Flowers in the Park Ch. 04

This is part four, and it might be helpful to you if you read the first three parts prior to this one. They are all short, so it won't take you long to catch up!

Alex looked at her watch - it was 4:15 p.m. She had nearly two hours to kill before her meeting with Wes. She was dealing with a case of the nerves, but at the same time, excited for the possibilities. She realized it was a real possibility that their relationship with each other could move a lot faster than anticipated with this news that they lived in the same apartment complex. She focused on that as she waited patiently for the clock to move closer to 6.

Finally, it was time to walk to the clubhouse for her meeting with Wes. She kept her head up as she walked, watching to see if she could spot Wes before he arrived. She made it to the clubhouse door a couple of minutes before 6, immediately finding the sitting room. She looked inside and found that Wes was already there.

He smiled as he saw her and came over to give her a hug. "Hello, Alex - this is certainly an unexpected development! Shall we sit down?"

They moved to a short couch that sat in front of the outside windows of the clubhouse. For a minute, they just looked at each other, as if each didn't know what to say next. Finally, Wes spoke up.

"l wonder if we had known before today that we lived in the same complex, would we be where we are? I mean, I'm really enjoying spending time with you and getting to know you. But I don't know if either of us would have been ready to try a new relationship."

Alex paused before answering. "I don't know. I got hurt very badly, and I'm not sure I would have been willing to jump into a new relationship so soon. I know I hated being lonely and only having a few friends from work. But I was still down on myself. How long have you lived here?"

Wes replied, "Two years. I really can't believe we didn't see each other at least once in that time. How long have you lived here?

Alex smiled. "Two years also, although up until the breakup, I wasn't here that often. I spent a lot of time at Anthony's house while we were engaged, so I'm not surprised you didn't see me. I guess I'm lucky I didn't get rid of my apartment, because I certainly needed it when I left him."

Wes watched as Alex lowered her head. He could tell it was still painful for her to talk about it. He reached over and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry you had to experience that. Nobody should ever be hurt like you were. That's why I want to take us slowly. I don't want you to feel any pressure from me that makes you uncomfortable. I was afraid finding out we live in the same complex might have done just that."

Alex squeezed Wes' hand as she looked up and smiled. "Thank you for that. It seems like it's been an eternity since that happened, but I know that's partly from me spending all my time feeling sorry for myself and kicking myself because I didn't see it coming earlier. I gave my entire soul to Anthony, to the point that I was ready to spend the rest of my life with him. So naturally you can understand why I feel a little vulnerable now."

They sat in silence for a few moments before Alex spoke again. "I know that we've only known each other for a little over twenty-four hours now, so it's hard to see where this is going to go in the long term. But I do know that yesterday was great for me, and that my best friend at school could tell this morning that something had happened just by the way she saw me smile. I liked hearing that. I liked waking up this morning and not thinking about the pain Anthony caused as I started my day.

"I don't want to put too much pressure on you. But I know I'd like to spend more time with you, because I liked looking forward to your message you sent this morning, even if I wasn't expecting to discover we lived in the same place. But it might take a while before I'm comfortable with going too fast with this. I hope you understand."

Wes looked at Alex and replied, "Believe me, I completely understand. My day yesterday was great as well, and I want to see us continue. But maybe we need to set some ground rules to make sure we honor that fact that we need to take this slowly. While I love my little Wesley, I certainly found out what could happen if you go right into something you shouldn't."

He paused, and then looked down as he continued. "So, now that we have that established, can I ask you something else?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well...I haven't gone on a lot of second dates in the past three years. It seems that I might have a little charm that interests some potential friends, but when they find out that I'm a package deal with an active young son, they seem to lose interest. I have to be up front with you - he's my life, so there may be times that I can't see you because it will be my weekend to have him and when he's here, I try to do as many things with him outside of my apartment as possible, since he's high energy and doesn't necessarily like to be cooped up inside for long periods of time."

Alex laughed. "Yes, I've seen that energy, and honestly, it's adorable, though I've never seen him cooped up in a small apartment, as you say. So I understand why that might get a little crowded!"

