Eye Exam bykomrad1156©

Daddy? Are you okay?"

"Oh, sure. I'm fine, honey. I just need to rest my eyes. That's all."

"Do you have a headache?" his daughter asked.

"Yeah. I kinda do."

"Do you want me to bring you something for it?"

"No. That's okay, sweetie. I'll go get it. I need to get away from the computer screen for a bit anyway."

"Okay," she said, satisfied that her father was okay.

Dexter Hall, who went by 'Dex', was only 35, but he knew his eight-year old daughter worried about him. After all, that's how it all started with her mother three years ago when she said she needed to rest her eyes, something that happened more and more often as the weeks went by.

And then the headaches started. And then there were the doctor visits followed by referrals to specialists then the CAT-scan followed by an MRI, and finally the diagnosis.

Neither he nor his wife, Angie, had ever heard the word 'meningioma' before, and once they learned what it meant, they were told they 'rarely' turned out to be malignant and that they 'rarely' ever spread or metastasized. But 'rarely' didn't mean never, and in Angie's case, her tumor wasn't benign and it did metastasize. And eight months later, she was gone.

Their daughter, Addison, had been five and had done her best to try and understand, but that just wasn't possible for someone so young. Now, at the age of eight, she was rightly concerned about her father, who'd been working at home the last two years.

He debugged software for a living and was very good at it. As a result, he was earning just over a hundred grand a year, and that was very good money for someone living in Middleburg, Florida, located about 30 miles to the south of Jacksonville.

But that kind of salary came with a cost. He spent a good twelve hours a day, often six or even seven days a week, in front of a computer screen testing each line of code in whatever software program he'd been given to debug, so it made sense there'd be some amount of eye strain.

But lately it was happening all the time, and for some reason, it never occurred to him it might be nothing more than needing glasses. That was especially true since his distance vision was superb. He could clearly the difference between two tree branches from a hundred yards away and read most road signs from a half-mile off. But his near vision was failing him, and as he popped a couple of aspirin for the headache, he realized he could barely read the label.

"Great," he said as he put the bottle down.

When he looked up, everything beyond arm's length was crystal clear. But when he picked the bottle back up, and tried to read it, he realized it had been at least ten years since he'd had his eyes checked. And there'd been no reason to. His vision had been perfect at all distances. He was too young for presbyopia or so-called 'long arm vision' where people over 45 couldn't see things close up. That was caused by decades of eye muscle contractions and at some point the eye just couldn't do it any more; hence the blurriness.

So as much as he hated admitting it, the writing on the wall was pretty...blurry.

Dex Hall made most of his decisions on intuition. He was deeply rational and very mathematical, but once he felt something was 'right' he often made snap decisions. And over the course of his adult lifetime he'd been right almost all the time while keenly aware that 'almost' was very similar to 'rarely'.

After letting his eyes rest for a few minutes, he made a decision and grabbed his phone before realizing he didn't have an optometrist let alone the number for one stored in it. He went to his laptop because he had an open app he was working on on the desktop and started looking. Or...trying to look.

"Honey?" he called out.

His daughter came running and asked what was wrong.

He smiled then said, "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. But can you maybe help me find a phone number?"

"Sure!" she told him.

Addison's computer skills, along with her reading and spelling skills, were very good, and once he told her what he needed, she started reading off names of eye doctors along with how far away they were.

"Wait. The one closest to our house. Tell me that again, please?" he asked.

"Doctor Lee Andrews," she told him for the second time.

"That's good enough," he said, knowing pretty much anyone who'd made it through optometry training would be able to take care of his problem.

"Now can you dial his number for me?" her father asked as he handed her the phone.

Two minutes later, he had an appointment for 3:30 in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.

Knowing they'd want to dilate his eyes, he called his younger sister, Beth, to see if she'd mind driving them to the appointment.

"No. Of course not. I'm happy to help," she told him.

She'd been a lifesaver when Angie was ill and for several months after as she spent a ton of time with him and his late wife. He and Beth, who was two years his junior, had always been close. But since Angie's diagnosis, they'd become even closer, and she'd been a kind of surrogate mom for Addison.

"Thanks, BB," he told her using her childhood name. She hated it, but she let her brother—and only her brother—use it and only since the reason for Angie's illness became known.

Dex forced himself back in front of the computer an hour later and worked until he couldn't stand it anymore. The following day, his eyes felt better in the morning, but by 10am, he had another headache and had to knock off for a couple of hours.

By the day of his appointment, he found himself unable to work more than two hours total so he laid in his recliner until Beth showed up at three o'clock.

It was a five-minute drive to the optometrist, and Beth was doing nearly all the talking with Addison occasionally making a quick reply. That wasn't unusual, but his sister was even more loquacious than normal, and Dex realized that might only seem to be the case because he wasn't saying much. Addison wasn't a big talker, either, so whatever the cause, Beth was in rare form that day.

"So do you think it is?" he finally heard.

"What's that?" Dex said when he realized his sister was talking to him.

"Do you think this could be serious. You know, like Angie."

"Oh. No. I can't imagine. Is it possible? Sure, most things are possible. But the odds are astronomically against it."

"Okay, but odds don't mean much if it is."

He opened his eyes then looked at his sister then back at his daughter and wondered how Beth could be so insensitive. But that's the way she was so he answered her.

"I'm fine. I just need reading glasses or something," he said as authoritatively as he could to keep his daughter from worrying.

"Well, you are getting up there," Beth teased.

Dex had closed his eyes again but forced one open to see her looking at him with a silly grin on her face.

"Okay. We're here," she announced just seconds later. "Do you need me to have them bring out a wheelchair for you or anything?"

"Ha-ha," Dex said as he pushed his door open.

Beth had worn glasses since she was ten, so as Dex checked in, Addison joined her aunt as she went to look at frames. Hers were dated and the thought of getting a new pair appealed to her even though she knew she wouldn't spend the money. Besides, she needed an exam anyway so there was no chance she could get new frames even if she was willing to shell out the cash.

She saw a woman a few years younger than her working with a pretty teen girl who was getting her first pair of glasses.

"See! That's not so bad, is it?" she told the younger girl who was worried sick about looking like some kind of geek or freak.

"Wow. No. They're not bad at all," the girl replied as she checked herself out in the mirror.

"I told you they'd look good on you," the woman, whose name was Kayla, told her with a smile.

Beth couldn't help but join in and said, "They really do look great on you."

The girl turned around and smiled and said, "Thank you."

Addison told her they were 'cute' but the teen ignored her as she kept looking at Beth until she asked if something was wrong.

"No. It's just that your face is so clear! I can see every little wrinkle and line!" the girl said as she pointed to the corner of one of Beth's eyes.

She turned back around, clueless at how badly her words had stung, and the woman helping her gave Beth a sympathetic look but didn't say anything. Beth slid over in front of a mirror and smiled and there they were—those hideous, heavy lines around her eyes. And at the age of 33 no less!

"It's not true, Aunt Beth," Addison said quietly, even though she knew it was because they'd been there for a couple of years and were getting worse by the day.

Still looking in the mirror, Beth noticed someone else come in from behind her, and that meant she had to work there because there was no other way to get there except from the area where they adjusted glasses and kept incoming and outgoing orders. She must have been in there taking care of orders and just noticed there was another customer.

Beth saw the woman smile at the girl with the new glasses then tell her they looked great.

"Thank you!" the girl said as she continued to stare at the other woman.

Beth turned around slowly and could tell the 'new' woman was older than all of them, but she was by far the most attractive of anyone there.

"Now in her case I can't really see any lines," the girl said as Beth watched her staring at this new woman whose name tag said 'Mercedes'.

"Another freak of nature," Beth said to herself as a strong wave of envy washed over her.

She couldn't tell the woman's age, but she guessed her to be around 42 which meant she was close to 10 years older than her yet her very pretty face looked younger. If that wasn't enough, she had a body that made Beth queasy.

"Great hair, face, body, smile. I hate you!" Beth said to herself.

Just as she was thinking that thought, Addison said to her, "She's very pretty."

The woman heard, turned to Addison, who smiled at her, then said, "Thank you, sweetheart. You're very pretty, too."

Her smile was gorgeous, and Beth rolled her eyes before turning around again, pretending to look at frames while steaming over the fact she was never told she was pretty. She wasn't 'ugly' by any means, she was just an average woman who wasn't aging well at all and it ate her constantly. Having it pointed out, and brutally so, by a cute teenager was just pouring salt into an open, festering wound.

Mercedes's hair was just below chin length, shiny, and very dark. Her eyes were a beautiful hazel color, and her very white teeth were...perfect.

Beth had been 'shortchanged' in the boob department, as well, and wore an 'A' cup bra only to make herself feel like she had boobs. Mercedes most definitely did not have that problem, either.

"Probably fake," she said to herself. "Like her perfect white teeth. Bet those are some expensive ven..."

"Hey, whatcha lookin' at?" Dex said, coming up from behind her, and startling Beth so badly she made a loud noise.

All heads turned to look as Beth ignored them and spun around. Addison giggled but didn't say anything as her aunt slapped her dad's upper arm, mostly out of personal frustration and envy.

"Dexter Hall! What is wrong with you!" she said as she hit him.

"I think I'm farsighted but I'll find out pretty soon, I'm sure," he said without so much as a smile.

The younger woman laughed and Mercedes smiled, and Beth knew why. Her brother was genuinely funny in that dry kind of way, and he'd also won the genetic lottery while she'd gotten the leftovers. If he did have to wear glasses, it would be the first imperfection in his otherwise perfect life, and yet something told her he'd look great in glasses, too.

