raised his mug and said, “To good friendship.”
Jason smiled, inclined his head and said, “Hear, hear.”
Betty brought out pictures of family. Jason learned they had a daughter who had married an Arab and now lived in Iraq with grandchildren they had never seen. They had two sons, both killed in service. He could tell they were heartbroken. In reality they had lost all three of their children. Jason quickly realized that they were not only lonely but needed someone to talk to about their grief. He felt sorry for them but hoped they wouldn’t expect to replace their loss with him.
A clock chimed midnight and Jason jumped up. “Oh, I have to get some sleep. I’m getting up at six for work. Thank you for the hot chocolate. I have enjoyed meeting you.
He felt ashamed for his actions but hurried out and back to his own apartment. He was angry at himself that he couldn’t seem to find a common ground for a discussion with the Dixons. His mind flew around subjects so much that he had a difficult time falling asleep.
Chapter Six
It seemed to Jason that he had just closed his eyes when his alarm brought him straight up in bed. He yawned and stretched, slowly got out of bed and staggered into the bathroom.
Dressing in a dark blue suit with a lighter blue shirt and red and blue tie, Jason drew on his boots. He snapped on his watch, checked for his wallet and a clean handkerchief and headed for the kitchen.
He remembered he had left his briefcase on a kitchen cabinet at the same time that he smelled the coffee. God bless the person who invented an automatic coffee maker that could be programmed at night to start working the next morning. He slipped two pieces of frozen French toast in the toaster and put two eggs on to boil.
While his breakfast was being prepared, he went to his door to pick up the paper which he had delivered. He took off the clear plastic wrapper and sat at the kitchen table to spread the paper out and read. He finally thought to check on the eggs and decided he had let them boil too long, but that was too bad. He’d eat them anyway. He slipped the now cooled French toast into the microwave for fifteen seconds to warm. He spread butter on them and reached for the syrup. Breakfast over, Jason washed what few dishes he had and left them in the drainer to air dry.
He ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Returning to the front of the apartment, he put on his overcoat and Stetson, grabbed his briefcase and hurried out. Locking his door he walked quietly down the hall to the elevator hoping he would not disturb any of his neighbors.
In his office, an hour before the others, he concentrated on completing work he had neglected while getting established in The Perfect Spouse. He disciplined his mind to concentrate on the work and not on his impressions of the people he had met at the party.
Grace hurried in bringing a swirl of cold air. She took off her coat and knit cap and hung them up after putting her gloves on a corner of her desk. She placed her purse in a bottom desk drawer and turned to go make coffee. She gave a strangled scream when she discovered Jason standing in the hall.
“What are you doing here this early? You nearly scared me to death. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could have gotten in and I sure didn’t expect to see you.” She sat down to take off her rubber boots.
“I’m sorry, Grace. I’ve gotten involved in some personal matters and decided I needed to come in early to finish work that I had started. Go on and fix the coffee. I’m having some fresh pastries and fruit delivered in a few minutes. Put them where the three of you can enjoy them.” He went back to his office and quietly shut the door.
Jason thankfully completed a quarterly report a local business had hired him to do and to stay on top of their financial affairs. He breathed a sigh of relief and reached for a folder of work that belonged to an attorney in a nearby town.
He lost track of time with his mind so focused on what he was doing. He looked up when someone knocked on his door and then opened it. Grace entered with a mug of coffee, as he liked it and a Bavarian cream-filled Long John. She placed these on his desk then took an apple and some napkins out of a packet.
“Oh, Grace, you’re worth a fortune, but you shouldn’t have bothered.”
“Doing something for you is absolutely no bother. I bet you don’t eat properly most of the time with no one to remind you. Do you even shop for groceries?”
“Whoa. At least stop long enough to take a breath. Yes, I shop for groceries and do basic cooking. I had breakfast at six fifteen this morning and it’s now ten, so this is good. Thank you.”
Grace frowned and leaned against his desk. “There’s a Margaret Archer calling and insisting on speaking only with you. I told her that she’d have to make an appointment, but she snorted and hung up.”
“Snorted?” he laughed. “Who is Margaret Archer?”
“I have no idea and neither Greg nor Beth can remember ever knowing her or hearing about her. What should I tell her if she calls again?”
“That she has to make an appointment. She also needs to tell you the nature of her business. You know the drill.”
“Jason, you have a business to run and need clients, but I had the hair, on the back of my neck, standing up while she was talking. She has an irritating voice. I don’t have a good feeling about her.”
“Well, if and when she does make an appointment, make sure it’s when we’re all here. Surely I can protect myself against one woman, but if you would feel better being present, so be it.”
“Yes, but she’s so persistent and downright rude.”
Jason got up and came around the desk to hug Grace. “Thank you for taking care of me. I hope you’re not sensing bad when it really isn’t there. Maybe it’s just because she won’t speak freely to you, or better yet, maybe she won’t call again.” He patted her back and gently urged her out the door. She sniffed and went walking rapidly out and down the hall.
Jason was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t stop for lunch. The middle of the morning refreshments Grace brought him was still with him. Grace came back with her outer wear on ready to leave. “Jason, forgive me if you feel I’m too bossy, but I do care about you and want to keep you as healthy as possible. I came in to see if you wanted me to bring you something to eat.”
Smiling broadly, Jason got up and hugged her. “Thank you, Grace, and no you’re not too bossy. I appreciate your attention and am so fortunate to have you. I can’t think of anything I want at the moment. Is there a pastry or some fruit left? If so I’ll eat that later.”
“There’s one pastry that I hid for you and I saved some fruit slices. I’ll bring them back to you with a mug of coffee.” She scurried out down the hall to happily wait on Jason before she left for lunch. Greg offered to stay behind and take care of the front while Grace and Beth went out. He would go after they returned because he also had a personal errand to run.
Jason stayed so busy that the day seemed to pass quickly. He stretched his tired back and shoulders when Beth came back to tell him goodbye.
“Get home safely, Beth, and have a good night’s rest. Be careful. There’s still some icy spots.”
Greg called goodbye from down
