Chapter 1

A gentle breeze rocked the tall trees, shaking free several fiery orange leaves. Julianne watched them flutter down to join the dusting already crunching underneath her feet. She walked with her face tipped up to the sky, absorbing the soft fall light.

“Watch where you are going!” a voice bellowed as Julianne felt her shoulder press into a solid mass. She looked down to find a young man at her feet surrounded by books.

“I’m terribly sorry,” Julianne replied, suddenly feeling unsteady herself. “I was so caught up in my own thoughts I forgot where I was.” She knelt to retrieve the books.

“I’ll take those,” he replied curtly, holding out one hand for the books, brushing dirt from his pants with the other.

“I really am sorry. I should have been paying attention.”

“Yes, you should have.” He turned to leave shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

“Wait,” she called after him. He stopped and turned back to her. “Are you angry with me? It was an accident and I apologized.”

The young man stood incredulous. He saw a young woman about his own age with silky jet-black hair falling to her shoulders and eyes the color of hot caramel. Her head reached only to his shoulders, her arms were thin and he could easily crush her with little effort, yet she seemed unafraid of him. A modern day Audrey Hepburn.

“What’s your name?” he asked, not moving from where he had stopped, but his voice was calmer. Julianne searched his face. She wasn’t in the habit of giving her name to strangers, but then again she wasn’t in the habit of confronting them the way she just had either.

“Julianne. And yours?” Her heart raced, not knowing into what she had stepped. The silence stretched on as the two gazed at each other warily. All of the normal park sounds--children’s laughter, bird song, whispering wind--seemed to have vanished.

“Oliver,” he finally answered. “I’m not angry; I’m just in a hurry.” He sighed and shifted the books in his arms.

“I don’t know why I called after you.” Julianne’s eyes fell to the ground where she watched as her right foot drew spirals in the sand. “I apologize for any delay I have caused,” she said stiffly, before looking up again and catching a fleeting glimpse of confusion in Oliver’s eyes. “Have a good day.”

She moved past him and Oliver turned to watch her go, her face tipped up to the warming sun, hands outstretched, brushing tree trunks as she passed. She exuded a sense of peace and he couldn’t tear his gaze away until she disappeared around a bend in the path. Spinning in a circle, Oliver searched for anyone who may have witnessed this bizarre encounter. Finding no one, he set off in the opposite direction.

Leaving the park, Julianne walked along the quiet streets of Alexandria glancing in shop windows and watching as people rushed by her. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, everyone except her. More than once, she heard the muttered curses of those pushing past her. Just yesterday, she herself would have been one of those hastening bodies.

She stopped in a consignment shop and browsed through the mish mash of clothing, jewelry, shoes, and purses. She purchased a fuzzy purple scarf and a pair of earrings shaped like Celtic crosses, and made note of a wool jacket she wanted to come back for when she was paid.

Back out on the sidewalk she looked around. Feeling her stomach growl, she spotted a table on the patio of the Alexandria Deli, one of the only dining establishments remaining from the town’s younger days, and made her way across the street. She found it amusing that Alexandria had started out as a retreat from the pressures of work and now those same pressures were closing in. A server appeared almost immediately and offered her a menu. Julianne knew it by heart, but she opened it anyway and skimmed over the list of offerings.

“It’s a beautiful afternoon for an al fresco lunch.” A male voice floated on the breeze behind her. “Do you mind if I join you?” Before she could respond, Oliver had slipped into the chair across from her.

“Have you been following me?” Julianne asked in surprise. Her eyes scanned the patio for other patrons.

“Relax. I haven’t been following you. I live two blocks away. I was on my way home when I saw you sitting here. I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier.” He smiled and Julianne’s breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t realized how handsome he was.

“No need to apologize. I was the one knocking you over and getting upset with you for being angry,” she replied with a wave of her hand.

“Forget about it. Like I said, I was in a hurry and I don’t think I was paying attention to where I was going either. May I buy you lunch?”

“Really it’s not necessary.” Even as she said it, she knew she didn’t want him to get up and walk away. “Please let me buy you lunch.” She looked down and noticed a rip in his pants. “Did that happen when you fell?” she asked pointing. He looked down and shrugged.

“Isn’t this the look now anyway?” Oliver laughed and Julianne’s eyelids drooped ever so slightly. “I’ll make you a deal. You can buy lunch today, but the next time we run into each other it will be my treat.” He reached across the table to shake her hand. Julianne laughed and took his hand; his palm was warm and soft. The contact made her heart flutter.

“I must confess I don’t make it out for leisurely strolls very often. Today was a freak coincidence; I should be at work right now.” They released hands and Oliver leaned back in his seat.

“Coincidence? Perhaps. If you are supposed to be at work, why were you in the park, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Honestly, I just needed a break, so I took a mental health day. What were you doing out on a work day?” She leaned forward on the table resting her chin on her fist as she turned the question on Oliver.

“I’m somewhat in between jobs right now. I was passing through from the bookshop on Kincade Drive.”

“You must think me terrible for skipping out on my job, when you don’t have one.” Julianne glanced around for the waiter, hoping the fire she felt in her cheeks was not obvious to Oliver.

“No, it’s not like that,” he laughed. “I’m an actor. I just finished a play last week and rehearsals for my next show don’t start until the end of the month. Fear not young maiden for you have not insulted me.” He broke into an old English accent and bent to his knee as he spoke. Impulsively he took her hand and lightly brushed it with his lips. Julianne was sure he would see her blushing face.