Beth immediately felt guilty when she thought about just how unlucky her brother had been where Angie was concerned, and that caused her to tell him she was sorry.

"Find anything?" he asked, letting her slap and apology go unanswered, as he began looking for himself.

"No. I kind of got sidetracked," his sister told him. "Besides. Look at the prices on these things!"

She pointed to one and read the tag. "$450. For one pair of frames!"

She did that for three others, to include a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, knowing that was no big deal for her brother who also had optical insurance on himself and his daughter before Dex said, "Yeah. I had no idea they cost so much."

He moved over to the men's frames when Mercedes walked up. She waited until Dex noticed her then smiled and spoke.

"Good afternoon. Could I help you with anything?"

Dex had noticed her but not really seen her yet.

He'd turned his head around to say, "Sure," and when he did she was maybe two feet away.

He not only didn't say anything he turned completely around to look at her.

"Hi," he finally said after standing there and staring for several seconds.

"Hello," she replied with that perfect smile of hers.

"I'm Dex. Hall," he told her in a way that sounded goofy as though he wasn't used to talking to an attractive woman.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Hall. I'm Mercedes Berman. Can I show you any frames or maybe help you decide?"

He managed not to stare, but this woman was...wow!

"Um...sure. I'm suddenly having all kinds of problems seeing things up close, so I'm guessing I've become farsighted."

"You're clearly too young to need reading glasses," she told him matter of factly then reached for the pair hanging around her neck. "Unfortunately, that's not the case for me."

Dex heard every word but they weren't making any sense, because the woman talking to him couldn't be more than five years or so older than him—if that, and presbyopia rarely hit anyone before their mid-40s.

"The eye changes shape sometimes for seemingly no reason, so that's very possible. Your cornea may have flattened making your eye shorter and changing the point where light focuses, but the doctor will let you know. In the meantime, let's see what works for your face which is very symmetrical, by the way," Mercedes explained with a warm smile as Dex tried to pay better attention.

"Oh, my God! She's hitting on him!" Beth said to herself even though Mercedes was most definitely not. She'd only recently been hired and very much needed this job, so there was no way she was going to flirt with any customer, but especially one wearing a wedding ring with a daughter in tow.

Addison knew her father was a handsome man and had often said she was going to marry him when she grew up. She was old enough now to know that wasn't allowed, but still too young to be creeped out by it. Even so, she thought her father was very good looking, and there weren't many women who would disagree. Her mom had been beautiful, too, and Addison was already a very cute girl, but again, too young to understand the significance.

"Is that a good thing?" Dex asked about her symmetry remark.

Mercedes laughed politely then said, "Yes. It's a very good thing. You have what I'd call a very masculine face with a square jaw so we want to find something to enhance that."

She started looking then looked at Dex, and with another smile, said, "Not that you need enhancing."

Beth made a face and stuck her tongue out at Mercedes after she turned back around, and said to herself, "Unlike me, you don't need to be...enhanced."

Addison saw it and giggled but didn't say anything.

"Okay. How about these?" Mercedes asked as she unlocked a pair with rims across the top but rimless along the bottom.

Dex tried them on, and almost immediately said, "These look fine."

He turned toward Beth and Addison, and his sister rolled her eyes again before saying, "Gee. Big surprise. They're perfect."

"You look very handsome, Daddy," Addison told him with a smile.

"But do I look any smarter?" he asked in his normal, deadpan way as he tried to strike a pose the assumed made him look intelligent.

"You look...distinguished," Mercedes told him, making sure not to cut the little girl off.

"Yes! Thank you. That's the word I wanted. Distinguished!" Addison told her.

Addison had won Spelling Bees for both her class and her entire grade two years running and had a very large vocabulary for someone her age. She wasn't pretentious, she was just smart, and like her father, there wasn't anything she could do about it any more than she could change the looks with which she'd been gifted.

"Well, that was easy," Dex said. "If I need glasses, I'll take these," he told Mercedes.

"All right. I'll hold them for you until you're done with your exam," she said politely as he handed them to her.

"Thank you," Dex told her. "I'm hoping I don't, but I suppose it's inevitable."

Mercedes turned to look down the hallway as though she was concerned about getting in trouble for something then moved a bit closer and said, "Have you considered LASIK? It would allow you to avoid glasses."

While she was speaking, a man in his mid-50s stepped out of an exam room holding a chart. Dex correctly guess that was the optometrist who gave Mercedes a look as Dex said, "No. Maybe I should look into that."

The eye doctor handed the chart to Mercedes then said, "Please make sure Mr. Weston here gets taken care of."

Dex wasn't sure what was going on, but it sounded like tension.

"Right away, Doctor Andrews," she said.

She smiled but it was strained, adding credence to Dex's observation.

A few minutes later the receptionist called his name, and he asked Addison if she wanted to come with him or sit with her aunt.

"I'll stay out here," she told him.

"Okay. I'll just be a few minutes."

She led him to two different rooms where conducted some basic tests then took him to the exam room he'd seen the doctor come out of and let him know the doctor would be with him shortly.

Dex sat there in the chair and looked around. The equipment all seemed the same to him as it did the last time he'd his eyes checked so he closed them and waited.

About three minutes later the optometrist came in, said hello, and introduced himself then called Dex 'Dexter'.

"Nice to meet you, Doctor Andrews. And I go by 'Dex' if you don't mind."

"Oh, okay. Just like the TV show, right?" he said with a smile.

"Yes, except that I'm not a sociopathic serial killer," Dex replied referring to the television series Dexter that ran on Showtime for eight years.

"Ah, right. Well, that's a good thing," the doctor said. "Okay, I see you're having some trouble with your near vision. Let's take a look and see what's going on, but before we do, let's get your eyes dilated so I can make sure everything is healthy."

Just as he'd assumed, Dex was indeed farsighted. Just as Mercedes predicted, his cornea had flattened making the eyeball shorter, and that was the reason he was having so much trouble.

"It's an easy fix," Dr. Andrews told him. "I noticed you were looking at frames. Did you find anything that interested you?"

Before he could answer, the optometrist leaned closer then said, "Other than Mercedes."

"Oh. Um...right," Dex replied. "Yes, she's not hard to look out with or without glasses."

"Well, don't be fooled. She's not interested. Lord knows I've tried," he told him as he entered Dex's prescription. "She's as cold as ice, my friend."

"She mentioned LASIK. Is that an option for me?"

The eye doctor stopped moving then after a pause that lasted for several seconds said, "Um...yes. Of course."

"So I don't have to get glasses, right?" he asked out of simple curiosity.

"Well, no. You don't have to, but I think they're a great solution for your hyperopia."

