A Walk in the Park Ch. 01

Author's note: This is my first submission, so all comments and criticism are welcome. There will be sex but it will come in later chapters. Be gentle, please! ^_^

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I was walking the dog when it happened. It was a warm Saturday morning in early September when I decided to take my yellow Labrador for a stroll in the park. Freddie (named after Fred of the Flintstones) was on a leash, sniffing at some bushes, when suddenly a little girl came running from the opposite direction and landed awkwardly on the soft grass a few feet from me. My thoughts were elsewhere, and I was surprised to see a tow-headed child get up, and unmindful of the grass stains on her shorts, walk fearlessly towards Freddie. Now Freddie was a well-behaved Lab, (most of the time anyway), and he started wagging his tail excitedly. He was a very friendly dog, and kids adored him. I took him to the park whenever the weather permitted to make sure that he gets all the adoration that he needs aside from that which I already gave him. Getting back to the little girl, she was giving a wide-eyed stare to Freddie, and upon noticing me, gave me a toothy grin. She was about three years old, had blonde curls that even Goldilocks would have envied, and had cornflower blue eyes that could charm any adult.

"Hello," I told her. "His name's Freddie. Would you like to touch him?" I asked. She shyly nodded yes. "You can come nearer, he won't hurt you," I added. She approached Freddie, and started petting him on the neck. Soon Freddie was licking all over her face and she was giggling helplessly.

"Maddie!" shouted a man who was running from the direction where the little girl came from. This must be her father, I thought. "Didn't I tell you not to go too far from me?" he added.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Nick. I won't do it again", said the semi-contrite little cherub, all the while smiling and petting the eager Freddie.

"Uncle Nick" tried to look stern for all of five seconds, then finally surrendered. Who wouldn't, when charmed by those baby blues and impish smile?

"Come here," he said, "and give Uncle Nick a hug. Maddie's been a bad little girl today. No ice cream for you, young lady!"

All throughout this, I was watching them with a smile on my face. My, what a gorgeous hunk of a man, I thought. He was in his early thirties, around six feet, well-built, and with wavy dark hair and blue eyes to boot. He was wearing a navy blue polo shirt tucked into well-worn jeans. His butt looks good too, I noticed. This guy looks too good to be true, I mused.

"I'm sorry ma'am, if Maddie caused you any trouble. She's usually shy with strangers, but I guess your dog doesn't count as one."

"Oh, it's ok, no harm done. I take it she isn't around dogs much?" I inquired.

"No, we don't have one, but she seems to love them. I think she's too young for dogs. What do you think?" he said with wry grin, dimples showing.

Oh gosh, this guy has dimples too! What a menace to the female population, I thought. "How old is she?"

"Well, she'll be three in two weeks time. Isn't that right, Maddie?"

"Yup. I'll have a party at Uncle Nick's house. Can Freddie come, Uncle Nick? She can come too," referring to me.

At that, both of us adults laughed. "Well, that's it. Freddie and you are officially invited to Maddie's birthday party." Uncle Nick held ot his hand and said, "Nicholas Santorini, attorney-at-law. If you're married, I'll handle your divorce, if you got hit by a truck, I'll sue the truck company, and if you killed someone, I'll defend you," he quipped.

I chuckled and held out my hand, the one which was not holding the leash. "Cynthia Flannagan. I'm not married, I didn't get hit by a truck, and I certainly did not kill anyone."

"Well, Cynthia, wanna take a short walk around the park?"

"Sure," I replied.

We began strolling aimlessly, keeping an eye on Maddie and Freddie, of course.

"What do you do, Cynthia?" asked Nick.

"I'm a teacher. I teach third-graders at Lincoln," referring to the local public school in town. "How about you?"

"As I said before, I'm a lawyer. Got any legal problems? I'll solve them for you," he jested.

"Nah," I said, "I'm problem-free at the moment, legal-wise. So, why is Uncle Nick with Maddie on a fine Saturday morning?"

"Well, Uncle Nick has custody of Maddie. Her parents died in a car accident 10 months ago. Her father Tom, who's my big brother, made me her guardian in his will. I could either take her or send her to Social Services."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring all that up," I remarked. "It must have been hard for you, losing your brother, and having to bring up Maddie. What does your girlfriend feel about it?" There I was, fishing for information. Not so subtle of me, I guess.

