With Hesitant Stride - A Blog Novel - Excerpt 3

Waking was both easier and harder the next morning. What made it easier was the skin-tightening, electric thrill of anticipation coruscating through me. However, harder because I had to wake up from a series of very romantic dreams of Richard and I. Wow! On the one hand I haven't had dreams that good in over a year, but on the other, I was somewhat afraid the reality couldn't possibly live up to my fantasies.
"Ugh! Not looking like that they won't," I muttered. With all the advances we've made I was amazed someone hadn't yet invented a 'show me as I want to be' mirror. It would net a fortune. Of course, it would take a woman to invent it. Just as it would take a woman to invent technology to prevent bed hair. I didn't even bother sniffing; instead I headed straight for the shower.
***
As I entered the kitchen, Jimmie greeted me with, "Morning sleepyhead. How do want your eggs?"
"Sleepyhead? I'm up and ready almost a half-hour earlier than usual. And I'll take a breakfast shake and a granola bar."
"Oh, right. There's a new man in your life so you have to starve yourself. Besides, I've fixed far more than I can eat all by myself."
"All right," I said, sitting down, "Go ahead and stuff me today, but tomorrow just cook enough for yourself. I love your cooking, but I'm not always ready to be a guinea pig this early in the day. And this has nothing to do with seeing Rich." The aroma of his country egg scramble had seduced me, yet again.
"He's already gone from Richard to Rich, I see. You must have had some rather good dreams last night."
"Jimmie! Can't a girl keep her fantasy life to herself for just one night?"
"You did dream about him. I knew it. Elaine's got a boyfriend."
"I do not." I said, feeling very much as I had when other girls had taunted me in third grade. All it would take would be for Jimmie to come back with…
"Do too!"
Blushing a deep crimson, I replied, "Do Not!"
"Do too, do too, do too!"
He sounded so like those little girls from my past I couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Okay, you win. You are better at being a pain in the butt than I am." I glanced at the clock on the stove. "And I'll be running late if we don't get a move on."
"We're fine."
"Not after I drop you off at City Hall. By then, all the good parking spots will be taken and I'll have to waste time finding one. Let's go, lazy bones."
***
Traffic was light for a Thursday. That meant I was running just early enough to snag a parking spot close to the building's entrance. I know, I've got all the right ID to park there, but it's a pain to have to walk an extra block, that being the size of the parking garage, on those days when I got there too late. I did a 'happy dance' over my good fortune and dashed inside and onto the first elevator. I was at my desk a good five minutes before the official start of the work day.
Which was a good thing as I saw Richard and the other consultants leaving the elevator, headed for the conference room just as I pulled out my chair. He saw me too and flashed a smile and a small wave my direction. I smiled at him. Then I plunged into the daily grind of doing my part to keep the County of Sacramento afloat on the required sea of paperwork.
Many people assume county government is fully automated, with every single piece of data stored in some vast computer database which each and every government employee can access via an extremely simple program. Almost half my voice messages and e-mail are from county residents seeking information or services available only in other departments. I've yet to figure out why, but I have heard from employees in other departments that they face the same problem. And, for some reason, this was most likely to happen on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
By the time I had cleaned off all the messages not specific to my desk, it was approaching the morning break time. I planned to work through the break to get caught up enough to take a full lunch break. Silly me.
"Hi," he spoke from behind me, "Are you at a point where you can stop?"
"Eep! Don't do that," I exclaimed, jerking around to face him. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to not sneak up on a person?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." He paused. "So, are you able to take a break?"
"I suppose. I'd rather keep working and do lunch with you, if that's okay?"
"If you won't mind doing lunch with the whole team, sure. However, I was hoping we could avoid all that 'team spirit'."
"In that case, I accept. Would you prefer coffee in the break room or head down to the corner for an herbal tea from one of the street vendors?"
"I didn't know the pushcarts sold herbal tea. But I'm feeling adventurous if you are."
Grabbing my sweater I said, "Let's do it."
It didn't take long for the elevator to reach street level and we were crowded in with a half-dozen others. Not a good environment for any attempt at romantic chit-chat. And I didn't know yet whether romance was on his mind or if he wanted to pump me for input about the office. Fortunately, as we left the building, we separated from the crowd. By the time the vendor was ready to take our orders, most of the other workers had scattered away.
"Ginseng Morning Blend, Camomille, Pedro's Special Pick-Me-Up, they all look so confusing. What do you recommend?"
"It's obvious you're not an herbal tea conniseur. Camomille is designed to soothe and relax, I wouldn't recommend that if you're heading for more meetings. If you feel the need to perk up because the meetings are dull, I'd recommend Pedro's."
"And you?"
"I could use a cup of Pedro's."
"Then that's what we'll have. Two Pedro's Special Pick-Me-Ups, please." he told the vendor. "How much do I owe you?"
"Wait a minute. You don't have to buy mine."
"But I want to."
"All right."
He paid the vendor for our teas and we found a spot out of the way, where we could enjoy the morning Sun.
"I'm glad I saw you today," he said. "I would have liked to have had more time with you last evening. It just wasn't in the cards."
"That's all right. I've had friends who worked as consultants. I know how hurried the first days can be. Can I ask how they're going? Or is it too early to tell?"
"Actually, things are going quite smooth. If it keeps up I'm going to start to worry. In my experience, the worst disasters always happen on the projects which start well. However, we've done this kind of training fairly often and we've had time to get all the kinks out."
"How long do you expect to be on this contract?"
"Oh, about three months for on-site training and another three months for post-training support. By then, County should have enough people, in-house, capable of training the new hires." He sighed. "This is just a filler contract; we've got a bigger project coming up with the State of California to do some major database development. That's going to be a two or more year job."
"You don't sound all that thrilled. Isn't this what you chose to do?"
"Yes and no. It's what I've done for the last four years, but that's while I've been working on my Masters in Political Science. I'm hoping to become a political analyst or campaign consultant. I'm just two courses from my degree."
"Sound's fascinating. I'd like to learn more about it."
"I shall not disappoint you. All you have to do is agree to do lunch or have dinner with me this weekend."
"Are you, by any chance, asking me on a date?"
Richard turned his head just enough to look straight into my eyes. "Yes, I am."
My knees didn't quite turn to jelly and I managed, I hope, to give the appearance of thoughtful consideration. "In that case, I accept. Saturday's good for me."
"Saturday it is. Shall we say, seven o'clock?"
"Of course." Noticing my fellow County employees streaming back into the building I said, "But for now, we'd better get back inside. Come back to my desk and I'll give you my phone number."
***