Copper River Pt. 01

"Mr. Frasier, how does it feel to be a hero?"

"Mr. Frasier, why were you walking on that trail?"

"Mr. Frasier, tell us, in your own words, what happened."

"Mr. Frasier..."

"Mr. Frasier..."

"Ok, ok, enough with the questions. Simply put, I'm not a hero. I'm just a person who was in the right place at the right time, and was able to help someone out. I live near the park, and was on the trail heading home in the snowstorm. I heard Ms. McPherson calling for help, and that's just what I did. I helped. Now please excuse me."

Aided by the security officers, Steven made his way into the hospital to see Heather. He saw her parents speaking to a doctor down the hall, and noticed a young woman leave Heather's room, brush past him, and into the elevator. He walked up to the door, knocked, and stepped into the room. Heather was sitting up in bed, but somehow looked different from yesterday.

"Good morning, Heather. How are you feeling this morning? I washed your clothes, so you'll have something to wear other than scrubs when you get dismissed."

"Oh, so you washed the clothes you stripped off of me? Did you get a good eyeful of my tits? How dare you presume to take my clothes off without asking my permission. Did you like looking at me? You probably only took my clothes so you could see what I looked like naked. Typical man -- just do whatever you please. And now you're being interviewed on TV. And you're being called a hero for pulling me out of the water, when I could have done it myself. I didn't need your help, so why don't you drop the bag and leave. And leave me alone."

Steven was taken aback by what Heather said. How dare he? He saved her life! And why the change in attitude? Yesterday she was quiet, sincere, and fun to talk with. Today she was acting like a total bitch.

"Wait a minute, where is this coming from? Ask your permission? How? You were unconscious. The interviews were not my idea -- I hate it, but I had no choice but to speak with them. And I told them I wasn't a hero, but obviously you weren't listening. Sorry to be such a pest, but I thought it would be better to pull your ass out of the water before you drowned. Next time, I'll let you pull yourself up. Here's your clothes -- hope you have a lovely life."

Steven was furious with her change of attitude, but wasn't going to stick around any longer to find out why. He stormed out of her room and headed to the elevators, but was stopped by Heather's parents.

"Steven, wait a minute. We heard what Heather said, and she didn't really mean it."

"How can she not mean it? You heard -- she basically told me to screw off, so that's just what I'm doing. It was very nice to meet you both. I won't be seeing any of you again."

"Please just listen for a minute. Right before you came in, Heather's best friend was with her. Julia is her name, and she's a piece of work. She's a staunch feminist whose main belief is that men are only good for one thing -- procreation. No man is good enough to do anything, and I'm afraid she got into Heather's mind. She's usually not like that -- only after talking to Julia. I'm afraid once she calms down she's going to realize what an ass she's been, and regret it."

"That might be so, but I've had my fill of unreasonable women this week, so I'll be leaving."

With that, Steven left the hospital via the back exit to escape further embarrassment at the hands of the reporters and headed to his empty apartment... and his empty life.

Monday morning came, and with it came Steven's continuing embarrassment with fame. As he walked to his office, he co-workers applauded him.

"Way to go, Steven!"

"Nice job, buddy."

"You the man, Steven."

Finally reaching the solitude of his office, Steven closed his door and sunk into his desk chair. He didn't want any of this -- he just wanted to be left alone. But still he kept thinking about Heather, her change of attitude, and what her parents said. If she kept away from Julia she would be someone he'd like to get to know more. But if Julia is her best friend, that's probably never going to happen, and it would be best to just forget about her.

As the morning went on, Steven found himself getting less and less done, as he kept getting interrupted by reporters wanting to interview him. Unfortunately, most of them didn't understand his reluctance to talk to them, and wouldn't take no for an answer. Finally, he made his way to the receptionist, Jessica Morgan, who answered and directed all phone calls.

"Hey, Jessica, how are you doing today? Is the new baby keeping you up at night anymore?"

"Hi Steven. No, she is actually sleeping most of the night, usually 6 or 7 hours at a shot. But how are you doing? Don't take this wrong, but you really look like shit this morning."

"Always straight to the heart, aren't you? I'm coping, but I do have a favor to ask. Would you please hold any calls for me that aren't work related? You know most of the clients I work with, so let them through. But anyone who looks or sounds like a reporter, please let them know I won't be speaking to any of them. Thanks."

