The following day I met Sophia, like we'd agreed. Both Sophia and Julia looked stunning, or to be more exact Sophia looked stunning and Julia looked adorable.
'Stop thinking these things, Carter. She's married!' I scolded myself. But I couldn't help it. Sophia was both beautiful and very intelligent and kind, how could her husband treat her the way he did?
But I was not attracted to her as more than just a friend. After all, there was my Julia to think of. She'd been dead for over three years, but I could never forget her, or even love any other woman. I'd been faithful- so faithful that even after she was dead I could not bring myself to date any other woman, though the other guys tried to encourage me to, sometimes describing possible 'candidates' that they knew, but I always said no.
My plan was to have Sophia have the best possible time and keep her mind off her marriage problems, so first I took her to a restaurant and we had lunch together.
Let me tell you something. It worked. We had a really nice time, and were laughing for a long time. She had a really good sense of humor, and we both got in a good mood quickly and had a wonderful lunch.
I don't know exactly why, but Sophia and I never ran out of things to say. You know those awkward moments some people get when neither of them knows just what to say? We didn't get any.
It was as if we were soulmates. We couldn't stop talking, or making each other laugh.
In a matter of days I'd met a woman and she'd become one of my best friends. Second to Brian, of course. He'd always be my best friend. But even best friends can begin to be distant when they're living in totally different places of the country, like we were doing. He had his own life, apart from mine, his own family, and that made it all different.
Sophia had her own life and family, too, but we lived nearby and saw each other once in a while, so we actually had things in common to talk to. But with Brian? Our conversations lately had been either about Joshua or about Baylee, and we never seemed to talk about anything other than that.
Don't get me wrong, I still held him close to my heart, but it was just different.
After lunch we strolled around with Julia, and then I gave Sophia a present that I'd bought just for her. It was a delicate silver necklace and it said 'sophia' on the front. I'd even managed to spell it right- because, since my wife had been Spanish, she'd rubbed off a little of her culture and, as you might know, in Spain they spell it 'Sofía', but that's another matter altogether.
What mattered is that I'd somewhat comforted Sophia, or at least I hoped so and it seemed like it to me. And that had been my goal, anyway.
* * *
On Monday, when Josh had to go in for the blood counts, I mentioned the nosebleed to Dr. Wilson. He didn't seem terribly concerned.
"You feeling all right, Joshua?" he simply asked.
"Sure." Josh said. "I mean, apart from all the nausea and stuff. Just great."
He was being a little sarcastic.
"Have you been having trouble breathing?" Dr. Wilson asked.
"No." Josh said. "Nothing like that."
"More bruises, more headaches?"
Josh shook his head.
"Well, I don't think it's anything to be overly worried about, but if it makes you feel better, Mr. Carter, I'll let you know the results of the blood test as soon as I get them."
"Okay." I said.
See? Dr. Wilson was a really nice guy. He seemed to know what he was doing and was really nice to Josh, me and even Josh's brothers and sister, although he didn't have any obligation to do that. If my son had to be in the hands of a doctor, at least it was Dr. Wilson. I was glad that my son was in his hands.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey, thanks for your patience and for all those reviews, it's really nice to see what you think. I've been busy with another story I've written, called "A New Truth", if you want to read it, go ahead, it's posted on this site and completed, so you don't have to worry about updates ;). Anyway, thanks. I (?v?) my readers.