He used the medical term to try and make the need to get 'help' right away seem more serious to preclude Dex from changing his mind. He'd already had the exam, and that was money in the bank, so to speak. But he made a good share of his money off of the orders his patients made after leaving the exam room, as his business got a cut on the cost of the frames and the lenses.
 No big deal. I'm fine with wearing glasses. I spend most of my day in front of a computer screen and if this solves the problem—great."
"It'll definitely take care of it for you. And when you look up the lenses won't have any prescription in the upper half so things will be perfectly clear at all distances."
"Sounds good to me," Dex told him.
The doctor accompanied him out, and since Kayla was with another patient, he handed him off to Mercedes.
"And uh, please come see me once Mr. Hall is finished, would you?" he told her.
The look on her face confirmed Dex's earlier suspicions, but he didn't say anything until Dr. Andrews was gone.
"Is everything okay?" he asked once she had him sit down so she could order the lenses.
"Oh, sure," she said unconvincingly and without looking at him.
"Okay. Doctor Andrews seemed a little upset. When I asked about LASIK in the exam room he..."
"You...you mentioned that?" she asked, her voice almost hollow.
"I...I did. Was that not okay?" Dex asked now wondering what was going on.
"It's...it's fine," Mercedes told him as she tried to smile. "All right. Let me get you to put these frames on, and I'll measure your pupil distance and we'll get you out of her, Mr. Hall."
As she worked, he pretended to be looking at other things, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the beautiful woman sitting across from him. He glanced down and saw the reading glasses again, and decided to ask.
"I was just wondering. I'm no expert or anything, but I was doing some research on line about vision problems, and you mentioned needing reading glasses."
"Oh. Yes. That's correct. I've been wearing them for several years now," she told him, her voice still not quite the same.
Dex scratched his head and sort of wrinkled his face as he said, "Forgive me for asking, but doesn't presbyopia normally happen after the age of 45?" he asked, using a big word himself.
"In most cases, yes, that's true," Mercedes asked him.
"Pardon for bringing this up, but are you just the unlucky exception to the rule?"
Mercedes stopped typing then finally smiled again.
"No. I'm actually right in the center of the rule," she told him. "I started needing these five years ago just a couple of months after I turned 45."
Dex shook his head in disbelief then said, "Wait. Are you telling me you're..."
He didn't want to say the number out loud, but Mercedes actually laughed then did it for him.
"Fifty?" she said, the smile back. "I am indeed."
"Wow," Dex said with a shake of his head. "I'm going to just have to take your word for it, Mercedes, but I'm having a very hard time believing you."
"And you just made my day, Mr. Hall," she told him.
She was smiling when she said it then, to Dex's surprise, after a quick look around said, "Which is particularly nice because I may not have a job tomorrow."
"Whoa!" Dex said very quietly. "Why not?"
She looked around nervously again then said just as quietly, "I'm not supposed to ever say anything that could hurt business. LASIK would let you see 20-20 again without glasses so just mentioning it isn't allowed. Unless, of course, the patient asks, then we focus on why glasses or contacts would be just as good if not better."
"Ohhh. Now I get it," Dex said. "But you were just being honest, right?"
She looked over her shoulder again then told him, "Evidently, honesty isn't always the best policy."
"Is there anything I can do? Would it help to talk to the doctor?"
"No. Definitely not. If he knew I said anything to you, I'd be gone the moment you walk out. Then again, I may be anyway, but I can't stand not letting people know they have options."
She checked behind her yet again then said even more quietly, "I really need this job, but it drives me crazy to think about someone spending money that might be better spent on something else if the patient was aware it was a viable option."
"For what it's worth, I agree with you," Dex said sympathetically.
Mercedes was finishing his order as she said, "I've had a very rough go of it financially the last couple of years, and I watch every penny. If someone gave me an option that either saved me money or time or helped me out, I'd be grateful. But then I don't own a business so..."
Just then Dr. Andrews came out with his next patient so Mercedes stopped talking for a few seconds before cheerfully saying, "Okay, Mr. Hall. You're all set!"
He made a point of speaking loudly enough for the doctor to hear as he said, "Thank you very much, Mercedes. You've been very helpful and it's been a real pleasure working with someone so pleasant and professional."
Knowing he was going against her advice, when Dex stood up, he looked right at the doctor and said, "You're very fortunate to have someone so helpful and easy to work with."
Dr. Andrews smiled, but it wasn't genuine as he cut his eyes toward Mercedes then looked back at Dex.
"Yes. You're uh, you're very right, Mr. Hall."
He took one last look at Mercedes who said, "We'll be giving you a call in 7-10 days when your lenses get in."
"Oh. Okay," Dex replied, very surprised to learn how long it would take, and not sure what he'd do in the meantime.
Mercedes noticed Dr. Andrews was still standing there and said, "Um...you might want to grab a pair of 'readers' while you're here. Just to get you through until your glasses come back."
Dex saw Dr. Andrews looking at him so he decided, "What the heck."
"Yeah. Sure. Can you show me where they are? That sounds like a great idea."
"Of course," Mercedes said as she stood up. "They're behind you and to my left."
With that, the eye doctor turned and walked away.
Once he was gone, Mercedes said, "Thank you. Very much."
"So I didn't blow it?" he asked.
"No. I don't know whether or not I still have a job, but between your kind words and buying a pair of readers, well, who knows?"
Dex tried on 3-4 pairs with varying degrees of magnification then settled on one he thought would get the job done and thanked Mercedes again for all her help.
"No. Seriously. Thank you, Mr. Hall," she told him. "You have no idea how badly I need to keep working."
"Well, I sincerely hope I'll see you again when I come back to pick up the prescription glasses."
She smiled a genuine smile then told him, "I'll look forward to seeing you again, as well."
Dex smiled back then said, "Maybe next time you'll call me Dex?"
"Oh. Okay. If you like," she told him, that beautiful smile there again.
"I would. I'd like that very much."
"Okay, then...Dex," she said very sweetly. "Let me just walk you up front and Lisa will take care of you."
"I'd rather have you take care me, but...okay," Dex told her, but not in is normal deadpan delivery.
"Ah, there you go again, making me feel good," she told him before introducing him to Lisa.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Mercedes asked.
"No. I don't think so," he told her.
"All right. It was a real pleasure meeting you, Dex," she said as she offered him her hand.
It was small and soft, and as he shook it, Dex still couldn't wrap his brain around the fact that this very attractive woman could be possibly be 50 years old. Or anywhere close to it, for that matter.
He handed Lisa his credit card even though he had no idea how much he was being charged. He was watching Mercedes walk away then continued looking at her once she got back to the fitting area. The only reason he stopped looking was because after she sat back down, she glanced up and saw him.
She raised her eyebrows slightly, tilted her head a bit, then smiled as if to say, "Is something wrong?"
Dex shook his head again then realized Lisa was asking for his signature.
"Sorry. I think I was distracted," he said as he grabbed a pen.
"She's very pretty, isn't she?" Lisa said to him.
"Mercedes?" he asked as though it could have been anyone.
"Uh-huh. She's beautiful."
"Yeah. She uh, she is very pretty," he said as he handed the pen back.
"Her ex-husband didn't do her any favors, that's for sure," Lisa said in a hushed tone as she handed him his copy of the receipt.
"Oh? How so?" Dex asked, knowing it was none of his business.
Lisa did the 'look around' thing, too, then said, "Let's just say he had a, uh...a bit of a gambling problem."
"Oh. I...I see," Dex said, wondering how bad 'a 'bit' really was.
She then handed him a pair of paper-framed sunglasses for light sensitivity from the dilation and wished him a good day.
When he turned around, Beth and Addison were waiting for him. His eyes were fully dilated, and Addison noticed.
"You look like an owl, Dad!" she told him.
"Oh, right. The pupils are huge, huh."
"Well, I'm gonna look really good in these," he told her as he pulled out the cheap-o sunglasses and put them on.
"You look like you're ready to watch a 3D movie," Addison told him.
"Yeah, except everything is blurry," he said. "That's why your Aunt Beth is here."
"Oh. I thought it was so your girlfriends back there would have someone to poke fun at while they flirted with you," she told him in her typical woe-is-me kind of way.
Dex looked at Addison who was trying not to laugh and shrugged his shoulders causing his daughter to laugh in spite of herself and his sister to ball up a fist as though she was going to punch him.
"Hey, hey! No one hits a blind man!" he told her as he held his hands up in mock self defense.
By the time his eyes returned to normal, it was dinnertime. As he and Addison ate, he was having trouble concentrating on what she was telling him, because he couldn't let go of the beautiful woman who'd just helped him being as old as she'd claimed. He managed to keep up enough to avoid getting scolded by his daughter, but that was about all he could do.
