Sunlight danced across the baby blue carpet in April's new condo. She had just finished moving in the day before. Finally after 10 years in a rotten marriage she was free to make her own decisions and do as she saw fit. It was a new beginning for her and she was excited.
As she lay there in bed, thoughts of her past life skipped through her mind. She thought about what a tyrant her husband, Dave, had been. She was forced to dress as he liked. She wasn't allowed to leave their home for more than 5 minutes without clearing it with him first. He chose all her personal hygiene items. Without a doubt this man was a control freak and she needed to get out before he became so physically abusive that she would never be able to leave.
She had sought permission to visit her mother in Colorado two weeks ago and by some miracle, he allowed her to go without him accompanying her. She hopped a plane with a suitcase full of her clothing and a few personal items and never looked back. She was fearful of what he might do when he realized that she wasn't coming home. She worried about whether or not he might jump a plane to Colorado and seek her out at her mother's home only to find that wasn't where she was. She feared what he might do to her mother upon learning that she wasn't there as he was such an angry man. As it turned out, she had nothing to fear. No sooner had she left on her trip did he sell their home on the coast of Malibu and move in with another woman.
April looked across the room at the wall clock she had bought at the local Wal-Mart the day before. It was still very early, only 7:00am. She crawled back up under the blankets, pulling them over her head, and drifted off to sleep for another 2 hours. At 9:00am there was a knock at the door. April slid out of bed and tied her black cotton robe around her naked body and then headed down the stairs. Even though she knew that Dave had shacked up with another woman, she still had a nervousness about her. She peered through the peep hole to see the delivery men standing there with her new 42" flat-screen T.V. She opened the door, directed the delivery men to place it in its new home and then thanked them as they left.
Moments after they had left her phone rang. Only a few people had her new number and she couldn't imagine who would be calling her this early on a Saturday. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the cordless phone. Her mother was on the other end of the line and seemed to be in a great mood.
"Hello dear," her mother spoke.
"Hi mom," April answered, yawning a little.
"What are you doing this evening?" her mother asked.
"I don't know yet," she paused. April knew her mom was up to something and wanted to get to the gist of things quickly. "Why do you ask?"
There was a long pause and April had to repeat the question. She hated when her mom was so sneaky. April made her way back to the living room and sat on her couch, still in the plastic covering, waiting for her mom's reply.
"Mom," she called out, "why do you want to know?"
"I was just thinking..." her voice trailed off
"Yeah," April prodded.
"Well there is this nice young man that I work with and I think he would be perfect for you!" she exclaimed.
April had to resist from groaning too loudly. After all, it was her mother that had loaned her the money to get her life started out there. But she also wasn't into getting into a serious relationship just then. April squirmed on the couch trying to figure out what to say.
"Mom," she started, "I'm just not ready to date yet. I am not looking to get into a serious relationship right now. Hell, I haven't even filed my divorce papers yet."
"I know this, April. But there is no reason why you can't go out to dinner and maybe a movie with this guy. He's nice and you can always use new friends."
Her mom was right. Since moving to Colorado 2 weeks ago, April hadn't done much other than to unpack, purchase new home furnishings, find a job and sleep. She was starting to make new friends at her job but none of them had gone out of their way to invite her to do something after work or on a weekend. And deeper down inside her she felt something missing...SEX!!
"Fine," April answered her mom. "Give him my number and I'll give him a try."
Her mom told her that she had already given Gavin, the guy from work, her number but told him not to call until she had spoken to her daughter. April was a little upset hearing this but knew in her heart her mom was only trying to help. Her mom also gave her Gavin's number and asked her to call him. They spoke for a little while longer and then hung up the phone. April went on to program her new television set and home entertainment theater before heading back upstairs to dress for the day.
At the top of the stairs she made the decision to call Gavin. By this time it was almost noon and a good time to call this mystery man. Before heading for the shower she went back to her bedroom and found the phone under her pile of clothes from the past week. She picked up the receiver once and then put it back down. She started to get up and just say "to hell with it" when an overwhelming desire to call him came over her. She sat back on the end of her bed, picked up the phone and dialed the number, not knowing what to expect.