Sarah's Prayer: A Sunset Single (Sunset Series 1.1) (5 page)

As Sarah checked out she noticed Jennifer Lawson entering the store with her two boys. "Hey, Jen..." Sarah stopped her greeting suddenly.

Jen passed by with a stare that wilted Sarah's heart.

Sarah made it through the remainder of Sunday evening and some of the night wondering if something went wrong between Jen and Jake. Jen's response at the store just didn't make sense. Sarah would have to ask Jen about it and see if she did something to offend her. Jen hadn't been particularly friendly with Sarah because, instinctually, she knew Sarah wanted Jake too. Jen never saw Sarah as much competition, but she was still the enemy.

Chapter 5

Monday morning brought a bright spot to Sarah's life with an email from Michael.

Sweet Sarah,

Sarah's heart melted at the salutation and she hadn't even read the message yet.

Thanks for getting in touch with me. I'll look forward to seeing you at Joe's. Tuesday works for me. See you at 4? I'm buying.

Blessings for your week as well!

Michael

- I attached a picture that I think might remind us of each other.

Sarah's heart pounded and tears welled up in her eyes.
This is really happening, isn't it?
She read the email again just to be sure she wasn't dreaming. Then, she caught the part about the picture and noticed the thumbnail at the bottom of the screen. She clicked on it to reveal a photo of a pale pink rose with darker pink edges. The wording in gold below it read: "Your Father knows what you need even before you ask... Matthew 6:8."

Oh, how sweet.
A blushing rose and my verse from church yesterday. How thoughtful.

Sarah's mood improved as she got up from her desk to change into her work clothes, not noticing that her computer camera suddenly and silently took on a life of its own.

Arriving at the Sunset Hospice office after appointments, Sarah looked for Jen's car. She wasn't sure if she wanted to find her or avoid her at that moment. Fortunately, Jen wasn't there, but Jake was.

"Good morning, Jake."

"Hey, Sarah." Jake seemed distracted and nervous, but jumped up from his chair and gave her a brief hug. "Thank you for what you did last week. I owe you more than you know." He walked hurriedly out of the room.

Roger, who sat in his chair observing the scene, looked at Sarah. "I don't know what's gotten into him, Sarah, but he's acted weird all morning. He said he went to Houston for the weekend, but didn't say for what. Something happened there that messed him up."

"I know for a fact he's wrestling with some things, Roger."

"It's about Jen, isn't it? It's always about the girl... Sarah, not to be rude, but do you
mind if I have some quiet time with Jake? He needs to talk."

"Oh, no.
Not at all. I had 'the talk' with him last Thursday afternoon. I'll leave and let you finish him off." Sarah gave Roger a wink and a sly smile.

"That's my girl. Say, Ellen tells me that lunch got kind of interesting yesterday."

"Yeah, well. I'll be able to tell you just how interesting after my rendezvous at four tomorrow." Sarah's smile got even bigger.

"You go girl. I'm happy for you."

As Sarah gathered the paperwork for her afternoon appointments, she wondered just how happy she would be later this week. Sarah said her usual prayer as she walked out the door and across the porch of the historic house that Sunset Hospice called an office.

Father, help me to be a light of hope and grace to those in need of my care today...

... and Father, whatever is happening with Jen and Jake, help them to reconcile with each other and with you. It's so obvious that they need to be together.

Chapter 6

The saying "time flies when you're having fun" may well be true, but time seemed to grind to a halt for Sarah. It felt like an eternity before Tuesday afternoon arrived. There were, of course, patients to visit, multiple phone calls and texts to friends for consultation on what to wear, clearing her late afternoon with Sharon so she wouldn't be interrupted and spending some time in prayer and meditation to make it appear to Michael that this was a nice and relaxed visit at Sunset Joe's.

Back at her apartment Sarah's laptop computer quietly woke up with instructions to upload picture files covertly taken since the last upload, delete the files and go back to sleep as if nothing ever happened.

