At 42 Wendy didn't feel quite so beautiful any more. Her two kids were away at college and her husband, well, ex-husband now, was in the arms of his 19 year old chippie! Well, that's how Wendy liked to refer to her anyway. She thought back to those days when she'd been the prom queen and home coming queen in college. Oh to have those days back she thought to herself. But then in the next moment she shook head and thought, no, those days really weren't all that wonderful.
She was feeling a little old and unattractive. She still got asked out on dates but she'd learned to be a little more cautious than she probably needed to be after several of the men had lied about their marital status. One time it didn't even bother her that much that the guy was still married since he'd claimed he was out of the house and on his own. That all changed when his wife showed up at a restaurant they were having dinner at. After that Wendy refused all offers of dates for a year which, she thought, made her seem cold and distant and the reason it'd been months since anyone had asked.
It was an especially cold and snowy January day and Wendy was headed home when while going down a hill she'd lost control of her car and gone head long into an imposing tree. After the airbags had deflated she heard a tapping on her window. She pushed the button to lower it a little hoping they still worked. They did.
"Are you all right?" A man's voice asked.
"Yeah, I think so," she replied a little unsure. Her neck felt a little sore where she'd been tossed back by both the impact with the tree and the quick expansion of the airbag.
"Here, let me help you out," the man offered.
"I'm gonna call triple A first," she replied. She connected quickly with Triple A and they kept her on the line until they had summoned a wrecker and had it on the way. Then she pulled the door latch and pushed against the door. It resisted her. She pushed again and then harder a third time and it suddenly opened. Had her seatbelt not been on still she'd have fallen into the snow.
"Here, let me help you out," the man offered holding his hand forward and grasping her by her upper arm. As she got up she noticed the man was tallish, really good looking and smiling.
"Are you all right?" He asked showing genuine concern.
"I think so," she replied still not entirely certain but gaining confidence that she was. "My neck's a little sore but I don't think I have whiplash or anything."
They stood there for a minute or so introducing each other. His name was Brad, coincidentally, and fortunately he'd been right behind her when she lost control of her car. He suggested they retire to his car at least until the wrecker arrived and with the snow and bitter cold Wendy found it impossible to disagree. She was also impressed with his car when they got to it, a new BMW 740. But then she thought to herself that he did look like a kid so it was probably his father's car.
They talked first about what a miserable evening it was and then about themselves. She learned that Brad wasn't living with his parents, the car was his and he was a rather successful attorney for a major law firm. As she looked at him and listened to him talk she thought he rather looked like Brad Pitt blonde hair, boyish good looks and all.
Just before the wrecker arrived a police cruiser stopped and they all discussed what happened. Before Wendy finished telling the police office her story the wrecker arrived too. The policeman, deciding Wendy was in no way intoxicated or injured left the scene. The wrecker driver got the car pulled away from the tree and hoisted up. Wendy had assumed he'd give her a ride but he said that it was against company policy and that the gas station would call her the next day with the status of the car. He told her that it looked like she'd broken a connecting rod and that the front end was possibly even more screwed up. She sighed to herself thinking of how expensive it was going to be to fix.
"I can give you a ride to your house," Brad offered upon seeing the frown on her face.
"Do you mind?" She replied gratefully. Under any other circumstance Wendy would have called for and wait for a cab to come get her but she was cold and tired and had no desire to stand out in the snow storm any longer.
She directed Brad towards her condo and along the way opined how lucky she felt that she'd hadn't been going any faster. Once they arrived at her condo she said, "Thank you ever so much for your help." Then thinking immediately the need to repay him she offered, "Well, the least I can do is offer to cook supper, I'm quite the cook or so all my friends say." Then she thought to herself she had no idea if he was married or otherwise taken.
But before she could say another word Brad said, "I'd like that very much, thank you. I wasn't looking forward to the beef stew my mother dropped by yesterday, she's not much of a cook."
She lead him up to her condo, taken his coat and showed him where she kept her liquor asking him to help himself and pour her some Pinot Noir. Once in the kitchen she yelled out to him, "How do you feel about chicken stir fry? It's easy, quick and if I do say I do a particularly good job?"
"That'd be great!"
Before she started Wendy ran to the bathroom to see how she looked. She ran a brush through her long blonde hair and checked her makeup. It still looked good, no smudges. Then she added some lipstick. Once done she looked into the mirror and said to herself, what are you doing? This isn't a date! She hurried back into the kitchen and started supper.
"Do you mind if I put on some music?" Brad asked from her living room.
"Please do!" A couple of minutes later she thought she'd melt when she heard the selection he'd made, Diana Krull. Now if he could just make a fire in the fireplace, she thought to herself. I've got to have a fireplace in the next place I live.
She'd had to clean off her messy dining room table before setting it and Brad had joked with her about how he had the same problem. Brad had allowed her to feel so at ease with the situation she couldn't help wonder to herself why more men weren't like him. They'd had quiet conversation while they ate. They stole looks at each other. Wendy thought that more than once he'd caught her staring at him and felt embarrassed.
They'd cleared the table into her dishwasher and retired to the living room. Brad was the perfect gentleman waiting for her to sit first and asking once again how she was feeling.