The good news was the 'readers' were good enough to keep him from getting a headache, and that made them well worth whatever he'd paid for them, as he was up well past midnight trying to catch up.
Dex was up early the next morning and back at it, and after another full day, he was back on track, and had largely forgotten about the beautiful, older woman at the eye doctor's.
He put the pedal to the metal and by the time Dr. Andrews's office called, he'd finished the job he'd been working on and had two whole glorious days off before starting a new project.
He and Addison arrived at 2 o'clock to pick up his new glasses, and as they pulled in, they saw someone locking the door.
"Excuse me. I got a call to come pick up my glasses," Dex called to her as he fast-walked up.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. We close from 1-2 every day for lunch."
She pointed at a sign right in front of her face, and all Dex could do was shake his head.
"I guess I missed that," he told her.
She started to leave when Dex moved closer to see if there was any other fine print he'd missed when he heard a tap on the glass. He looked right then left but didn't see anyone.
"Daddy. Look straight ahead," Addison, who'd caught up with him, said.
A face was nearly up against the glass, and that person was unlocking the door.
"Dex. Hi. Come in," Mercedes said with a cheerful smile as she opened the door.
"Thank you, but I thought you were closed," he said as he let his daughter go in first. "Well, the truth is I didn't actually know you closed for lunch at all."
"We are closed, but I kind of feel like I owe you, so when I saw you outside, I wanted to try and at least partially make it up to you."
"I'm not really following," he said as she locked them inside.
"Come in and sit down, and I'll explain once I get your glasses."
The office was dark except for a desk lamp in the fitting area.
She found his order and came out and sat down in front of him.
"Hi there, pretty girl. I don't think I know your name," Mercedes said to Addison.
She told her and Mercedes said, "Addison. Very pretty. Just like you."
"Thank you," Addison said. "You're really pretty, too."
"That must run in the family," Mercedes said to Addison while looking at her father.
"Sorry. I'm lost again," Dex told her truthfully.
"Last week, you made my day by saying something nice, and now your daughter did the same thing."
"Oh, right. Yes. I may have mentioned you couldn't possibly be the age you claimed to be."
Dex smiled then lowered his head and said, "I'm still not sure I believe you."
Mercedes laughed then said as she held out his new frames, "Here. Try these on."
As he did, she explained about 'owing him'.
"I was almost certain I was going to be let go after you left, but Doctor Andrews told me selling you the readers let me pull it out of my..."
She looked at Addison then said, "Derriere."
"Oh. Wow. That was a close one then."
Addison was giggling and her father knew why.
"She's a very smart girl with a surprisingly large vocabulary so I'm guessing she knows what a derriere is and probably most of its synonyms."
Her father leaned over and put his forehead on Addison's and said, "Like...butt."
"Daddy!" she said as she laughed.
"I love how close you two are," Mercedes said. "I have to say I envy your wife."
Addison stopped laughing so fast it scared Mercedes.
"Did I say something...inappropriate?"
"No. Not at all," Dex told her. "We lost her mom when Addy was just five."
He rarely called her that anymore, but when he wanted to make a point of some kind, it was his go-to endearment.
"I...feel so...embarrassed. And sorry," Mercedes said. "Please forgive me."
"No. It was a very nice thing to say, and yes, I think my wife would have agreed with you," he said as he raised his left hand up and turned it around. "I just can't take it off, you know."
"Of course. I totally understand," she told him.
She sat up a little straighter, smiled, then asked, "How do those work for you?"
Dex looked up and everything was perfectly clear before he remembered why he needed them, and that had nothing to do with his distance vision.
"Here. See if you can read this," Mercedes said as she handed him a card with very small writing on it.
"Ha! Look at that!" Dex said. "I can read every word of every line and it's all crystal clear."
"Wonderful. How do they feel? Are they too tight or too loose? Do they hurt your nose?"
Dex played with them a little adjusting this way and that then said, "Nope. They're fine. Perfect even."
"Well...perfect!" she told him. "I know opening up for you isn't anywhere near what I owe you for saving my job, but it's probably the best I can do."
"Don't you eat lunch?" Dex asked as he tried getting used to the glasses.
He didn't really need them for anything but reading, but he was thinking the instruments on his dashboard would now be clear, too, if he could learn to wear them most or all of the time. He had a kind of 'reverse progressive lens' that got kept his vision crystal clear as he looked down giving him perfect vision at all distances.
"Oh, sure. I eat," she told him very politely. "I just don't go out too often. I prefer to brown bag it."
"Is your bag in the back?" he asked.
"As a matter of fact it is, but I wanted to take care of you first."
"Well, listen. Addison and I haven't had lunch yet, and we're both starving. Would you possibly like to join us?"
Addison perked up immediately and looked at Mercedes.
"Yes! Please come with us! " she pleaded without begging.
"Oh, I don't know. You two don't need me hanging around."
"Need I remind you I saved your job?" Dex said in that straight-faced way of his, one eyebrow raised high.
The look on his face was more than she could handle and Mercedes started laughing.
"Is your father always so funny?" she asked Addison.
"Yes. Unfortunately he is. His 'humor'..."
Addison made exaggerated air quotes as she said the word 'humor', "Is legend."
Mercedes laughed, but not at Addison. It was just so atypical for anyone that age to talk that way.
"Are you sure I won't be bothering you?"
"If you are we'll let you know. Right, Addy?"
She laughed then said, "See what I mean?" to Mercedes as she nodded toward her father.
"I have to be back before two," she let Dex know.
"We're fast eaters," he told her, understanding how important it was to her not to be late.
Addison was pointing at her dad until he looked over.
"Hey! What's that for?" he asked.
"Oh, I don't know—-Mr. Human Vacuum Cleaner," she said as she tried not to laugh.
"Hey! That's mean. And if that wasn't so totally true, I might take offense," Dex told his daughter.
"Something tells me I won't be bored with you two," Mercedes told them with a laugh as she got up again. "Okay. I'll lock up and we can go to lunch, but only if you let me pay for my meal."
Addison gave her an 'uh-oh' look so she stopped moving and asked why.
"Well, my daughter knows I'm an old-fashioned guy when it comes to such things, and I would never allow any woman I just asked to have lunch with me—and my daughter—to pay."
He saw Mercedes looking at him as though she was about to refuse his offer so he held up a had and said, "Sorry. No exceptions."
"Your father can be rather direct, can't he?" Mercedes said to Addison without taking her eyes off of her handsome father.
"You could say that," the girl replied as she smiled at her dad.
"What can I say? I believe in chivalry."
He stood up, struck another goofy pose, then said in a British accent, "Is such conduct now considered a high crime in The Colonies?"
Addison was already laughing while Mercedes was trying not to.
He gave her the eye, and she lost it.
"Okay! You can pay," she told him.
"Where are we going, Daddy?" Addison asked once he'd opened the car door for their guest and helped her get in.
"Why don't we let our guest choose?" he suggested.
She was pulling on her seatbelt and said, "Oh, my. You're letting a woman make a decision?"
This time Dex was the one looking like a stunned mullet.
When Mercedes finally laughed, he realized she was kidding.
"Gotcha!" she told him.
"Yes, you did. You did indeed."
"I'm not a picky eater," she told him. "Especially when someone is kind enough to pay for my food."
She smiled at him in a way he hadn't yet seen, and Dex returned it based on the feedback he was getting.
"How about you, o' daughter of mine? What sounds good to you?"
"Do you like Sushi?" Addison asked Mercedes.
"I love Sushi," she said as she turned around to look at her. "Do you?"
"Totally!" Addison told her very enthusiastically.
"I'm not sure why that surprises me so much, but it does."
As Dex pulled out onto the main road, he said, "She does indeed love Sushi. She'd eat it three times a day if I let her."
"Well, okay. Sushi it is then," Mercedes said.
"Yume?" Addison suggested.
Yume Fusion Sushi & Grill was located on Blanding Boulevard and was just three blocks away.
"It's the only game in town," her father replied.
"Do you have a favorite, Addison?" Mercedes asked.
"Nigiri," she said immediately.
"She's a shrimp lover, that's for sure," her dad said.
He glanced over his shoulder and said, "Shrimp for the shrimp, right?"
"Ugh!" Addison groaned at her father's lame attempt at humor.
"I don't think you're a shrimp," Mercedes told her.
"Thank you!" Addison told her. "At least I have one friend in this car!"
Dex opened his eyes wide then said, "Okay. Now I'm hurt," as he dramatically put his right hand over his heart.
"Your father should have been an actor," Mercedes said, really to both of them.
"No. You see, we need money in order to survive, so, no, definitely not," Addison said before her dad could respond.
"Man. Tough crowd," he said causing both of the 'girls' to laugh.
"Do you mind if I ask what you do, Dex?" Mercedes asked politely.

