Chapter 5: Kay Has a Problem.

In the morning, after I had breakfast, I took my coffee into the home office and booted up my computer to check the email and ensure none of my clients had some emergent condition that needed my immediate attention. I didn't expect any problems as I hadn't gotten any calls over the weekend. Most of my clients had the typical nine to five work week and closed weekends so most of my weekends were free. Usually weekend work for me was a company that wasn't a regular client calling me in because they were crashed. I didn't like weekend work but when it had to happen, I was paid well to make it worth my while. I also found that if I didn't hit them hard for the weekend work they tended to try to take advantage of me. It all contributed to the bank account.

I spent the six hours of my work day doing what I do to pay the bills and put some money aside. I had direct connections to the computer networks of all my regular clients and I tried to do a maintenance check on each of them at least once a week. I had a schedule I used to spread those checks out across the week and I had a regular routine that kept me occupied. Of course the schedule went out the window when an emergency popped up.

At the end of my work day I closed down the desk top computer I used for work and went out to the garage for my bicycle. I tried to do something two or three times during the work week to keep from developing office chair spread. The ride went well; I covered my usual twelve mile route without incident before returning home for the evening. I put together a little dinner and opened my laptop to check my personal email. After answering the email I checked the TV for anything that might be interesting. Finding nothing, as usual, I put some music on and read from my Kindle for a while before going to bed.

Tuesday was much the same but instead of the bike ride I walked for my exercise. Wednesday started the same but mid-afternoon the phone rang. I was surprised to hear Kay on the other end of the line. I had given her my card when I dropped her off at her apartment Sunday evening but I didn't really expect to hear from her again.

"Hi Robert, I hope I'm not disturbing your work. You did say I could call you."

"No, you're not disturbing me. Unless I'm making a visit to a client I can take phone calls any time. Is there something I can do for you? Did you leave something on the boat?"

"No, I didn't leave anything on the boat. I wanted to thank you again for coming to my rescue and putting up with me for the weekend, I had a good time being with you. More than that, I want to thank you for the honest conversation and the advice you gave me."

"As I said on the boat, you have already given me your thanks so don't worry about anything else." I thought to myself, she was doing well remembering to thank me, it showed good manners.

"Thank you again. I want you to know I have been thinking about what you told me on our way back to the harbor. I've been thinking about it since you dropped me off at my apartment."

"Good, mental exercise keeps you from growing cob webs between your ears."

"Cute Rob, very cute. You offered me a rain check on a dinner, is there any chance on collecting tonight? I'ld like to talk with you again."

I had clean forgotten about giving her a rain check for a dinner. I did a quick mental review of my schedule for the rest of the day and evening then said "I can do dinner. Do you like Italian food or do you have a preference for something else?"

"I like Italian. Will we also have time to talk?"

"Does six o'clock at your apartment work for you? I have an Italian restaurant that I like and we can take our time over dinner and talk as well as eat."

"Six is fine with me, casual dress?"

"Casual is good, think about how you would dress for an office job." I told her. "I'll see you for dinner."

I went back to work and finished out my day with my fingers crossed there wasn't an emergency call. When I turned off the office computer I thought about what I needed to do and went through my shave and shower routine getting ready to pick up Kay. I put on a pair of slacks and a nice shirt then headed out the door. With traffic at this time of day I figured I should be on time or a few minutes early.

I arrived at Kay's apartment just when I really wanted to, five minutes early. When she opened her door I saw a good looking young woman nicely dressed in a skirt and blouse wearing flats and a smile.

"You're early." She said. "Please come in, I'm just about ready."

"Not really early. You should always show up for an appointment five to ten minutes early. It shows courtesy and that you are interested in whomever you are meeting with by not making them wait for you," I replied as I took a glance around at what I could see of her apartment.

"Please have a seat if you'd like; I'll be ready in just a minute. I just have to put my earrings in and I will be ready to go."

"Okay, take whatever time you need. Since it's the middle of the week the restaurant won't be busy and I'm sure we'll be seated without having to wait too long."

