Chapter 1

My name is Bradley Carter – Brad, for short – and I am a twenty-six-year-old college student working on my Master’s degree in Computer Science. I plan on pursuing a career in computer and information systems management with an eye towards system security.

I like to think of myself as “technically gifted” – I hate the word “geek” because it conjures up images of scrawny kids with highwater black pants held up with suspenders, pocket protectors, and thick black-rimmed glasses with tape over the nose bridge. None of which I have!

I discovered I had a knack for computers years ago when one day my father was having trouble doing something on his old Dell computer running Windows Vista. I was sixteen at the time, but I was able to figure out his problem and from that point on, I just dove headlong into computers!

I had been living off-campus in a small, quiet, apartment building for a couple of years now. I didn’t like campus life with its preoccupation for partying and socializing instead of studying!

It was a nice place – right on the bus route to the campus and close enough to the stores that I could get what I needed and not have to hassle with changing busses.

Across the hall was an older woman, kind of chunky, named Ruth. We had struck up a neighborly friendship and I had learned that she had a daughter about my age that lived down south in Alabama. She was a nice woman and loved to bake cookies (of which I partook many times!)

One day I came home from school and found her door open and movers shuttling boxes out to a moving van out front. She came over and explained to me that she was moving to her daughters. She’d just had a baby and Ruth wanted to spend some time with her. Plus, she was getting up there in age and the winters in St. Louis are not the mildest!

I told her I would miss her and her cookies but I completely understood. I made her promise to write when she got there so I’d know she made it okay and she said she would.

The next day I woke up to head off to school and I lightly brushed her door ... I would miss our friendship and I wondered who might move in. They would have a tough time replacing Ruth, but I just hoped they would be quiet so I could get my studying done.

It was probably about three weeks later that I was checking my mail downstairs at the mail drop when this young woman came to do the same.

She was a striking woman with flaming red hair and skin so pale she looked to be made of china! She wore dark eyeshadow to make her gorgeous blue eyes pop and red lipstick to accentuate her hair (as if it needed any help!)

I noticed which mailbox she opened and it just so happened to be the one Ruth used to have. There wasn’t any mail in it, which wasn’t unusual since she had just moved in. But at least I knew that I had a new and very attractive neighbor.

She smiled as she turned to leave and I watched appreciatively as she walked away.

By the time I got back upstairs to my second-floor apartment, I had already decided to go over and introduce myself. Might as well start off being neighborly I thought.

But I also knew there was more to it than just being a self-appointed Welcome Wagon. I wanted to find out more about my new neighbor!

So after making sure I looked presentable, I went across the hall to her apartment. I knocked on the door and a moment or two later she answered.

“Yes, Can I help you?” she asked. She looked a bit frazzled, like she had been busy but not getting too much done.

“Hi, my name is Brad Carter, I live across the hall there in 210. I saw that you have just moved in and wanted to offer my help if you need anything. In fact, I have just made a fresh pot of coffee if you like,” I said.

“Oh God, coffee! That would be so wonderful! Thank you. Just give me a minute to freshen up ... I’m afraid I must look a sight!” she said.

Oh, you look a sight all right ... a sight for sore eyes! I thought. “Okay just come on over when you’re ready, and I’ll have the coffee waiting,” I said.

I walked back across the hall and got her coffee ready. I had some creamer and sugar and set it all out on a TV tray and put it on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

I looked around to make sure the apartment wasn’t too much of a wreck and surprisingly, it was in pretty good shape. Which was good because I had just finished my preparations when I heard a knock on my door.

“Hi, come on in,” I said.

She stepped into my apartment and I shut the door behind us. “I guess it’s my time for introductions. My name is Rose ... Rose Kingston. It’s nice to meet you and so sweet of you to welcome me to the building.”

“Rose, huh? Well, it suits you! Come on in and have a seat. I have the coffee here waiting for you.”

“Yeah, it was my parent’s idea to name me Rose. When they got a look at this, it was kind of a no-brainer!” she said, holding out a strand of her red hair. “The thing is, both my parents had jet black hair, so it was always a curiosity how they got a coppertop!”

“Well I like it ... it makes you special. Did you know that only two percent of the world’s population are redheads? And blue-eyed redheads are even rarer than that! So you are pretty unique!” I said.

“Gee, I knew redheads were scarce, but I didn’t know we were that scarce!” she said.

“Here’s your coffee. I wasn’t sure how you liked it, so I have creamer and sugar here,” I said.

“Oh, Brad you don’t know how much this means! I haven’t had a cup of coffee in three days and I LIVE on this stuff! Who knew that moving could be so difficult and stressful!” she said.

“Having a tough time of it, are you?”

“I’ll say! I moved here from Grand Rapids, Michigan after my divorce and it’s been a nightmare!

“First off, the movers were late and I almost had to pay another month’s rent just to have someplace to stay until they showed up.

“Then when they did, they were running behind schedule, so they were in a hurry and less than delicate with my things. I still haven’t figured out how much of my stuff didn’t make the move.

“I had trouble closing out the utilities, and it cost me more than it was supposed to. Then my car broke down partway here, and I had to get it fixed.

“Finally, when I got here and the movers showed up ... which was only a couple of days ago ... they charged me more than they said it would cost.

“So I am fighting with them to honor their quote. I sure hope this move was worth all this!” she said, exasperated.

“Well Rose, I don’t know if it was worth it to you, but from where I’m sitting, it was definitely worth the trouble!” I said.

She smiled over her cup of coffee at my remark. “Mmm, I have missed you, coffee!”

“So what made you pick St. Louis to move to?” I asked.

“Well, after my divorce, I wanted to get away from Grand Rapids and the painful memories and get a fresh start. I was an RN back there and now I have a job at Saint Alexius Hospital on South Broadway Ave.”

“I take it the divorce was not a pleasant one? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m past all the grieving now. It happened about a year ago now. I caught my ex-husband cheating on me with some bimbo secretary from a company he dealt with.

“I found her number on his cell phone and he confessed to everything. We’ve been divorced now for almost six months.”

“But you are still wearing your wedding ring,” I said, pointing to her left hand.

“Yeah, I know. I just can’t bring myself to take it off. It’s sad really ... like somewhere inside I still have hope we can get back together, even though I know that ain’t gonna happen.”

“So how long were you two married?”

“Almost five years. It’s funny how short a time ‘forever’ is...” she said sadly. That was my cue to change the subject to something brighter.

“Say, Rose, you said that your movers only showed up a couple of days ago right?” I asked.

“That’s right, why?”

“So you haven’t gotten everything unpacked and set up yet, have you?”

“Hardly! I’m still trying to find out if everything even made it here, much less unpacked and set it all up!”

“Good. I was just trying to figure out what to make for dinner. But if you like to go to dinner with me, I can help you postpone that unpacking for an evening.”

“Well, I suppose I should do something to thank you for the coffee and the very nice welcome to the building ... sure why not! I don’t normally go out with a guy so soon after meeting them, but something tells me that you are not the average guy,” she said, with a smile that lit up the whole room.

“Great! There’s a nice Italian restaurant, Luigi’s Italian Ristorante, that has really wonderful food. You like Italian food?” I asked.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know too much about Italian food. About the only thing I know is pizza, spaghetti, and ravioli!” she said, blushing a bit. It looked good on her.