 "Not at all. I kill bugs."
Mercedes gave him a puzzled look then said, "Oh. Pest control. Duh!"
There were pest control companies in nearly every town all over Florida to kill chinch bugs, mole crickets, sod worms, and other lawn-devouring critters as well as to stop the myriad of bugs that would enter the house with treating the outside.
"Not that kind," Dex laughed. "In software. I debug software."
"Oh, boy. Don't I feel stupid. Again," Mercedes said before telling Dex, "Um...I guess I know what that means."
"It means he sits at the computer 24-7 and never does anything else," Addison said.
"No wonder he needs glasses."
"I don't spend that much time working," he said in his defense.
"I was just kidding. My dad always does stuff with me," Addison admitted. "But he does work a lot."
"Well, college is just around the corner, you know. And it ain't exactly cheap," he told his daughter.
"Dad! I'm eight years old," Addison reminded him.
"Right. You just talk like your eighteen."
Addison giggled, and Mercedes found herself truly enjoying their banter and their company.
Over lunch the topic of work came up again, and Dex asked how she was enjoying her job so far.
"It's not so bad. I like meeting people, so that's a plus. The pay isn't great, but I don't exactly have a lot of work history, so I won't be pulling down a lot of money any time soon no matter what I might do."
"Do you have family in the area?" he asked, hoping he was about to step on a 'landmine' the way Mercedes felt she had.
"Um...no. My dad passed away twelve years ago, and my mother passed away in 2015. My husband...well, my ex-husband, isn't in the picture anymore, and although I really wanted children, he didn't so here I am at 50 starting over."
"I didn't mean to pry. Sorry if that was out of line."
"No. Not at all. I just didn't think you'd be very interested in the details of my life so I gave the shortest version I could without just saying 'no'. That's all," Mercedes said, remembering to smile.
"Well, I'm interested in anything you'd care to talk about, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Dex assured her.
"I'm actually enjoying this very much," she said looking at both of them.
"Daddy? Can I go get some more?" Addison asked, her first plate of mostly shrimp clean as a whistle.
"Sure. That's fine," her dad said. "I don't know where you put it, though. I mean, look at her. Skinny Minnie the Ocean Winnie."
Addison was thin but not any more so than most girls her age. And she really didn't eat that much unless it was Sushi, and shrimp didn't exactly pack on the pounds.
She rolled her eyes then went back to the open bar for more.
"She's a sweetheart," Mercedes said.
"Thank you. I think so."
"She's a pretty girl. She'll be beautiful when she grows up."
"Well, she has her mom's eyes, nose and mouth, and fortunately she didn't get any of my features, so she got pretty lucky."
Mercedes laughed then said, "You're very funny, Dex. I haven't laughed this much in quite a while."
"Funny. You just had to bring up my looks, didn't you?" he said in his deadpan style.
Mercedes nearly spewed her ice tea as she laughed again.
"Trust me, there's nothing funny about the way you look. You're a very handsome man, Dex."
"Well, thank you. Coming from a beautiful woman, that's actually very reassuring. I don't hear that kind of thing anymore, so I do appreciate it."
"I'd say the same thing except that I'm no longer young, so it's not that unusual for a woman my age not to hear things like that. But in your case, you still are young, and you really are very handsome."
"Again, thank you, but this 'I'm not young' thing is a little ridiculous. You honestly look like you're my age," he told her.
"May I ask just old you are?" she requested to know with raised eyebrows of her own.
"Sure. I'm 35," he told her without hesitation.
She nearly spewed again then laughed just as Addison came back with a half dozen more shrimp.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Your father. He's quite the comedian," Mercedes told her.
"He is very funny," she said.
Then just like her father, she said, "Looking," with a straight face.
"Oh, okay! So that's how it's gonna be, huh!" her dad said as though they were about to go to war.
He grabbed her plate and said like the 'Soup Nazi' on Seinfeld, "No more shrimp for YOU!"
Addison was cracking up, and Mercedes was laughing to the point of tearing up loving the back and forth and watching what was left of this family have the kind of fun she'd always longed for but never had.
Dex handed the plate back, looked at his watch, then said, "We need to get going. We can't be late, so see if you can polish those off, okay?"
"No problem," Addison told him as she popped one in her mouth, chewed it up, swallowed, then popped in another.
"Can you help me?" she asked Mercedes as she pushed the plate her way.
"Well, I guess I could have one more," she said before taking one and popping it in her mouth the same way Addison had done.
The little girl giggled then popped one more.
"Daddy. You take the last one, okay?" she said, pushing her plate toward him.
"You sure?"
"Uh-huh," she said as she finished the last of what she'd been chewing.
He popped his in, too, and got another laugh before signaling their server for the check.
They got back to the office with seven minutes to spare, and sat in the parking lot as they said their goodbyes.
"Thank you both so much," Mercedes said once the car stopped. "It's been a long time since I had so much fun."
"It was our pleasure, right, honey?"
"Yes, it was," Addison agreed.
"Well, I hope your new glasses do the trick. You really do look very good in them," Mercedes told Dex.
"They were your choice, so I owe you the thanks you for that."
"All right. I guess I'll get back to work then," she said.
"No, wait. My dad has to open the door for you," Addison said just as her dad was moving to do just that.
"Oh, yes. Chivalry and all that. Gosh, I haven't had anyone open my door in...well, I'm not sure how long," she said as Dex was getting out.
He came around, opened it, then offered her his hand.
She stood up, thanked him again, and he told her it was his pleasure.
They stood there looking at one another for a couple of seconds before Mercedes said again, "I really should get inside."
"Right. Yes. Sorry. I don't mean to keep you," Dex said as he stepped aside.
Before he closed her door, she leaned down and told Addison goodbye.
"Bye!" the eight-year old said with a smile. "See you later!"
"I do hope so!" Mercedes said back.
As she walked away, Dex made a snap decision and caught up with her.
"Hi. Long time no see," he said when she noticed him.
Mercedes laughed again then said, "Did you forget something inside?"
"No. I was just wondering if, well, if you had as nice a time as I did, if you'd maybe like to, you know, do this again sometime."
Mercedes stopped, turned, and looked right at him.
"I had a wonderful time, Dex. But you can't be serious."
"Why can't I?" he asked. It was deadpanned but not for the same reason.
"Um...35," she said kind of pointing at him. "And...50," she added, pointing to herself.
"What does that have to do with anything? I believe we both just had a very nice time together and our ages didn't seem to matter."
"But that was just lunch. It wasn't...a date."
"Well, then call whatever we do together next time by it's name, too. It'll just be...a movie or...it'll just be roller skating or..."
"Roller skating. I used to love to skate. You know, back when I was Addison's age."
"Then let's go!" Dex said. "There's a rink up in Orange Park, and Addison loves going there. It's a bit of a teen hangout, but it's still a lot of fun."
"You're serious, aren't you?" Mercedes said as she looked right at him so see if he really was.
"Yes. I'm very serious. And Addison really likes you, too."
Mercedes still hadn't committed so Dex waved to his daughter.
"Dex. What are you doing?" she asked as Addison came running over.
"Addison. Would you rather go roller skating with just me or with Mercedes and me?" he asked after putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Duh! With her and you, of course," the little girl said as she smiled at the beautiful woman.
"You can't say 'no' to a sweet girl like Addison, can you?" Dex said as he poured it on.
"Oh, that was downright dirty pool," Mercedes said.
Addison played her part and tried to look as sweet and innocent as she could.
"Please?" she said to Mercedes.
After letting out a long exhale, Mercedes said, "Okay. Fine. But this is just roller skating."
As Addison said, "Yes!" and did a fist pump, her father said, "Of course. Like this was 'just lunch'. And next time it'll just be..."
"Okay. Okay. Stop right there," Mercedes said.
She was trying not to smile and was deeply flattered by all the attention, but no matter how lonely she might be, she was very much a realist, and Dex was still a whopping 15 years younger than her.
"No one said anything about a next time, okay?" she tried to say very authoritatively.
"Oh, well...I sorta already did," Dex said, as he made a 'sorry' kind of face.
"He's right. My dad did kind of already say that," Addison said just as directly.
"Now you're ganging up on me!" Mercedes said, pretending to be offended by being overwhelmed.
"What can I say? We're a team," Dex told her as he put his arm around his daughter.
"That's right. We're a force to be reckoned with," Addison let her know.
Mercedes couldn't take anymore and laughed.
"You are one very smart young lady," she told Addison.
"She reads a lot," Dex said. "And she's like an elephant. She never forgets. Anything."
Addison was smiling so happily it made Mercedes happy.
"Okay. We'll go roller skating," she said as she unlocked the door.
"And?" Addison said as though she were the adult reminding a child of something else they'd already agreed to.
"And...we'll see," Mercedes told her. "Okay?"
"Okay. That works for me!" Addison said, unable to stop smiling.
"Yeah. Me, too," Dex told her. "So can we come pick you up later this evening?"
"Wait. Tonight?" she asked, having assumed it would be somewhere down the road.
"Oh, well, if you already have plans, then sure, we could do it some other time," Dex told her.
"I...I don't have any plans, I just thought you meant sometime later. Like Friday or maybe next week."
"The weekends are insanely crowded, but any evening is okay with us, right?" he said to his daughter.
"Right. Anytime is fine," Addison told her. "Like...tonight."
"In for a penny, in for..." Mercedes began saying.
"A pound," Addison said with a smile, finishing her sentence.
"Okay. I give up. That sounds...nice," she told them.
She unlocked the door and opened it when Dex said, "We uh, we kind of need your address."
"Oh. Yes, that might help, huh?" Mercedes said with a smile of her own.
She gave it to them, and Dex added it into his phone.
"Any chance I could get your phone number while I'm at it?"
Addison was still smiling, and Mercedes realized she'd lost the battle even as she realized she hadn't exactly put up a fight.
She provided that, too, then said, "I really do need to get inside. Doctor Andrews comes in from the back, and I don't need to be late."
"Sure. Of course," Dex said.
"Well, thank you both—again. The Sushi was very good."
She paused then said, "So was the company."
"Bye!" Addison told her. "See you tonight!"
"Yes, I guess you will," Mercedes said, pretending again to be put out as she smiled happily then went inside.
"So...what do you think?" Dex asked his daughter.
"I think...nice work!"
Addison offered him a high five which he accepted.
"Do you like her?" her father asked.
"Yes. I like her a lot. She's very nice," Addison agreed.
"Okay. Good. I just wanted to make sure you felt the same way I do."
"Dad?" she said as they held hands and walked together.
"Uh-huh?"
"I'm glad you're finally trying to meet someone."
"I've tried," he said somewhat defensively knowing he hadn't made much effort.
Addison knew better and looked up at him. She didn't say a word because she didn't need to.
"Okay. So maybe I haven't made all that much effort."
They got to the car and Addison gave him another look.
"Fine. I haven't done much of anything, but this counts, right?"
His daughter put her arms around his waist and hugged him, and that said more than any words from her could have.
Skate Station Funworks was located 11.6 miles north of Yume Fusion Sushi & Grill on Blanding Boulevard. It opened at 6:30pm, so Dex normally tried to get there by seven so he could have Addison home by 8:30 and in bed by 9pm. She was home for summer vacation, so it wasn't critical, but the place got crazy busy around nine o'clock, so getting out of there before that was still a good idea.