“Look at me sticking my foot in my mouth.” She gave him a nervous smile. “I did think you were the best-dressed unemployed person I had ever seen.” Oliver roared with laughter and returned to the empty chair.

“You certainly don’t waste words do you Miss Julianne. I admire that.”

“I’m not quite sure what has come over me today. I’m suddenly seeing life differently.”

“How very mysterious! Tell me more.”

“It’s nothing really.” Julianne hedged, reluctant to share her morning revelation.

“You can tell me. What if this new outlook could change my life as it has yours?"

“Who said it has changed my life?” Julianne asked, surprise showing on her face.

“You seem so at peace, more so than everyone else hurrying around.”

“You barely know me, how can you tell my state of mind?”

“I watched you walking away in the park. Something about you just spoke of an inner calm.”

“You really see that in me?” Julianne asked. Oliver smiled and nodded.

“Well, it is simple really,” Julianne continued. “I woke up this morning, like every morning, dreading going to work. I just couldn’t face it today so I called in sick.

“I went to the park and watched the mothers playing with their children. I had spent the night in Wilmington helping my parents celebrate their anniversary and I was thinking about their life. That’s when it hit me; life should be about taking time to enjoy the simple things like a beautiful day in the park, spending time with family and friends, or doing work you enjoy. I began to wonder when I became so caught up in just paying the bills, and forgot about what I truly love.” Julianne gazed off into the distance.

Oliver watched her face knowing she was far away and waited for her to return. The moment passed quickly and Julianne was back at the table with him, smiling.

“So are you sorry you asked? Nothing world-changing I am afraid.”

“No, I’m not sorry. I know what you mean about how often we forget what’s important and get caught up in the games society tells us we have to play,” Oliver replied.

Julianne studied his face, but found only sincerity.

“So, tell me, what is this job that makes you so miserable?”

“I may have over-dramatized a little. It’s not like I’m suicidal over it or anything.” Julianne desperately wanted to avoid this question. Her job was so insignificant, and what if he was one of the people she had called trying to get him to buy from her company? She would die of embarrassment. “I wonder where our server is. I am starving.”

“You’re not going to change the subject so easily,” Oliver chuckled. “You already know what I do. You aren’t some kind of secret agent are you?”

“Certainly nothing as interesting as that,” she laughed. “I work in telemarketing. My degree is in public relations, but I’ve had a hard time finding work in my area. This is the most recent in a string of ‘for the time being’ jobs as I call them. I am not a sales person and I cringe with every call I make. I hate it when I’m home trying to have dinner and the phone keeps ringing with people selling things I don’t want. Now I am one of those people. I apologize now if I have called you at an inconvenient time.” Julianne smiled, but couldn’t meet Oliver’s eyes.

“Isn’t public relations about sales?” Oliver asked.

“Yes, in some ways, but what you sell in public relations is a story. You try to get your event or position covered by the media without spending money on advertising. I truly enjoyed the event planning and crisis management, but not so much the free media and advertising aspect.”

“Crisis management? Sounds pretty intense,” Oliver replied. He leaned forward with his elbows on the table and rested his hand on his interlaced fingers.

“Well, I’ve never actually managed a crisis, but in college it was my favorite class and I think I would be very good at it. I have studied so many situations that were handled poorly solely because of a lack of common sense,” she said, her face lighting up, “but here I go rambling on about things you surely aren’t interested in.”

“No, I enjoy listening to you. What type of job are you looking for?”

“I’m not sure. I have been out of the public relations field for several years now, and I don’t know if that is really what I want to do anymore. I think I would like working as an event planner, maybe in a promotions department of some sort. I just want to find something I can enjoy, that combines work with the things in life of interest to me. Of course that adds another dimension to my dilemma; there are so many different things I am interested in.”

“Like what?” Oliver asked.

“Well, I considered getting into the music industry maybe as an agent or working for a record company. I looked into starting my own event planning company, and I even considered applying for a job with the Travel Channel.”

“Do you have any interest in the theater? I know the playhouse here has been looking for someone to work on promoting our shows. If you would like I could put in a good word for you.”

“Seriously?” Julianne was dumbfounded by this offer. “I love theater. How could you recommend me though? You barely know me.”

“I have a gut instinct you’d be perfect for the job.”

“Good afternoon, folks. I apologize for the wait. My name is Justin and I’ll be your server.”

Julianne and Oliver both started at this new voice. Justin, a short young man with bright red hair and piercing blue eyes, seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Julianne turned to the server. “Could I please have a glass of iced tea and the tuna salad platter?”

“Certainly, miss. For you sir?”

“I’d like a roast beef sandwich with chips and an iced tea. Thanks”

“I will see what I can do to speed that along for you.” In a moment, he was gone as quickly and quietly as he appeared.

“As I was saying. I think you’d love it, but if not I understand. I wish I could tell you specifics about the job, but I only overheard our manager, Cameron Wellington, discussing it with his assistant.”

“I couldn’t ask you to recommend me, but I wouldn’t mind if you introduced me to Cameron. If you have time that is.”

“I’d be happy to. We could go after lunch if you like.”

“Will it look bad if I show up there when I am supposed to be home sick?” Julianne’s mouth turned up slightly as she suppressed a smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you.” Oliver reached across the table and touched her hand lightly.

“Here are your sandwiches. Is there anything else I can bring you?” Justin set the plates before them with a flourish.

“No, thank you. I think we are fine.” Oliver picked up his sandwich as he thanked the server.