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never-ending to-do list. Admitting that he stopped craving
her body the way he once had broken her heart. She swore that sometimes he had
looked right at her without realizing she was there. She often asked him the
same questions over and over again, knowing he hadn’t heard a word she’d said
because he was so lost in his own thoughts.
    She stepped on to
the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor, hoping she wouldn’t
have to wait too long for a taxi. She slipped her boots on as she waited for
the elevator to finish its descent.
    “Well, well, this
is a nice surprise.”
    She looked up to
see Charlie, the security guard she’d often chatted with when she came down to
get her weekend newspaper. “Oh, hi,” she said, her face flaming when she got a
glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair was tangled, her make-up smeared,
and there were red burn marks on her neck and chest. Talk about taking the
walk of shame.
    “It’s so nice to
see you again, Dr. Carlton.”
    “You as well,” she
said, praying he would sense her need for discretion. “Um, I was just going to
call a taxi.”
    If he was
surprised by the statement, he didn’t let on, though she knew he must have
wondered why Evan wasn’t driving her home.
    “Let me make that
call for you,” he said, slipping in behind the security desk where he monitored
the cameras and responded to the residents’ concerns.
    “Oh, you don’t
have to do that,” she said, reaching in to her purse. “I have my cell phone
with me.”
    “No trouble at
all,” he said, smiling.
    She watched him
make the call, wishing she could hide outside and wait for her ride.
    “Can I get you a
cup of coffee?” he asked, pointing to the carafe set up on a small credenza
behind the desk.
    “I’d love one,
thanks.” She wasn’t able to face her day until she’d had at least two cups, and
since she was already pressed for time, she figured she may as well take him up
on his offer.
    “Still take it
black?” he asked, pouring the steaming beverage into one of the take-out cups
stacked on the tray.
    “You have a good
memory,” she said, smiling as she reached for the cup.
    “I remember a lot
of things,” he said, raising a bushy white eyebrow in question. “For example, I
remember how happy you and Mr. Spencer were together.”
    She brought the
cup to her lips, trying to ignore his comment. He’d often pried in to her
personal life, asking her when she and Evan planned to marry and have children.
Telling her that when he was young, men and women didn’t live in sin. She’d
dismissed his outrageous comments because of his advanced age, knowing he
didn’t mean any disrespect, but her emotions were too raw to take his questions
in stride this morning.
    “I’d rather not
talk about it if you don’t mind, Charlie.”
    He frowned at her.
Obviously, he didn’t appreciate being dismissed. “You look as though you’ve
lost a little weight since I saw you last.” He peered around the desk to size
her up. “You’d best be careful; you don’t want to get too thin.”
    He sounded like
her grandparents, and in fact he was probably close to her grandfather’s age,
so she gave him an indulgent smile. “I’ll have a chocolate croissant before I
go to work. Will that make you happy?”
    He chuckled as he
pushed his wire-framed glasses back up on his nose. “It’s a start. I must say
though, I’m surprised your fella wouldn’t fix you a nice big breakfast before
you left for the day.”
    She took a sip of
coffee, hoping her taxi would arrive and save her from having to respond. “Evan
and I aren’t getting back together, Charlie.”
    “Huh,” he said,
folding his arms over his chest. “I guess that’s one of them arrangements where
you get to have all the fun without the promise of bein’ faithful.” He shook
his head. “I’ll tell ya, I just don’t understand you young people today. Back
in my day, you met the person you wanted to marry, made a