"Yeah, it was tough at first, being a single parent. My parents would sometimes have Maddie for the weekend, but during the week she's with me. I had to learn how to sing lullabies, potty train and handle little girl's hair in a very short time!" he quipped, making light of the travails of single fatherhood. "Marie's parents, Marie's the mom of Maddie, by the way, were already dead, so she just has my side of the family to care for her. No wife, ex-wife, or girlfriend to help me during that time," he added smilingly, the lines around his eyes crinkling.

By that time, we passed a park bench, and sat down. My balloon floral skirt, which was slightly above the knee, hiked up slightly, showing a good amount of leg. I noticed that his eyes went to my calves and sandaled feet before going back up to my face, stopping for a while at my cleavage. I was wearing a pink tank top and jeans jacket, so a little cleavage showed. Maddie was still romping around with Freddie a few feet from us, so we were able to continue our conversation. A soft wind blew, ruffling my long, wavy auburn hair, and I brought my left hand to my hair, hoping to bring a semblance of order into my thick mane.

"So, Teacher Cynthia, have you been here for a long time? Are you one of those who were born and bred here?"

"No, I'm from Washington state. I needed a change of scene, and wanted to explore the east coast, so I accepted a job here in New Jersey. Always wanted to be near the Big Apple, but not necessarily live in it," I quipped, my green eyes sparkling. "I've just been here for two months, before the start of school. How about you?"

"Well, I was working in the Big Apple, living in a high-rise apartment, and working 60-80 hours a week in one of those big law firms that we have in corporate America. I was working my ass off to become partner, working hard during the week and playing harder during weekends. Then bam, my brother dies and I have custody of a two-year old little girl. I knew nothing about parenting, I was just the doting but distant uncle. I never changed a nappie in my life, and there I was having to take care of infant formula and paediatrician visits."

He paused, then continued, "I hired a nanny for a while, I could certainly afford it. But being an associate in a big law firm, I had to work 12 hours during the day and when I came home, Maddie was asleep and the nanny had to go home. I hardly saw her during the week and devoted my weekends to her. But she was growing up so fast and I felt that I was failing in my duty as a father. I had been in the rat race for six years and could have continued on for many more, become partner and earn a lot more money. However I didn't want to be alienated from my niece, and didn't want her to grow up with only a nanny. Finally I had to choose between her and my corporate career. I chose Maddie, adopted her, and promised to bring her up as my own."

"I remembered a buddy from law school who has his own small practice; he grew up here and shares the law office with his father. He always said that if I got tired of the city I could come to him. They brought me in as partner six months ago. I mostly get the civil and property cases, since those were my specialties. The pay is much less, but the hours are flexible and I have much more free time with Maddie. And now here I am, sitting on a park bench on a Saturday morning with a handsome dog and a beautiful lady," he said, his brows wiggling mischievously.

"Wow!" I said. "That's quite a story." I felt the pain of his loss, and admired him for putting the needs of Maddie before his own. Not too many men would do that, I mused, at least not the ones that I know.

"It is," Nick remarked dryly, "the story of my life in the past year. I can't believe I'm telling you all this. I've never revealed so much of myself in so little time." He smiled at me, then looked at his watch. "Listen, I have to make lunch for Maddie, then we have a doctor's appointment at 3 pm. But I would like to see you again. If I can get a babysitter for tonight, would you have dinner with me?" training those midnight blue eyes on me.

Oh boy, I thought. A date with him? "Sure," I answered. "I'd like that."

He grinned widely, then stood up and said to Maddie, "C'mon, Maddie-girl, we have to eat lunch, then prepare to go to Doctor Steve." He took her hand in his and then told Maddie, "Say goodbye to Teacher Cynthia and Freddie."

"Bye Teacher Cynthia, bye Freddie," said Maddie as she waved her little digits in the air.

They began to walk away when I shouted, "Hey!" and they looked back, "you forgot something."

Nick frowned then said, "Oh, right. What's your phone number?" he asked sheepishly.

I smilingly gave him my number, stood up, waved goodbye, and together with Freddie, walked home in the opposite direction.

**** end of Chapter 01

Comments and constructive criticism are most welcome. Please let me know if you want me to continue this story. I already have the plot in mind but it's good to get feedback.