Sarah turned in her paperwork and finished up her phone calls at exactly 3:45 so she would be around the corner from the coffee shop ten minutes early. No sense taking any chances on a last minute delay. Sarah sat in her car contemplating this event. The last time she went to Sunset Joe's it was to meet a man. That wasn't the best outcome for her. This time would be different. This would be enjoyable. No expectations, just a pleasant conversation to get to know each other. And, maybe a chance for another time together.
No pressure, Sarah, for either one of us.

Without thinking, Sarah put her car in gear and drove toward the coffee shop. It was earlier than she planned.
Oh well, why not seem excited about this? I am.
She intentionally parked away from the entrance so she could take a few deep breaths and smile on her way to the door.

This is it, Father. I'm in your hands.

She entered in time to see Michael packing his laptop at the same table he occupied last Thursday. He walked toward Sarah with that same serene half-smile he wore on Sunday, never taking his eyes off her.

"Hi, Sarah.
How kind of you to join me."

"I wouldn't miss it, Michael."

"Lead the way, m'lady. I'm buying."

"Such a gentleman.
There aren't many left in this world I'm afraid."

"As my dad said, 'chivalry isn't dead, just exhausted.'"

For some reason, that caught Sarah as cute and appealing. Of course, this whole event was cute and appealing. "Hey, Joe. I'll have... well, you know what I'll have. I don't know why I bother telling you anymore."

Joe winked and reached for the green tea.

"I'll take a medium decaf caramel macchiato with coconut creamer." Joe nodded with a smile and rang up the purchase.

Sarah looked surprised. "That's an interesting choice, coconut creamer."

"I actually like it now that I've gotten used to the modified paleo diet." I snuck in the caramel since this is a special occasion."

Sarah felt a sudden warm glow, thinking that Michael considered his time with her special. "Well, I take that as a compliment."

Michael smiled as they picked up their drinks and walked to the table Michael used earlier. He pulled out a chair for Sarah.

He is a gentleman. I'm beginning to really like this
. "Why, thank you, Michael."

"You act surprised. Don't other guys help you with your chair?"

Sarah felt suddenly self-conscious. "Honestly? Not that often I'm afraid."

"Well, their loss." He sat down just to her left instead of across from her.

Sarah noticed that Michael was much more relaxed and open here than on Sunday. Either it was the lack of a crowd or the fact that they knew each other now or something, but she liked this version of Michael even better. Regardless of how much she liked him, she suddenly had trouble finding something to say, so she took the lid off her tea and stirred it lazily. "Honestly, I don't have that many opportunities for a man to offer me a chair."
Did I just say that? Why did I say that?

"Again.
Their loss, Sarah." Michael smiled and kept watching her.

"Thank you, Michael." Sarah looked into his eyes. They just invited her to speak what was on her heart. She turned toward him and leaned forward. "I just need to get this out now before it drives me crazy, Michael. I've been a nervous wreck getting ready to meet with you. Now that
I'm here, I feel so much more relaxed and comfortable." Sarah leaned back, took a deep breath and sipped her tea.

Michael continued his already relaxed pose. "I'll have to admit, Sarah. I've been a bit of a wreck too. Thanks for being so open."

His admission surprised her. "What do you have to be nervous about? You seem so calm and collected every time I look at you."

Michael studied Sarah and nodded slowly. "To be honest with you, I don't have many opportunities to offer a lady a chair."

"Her loss." Sarah felt strangely uncomfortable saying that, but it was the grammatically correct response.

Michael looked away for a moment and his face showed a brief sadness.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, Sarah, just the opposite. You're either really good at what you do or really intuitive.
Maybe both." He paused to shift in his chair. "It is 'her loss.' I've been divorced for almost two years now."

"Oh, my.
How are you holding up with it? If you don't mind me asking?" Sarah was distinctly aware that this "casual" coffee date had taken an intense turn very quickly.

"As well as I can. Better than I thought I would. That's part of why I moved to Sunset... a change of scenery and personal space. Meet new people who don't remind me of my old life or expect me to be like I used to be."

