the side of her mouth, “and they'll fire you from your day job and write you up full-time on the maintenance crew.”
“That good, huh?”
She nodded, approvingly. “Surprisingly good.”
He plopped down in his leather chair, a little cloud of shredded packaging material powdering the air around him. “I do have purpose behind this madness, you know.”
“Uh-huh. What?”
A gleam shone in his eye. He rubbed his hands eagerly. “I have some ... things ... that will be arriving any day now. Knick knacks, you might call them, very old and very special. They deserve a place of honor.”
“Oh?”
“You will see, when they arrive.”
“Fine, be secretive. But I'm warning you, Dr. Omega, dusting knick knacks is not in my job description!” She folded her arms with a mock pout.
“No dusting will be expected.”
“I want that in writing.” She turned to leave.
He rose from his chair. “Wait, Anna Dawn, I have something for you.”
She stopped, looking uncomfortable. “You don't have to give me things, Dr. Omega. The roses were great, but I don't think.… ”
He interrupted, “Anna Dawn, someone told me you are a botany major when you are not busy being my secretary."
“That's right,” she answered, warily. “I’ve scheduled all morning classes during fall term and will work here afternoons.”
“Well, then, from one scientist to another, have a look at these.” He pulled on his desk drawer, withdrew a rolled up newspaper and spread it open on his desk. It was filled with tiny, blue wildflowers.
Her mouth opened slightly, like a fish not quite sure if it should take the worm or worry about a hook.
He smiled at her happily, sure she must like them; sure he had chosen well. “You see, Anna Dawn,” he explained, simply, “I like to go for walks on the weekends and I found these by the roadside yesterday evening. When I saw them, I wondered if my little botanist, Ms. Hamlyn, could identify them for me? What do you think?”
She leaned in for a closer look. “Pretty.… ”
He offered them to her. “Here. Take them. Smell. They are quite fragrant.”
She put them to her nose and inhaled. "Yes, very sweet, like honey.”
“Well?” Omega looked at her intently, waiting for an answer.
“Well ... what?”
“What are they? You are a botanist?”
She examined the flowers more closely over the top of her glasses. “I don't think I'm familiar with this particular plant,” she admitted, avoiding his penetrating gaze. “I need my field guide.”
His gaze softened. “Not to worry, Anna Dawn. The world is full of questions wanting answers, is it not? I just thought it could be a little ... thing ... between us. I find the flowers, you identify them. Could be fun.”
She nodded, “Yes. It could be.”
“So, perhaps you could just tell me what they are later, when you have time to find out.”
“Be glad to," she said, handing them back to him. “It's very nice of you, to think of me.”
“Oh, please keep them. I picked them for you.”
She looked at him, still not quite sure what to think.
His eyes twinkled. “I assure you, I am not flirting with you, Ms. Hamlyn, if that is what is bothering you; for I am a happily married man. It would just be nice to get to know you a little better and I thought this would break the ice between us a little faster.”
She smiled, accepting his answer with a tilt of her head. “In that case, Dr. Omega, I'll have to watch myself around you. I'm not one to open up easily, not without a fight.”
“I never for one moment thought you would be,” he answered.
Anna Dawn put down the flowers. “Tell me about your wife, Dr. Omega,” she ventured cautiously. “What’s she like?”
Omega's eyes lit up. “Johanna? Oh, she is wonderful. A brilliant woman. I consider her a great scientist in her own right. Insightful, resourceful, brave and very dear.”
“I'd like to meet her sometime.”
“I hope you may. But it may be a while. She is in Africa right now.”
“Africa?!”
“Yes. Working on one of our projects.” He sighed. “I do not see her very often these days. We are both so busy. I miss her.” For a moment, he stared off into space, then cleared his throat, bringing himself back. “You seem a bit lonely yourself, Anna Dawn. Am I wrong?” Here, he was getting personal again and chuckled inwardly at the thought.
Anna Dawn hesitated. “I live alone, if that's what you mean.”
“Partly. I guess what I am asking is, where are your family? Who are the important people in your life?”
She reddened. “My, how we do pry, Professor!”
“Forgive me. But I do take some pride in reading people, and I am usually proven correct. Forgive me for noticing, but I sense an emptiness in you. Like you are the only person in your world. It is very sad.”
She played with her hands. “I don’t know why I’m talking to you like this,” she said hesitantly. “I’m not one to open up to an old acquaintance, much less someone I’ve only known a day. But,” she pointed a finger at his nose, “there is something about you, Dr. Omega…. I don’t know what. Somehow, you do make me feel I could tell you anything.”
“So you could, lass,” Omega answered quickly. “I would never betray your trust. Are you alone, then, as I suspected?”
She nodded. “Yes. Quite alone.” Then she looked up sharply. “But I manage. I’ve managed on my own for some time.”
“I have no doubt of it,” Omega said. “I understand what it is to be lonely, Anna Dawn. Please know that you can talk to me if there is no one else to listen.”
She chewed her lower lip, thinking, then said, “I’ve been orphaned since I was three. Car accident. Killed my parents and my baby brother. I was raised by my Aunt Carol, my father's sister. She just passed away last winter. She was all the family I had. So, you see,” she forced a smile, “after all these years, I'm an orphan again.”
For a moment, she waited, as if deciding whether to say more; then, he could tell from her face, she smelled the hook. That would be all the fishing he would get done today.
“I'll look for something to put these in,” she said, gathering up the newspaper and blue
