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Gina arrived at work that Friday to find a pretty bouquet of flowers on her desk. There were lilies, roses, and lavender in a pink and purple theme. Who could have done something so thoughtful, and why? It was too late for her birthday. Had anyone seen who dropped them off? Frank was at his desk, but he seemed preoccupied with something, and Tim was on the phone. She searched for the card. Inside it read, “To my angel. Thanks to you, I’m feeling much better.”
“Frank, come see the lovely flowers I got,” Gina said coyly, with a knowing look in her eyes.
“Very nice,” Frank responded, trying not to give himself away. Then he leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “If anyone asks, just tell them they’re from your boyfriend.”
“Wow! Are those from your boyfriend?” Tim chimed in, right on cue.
“Yeah,” Gina said with a slight hesitation as she turned toward Frank and mouthed the words “thank you.”
Frank smiled slightly, nodded, and went back to his desk. He thought about how Gina’s face lit up when she had seen the flowers. She didn’t seem at all disappointed to discover they were from him. He liked making her happy, but had he gone too far? So what if he did? She had certainly gone the extra mile for him, and he wanted her to know just how much he appreciated it.
On the way to a crime scene later that day, Frank noticed Gina looking very distant. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.
“Do you know my boyfriend didn’t even remember it was my birthday?”
“He didn’t? Of course, a lot happened that night, with the hospital and everything.”
“I know, but even the next day, he didn’t say a thing. A week later, I finally get the courage to bring it up, and he gives me some dumb excuse and says he’ll make it up to me. It’s not the same though.”
“What made you think about that now?”
“The flowers. I knew they weren’t from him. He’s not thoughtful like that. I mean, he used to be, a long time ago. And you would think he could at least fake being a little supportive now and then.”
“I’m not sure what to say, Gina.”
“Of course, that’s not the worst thing he ever did to me.”
“What’s that?”
“About a year ago, he cheated on me with some nineteen-year-old girl he picked up at the nightclub where he works.”
“How do you know that?”
“I overheard him bragging about it to his buddies.”
“I’m sorry. That’s awful.”
“I didn’t speak to him for two weeks after that. Then he came crawling back to me apologizing left and right for his mistake and declaring his undying love. He reminded me that people are only human and make mistakes they regret sometimes. I knew I’d made my share of mistakes in life, so I eventually forgave him. He said it wouldn’t happen again, but how can I be sure of that when there are endless opportunities to hook up with women at the club? Sorry I’m rambling on like this. This isn’t your problem.”
“I know I don’t like seeing you unhappy. You deserve better,” Frank said kindly. “Hopefully, someday you’ll meet a man who treats you the way you deserve to be treated. What I can’t understand is why your boyfriend would look elsewhere when he’s got someone like you.” He glanced at her for a reaction. She tried to force a smile, but Frank saw the tears in her eyes before she could turn away to stare out the window. He remained silent, not wanting to embarrass her.
But as lunchtime neared, Frank’s thoughts returned to Claire. He anxiously headed to the park to find her and explain everything.
“Frank? What happened to you? I haven’t seen you all week!”
“I’m sorry, Claire. I had the flu. I haven’t been to work in four days.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better. I was mad at first, but then I started getting worried something had happened to you.”
“I should have given you my phone number,” Frank said apologetically and handed her his card.
She did the same and added, “I knew you were too nice of a guy to just stand me up for no good reason.”
“Should we plan on going to your class again next week?” Frank offered. “I’ll try not to get deathly ill this time, but if I do, I’ll call you.”
“It’s a date,” Claire said with a smile before getting up from the park bench.
Frank was left wondering what her words were supposed to mean exactly. Was it just a casual phrase, or did she consider this to be an actual date? Really, it didn’t matter what she meant. He was thinking about asking her out sometime anyway. After letting a whole decade pass since his divorce, it was time to move on with someone else, and Claire seemed like a logical choice.
On Monday, Gina was out of sorts. Frank did his best to give her some space, but there was only so much he could do since they still had to work together. She was giving him very clear signals she didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering her, and Frank wasn’t sure he wanted to get involved, so he decided to channel her anger into something constructive.
“Why don’t you take over the interrogation of Mr. Williams?” he offered.
“Really? You’re going to let me try?”
“I think you’re ready, and you seem pretty fired up. Why not get under that guy’s skin a little?”
“Might be fun,” she said deviously. “I can handle that.” Gina proceeded to tear into Mr. Williams, who didn’t know what hit him. She got him so flustered, it didn’t take long before they had the confession they’d been waiting for.
“Feeling better?” Frank asked when she walked confidently out of the interrogation room.
“Much better. Thanks, I needed that,” she said, feeling more relaxed.
“No problem. You did great in there.”
“Oh, and I’m not mad at you,” she added. “Just so you know.”
“Then I feel sorry for whoever you are mad at.”
“My boyfriend and I had a big fight yesterday,” Gina said and walked away without further comment.
Frank looked at the time. If he didn’t leave now, he’d be late to meet Claire, and he didn’t want that. He ran toward the studio and found her standing outside.
“You made it!” she exclaimed happily.
“I promised you I would,” he replied before escorting her into the building.
“Today the teacher is doing a combination meditation and yoga class, but you don’t have to do the yoga part. You can just watch if you want.”
“That’s good. I don’t think I’m prepared for that,” Frank said, breathing a sigh of relief.
At first, it was difficult switching gears from work to meditation, but it made Frank aware of just how uptight he was. He tried hard to focus on his breathing, and slowly the tension began to leave his body. He glanced over at Claire from time to time to make sure he was doing what he was supposed to. She seemed completely relaxed, and he did his best to follow her lead. Before long, the meditation was over, and Claire was smiling at him. He smiled back. When the yoga portion began, Frank just sat and studied her, watching every delicate movement she made and admiring her beauty.
“So, what did you think?” she asked anxiously.
“That was different,” he began, “but oddly enough, I feel like a new man.”
“Wonderful!” she exclaimed. “I thought you’d like it if you just gave it a chance.”
They walked out of class and into the park. Frank invited her to sit with him for a minute and took her hand. “Thank you for today. I really enjoyed spending time with you,” he said and impulsively leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.
“Frank,” Claire interrupted and gently pulled away. She put her hand on his arm. “I must be giving you mixed signals. Just so we’re clear, I was only looking for your friendship.”
“Oh, I am so sorry,” he responded, feeling embarrassed. He should have known that the one time he tried to be spontaneous and act without thinking things through, he would get burned.
“I have a boyfriend, and we’re engaged. His name is Scott.” Claire pulled out her phone and quickly located a picture of him.
“He seems like a nice guy,” Frank commented. “You weren’t wearing a ring, so I didn’t know.”
“Scott didn’t have the money to buy me a nice ring right away, so he’s saving up for one. He couldn’t bear to wait any longer to ask me though.”
“So, it is true all the good ones are taken.”
“I’m afraid that’s generally true,” Claire agreed, “but I’m sure there must be a nice woman out there for you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Can we still be friends, or would that be weird?” she asked.
“I don’t have a problem with that. Let’s just forget this ever happened. See you tomorrow?”
“Same time, same place!”
As Frank walked away, he thought about what had just happened. He may have tried to convince himself he wanted Claire, but Gina was still on his mind, even though he couldn’t have her. Unfortunately, she was stuck in his head and beginning to find her way into his heart.