Sarah used her practiced skill of compassionate silent engagement.

"I can't believe I just talked to you about my miserable past when this was supposed to be a friendly coffee date."

Sarah was thrilled Michael referred to this as a date. "I'm happy that you would feel comfortable sharing that with me, Michael. I think that's a good sign." Sarah smiled warmly and sipped her tea.

"Do you feel comfortable enough for a little
quid pro quo?
"

Sarah assessed her feelings. She did feel comfortable sharing something of her past, knowing that there was a lot more to Michael's story than he shared. "Well, I've never been married. Never found the right guy." Sarah couldn't look Michael in the eyes when she said that. It was too threatening. "Only one serious relationship, but that... didn't go well. It just took me a long time to trust anyone... to trust men after that. The choices of eligible bachelors in Sunset leave
much to be desired. Present company excluded, of course." Sarah hoped that didn't sound too flirty.

Michael smiled at that comment. "I do hope that trust won't be a problem with me going forward."

Sarah had to be careful to remain calm and not choke on her tea.
There's hope? He wants a next time?
"I don't foresee a problem in that respect."
Breathe, Sarah.

"Well,
good. Trust is important to me. Both ways. After all, 'trustworthy' is the first point in the Scout Law."

"So, you were in the Boy Scouts?"

"Eagle Scout."

"Why does that not surprise me in the least? My brother Gabriel was an Eagle Scout too. In fact, Gabe announced just yesterday that he's being promoted to major in the Army. We're so proud of him."

Michael's face became cloudy for an instant again.

"Oh, did I say something else that was... painful?"

"I think it's just an indication that we're on the same wavelength, Sarah. But that discussion needs to wait for a later time."

So there will be a later time. I like that.
"There's just something about Sunset Joe's that causes two people to be open and honest. I should have warned you." Sarah smiled.

"No, actually.
I think it was a good choice." Michael kept his eyes on Sarah as he sipped his drink. "Well, most first dates involve lots of chit-chat followed by a little serious talk. I think we broke tradition by starting off with the serious stuff. I don't know about you, but I could use a little lighter conversation to finish off my macchiato."

"I think that's probably a good idea. Everybody knows what a social worker does, so let's start with you. What do you do as a computer consultant?"

"Well, I my clients call me a network security ninja. I slink around in their networks undetected looking for hackers, incursions, threats to their systems in general. Some clients will pay me to hack their system to test their security. It's amazing how easy it can be to break into a large company's network. It's a good business and it pays well. I get to work wherever and whenever I want."

"I really think that's fascinating, Michael. What do you do when you catch a hacker?"

"I turn the information over to the company. If it's a violation of a state or federal law, I'm obligated to turn it over to law enforcement."

"So, you're like a high-tech sheriff trying to clean up the internet, in a way."

"You could say that... I know you're a social worker, but hospice? That's got to be a serious specialty."

"Yes, it is. I take care of very ill people and their families. The company tells me when to work and where. They pay me very little to do it." Sarah smiled broadly at Michael, signaling that the topic of hospice was too serious to discuss.

Michael and Sarah found about a dozen other things to talk about that carried them well past emptying their cups. That didn't matter. They were genuinely enjoying each other's comfortable presence.

The ambiance of the moment was broken only by a chirp of Sarah's phone indicating a text message.
This better not be Lydia snooping on the date.
"Excuse me, Michael. This may be work." What she read caused her to sit up straight. It was Jennifer Lawson. The last person she expected to see on her phone.

Plz
mt me 4 lunch. Clown Wed 12??

"Oh, my."

"A problem?"

"I don't know. I just got a text from one of the nurses. She doesn't like me very much right now. She just asked me to lunch tomorrow." Sarah's phone chirped again.

It's a 1 animal lunch. Promise :)

Sarah looked at the text for a moment puzzled at its meaning. Then she laughed hysterically.
"A one animal lunch. That is so, so funny."

Michael found the display amusing and perplexing. "I guess
it's better news than you thought."