is, she never did leave her husband."
"The man was a fool. Who else would leave a woman like you?" He looked at her and smiled and Kate wished she were younger. If she were younger she would invite him in to wash up and maybe have some coffee. Before she realized it, Kate had offered Dillon that cup of coffee, and he had accepted. He followed her into the house, admiring her sunny kitchen as she put on a pot of coffee and called her office. They sat at her little kitchen table and talked as the coffee brewed. He told her he was 30, not 27, and owned his own landscaping business, so she didn't have to worry about making him late for anything. She told him it was her 40th birthday, she had missed an important meeting that morning, and frankly didn't care, she was taking the day off like she wanted to in the first place.
By the time she handed him a steaming cup of coffee, they were getting to feel like friends. Kate couldn't believe she blushed as his hand lingered on hers when he took his cup. It had been a long time since she had blushed over a man. She liked the way it made her feel, as though it was springtime and there were flowers blooming everywhere.
They talked late into the morning, their coffee long cold and forgotten. She told him about her children and how the kids themselves had worked out a six month split for custody when they knew their parents were getting divorced. They were at their father's house until the following month. He told her about the tragic death of his sister on the way to his wedding. How after they postponed the wedding, his fiancé had taken her best friend on their honeymoon trip and announced on her return that she no longer had any interest in him, but was going to live with her girlfriend. He got the last laugh though, because 4 months later the girlfriend left his ex-fiance for her brother. They shared their likes and dislikes about everything and found they had many attitudes the same.
Before they knew it the morning was gone, and the midday sun was casting long shadows across the linoleum floor of Kate's kitchen. Dillon got to his feet and mumbled something about why he should leave. Kate offered to fix some lunch, but he thanked her and said he should go. She walked him to the door and then stood there long after it had closed behind him, daydreaming about what it would have been like to have him take her in his arms and make love to her.