"Not a problem. Glad to help you out. And Steven, that was a pretty remarkable thing you did. Nice job."

Several hours later, Steven was in his office discussing procedures for a client's upcoming hardware/software upgrade with Rose when his door popped open.

"Don't you know how to knock, Mitchell?"

"I'm your superior, so I don't have to. And it's Mr. West, if you don't mind."

"I do mind, Mitchell, and you are not superior to me in any way. So do you have a reason to be here, or are you just being a pain in the ass again?"

Visibly upset, Mitchell looked at Rose and snapped,

"You -- out now!"

Rose quickly left the office, but left the door open. Once she was gone, Steven crossed from his desk to face Mitchell face to face.

"Don't you ever speak to her that way again. Don't you ever speak to anyone here that way again. You say you deserve respect, but you need to give respect to get respect. And if you ever disrespect me or anyone here again, I'm going to kick your ass from here to Chicago and back. Is that clear?"

Taken aback by the vehemence in Steven's voice, Mitchell took a step back and began to leave.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get your panties in a bunch, Frasier. And by the way, Mr. Clarkson wants to have lunch with you. Be in his office at 12:30."

And with that, Mitchell turned and left Steven's office, with everyone within earshot watching him leave. Once he was gone, about 20 people came by Steven's office to thank him for saying what he did. When everyone got back to work, Rose came back to his office to finish their work.

"God, that man is such an asshole. I still can't understand why Mr. Clarkson promoted him over you. At least we all still get to work with you. Now, let's work on this proposal."

It ended up being a working lunch, and when they were done, Steven asked his boss if he could explain why and how the promotions were finalized.

"You know as well as I do that Mitchell West couldn't download Solitaire on his computer without help. So how is he now Vice President?"

"Without getting into too much office politics, let's just say I had no choice. Someone on the board of directors, who wields lots of power, made the decision for me. Believe me when I say I fought it, but apparently he has a majority of the board behind him. I'm really sorry, Steve, because I know you deserved it. But I promise I'll make it up to you somehow. Not sure how yet, but I'll figure something out. Ok?"

"You've never lied to me about anything before, Mr. Clarkson, so I'll take you at your word. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back. Thanks for lunch."

The rest of the week passed without incident, as his 'rescue' was becoming old news. His hurt from his breakup with Paula disappeared when he learned she had been cheating on him for several months with a mutual friend. And Heather -- he hadn't thought about her for several days, so the hurt from that was going away quickly as well.

When he arrived at work the next Tuesday, he had a surprise waiting for him in his office -- a huge bouquet of spring flowers sitting in the middle of his desk.

"Nice flowers, boss. Who'd you nail over the weekend that's now sending flowers of thanks?"

"As delicate as ever, Rosie. No, I have no idea who they're from, and I can't find a card either. Was anyone here when they arrived?"

"No. I was the first one in, and they were already on your desk. Looks like someone has a secret admirer."

"Perhaps, but we've got work to do, so let's get at it. Hopefully, whoever sent them will give me a call so I can thank them."

Several hours later, Jessica interrupted Steven.

"Steven, I have someone on the line from Central City Bank who wants to speak with you. Should I put them through?"

"Central City Bank? I don't think I know anyone there, but sure, put them through, Jess. Thanks..."

After a slight pause, a new voice came on the line.

"Mr. Frasier? Please hold for Ms. McPherson."

When Steven heard who was calling, he almost hung up. But he was more polite than that, so he stayed on the line to hear why she was bothering him now. Several moments later he heard her voice.

"Steven, this is Heather McPherson. Please don't hang up -- I really need to speak with you."

Knowing he wanted to yell at her, Steven instead answered with all the iciness in his voice he could muster.

"Hello, Heather. I figured after our last conversation, you'd be the last person to call me on the phone. What can I do for you?"

"First of all, thanks for taking my call. After the way I left things last time I wasn't sure you would. Do you know you're a very difficult man to track down? I was about to hire a PI to find you when someone at the bank remembered your name from some conference you both attended and knew where you worked."

"Well, congratulations on your sleuthing skills. Now what was it you wanted?"

