“Hi, stranger,” Carole said when Micah walked into the otherwise empty beauty salon. “I was just cleaning up. Want to get a sandwich with me?”
“Sure. I didn't have a chance to eat after school. I am kind of hungry.”
“Kind of? I'd think you'd be starved. It's almost nine o'clock.”
Micah shook her head. She hadn't had much of an appetite lately. Not since the strawberry pie.
“So, how's your attorney?” Carole's brown eyes flashed with mischief as she looked up from the sink she was rinsing.
“He's not my attorney, or my anything apparently,” Micah replied quietly. She turned down the air conditioner the way she knew Carole did at closing time. “Are you ready to go?”
Carole shut off the water faucet. “I thought you and Rob were doing fine together.”
“Not exactly,” came Micah's soft reply.
“Why not?” Carole persisted. “What happened?”
“I haven't heard a word from him for eight days.”
“But who's counting, right?” Carole frowned and started sweeping the floor. “That seems so odd. I really thought you had a thing going.”
Micah shook her head and reached for the dustpan to hand it to Carole. “Are you almost ready?”
“What did you do to scare him away?” Carole asked bluntly while ignoring Micah's question. “Tell him about your dislike for the legal profession? I swear, Micah, if you don't stop being so paranoid—”
“No,” she interrupted. “Nothing like that. I mean, we had really nice times together. At least, I thought we did. We ate dinner at my apartment that first night. I tried to tell him that I wouldn't be good for him, but he refused to listen. He said he was willing to take that chance. And we've been together two other evenings.”
“Three dates in a row? Then nothing?”
Micah nodded, not trusting her wavering voice with a reply.
“Wow,” Carole commented. “What did you say to him?”
“We've talked about all kinds of things, but nothing that would explain this.”
“Did you get too preachy with him about your Christianity? You have a way of doing that, you know.”
“No, I didn't. Actually, he brought up the subject. And if I seem pushy about it, that's because it's important to me. I certainly don't want a future with someone who doesn't share my beliefs, and I shouldn't even date anyone who doesn't.”
“What harm could dating someone like—”
“If I date a man like that, I could fall in love with him. Then what? Ask him to change? Get him converted?”
Carole shook her head, admitting defeat “I get your point. But what about Rob?”
“He was a Christian when he was younger, but then something happened and he left the church.”
“So he's got two strikes against him—his future clashes in some way with your past and he's a nonbeliever. If the picture looks that bleak, why do you care that he's not called? Why not just let him go?”
“Because…” Micah caught her lower lip between her teeth when warm tears filled her eyes.
Carole froze in her steps, studying her friend's troubled expression. “You really like this guy, don't you?”
“I didn't want to, but—”
“But you do. You really do.”
Micah nodded again. “Too much, too soon.”
Carole gave her a generous hug. “You can't possibly care too much. The more the better! And it's certainly not too soon. You're twenty-eight years old, and I haven't seen you serious about anyone in the two years I've known you. I'd say you're long overdue for a full-fledged romance.”
“It takes two to make a romance,” Micah commented. “I thought Rob—”
“Don't give up on him yet. Maybe he's just busy with work or something else.”
“Or someone else.”
“No, now, let's think positive. Maybe he's been sick with the flu or had an accident.”
“Right, Carole. Positive thinking at its best,” Micah quipped and opened the front door.
“Well, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to be helpful. Let's go get some food and we'll devise a plan to rekindle his interest.”
But the only plan Micah would agree to was to wait. If Rob wanted to see her, he would call. And if he didn't, she thought she might die.
Busy with a trial. The message glared at her from the pink While You Were Out note stuck on her desk when she returned to her classroom after supervising lunch in the cafeteria the next day. Micah crumpled the paper with more force than necessary and tossed it into the nearby trash can.
An excuse phoned in to the Wellspring Elementary School office while Micah was busy with the kids. “Nice knowing you, Counselor,” she murmured as she slammed her books into a disorderly stack. Hot tears burned her eyes and she blinked hard, not wanting them to fall. But it was better this way. She shouldn't have dated him at all. Maybe finally he had listened to her warning and decided he didn't want to take the risk. She couldn't blame him for that He had a lot at stake. “But at least you could have told me in person, not leave a message with a twelve-year-old office volunteer at the school,” she thought aloud.
“Hey, Micah?” Angela burst into the classroom with an abundance of energy. “Heather's with her grandmother, I'm taking the boys for ice cream and we wondered if you'd like to go along.”
Micah pulled a tissue from the box she kept on her desk. “Thanks, but—”
“What's wrong? Are you okay?” Angela noticed Micah's reddened eyes. “Did something happen?”
“I'm all right,” she responded and blew her nose. “But I really don't feel like eating ice cream.” The threatening tears subsided, and Micah was grateful
“Trouble with a student?”
“No,” she answered as she picked up her sweater from the back of her swivel chair. “It's just… there's been a misunderstanding. I really thought that…”
“Thought what? Does this have anything to do with Rob?” Angela asked hesitantly.
Micah glanced up at Angela, who stood awkwardly inside the doorway, apparently unsure whether to stay or go.
“I'm a pretty good listener, Micah, if you want to talk. If not, I'll understand.”
“He's your brother. I can't talk about him with you.”
“Nonsense. I'm his sister, not his spy. This can be confidential,” Angela replied. “But if you'd rather not—”
“No, it's okay. It's just that, well, you know we went out several times. I thought we both enjoyed it, but—”
“Why would you doubt that? What did he say?” Angela asked.
“Nothing.” Micah gathered her belongings and walked toward the doorway. “That's the mystery. Everything seemed fine after our last date. Then, nothing. I haven't heard from him in more than a week, except for a message called in to the school office explaining that he was busy.”
“Busy? That's all he said?” Angela stepped into the hallway with Micah. “That doesn't sound like Rob.”
“‘Busy with a trial’ was the actual message. But, unless times have changed, court is not in session in the evenings or on weekends.”
“I haven't seen him lately myself, but we've spent so much time moving into our new house, he may have called and I missed it. I'll try to reach him tonight.”
“If you do talk to him, don't mention any of this. I don't want him to feel that he owes me an explanation.”
“Why not? He does owe you one.”
The two women walked out into the bright sunshine. “But three dates don't exactly add up to a relationship.” Did they? No, it wasn't really the dates that caused Micah to believe they had something special. It was Rob's gentle touch and the tenderness in his eyes that had promised more than she had known with any man. Had her heart been wrong?