CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ellie got back to her apartment and dropped her jacket and the house keys in the usual spot. She picked up the phone receiver and heard the tone indicating she had a message. She punched in her code. An electronic voice told her that she actually had two messages. Ellie couldn’t remember the last time she had that many messages in one day. She hit the button to play the first one.
“Umm, hi, Ellie, it’s David.” His deep voice sounded uncertain in a totally flirtatious sort of way. “I was just giving you a call to see how you’ve been. I’ve been swamped at the hospital. In fact, I’m just on break right now. I’m working until late, but I’ll try to stop by the coffee shop on my way home tomorrow morning. We have to pick a time for that date.” Ellie knew she heard a smile in his voice now. “Anyway, I hope you’re having a good evening, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.”
Ellie was ecstatic that he had called so soon, and sounded eager to see her again. She was warming toward the idea of dating more and more, and there had been a small nagging in the back of her mind that maybe he wouldn’t call her. She had to admit that it was a bit thrilling that a handsome young doctor was vying for her attention.
The smile slipped from her face as the next message started. “Ellie, it’s Jake. I know you probably don’t want to talk to me, but I really want to talk to you. I need to talk to you. Will you please call me back? If we could just meet for dinner or something, that would be great. I promise, no fighting whatsoever. I hope to hear from you soon.”
For once, Ellie could not detect an ounce of alcohol in Jake’s voice. He sounded stone cold sober, and just like the old Jake. She wasn’t sure what to think about that, but she knew that she wasn’t interested in meeting up with her ex-husband, no matter what the circumstances. She deleted the message, and then deleted it from her mind as well.
The next morning brought a new argument with Kevin. “We need to get you into the twenty-first century, Ellie, seriously.” He was looking at the mountains of paperwork all over her desk. She usually took the most important ones to the front and worked on those in the relative quiet of the shop because when she worked in her office, she felt the silent screams from the ink on all the pages: “Read me! Look at me! How can you keep ignoring me?”
“What are you talking about, Kevin?” she said as she ran her hand through her hair. She felt tired, and she could tell by Kevin’s expression that she looked it too. She had not slept well, nightmares marring her dream landscape. She couldn’t remember what they were about, but she had woken up feeling uneasy.
“Technology. That’s what I am talking about. That dinosaur you have sitting there and never use that I think is older than I am,” he said, pointing at the massive desktop computer that took up half of Ellie’s desk. “You need a laptop. A cell phone would be a good idea too,” he said in frustration.
“We’ve been through this before, Kevin,” she calmly explained again. “I’m used to doing most of this by hand, and I’ve got a system that works for me. This isn’t that hard. What would I do with a computer at home? And having a cell phone just means that people I don’t want to talk to can reach me more easily. I already talk to everyone I want to talk to right here every day.” She crossed her arms on her chest. Ellie didn’t know why, but there had always been a part of her that strongly opposed technology.
“Having a computer at work will help simplify this mess.” Kevin’s gaze took in the whole room. “You can’t tell me your accountant didn’t charge you more last year because he had to sort through all your reams of paper.”
Ellie shifted uncomfortably. She hated it when Kevin was right.
“A computer at home means you can do some of the work you do here from home. That also means that you don’t need to be here six days a week like you are now. Having a cell phone may come in handy when you are staying at Linda’s. Plus with things getting a little hairy again with Jake, it might not be a bad idea for your own safety, Ellie.” Kevin looked away, and she could tell he didn’t like bringing up the idea that she would need it to be safe. She had told him about Jake’s latest message.
As much as she didn’t like it, she knew that everything Kevin said was true. She had been stubbornly avoiding the expense because she really thought that it was unnecessary. But one look around her office told her that with the business growing, things were out of control and she needed to do something soon.
“All right, I’ll consider it,” she said.
“Eric could help you pick out the right things if you wanted some help. He’s such a techno geek,” Kevin gushed, making it sound like that quality was one of the sexiest ones a man could have.
“We’ll see,” Ellie said. She wasn’t going to be bullied into it.
Jeffrey appeared behind Kevin and looked over his shoulder at Ellie. “Ellie, there is a young man out front who asked to speak to you.”