So when they got home, he texted Mercedes:
"Hi! I just wanted to tell you again how much we enjoyed having you join us for lunch. We normally get to the skating rink around seven, but we can be flexible. I try and get Addison in bed by nine, but that, too, isn't a big deal, so please let us know when to come get you. And we both very much look forward to seeing you again. Dex & Addy."
Mercedes saw the text come in as she was going through two orders from just before lunch. She knew Dr. Andrews's policy about texting during work, but she couldn't help looking. It only took a few seconds to read, and when she did, it made her smile.
She'd been alone for over a year now, and divorced for just over five months. In that year, she'd been asked out a grand total of five times with three of them coming from Dr. Andrews. He was a nice enough man, but she had no interest in him romantically, and although she'd tried to tactfully convey that to him, he'd continued to flirt with her.
Well, until just recently. After her third refusal, he'd become openly distant and increasingly hostile, and that was what had led her to believe he'd let her go after mentioning 'alternative treatments' to a patient. All she wanted was to be able to do her job, but he had made it very uncomfortable for her.
The other two invites had been from men she'd known during her marriage who were now divorced. She'd said 'yes' to one and 'no' to the other. Her one and only date had been nice enough, but she had very little in common with this old friend, and truth be told, he looked...old.
Mercedes knew she was very fortunate to be her age and still have very few lines and wrinkles let alone no gray hair. Many of her female friends her same age had not been so fortunate with several looking like they were in their mid-60s with most 'looking their age'. Even so, she'd been married for 22 years, and the thought of trying to meet someone new—someone her age she found both interesting and attractive—seemed downright daunting.
So as much as she hated sitting home alone in the one asset the courts hadn't taken to pay her ex-husband's debts, she did her best to try and stay busy and not think about things like love or especially—lovemaking. Where that word was concerned, it had been close to two years now, as that's when John, her former husband, was arrested. It had been very public with his arrest carried on the local news followed by his trial.
He'd been released on bond, but his entire focus had been on trying to stay out of jail, and as a result, there'd been no physical contact of any sort. And once Mercedes learned just how much financial damage he'd inflicted on them, just the thought of being with him made her ill.
They had a very large sum of money in investments, they owned their home outright, and often took expensive vacations traveling around the world. She had no idea he'd gotten so deeply into sports betting over the years.
By the time she knew anything was wrong, virtually everything they'd spent a lifetime building was gone. Even the home she lived in was once again owed by the bank. But because she'd done nothing wrong, the bank couldn't legally take it from her as a result of a settlement reached in a plea bargain which sent her her husband to prison for ten years rather than for the twenty-five he was facing.
So she was allowed to live there, but were she to move, there was no equity in the home, and the bank would seize it immediately. Without any money to buy a new home, she was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
For now, she was earning just enough to let her pay the property taxes and her other bills. There was nothing left over to allow her to go anywhere or really do anything, so her life had become work, television, and playing games on her phone to pass the time.
Being asked out by someone so handsome of any age had been a huge boost to her ego; a boost she'd sorely needed. So even though whatever amount of time she might spend with Dex and Addison couldn't possibly go anywhere, it felt very good to have a man like Dex tell her he thought she was attractive and show some interest in her. And the fact that he had such a sweet, adorable little girl was an added bonus.
Without even taking the cell phone out of her lab coat pocket, she quickly typed, "Seven is fine!" then hit 'send'.
Dex got her reply, smiled, then texted back, "Okay. See you at seven!"
Mercedes also smiled when she got his reply seconds later, and wondered if this was what it was like to be in love in the age of cell phones and texting. Not that she thought she was in love or anything close to it. It was just so different than her experience growing up waiting for a boy to call on the phone to talk, something she'd done a lot of when she was in high school.
By the time she got home, Mercedes was wondering how she could be so excited about something she hadn't done in maybe 25 years or so. If that wasn't enough of a concern, she found herself fretting about what to wear. It wasn't a difficult choice. Jeans made sense in case she fell, and a decent tee-shirt would be more than adequate. And yet she looked through her entire closet and chest of drawers twice before finally deciding.
She chose a close-fitting salmon-colored sleeveless blouse with a pair of black Capri pants then debated about how much makeup to wear. There was no need to wear any, and yet she painted her lips a glossy color that matched her blouse after adding a touch of eye shadow then freshening up her mascara.
"Oh, get real," she told herself when she started rummaging through her jewelry. She put on a pair of silver earrings but told herself the necklace wasn't needed. But after putting it back, she picked it up again and put it on.
She also couldn't avoid one last look in the mirror once everything was in place—just to make sure. And as always, she looked amazing. Mercedes wouldn't allow herself to use that particular word even thought it was true.
"Not bad," she did allow herself to say, satisfied that everything looked...okay.
She'd lost track of time, and less than two minutes later, the doorbell rang, startling her and causing that nervous feeling to well up inside her. She stopped at the door, took a deep breath, then smiled as she opened it.
"Hey!" she said to her two favorite new friends.
"You look beautiful!" Addison told her immediately.
But even better than the compliment was the hug she got when Addison walked right up to her and put her arms around her.
"Oh, my goodness. Thank you, sweetheart!" Mercedes said as she hugged her back.
Dex looked at her then nodded Addison's way and said, "What she just said."
"That's very sweet of you, Dex," Mercedes told them before inviting them in.
"Nice place," he said as they looked around.
 "Oh, thanks. I haven't done much to it in the last couple of years, but I suppose it still works."
The truth was their was no money to do anything to it even if she wanted to.
"Everything is so well coordinated," Addison told her as she noted the color scheme and choice of fabrics.
"Listen to you!" Mercedes said. "Are you sure you're only eight?"
Addison giggled then said, "I'll be nine in four months. Does that make any difference?"
"Hmmm. That must be it," Mercedes told her as she grabbed her things. "Okay. I'm ready unless you need to maybe use the restroom or get a drink of water."
"No. We're fine," Dex told her as he tried not to stare.
As she walked by, he said rather quietly, "Actually, you look fine."
Mercedes laughed and thanked him, but his kindness truly touched her as had his daughter's.
As he let her go by, Dex thought she'd always looked nice at work, but it was a more of a 'professional nice' whereas this was just—nice. Very nice.
Within seconds of getting in the car, Addison started asking questions.
"Can you cool stop?"
"Oh, my. I'm not sure. What does that mean?"
"You know, instead of just stopping, you glide then spin around," Addison explained.
"Oh. Um...I'm not sure. It's been a few years so I don't really know."
"Can you weave?"
"Like in and out of cones?" Mercedes asked.
"Uh-huh."
"I used to be able to. Can you?"
"She's a pro," Dex said answering for his daughter. "And it sounds like you're pretty good, too."
Mercedes laughed then told him how many years it had been since she'd gone roller skating.
"Get out of here!" Dex said in disbelief.
"No, it's true."
He realized he was Addison's age the last time she went and that Mercedes had been 25. For a brief moment, the age difference reared its ugly head, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
"I'm sure it's just like riding a bike," Dex told her.
Mercedes laughed then said, "Let's see. How long has it been since I rode a bike?"
"My dad bought me a new bike for Christmas. You should come over and ride with us," Addison said.
"I don't even have a bike anymore, honey," she told the young girl.
"That's okay. We still have my mom's."
Mercedes waited to see how Dex reacted, and when he didn't even wince, she said, "Well, we'll have to see, okay?"
"You didn't say 'no'. I kind of like the sound of that," Dex said as he glanced her way and smiled.
"How about we make sure I don't break a leg or something tonight? If I don't then maybe we can talk about riding bikes," Mercedes suggested.
"You won't break a leg," Addison assured her. "You just have watch out for the bombers."
"The bombers?"
"Oh, there's a small group of boys who are maybe 14 or so. They like to see how fast they can go, and although they're very good, I've nearly been taken out by them a couple of times."
"Oh, so you two go to the skating rink often?" Mercedes asked.
"How often do we go, sweetie?" Dex asked.
"Like...once a month maybe?" Addison said.
"Oh, my. I'm going to be in big trouble, huh?"
"Not at all," Dex assured her. "We just go to have fun."
It wasn't busy at all when they arrived, and Mercedes was grateful. She went to rent a pair of skates, but Dex stepped in and said, "Excuse me? I thought we had an understanding?"
He plopped his credit card down and said, "Two adults, one child, and a pair of skates for this beautiful girl."
He smiled at Mercedes before going to sit down and put his own skates on as Addison was already busy doing that with hers. Dex's smile had really touched her, and when he called her a 'beautiful girl' it did that and something more.
She sat down and pulled on the white, size-7 women's skates then laced them up.
"I'm surprised these aren't velcro," she said as she put the extra laces inside the shoe tops.
Dex laughed, and when he did, Mercedes looked over at him and Addison. Both of them had velcro-only skates, and that made her laugh, too.
"Ah, okay. I got the old-school style."
She paused, smiled, then said, "How appropriate, right?"
"Okay, that's the last 'old' comment I want to hear out of you, young lady!" Dex told her as he grabbed her hand raising her up, then kept pulling until they were out on the rink.
Addison had grabbed her other hand, and Mercedes was laughing the entire way. Once they got out there, Dex suggested they do a couple of laps together, and three of them took off holding hands.
"It is like riding a bike!" Mercedes said as they came around to complete their first lap.
"Let's go faster!" Addison said.
Feeling good, Mercedes agreed, and the trio sped up then slowed around the corner then increased their speed again on the straightaway.
At the end of the second lap Addison let go and said, "Come on!"
The adults followed her to the center of the rink where there were a dozen cones lined up. Addison was already zig-zagging through them at a pretty good clip.
"I wanna try that!" Mercedes said as she let go of Dex's hand.
She went quite a bit slower, but managed to make it through all of them without a hitch.
"Woo-hoo!" she hollered as she cleared the last one.
Addison was there waiting for her and offered Mercedes a high five before hugging her again after she came to a stop.
"You're really good!" Addison told her.
"I'm gonna be really sore!" she said as she laughed.
She free skated with Dex for another couple of minutes then said, as she tried to catch her breath, "I need to take a break."
"Yeah. Me, too," he told her even though he wasn't even breathing hard.
They went to the sitting area and found a bench and watched Addison tear it up.
"Is there anything she's not good at?" Mercedes asked after watching her fly around the rink, 'cool stop', and 'toe touch' numerous times.
"She's pretty awesome," Dex replied.
