Karen

Once outside I leaned against the walkway hand railing and hung my head the way someone would on a hang-over morning.

"Are you ok, Tim, was that text important?" Karen asked.

I answered Karen with

"No the text wasn't important I just had to get the hell out of there. Honey you should have just dropped me off here tonight, you didn't need to subject yourself to that crap in there, especially since you have to work in the morning. How can you stand listening to that...nonsense, Karen? Those people can't agree on ANYTHING!"

Karen rubbed my back with a reassuring hand and said

"Tim, those people, like you, have spent their entire life's savings in some cases, to purchase property and they have every right to expect integrity and attention to detail from their real-estate agents and mortgage holders. The meeting tonight was typical of new home buyers, they'll eventually settle down and most of them will be good clients and maybe even repeat clients in the future.

"Did you know Hans, before tonight?" I suddenly asked after a brief silence.

Karen smiled and answered with "I knew who he was but had never actually met him. He's adorable."

"I wouldn't exactly say that." I replied cynically

Karen laughed at my reply and then said

"Incidentally, I've decided to take the next eight days off, well not really. I'm going back to Vegas tomorrow afternoon and then getting on a plane and flying out to Salt Lake City for a real-estate convention which is typically just a bunch of us, gals that work in real-state, getting together, getting drunk and doing table dances for wild cowboys. It's a good way to blow off steam with coworkers and gives us ample opportunity to make a total ass out ourselves."

I laughed quietly at her humor and then asked "You have a place to stay, here in Laughlin, tonight?"

Karen answered with "Yes, a girlfriend lives a few miles from here and she's expecting me."

Looking at her now in the light of the overhead electric lights I asked "May I walk you to your car?

"I'd like that" she replied.

Opening the door of the Mazda, Karen turned to look at me and then said

"Honey, you're exhausted and it's been a big day for you whether you think so or not. Go get some rest now and I'll call you in a week or so, after you get settled in your new home."

I then took the palms of her hands in my finger tips and said

"Karen, I was serious about dinner. You're a very special lady and I would be honored to take you out to a nice place."

Karen leaned up and quickly kissed me on the cheek

"We will." She said.

After she drove away I went up to the condo and used the bathroom, washed my face and crawled into bed.

I was asleep two minutes later.

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