She paused for a minute, and then continued. "You know, I haven't really thought about it, to tell you the truth. It's not a problem with me. I've seen him be cute and funny and surprisingly romantic for a three-year-old. Why would I want to turn that down? You've obviously learned how to use those qualities for your benefit, since we are still together following his display of charm in the park yesterday!"

Wes blushed as he replied, "Yeah, about that. You're the first one upon which I unleased my wingman. Honestly, he could tell you were sad. He seems to have an intuition that is beyond his years, so when he pointed and mentioned you to me, I told him that it was too bad we didn't have any flowers to try to cheer you up, because a beautiful woman deserves beautiful flowers. He picked up that, looked at the ground and saw those little purple wildflowers growing, and you know the rest. He doesn't like seeing anybody sad."

"How often does he stay with you?"

"I have him every other weekend, although if there was something special we were going to do together, his mom would let me have him more often. When he was born, I wasn't really in a place where I could take care of him that often - didn't really have the necessary mommy parts to keep him for any long periods of time. But she let me be with him as often as I could, even if it was just with her at her house. As he's gotten older, we've expanded his time with me. His mom wanted to make sure he knew who his father was from the very beginning, so she's always been open about having me be in his life. I really lucked out when I picked her for my fling."

Alex could tell it wasn't easy for him to talk about Wesley like this. She squeezed his hand again, which seemed to comfort him and let him know that it was okay. "You must still think very highly of her. I love the fact that she wants you to be part of your son's life."

"We're still very good friends who realized we made a mistake but didn't blame each other for it. It was the first time I'd ever done anything like that. I was a junior in college, and she was a year behind. We happened to be at the same party, and perhaps fueled by alcohol, we hit it off and found an open room and made little Wesley. We tried to be together before he was born, but we just didn't click. My schoolwork was getting very intense, and I'm a small-town boy while she's a big city girl. So, we parted, but promised each other we would co-parent as much as possible. She's from here and her parents are close, so Wesley is well taken care of. The last two Christmas mornings, they've let me be a part of their family as we watched him open presents. I appreciate that so much.

"But, she's found another guy, and a couple of weeks ago, she let me know that they are engaged and will be married in the spring. I've already penciled in a two-week time where I will share the responsibilities with her parents of keeping Wesley while Janell and her new husband will be on their honeymoon."

The longer they talked, the more comfortable Alex was in being with Wes. She realized he was opening up his life to her, and it made her realize that perhaps he was just as lonely as she was. Her conversation with Wes was also confirming her beliefs that he was an outstanding father, and she knew that the prospect of dating a man with a three-year-old son didn't seem to bother her at all.

Alex asked, "You mentioned that you are a small-town boy. May I be so bold as to ask where that is?"

"You may ask. I was born and raised in a town of about 1,500 that is three hours north of here. Both my parents live there, although my older sister has gotten married and has moved an hour away from them. It's close enough that we can see each other often, especially on weekends. My parents love it when I bring Wesley to see them. They weren't thrilled when I told them they were going to be grandparents but that his mother and I would not be together. But having him come to visit has made things better. How about you - are you from here?"

Alex shook her head. "No, I'm a small-town product as well. My town was a little bigger than yours, and it's three hours south. I'm like you - I can go visit as well when I need to see my family, which has been more often the last two months. When I go, I usually stay for the weekend. Friday after school, I'll drive the three hours to get there, and then come back Sunday afternoon. All my family is still there - parents, grandparents, and I have a younger brother and sister that are still in high school. It's good to go back and see them, and lately they have been the glue that has kept me going."

It was Wes' turn to squeeze Alex's hand. "So, how did you end up teaching in the big city if you're a small-town girl?"

"The college where I got my teaching degree held a new teacher fair and invited school districts to come and interview candidates. As you might expect, the school system here is always looking for teachers, and they offered a nice sign-on bonus that was too good to turn down. I felt a rush of excitement knowing that I was going to be living in the city, and for the most part it was a good decision. I thought it was perfect when I met Anthony and fell into place in his circle of friends, but that all stopped...it seems like I bring that up a lot. I'm sorry to burden you with my personal issues."

Wes put a finger under her chin to lift her head to where they were looking at each other. "Listen, I'm no psychologist, but I think it's probably good for you to talk about this so that maybe you won't hold on to it for too long. It's a part of your history and it always will be, but it doesn't define who you are. So, if talking about it helps you, I'm all ears. And I don't really have any room to complain about it, since I've been unloading about my history on you for the past several minutes!