He looked over at Mercedes then said, "You are too, by the way."
"Me? Ha! I'm am so out of practice!" she told him.
"You couldn't tell by watching you," he said.
He smiled again then said, "And believe me, I was most definitely watching you."
Mercedes saw the way he looked at her when he said it, and although he was mostly kidding, she could tell he was letting her know he really had been 'watching' her in a way that wasn't simple observation.
Not sure what else to say, Mercedes said, "There isn't much to see."
Dex hadn't taken his eyes off of her then said, "I disagree. Totally."
Whatever she'd felt a few minutes ago was back and much more intense; intense enough to cause her to have to look away.
Just as she did, Addison called out, "Come on, you guys!"
"You ready?" Dex asked her with a smile and an outstretched hand.
"Oh, my. Okay. Yes. Let's go!" she said, as she took it as he led her back onto the rink.
Around eight o'clock, there was suddenly a lot of noise near the front counter.
"Uh-oh. It's the 'bombers'," Dex said to Mercedes.
"They look harmless enough," Mercedes replied. "I was expecting tattoos and cigarette packs rolled up in their sleeves."
Dex laughed then said, "I don't think kids have done that since..."
Mercedes held up a hand and said, "Oh, no. Don't you dare say 'since I a kid'."
She was clearly teasing, and Dex continued laughing. That made Mercedes laugh, and when she did, Dex told her she was beautiful when she smiled.
The laughter stopped, and the smile faded, and that feeling returned just as he said, "Come on. Let's get in a few more spins before the 'biker gang' runs us out of town."
The two of them held hands as they made several, slow turns around the rink, laughing and having fun the entire time. They were just starting their third lap when the 'gang of seven' thundered onto the rink. One by one they pushed off and started building up speed, and in short order had lapped Dex and Mercedes.
"You had enough for one night?" he asked as they passed the entry and exit area.
"I think so. Let's finish this lap and call it a night. If I can still walk tomorrow I'll be very happy!" she called out over the noise of the boys yelling and flying around them.
Addison caught up them, and her dad let her know this was their last lap.
"Okay," she said without any argument, something else that impressed Mercedes.
"Wow. Just 'okay'? That's very..."
They were slowing down as Addison skated up ahead then did a 'cool stop'.
Mercedes had done that many times years ago and decided to give it a whirl. She started sliding and just before she began turning her toes, one of the 'bombers' didn't notice what she was doing and clipped her left leg just as she was starting to turn it.
The impact unexpectedly turned her body causing her to lose balance. That, in turn, caused her left ankle to roll as she went down hard.
The boy stopped and came back to apologize just as Dex was kneeling down to see if she was okay.
"I'm really sorry!" the boy said as she grabbed her ankle.
"It's okay," Mercedes told him. "It was an accident. I'll be fine."
Satisfied with her answer, he got up and jetted off leaving her there on the floor.
"Let's get those skates off you and see if you really are fine, okay?" he said.
He helped her stand, but she couldn't put any weight on it, so he had her drape her arm over his shoulder while putting an arm around her waist. Addison was on the other side so Mercedes could put her hand on the girl's shoulder and take a little more pressure off of the ankle.
Dex slowly unlaced the shoe, pulling each 'rung' out wide in order to minimize touching the area that was already badly swollen. It was turning black and blue, as well, and Dex said, "We've gotta get this looked at."
"No. It's just sprained," Mercedes told him. "It'll be fine."
She didn't have benefits other than optical and a trip to the ER be devastating.
"Sorry. A sprain is often as bad as a break and you may need a cast or at least need to be taped. If we don't, you could have permanent damage."
When he wouldn't take no for an answer, Mercedes let go of her pride and explained why.
He was still kneeling in front of her, and when she finished speaking, he reached up and took her hand without asking.
"Look, I invited you here. This is my responsibility. You can't go home without having it looked at, so we're taking you up the road to the Orange Park Medical Center, and that's all there is to it."
"Dex. You don't understand. I can't pay for that," she told him just loudly enough so only he could hear it.
"You're not paying for it," he told her. "Not one penny."
"No. That's not right," she said. "I'm not your responsibility, and I can't let you do that."
He squeezed her hand, smiled again, then said, "I like taking care of you, okay?"
Before she could answer, he said, "I have the only car, remember? You're in no condition to walk, so it looks like you're going with me, and I'm going to the hospital."
He stood up, then reached for her other hand, and helped her up.
As she stood there right in front of him, her ankle raised off the floor, the way Dex was looking at her made her forget how much pain she was already in as their eyes briefly danced.
"You ready?" he asked.
She wanted to answer, but her voice wouldn't work. She wanted to tell him 'yes' or at least thank him, but all she could do was stare.
"Come on. Addison will take your skates back, and you and I can head out."
Addison dropped Mercedes's skates at the desk, then picked up hers and her fathers and caught up with them just as they got to the main door.
"I'll get it!" Addison said as she backed into it and opened it for them.
As Mercedes limped by, the young girl smiled at her, and suddenly her sprained ankle no longer mattered. What did matter was the love and concern this broken family was showing her.
The hospital was only a couple of blocks away toward Middleburg, and they arrived in less than five minutes.
It took nearly two hours for her to be seen, but it was well worth the wait as Mercedes had some ligament damage. One of them had been severely stretched and another had been slightly torn.
The doctor asked a nurse to put ice on it to reduce swelling before giving her something to help with the pain before wrapping it.
"You're going to have to stay off of it as much as possible for the next 4-6 weeks, okay?" the ER doctor told her as he wrapped it.
"I have to stand up at work," she told him. "And taking time off isn't an option."
"Okay, we'll get you some crutches on your way out. You'll need to use them religiously for at least the first week or so, then when you see your primary care provider, ask if you can switch to a cane at some point. But in the meantime, especially for the next 48 hours, stay off of it completely."
"Primary care provider," Mercedes thought to herself.
She had one, but she limited visits to the greatest extent possible to save money. Going in for a follow-up would be at least $100 for the office visit then who knew what for whatever else she might order.
Dex excused himself just before the doctor finished and went back to the check-in window.
"Where would I go to pay for her bill?" he asked the woman who'd checked them in.
"No one's there this time of night, but the administrative offices are down the hall and to your left. But this will all be billed to your insurance company, so you won't need to worry about that until you find out how much they did or didn't cover on your wife's treatment."
He started to explain the beautiful woman with him wasn't his wife, but instead he thanked her then went to see where the offices she'd mentioned were located so he could take care of the bill in the next day or two.
When he walked back in, Mercedes was standing up on crutches as the doctor asked how they felt.
"Are they still too high?"
"No. These are fine," she told him.
"All right. The nurse will get you checked out, and your prescription will be waiting for in the pharmacy," the doctor said before walking away.
As Mercedes hobbled along, she told Dex, "We don't need to pick up the medication. I have Ibuprofen, and that's more than enough."
"No, the doctor gave you three days worth of Hydrocodone because this is going to hurt like hell."
He realized what he'd said just as Addison was covering her mouth.
"I take you daddy doesn't use bad words very often," she said with a smile.
"Uh-uh," Addison told her as she tried not to laugh.
"Does it hurt bad?" Addison asked once the 'cursing drama' was over.
"Whatever they gave me in there is already working. So yes, it does hurt, but it's a lot better," she said. "Which is why we don't need to go to the pharmacy."
"They gave you Hydrocodone. That stuff is powerful, and that's why it doesn't hurt so much," Dex told her as he pointed to the sign that said 'Pharmacy'.
Mercedes stopped then said as quietly as she could, "I can't let you pay for all of this, Dex."
He cocked his head slightly then smiled at her.
"What if I want to?" he said just as quietly.
He was staring into her eyes again, and maybe it was the pain medication, but Mercedes couldn't help tearing up.
"Hey. Is it really that bad?" Dex asked, sure it was pain-related.
"No," Mercedes said as a tear fell. "It isn't the pain. I'm...I'm just not sure how to deal with so much kindness."
Once he understood, Dex moved a little closer then told her, "By letting me take care of you, okay?"
Overwhelmed by it all, Mercedes could only say, "Okay," as the tears continued to fall.
Addison had moved around so she could see, and when she noticed Mercedes was crying, she put her arms around her again and buried her head in her chest.
"Don't be sad. We'll take care of you. I promise," the girl told her.
"Something tells me that's true," Mercedes said as she tried to hold herself up and hug Addison at the same time.
A few minutes later they had her prescription, and once they got to the car, Dex said, "Listen. I don't think it's a good idea for you to try and deal with this on your own."
He helped her get in, then went around to the driver's side and started the car.
"I don't have a lot of choices," Mercedes said quietly as she looked over at him.
"Yes, you do. You can stay with us for a day or two."
"I...I can't. I can't do that," she told him.
"Why? We can go back to your place and pick up the things you need for night or two along with some clothes for work, and you'll be all set."
"No. You...you have your own lives. You and Addison."
Dex looked back at his daughter who was kind of standing up next to Mercedes when she said, "But we love you, Mercedes. And we want to take care of you."
She was having trouble holding it together, but when the little girl reached around her seat and put her arms around her she lost it.
"Are you sure I won't be in your way?" she asked, barely able to speak.
"Positive."
"One-hundred percent!" Addison told her, her arms still around Mercedes.
"Okay. Thank you," she said as she squeezed the little girl's arms and looked over at her father. "You, too."
"It's our pleasure," Dex told her as he put the car in gear and headed south.
It was well after midnight when they got home, and Dex got Mercedes to the guest room and asked her to have a seat while he turned the bed down.
"Your house is lovely," she told him. "Everything is in such perfect order."
"Well, that's the way my wife kept it so we make sure to honor her by keeping it like the that."
He turned around, smiled at her, and said, "Or at least as close to that as we can, right, honey?"
Addison was doing most of the work getting things ready and enjoying doing it.
"I'll go get our icepack ready, okay, Dad?" she said once the bed was all set.
"Thanks, honey," he told her.
As she went by, Mercedes reached out for her hand. When she did, Addison stopped, hugged her again and said, "We just want you to get better."
Mercedes was tearing up again as she told Addison, "Okay. There is no way you are only eight years old!"
When the little girl giggled, her father said, "Well, well. I guess I'm not the only one having trouble believing a woman's age around here."
Now exhausted, Mercedes wanted to both laugh and cry. Instead she just smiled and tried to wipe her eyes.
"I'll bring some tissues with me, too," Addison told her as she skipped out of the room.
"I'm sorry for being so emotional," Mercedes said as she looked up at Dex.
"Please don't be sorry," he told her as he knelt down beside her again.
Mercedes saw the way Dex was looking at her again, and suddenly felt self-conscious about the way she looked.
"I'm a mess," she said as she looked away.
