This is part two, and it might be better to read part one ahead of this one. It's short, and you'll be glad you did!
As the trio of new friends made their way across the park, Alex processed all that had happened to that point. It had started off as another day of enduring a loneliness that was piercing her heart. But in the span of a few minutes, she'd met two new friends - both named Wesley Walker Watson, although the older of the two preferred to be called Wes. And now, they held hands as they walked to their respective cars, with Alex sandwiched between the two Wesleys, holding hands with both.
There was no talk between them as they walked, but occasionally the younger Wesley would pull on her arm as he chased after whatever imaginary creature he thought he had seen as they walked. On the other side, his dad seemed to be spending his walk time looking back and forth between his son and his new friend Alex. This scenario was totally unexpected by all of them - well at least the two that were older than three years old.
They reached he place where their cars were parked. The younger Wesley dropped Alex's hand and dutifully headed to the back door of his dad's car, on the side where he knew his car seat would be. Wes also dropped Alex's hand and started over to where his son was not-so-patiently waiting, while turning back to Alex, saying, "Can you wait a few minutes while I get him strapped into his seat?"
Alex smiled back and said, "Sure."
Wes opened the door for his son and helped him climb into his seat. Once Wesley was secured, his dad shut the door and turned to find that Alex had stepped closer to his car. Wes smiled and said, "Do you like hamburgers?"
Alex nodded and replied, "Yes, as long as they are from the Burger Shack. Shall we meet there after you take Wesley to his mom's house?"
"Perfect! I can see you have great taste in burger joints! It will take me about 45 minutes to get him dropped off and back. I'll see you at the Shack then - looking forward to it!"
Alex grinned and replied, "Me, too!"
She watched as Wes got into his car and drove off with his son. The 45 minutes before they would meet again gave her time to think through all that she'd just experienced. What had started off as another gloomy day had turned around in a direction she couldn't have predicted. She reminded herself that she needed to use her brain about this, because right now her heart was bursting at the possibility of having a new friend at a time when that was exactly what she needed.
Alex had time to stop at her apartment before meeting Wes at the Burger Shack. She thought about changing clothes but realized that nobody was ever looked down upon for wearing jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt at a burger place. Showing up in the same clothes she had worn to the park would make it seem less like a date, and she figured Wes wouldn't have time to change clothes either. She looked in the mirror to check on her hair, running her brush through it a couple of times to straighten out some places where the breeze had altered it.
It would take her about ten minutes to get to the Burger Shack, so that meant she had another ten minutes to kill before she left. But there wasn't anything to do. Her apartment was always clean, so there was nothing to pick up and put in its place. She finally decided to go ahead and leave and wait for Wes at the Shack, guaranteeing she wouldn't be late.
Once arriving, she went inside and found a table for two in the corner of the cozy little restaurant. She looked at her watch and saw that it was still about ten minutes until Wes joined her. She looked over the menu and got refills on the glass of water that had been given to her as soon as she sat down. Then she waited some more, and some more after that.
Looking at her watch again, she discovered that Wes was now five minutes late, and doubt started to creep into Alex's mind. She chastised herself for getting her hopes up, for getting excited from just a simple handhold and a nice little afternoon with a handsome man and his cute and energetic three-year-old son. She should have known that the momentary respite from her despair and loneliness was just that - momentary, and not intended to repair her fragile mental state.
She waited ten more minutes, and each minute she sat there alone brought a little more darkness to her outlook. When she reached the twenty-minute mark, she stood up and started making her way to the door, stopping to offer to pay for her water, which was refused. She hung her head as she walked to her car. She chastised herself for allowing her hopes to be raised, since given her recent history, she felt guys just couldn't be trusted, and this was another example.
Her sad walk was interrupted by the squeal of tires on the asphalt street in front of the Burger Shack. Alex lifted her eyes in time to see Wes' car race into the parking lot, finding the first open space and slamming on the brakes to not run into the building. He got out of his car and raced around the front towards the door of the Shack. Before he got there, he saw her, standing next to her car. Wes ran straight to her, yelling out, "Alex, hold on!"
Alex wanted to enjoy the excitement she felt seeing him run towards her, but she guarded herself since he had been so late. "Alex, I'm so sorry! I was afraid you wouldn't still be here, and like an idiot, I didn't get your number before we left the park! Wesley's mom was late getting home, and I couldn't just leave him there by himself. I'm so glad I got back before you left!"
Alex let a shy smile escape her mouth. "Well...I was on my way home. I guess I didn't think about why you might have been late. With my luck lately, I had just chalked it up to another less than good experience. I'm sorry I was doubting you."
Wes laughed. "Well, what a way to start a friendship - both of us being sorry! Listen, if you will give me your number, I will never give you any reason to doubt me again. You don't deserve that, and it's just not my style. But let's do it now in case I get lost on the way to the restroom or something else stupid!"