"I want to apologize to you for the way I acted last time in the hospital. After you left, my parents ripped me a new one for what I said. And in hindsight they were right. I was way out of line to say what I did. I realized you did what you did in order to save my life, and I'm grateful you did. Julia makes me crazy, and I'm not sure why I still listen to her. She's been my best friend since elementary school; however, her beliefs are not my beliefs -- please believe me on that."

"I don't know, Heather. You sounded pretty adamant on what you believe, while at the same time basically called me a molester and a pervert, without using those words. And if Julia so easily changes your mind about people, maybe you shouldn't hang out with her so much. I believe the phrase used was 'typical man -- just do whatever you please'. Not all men are like that, just like not all women are like Julia. How do I know I can trust you on this?"

"Give me one more chance to make it right. I see what you're like. If you had been the typical man, in Julia's eyes, you would've taken advantage of me when I was unable to do anything about it. But you didn't -- you treated me with care and respect. Please let me show you what I'm really like. Please?"

"Ok, one chance. What do you want to do?"

"Meet me Friday night, 7:00, at the City Coffee Roasters on Fifth St. I buy your coffee and any pastry you want, and you listen to me explain. Will that work for you?"

"Coffee and any pastry I want? You might have to spring for two, because I'm always torn between their strawberry scones and their lemon loaf. Ok -- I'll see you then. Goodbye, Heather."

"Goodbye, Steven. And thanks."

Seconds after hanging up the phone, Rose knocked and entered his office.

"Yes, I found out who sent the flowers. Yes, I'm meeting her for coffee Friday night. And no, I'm not going to talk any more about it. I'm busy, Rose."

And Rose left his office laughing.

Friday came, and Steven was getting more and more anxious as the day wore on. He decided to leave early in order to beat the Friday afternoon traffic; he also wanted time to shower, change clothes and grab a bite to eat. As he left he heard Rose's voice coming at him from her carrel.

"Bye boss. Have a good time on your date."

Steven knew the coffee shop well. It was only blocks from his house, and he was a frequent customer. Shortly before 7 he pulled into the parking lot and strolled to the door. At first he was worried he might not recognize Heather, but as soon as he entered he saw her, sitting at a booth, facing the door. And she was just a beautiful as he remembered.

As he stepped into the store, she looked up, saw him, smiled -- and his heart skipped a beat. An instant later, someone else in the booth turned to see who Heather smiled at. Steven's heart sank as he saw it was Heather's friend Julia. His buoyant mood turned sour and he turned to leave. He was not going to make the same mistake again.

Flinging the door open, he stormed across the parking lot to his car. Just as he was opening the car door, Heather ran after him, calling his name.

"Steven, wait. Please stop. Don't go. I want to talk to you."

"Cute move, Heather. Play up to me, only to ambush me with your man-hating friend. Nice. What hateful things are you going to say to me this time?"

"Steven, stop. I didn't know Julia was going to be here. She just showed up and sat down with me. I already told her to leave, and that she wasn't going to screw tonight up for me. Honestly. Please come back inside with me. I really want to talk with you."

Reluctantly, Steven joined Heather at her booth, relieved that Julia was nowhere in sight.

"So, if I go up to get our coffee and pastries, are you going to bolt on me again?"

"Only if Julia shows up. Otherwise, I'm staying."

"Super. Now, what would you like to drink? They make the best lattes in town."

"That may be so, but I just want a large, light roast coffee, black."

"So no fru-fru drinks for you, eh? Just a manly black coffee."

"Sorry, but I like my coffee to be just that -- coffee. Sometimes I live it up and add cream, but not tonight."

Laughing, Heather got up to place their order.

Soon she was back at the booth, holding a tray in her hands.

"One manly coffee for Steven, one girly caramel macchiato for Heather and your choice of a brownie, strawberry scone or lemon loaf. Or we can share them, if you like."

Heather sat opposite Steven and smiled.

"Wasn't sure what you were in the mood for, so I got the variety pack. I've had all three in the past, and all are delicious."

Steven smiled and nodded at the food.

"All very good choices, and very shareable."