"We're a couple of small town kids who came to find their dreams in the big city and had our plans temporarily derailed. But we're going to bounce back strong and be our best moving forward."

Alex shifted in her seat to scoot closer to Wes to give him a hug. When they parted, she looked at him and said, "Thanks for listening. And thanks for sharing as well. It is good to have someone to talk to, and quite frankly I've missed that. The evenings and weekends have been very lonely."

"For me also. I'm hoping we can change that for ourselves." He looked down at his watch. "We've been talking for about 90 minutes - where did the time go? Are you hungry?"

Alex laughed and replied, "I guess time flies when you are having fun! What do you have in mind?"

"Well, it's not a formal date, so we can do anything we want. But there's a nice little pizza joint around the corner. Care for a little walk and share some pizza? Since it's not a date, we'll split the cost."

Wes loved seeing the smile on her face. "That sounds like a great idea! Let's go!"

Hand in hand once again, they walked to the pizza place. They continued their conversation, with Alex explaining about her teaching position and Wes informing her of his position in the city's engineering department. Another hour together came and went, and the two showed no signs of running out of things to say to each other.

"Alex, we really haven't talked about us living so close together. You know I don't want to rush into this and do it wrong. How shall we handle this so that we take it at the right pace?"

Alex thought for a minute, and then replied, "How about this? There are places where we can be together at the complex, like that sitting room or taking a walk together around the lake (the apartment buildings were centered around a common lake - really more of a pond - that had a paved path around the perimeter). For now, let's say that each other's apartments are off limits. That way we won't do something that might move us too far ahead of where we need to be."

"That's an interesting plan - I'd say it's worth a try. So, we can be together outside of our apartments, but not inside? I've never heard of that before, but then this is a unique situation. Let's give it a try!"

They paid for their pizza and walked back to the apartment complex hand in hand. They reached the clubhouse, but since it was dark, Wes insisted on walking Alex to her door. They stopped there for a few minutes.

"I had another great time, Alex. Shall I pick you up around 7:00 on Thursday for our formal dinner date? Although formal doesn't mean you have to get dressed up! It's just formal because we are planning it ahead of time."

Alex chuckled and said, "That would be perfect. And maybe if it's warmer on Thursday, we might enjoy a walk around the lake before we go."

"I think that would be great. Do you mind if I message you the next two days? I don't know about you, but I'm sure time is going to drag until Thursday evening finally comes."

Alex smiled and replied, "That would be fine - in fact, if you message me during the day, it will give my best friend at school a reason to come into my classroom to check to see if you've sent anything. You know you'll have to meet her one day. She's not going to let you go too much farther with me until she's given you her seal of approval."

It was Wes' turn to laugh. "I figure I'll have more than a few of your friends and family that will have to approve me, just as I will have friend and family on my side that want the same thing. I'm up for the challenge - if I don't pass the first try, I'll bring Wesley and let him do my dirty work for me!"

"Good plan! Lead with your best foot forward. Wesley will charm them and they will be helpless to resist you!"

They hugged, more tightly and longer than previously. Before releasing her, Wes looked down at Alex and asked, "Would it be appropriate if I offered you a little goodbye kiss?"

Alex nodded, and the two brought their lips together for a light first kiss. Alex opened her eyes and smiled as she said, "No, it's not appropriate, unless you give me another one." They kissed again, a little longer this time.

"Goodnight, Alex. I had a great time, and I can hardly wait until Thursday!"

"Goodnight, Wes. Thanks for listening to me. It was a great night indeed!"

Alex turned to give Wes one final look before she shut and locked her door. She leaned back against it, her hands clasped together over her chest as she smiled and recalled their evening together. She knew she was falling for this man she'd only met yesterday, but so far, he had been exactly what she needed to help her move on from her failed engagement.

She dug out her phone and sent her friend Lori a message - "Talked for 90 minutes, then walked to eat pizza, then he walked me to my door and he kissed me twice. So much to talk about tomorrow!" She sent the message, and then got ready for bed. She couldn't remember when she felt so excited, but she was glad that there was a bright light again in her life.