Ellie and Kevin grinned at each other. Ellie looked at her watch. It was seven a.m., so David was right on time. She giggled as Kevin started smoothing her hair and clothes for her. He nodded that she was ready. She walked out front, ready to greet David with a smile.
The smile quickly disappeared. Jake stood on the other side of the counter.
“Ellie, I’ve been trying to reach you,” he said quietly but firmly, looking furtively around the room. Ellie hadn’t seen Jake in months, but she had to admit that he looked good, although the dark rings underneath his eyes and slightly pea-color aura around him said that trouble was lurking around the corner. But he looked better than he had when they had split up. He had put back on the weight he had lost, and he was dressed in a dark blue polo shirt and tan khakis. She was mildly surprised because Jake usually wore a T-shirt and jeans for work. She was relieved that he appeared sober.
“We don’t have anything to talk about, Jake. We’re divorced now,” she replied just as firmly.
“Just because we’re divorced shouldn’t mean we can’t be civil. Can we just talk for a minute, please?” he pleaded.
Ellie realized that he wasn’t going to go away, as much as she wanted him to. To show up at the coffee shop, on her turf, spoke volumes about the lengths he was willing to go. She finally nodded, and pointed to a table in the corner near the front.
“Go sit over there. I’ll be right over.”
Jake’s face broke into a brilliant smile and his aura turned almost white. Disarmed, Ellie almost smiled back. Then she remembered where they had been, and she forced the smile back. He headed for the table.
“What the hell is he doing here?” she heard Kevin snarl behind her. She turned and placed her hands on his chest.
“I don’t know. But avoiding him isn’t working. So I’m going to go over there and talk to him for a few minutes. Hopefully, if he gets out what he is so determined to tell me he’ll go away.” She spoke in a low tone so that Jake wouldn’t be able to overhear.
“You just wave if you need me to come over there and kick his ass,” Kevin said.
Ellie saw Jeffrey behind Kevin with his eyebrow raised, and she knew he was thinking the same thing she was: there was no way that Kevin would be able to kick anyone’s ass, much less Jake’s.
“Thanks, Kevin.” She patted him on the arm. She moved to go around the counter and found David standing there at the register. In the commotion, they had missed him coming in. Her heart sank. David’s timing was horrible.
“Hey, Ellie,” he said with a bright smile.
“Hi, David.” She gulped, trying not to panic. Warning bells were going off in her head, but she had to stay calm.
“Did you get my message last night?” he asked. He seemed nervous, which any other time Ellie would have found endearing and sweet.
“Uh, yes. I did. But right now isn’t the best time to talk, David.” She watched his face fall, so she dropped her voice to a low whisper. “My ex-husband just showed up and wants to talk to me.”
David’s eyes widened and then narrowed. “You okay? Where is he?” His head swung ar
ound and it only took a moment for him to find Jake sitting at the corner table. He was the only customer in the place who was the right age.
Ellie reached across the counter and put her hand on his arm to get his attention again. “Yes, so I’ll have to talk to you later, okay?” Her eyes pleaded with him. She watched him nod slowly.
Ellie looked back at Kevin and gestured toward David. “Can you help me out here, please, Kevin? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Kevin scowled at her, but moved to the counter. Ellie heard hushed voices behind her, but she couldn’t worry about that. She had to focus on the man in front of her whose aura was starting to glow a deep red.
“What’s the deal with this guy?” David said in a low tone to Kevin as he watched Ellie move over to table in the corner.
“I don’t know why she puts up with him, seriously,” Kevin replied. He leaned in toward David.
“Do I have anything to worry about there?” David didn’t know how to ask the question the right way other than just being blunt. He didn’t know if Ellie's ex was a factor or not and he was looking for an honest answer. He needed to know if he was wasting his time; the thought alarmed him.
“There is nothing to worry about there.” Kevin shook his head. “That is old news. He was so bad to Ellie it isn’t even funny. But after eight years I think she feels sorry for him. It has been hard for her to let go because she feels guilty.”
“How so?” David asked.
“That isn’t my story to tell,” Kevin said apologetically. “Just hang in there. She’s totally into you.”
David could only hope that Kevin was right.