I stood and took another look at what I could see while she disappeared through a door into what I assumed was her bedroom. What I saw was a small, neat, clean apartment. Besides the main room I was standing in, I could see two doors on one side of a hallway. I assumed they were the bedrooms for Kay and her roommate and on the opposite side of the hallway a door that went to their bathroom. I also saw a typically small kitchen and an area with a dinette set. About what I expected to see in a college student's apartment but kept neater than I kept mine when I was in school.

She came back out to where I was waiting; looking more complete, now wearing a small string of pearls and pearl earrings. She had brushed her shoulder length blond hair until it had a nice sheen. I also caught a whiff of a light perfume. I was glad I took the time to spiffy myself up before I left my home otherwise I would have looked under dressed compared to her. She was dressed casually but at the upper end of casual. "You look very nice." I told her.

"Thank you sir." She said this while she gave me a small curtsey. She picked up a light sweater and asked, "Shall we go?"

When we got out to the car I held her door for her before walking around to the driver's side and getting in myself.

As we were headed towards the restaurant she opined "So I'm an appointment, I thought this was a dinner date."

"Well, yes I guess you might call this a date but a date is really nothing more than a specialized appointment. Don't you agree?" I smiled at her while I said this.

"Do you mind that I consider it a date?" she asked.

"Not at all, I just didn't want you to think there was any expectation besides sharing some good food and some good conversation."

We continued our banter while I drove to the restaurant. When we arrived we were seated within ten minutes. Just enough time for Kay to take a look around and comment about this being a better restaurant than she was used to and a nice step up from the Outback where she waited tables.

This place had tablecloths, easy lighting, heavy silverware and an atmosphere conducive to relaxing while you enjoyed a meal and the company you were with. There were even candles on the tables. The type of restaurant where people spoke in hushed tones and could be romantic. I came here fairly frequently because I never felt rushed and I liked the food, not for the romance. We were seated in a corner booth and we wouldn't be bothered there by people walking by. I knew we could stay as long as we liked.

"This is kind of expensive isn't it?"

"You get what you pay for and I pay to have a good meal without feeling crowded or rushed while eating. Besides which, you don't need to be concerned with how expensive this place is. You are dressed very nicely and look like you belong in a place like this or better, not something like the Olive Garden"

Kay blushed slightly and responded "I dressed this way because I didn't want you to be embarrassed to be seen with me. This is just about as high style as I can do."

"I doubt it is even possible for you to embarrass me and I consider myself fortunate you would come out and spend an evening with an old man like me."

"Oh no! Am I out with an old man? Where are you hiding him?"

"Now it's my turn to say 'cute Kay, very cute'."

The waiter came and took our order. I was having Veal Marsala while Kay ordered Chicken Bolognese. I also ordered us each a glass of Lambrusca to have with the meal. I knew the staff wouldn't question Kay about her age, she looked too darn good as well as sophisticated.

"I'm glad you had a good time on the boat with me. I was a little concerned it might have been too boring for you. I like weekends like that because I can relax and not worry about clients. If they really need me they will call and of course I respond but normally I try not to think about my work while I'm on the boat."

"I really did have a good time. It was quiet and peaceful in your little cove and so much better for me than what I was facing when we went by you in the harbor. I'm very glad I decided to jump off the party boat and that you were willing to take me aboard with you. I thought I needed to be with a bunch of people to have a good time. You showed me that wasn't true."

"Sometimes you need people and sometimes you don't but a quiet and easy weekend isn't for everyone all the time. It was just right for you then, next time you might want to do something different and there is nothing wrong with that. I suspect though you needed to get away from your problems. It might not have gotten you away from them for very long but on my boat you didn't have to worry about them or being safe. I have to tell you, I was concerned when you went to sleep below and didn't wake when I checked on you but your breathing was normal and your color good so I kept going. I thought about turning back but then thought about what you said you had taken in and figured you would be okay. By the way, are you going to report what Todd did to you?"

"It's summer break and the school is pretty much closed down just now so I don't know who I would report him to. Besides that I can't prove anything and I don't even know the name of the girl who told me about him doctoring my drink. Nothing happened, other than I went for a swim, thanks to you, so I'm just going to let it go and make sure I stay away from him in the future. If I ever do see him with another girl I will warn her though. It's all I can do now without a major hassle."