The couple then spent the next hours drinking coffee, sharing pastries, and mostly talking. Both were only children (but with lots of family nearby), both grew up either in the city (Heather) or the suburbs (Steven), where their parents still lived. They talked about their careers, with Heather a Senior Vice President at her bank and Steven an IT specialist at his company. Both loved being outdoors, hiking, biking, swimming, snow skiing, snorkeling, and reading books. They found they had similar tastes in those books, movies, sports and much more. Heather was easy to talk to, and Steven soon found himself becoming more and more attracted to her.

Four hours later they were still talking, even as the coffee shop was closing. Noticing how late it was, Steven stood and called out to the barista.

"Sorry for staying so late, Chuck."

"No problems, Steve. See you next time."

Walking across the now empty parking lot, Heather put her arm through Steven's and pulled him close.

"Thank you for meeting me, Steven. I haven't had this nice of an evening in a long, long time."

"Me too, Heather. It was more fun than I thought it was going to be. It was great getting to know you, the real you, and finding out we have so much in common. And I can't wait to do it again."

"Again?" You want to go out with me again?"

"Yes, I do. But I have to take things slow, as I just got burned in a long-term relationship."

"Slow is fine with me. I've been burned as well, and as much as I like you, I'm not going to let that happen to me again."

"I understand totally. How about if I call you later this week to set something up for Saturday?"

"That would be great. Thanks, Steven, for listening to me tonight. I'll look forward to your call. Goodnight."

Monday, as soon as Steven stepped into his office, Rose was right behind him.

"Ok, spill. How did it go? Did she even show up? What did you two talk about? Was she nice?"

"You are worse than a teenage girl! Yes, she was there and eventually everything went fine and we had a really nice talk. It turns out we have many things in common and share many of the same interests. We sat there for four hours until the shop closed. And before you ask, we are going out again Saturday. I just have to figure out what to do."

"I'm assuming you're going to keep things casual for a while, so something simple. Dinner and a movie? Roller-skating? Ice-skating, if the rink is still open? A long walk on the beach?"

Just then, the other members of Steven's team came into his office, and all were eager to hear about his date. Hearing he had another date set, but not what to do, ideas started to fly. Someone mentioned a popular author was doing a book reading at a nearby bookstore. Bowling was another idea. A play at the local community theatre was mentioned. Idea after idea was thrown out to Steven in a frenzy. Finally he had to call a halt.

"Alright already, enough ideas. We're only planning on one date, not a lifetime together."

"Yet..."

That answer had everyone in gales of laughter.

"Ok, let's get going. We all have work to do, and making this much noise is going to bring Mr. Superior down on us."

Looking up, Steven saw it was too late. Standing in his doorway was Mitchell West.

"What's going on in here? Why aren't you all at your desks?"

"And good morning to you, Mitchell. We're just having a team meeting, getting fired up for all the work facing us this week."

"And why wasn't I invited? Didn't you get the memo that required my presence at all team meetings?"

"Sorry, Mitchell. I must have missed that one. Ok, guys, let's get busy."

One by one, his team members filed out and headed to their desks, leaving Steven and Mitchell alone in his office.

"Is there something I can help you with, Mitchell?"

"So what did you and Mr. Clarkson talk about at your lunch last week?"

"If he wanted you to know, he would've invited you as well. But since it was just me and him, I guess you'll never find out. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do."

It was Wednesday afternoon by the time Steven decided to contact Heather. Not sure of her work schedule, he thought sending her a text message might be the easiest way to proceed.

Good afternoon, Heather. Just checking to see if you are still on for Saturday?

Moments later his phone chimed with an incoming message.

Hi, Steven. Yes, I am all in for Saturday. What did you have in mind?

I have errands to run Saturday morning and afternoon, so I thought I could pick you up at 6:00. How does bowling and pizza afterwards sound?

That sounds fun. I haven't been bowling in years, but I used to go all the time. It'll be fun to do it again.

Great. See you Saturday about 6.

I'll see you then.

Driving to Heather's place Saturday, Steven was more nervous than he thought he'd be. Even though they spent hours talking last week, this was going to be more of a 'date', and he was excited by that thought. He really liked her, so he was going to do whatever he could to not screw things up.

As soon as he knocked on her door, it opened, as if Heather was waiting by the door for him. She was dressed in a tight fitting t-shirt and shorts, which was apt, as it was a warm day, especially for spring. Steven as well wore shorts and a polo. And even though he had seen her naked body only weeks earlier, the sight of her long, toned legs hit him.