Dex slowly reached out and gently touched her face to turn it back toward him.
As their eyes met, he said, "You look beautiful to me."
Instantly, her eyes looked down as her foggy brain tried to understand what was going on.
"Addison is right, you know?" he told her as he ran a finger along her cheek.
"She is?" Mercedes said just above a whisper.
"Uh-huh. We do love you."
Somehow, she raised her eyes to meet his again, and when they met, Dex smiled at her. She was nearly certain he was moving her way to kiss her just as Addison came back in with the icepack. But her father just continued standing up and thanked her.
"You're welcome!" she said cheerfully.
"And it's long past your bedtime, honey. Can you give Mercedes a hug and tell her goodnight?"
"Uh-huh," she said very pleasantly as she reached out for one more hug.
As the little girl pulled away, Mercedes wasn't sure what made her say it, but she gently held Addison's arm then said, "I love you, sweetheart."
Addison smiled and immediately said, "I love you, too!" before giving her another hug.
She then hugged her dad and went to get ready for bed.
 That's all I ever wanted," Mercedes said.
"What's that?" Dex asked.
"A little girl just like Addison. Or a boy. Or one of each maybe."
She forced a smile then said, "A child. That's all. But someone else always came first with my ex-husband."
"Himself?"
Mercedes nodded then said, "I've kept you both up so late, and I'm sorry. Please go to bed. I'll be fine. Really."
"Just let me put some fresh towels out for you in the bathroom."
"Okay. Thank you, Dex. So much."
"If you need anything. No matter what. You wake me up, okay?" he told her sincerely.
"Oh, I need to be at work by 8am. Is that okay?" she asked.
"Seriously? You're going to work tomorrow? You can't take one day off to recover?" he asked without sounding accusatory.
"I can't risk it," she told him. "And I can't afford to miss a day's pay, either."
Dex knelt back down then asked her if she'd let him take care of things at work, too.
"No offense, but I don't think you could do my job. Not that it's all that complicated."
"No. That's not what I mean," he told her with a smile.
"I'm really loopy from the medication and from being up this late. I'm usually in bed by ten, so if I'm not making any sense, at least you'll know why."
"It's okay. Just let me take care of this. And you. Okay? Will you let me do that?"
"Okay," she told him very quietly.
"So no alarms. No worries about waking up. Just rest. Whenever you do wake up, we'll get something to eat and then take a look at that ankle of yours."
Dex knew women cried, but Mercedes was tearing up again. He didn't ask why, though. He just waited to see if she wanted to talk.
"I wasn't completely honest a minute ago. When I said all I wanted was a child."
As tears ran down her cheeks again, she said, "I wanted this, too."
"This?" he asked, a puzzled look on his face.
"Yes. This. Someone to care about me this much. Someone who didn't just occasionally tell me he loves me in a birthday card, but one who took the time to show me he did. Someone I could love back just like that."
Dex knew how lucky he'd been. That had never been an issue where his marriage was concerned. There was never a time when he or his wife ever wondered whether or not they were loved. That Mercedes had never experienced that was something he couldn't imagine.
"Well, you're here where people do love you, okay?" he said as kindly as he could.
"I've noticed," Mercedes said as dried her eyes yet again as she tried to smile.
"All right. I'm gonna go check on Addison then go to bed myself. But I meant what I said. Call me if you need anything. I'm a light sleeper, and I'll hear you if you just call out my name, okay?"
"Thank you, Dex. Pleasant dreams."
"Goodnight, Mercedes. Same to you."
Mercedes fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, but Dex couldn't sleep. He set his alarm so he could get up and call Dr. Andrews's office, but he couldn't relax even though he was exhausted.
He lay there thinking about Mercedes having never felt what he'd essentially taken for granted, her warm, helpful ways during his eye exam, the way she laughed and smiled so easily, and yes, he couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was or that she could possibly be 50 years old. And that's when he made one of those decisions where his intuition told him he was right.
Dex was so groggy when his alarm went off at 8am, he had no idea where he was for a few seconds. His eyes were stuck shut with sleep, and he had to pee so bad he couldn't lay there and slowly come to life. As he stood in the bathroom getting rid of what needed to go, he remembered having set the coffee pot to start at eight, so at least it would be ready when he got to the kitchen.
He tiptoed past Mercedes's room then Addison's then got to the kitchen and poured a huge mugful of the hot, dark brew and took two quick sips before sitting down and trying to think.
He had the next couple of days to himself, and if necessary, he could hold off taking another project for as long as necessary. He made more than enough money to do that, and he knew he could take a lot more time off and still make a decent living.
In effect, work had become a kind of solace from the pain of his loss, and although he enjoyed his job immensely, he often wondered if he was being fair to Addison, who rarely complained about the amount of time he spent with her. Since it was summer, he knew she should be doing more of that, but work had become an ingrained habit, and unless he dealt with it, nothing would change.
He was on the phone the moment the eye doctor's office opened up, and Lisa answered when he called. He explained the situation then asked to speak to Dr. Andrews.
After telling Dex how busy he was to fend him off, Dex politely said, "We both know you don't have patients yet, and I really a minute of his time."
Reluctantly, she transferred him, and evidently explained why Mr. Hall was on the line.
"Dex. Hey. I understand you have one of my girls held captive."
Dex laughed politely then let him know what happened and why she was there.
"That's really putting me in a tough spot," the optometrist said.
Dex held the phone out and looked at it as though it might explain why Dr. Andrews had made this about himself.
"It's not like she planned this, you know. And with any luck, she'll back tomorrow. Worst case she misses two days, takes the weekend off, then comes back in on Monday ready to go."
"You said she's staying at your house, didn't you?" Dr. Andrews asked even though he knew the answer.
"Yes. That's right. Why?"
"Well, I thought you should know that uh, she and I kind of have what you might call...an understanding."
"An understanding?"
"Yes. An unspoken understanding that she and I are, well, more than just employer and employee."
"Ah, okay. I see," Dex replied knowing that was anything but true.
"I just wanted to make sure you know that. It's not like I'm concerned she might be interested in someone as young as you are, mind you. It's more just letting you know not to waste your time because, well, you know why."
"Okay. I'll keep that in mind," Dex told him as he shook his head.
"And if you can get her back here tomorrow, that would be much better than Monday," the eye doctor told him.
"Well, let's let her recovery dictate that, okay?" Dex said as cheerfully as he could.
"Right. Yes."
When Dr. Andrews didn't say anything else, Dex thanked him for his time and hung up.
"Who was that?" he heard Mercedes ask as she hobbled in on her crutches.
Dex stood up, smiled, then went over to her.
"Hey, good morning, and why didn't you call me to come help you?" he asked as he took her crutches and helped her sit down.
"Dex. I can walk, you know?" she told him with a sleepy smile.
"I know, but...you..."
He was looking at her rumpled blouse then said, "You slept in your clothes last night. I could have helped you with that, too."
"I'm fine. Really. But a cup of coffee would be very helpful," she told him, the smile a little brighter.
"Sure. Coming right up. How about your medication? Do you need a pill?"
"Yes, but I want to eat something with it. Those things make me kind of nauseous—and loopy."
Dex knew that was true for many people, so he just poured her a cup of coffee and asked what she'd like in it.
"Just black, please," she said very sweetly.
"My kind of girl," he said.
She smiled at the 'girl' comment and thanked him for the coffee.
"Oh, this is so good!" she told him.
"I was on the phone with Doctor Andrews," he let her know.
"How did that go?" Mercedes asked with a little wince.
"Okay. He knows you won't be in today and could miss tomorrow, too."
"He couldn't have been too happy about that," she mused.
"Not really, but he seems to think the two of you are, um...an item, maybe?"
Mercedes almost choked on the sip of coffee she was taking.
"What? That's insane! I've turned him down enough times he should know that's never going to happen even if it means my job."
"That's what I thought based on what you told me, but he was pretty adamant about it. He told me not to bother wasting my time."
"Wait. Wasting your time?" she asked.
"Yes. You know, trying to make a good impression on you so you might see me the way he assumes you see him."
"Oh, okay," she replied with a shake of the head.
Mercedes hesitated then smiled and said, "Like you'd even bother with that."
"Wait. Are you saying I couldn't make a favorable impression on you even if I tried?"
His deadpan delivery fooled her, and Mercedes thought he was being serious.
"No. I wasn't thinking that at all. Just the opposite. I was thinking there's no way a man as young and as handsome as you are would even think about something like that," she explained.
"Ahh, okay. But...that didn't answer my question," Dex said with a smile.
The feeling from the previous evening came back, and Mercedes looked down into her coffee cup.
"Oh, okay. I understand now," she said, feeling a little silly for having missed it.
"Well, I guess I wouldn't rule it out," she finally said after several seconds of silence.
Dex smiled but didn't laugh.
"I need more coffee. Are you okay?" he asked.
"I wouldn't mind a top off," she said, smiling back.
As he put the pot back, Dex brought up something Mercedes said late last night.
"I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I kept thinking about how you said you wished you'd had someone to care about you or words to that effect."
Mercedes looked away before saying, "That wasn't my finest moment."
"But you did mean it, right?" Dex asked gently.
"I...I did," she admitted. "But I was exhausted and the medicine made me feel kind of giddy. And nauseous."
"That's quite a combination," Dex replied.
"I was only trying to explain," Mercedes said, as she once again had trouble following Dex's comments.
"Let me be more direct," he said very politely. "If you don't mind."
"No. I don't mind at all," she told him as she took another sip.
"Didn't you ever have that feeling? The one that makes you feel like you're the most important person in your spouse's life?"
He could tell she was thinking so he waited patiently.
"No. I don't think so. Early on, he just swept me off my feet, you know? He was very handsome and he told me how beautiful I was and made me feel so...special. He owed a business and had a lot of money, and he bought me things and wined and dined me, and I think I fell in love with that more than him."
"Did it ever get any better?" Dex asked.
"No. It actually got worse. After I said 'I do' even the romantic gestures stopped. At first, I chalked it up to him being busy with work. Then at some point I think I fell into a routine. Eventually, somewhere down the line, I mostly stopped feeling and caring because it was safer. I realized if I stopped having expectations, I could never be disappointed."
She waited for a few seconds then looked at Dex and asked, "Does that make any sense?"
"It does. It's hard to listen to, but it does make sense."
"I knew he liked to gamble when I met him, and maybe that was a part of the charm, you know? He was definitely a 'bad boy' and he seemed so exciting. So I accepted that as a part of who he was, and it never really affected us. He bought us the house I live in, we had nice cars, I had beautiful clothes, jewelry, spa days, and everything a girl could want."
"Except?"
"Right. Except. Except for...love and children," she said quietly. "The things most women really want."
She took a deep breath then said, "The really serious gambling began when he started in on sports betting several years back. He went to the dog track in Orange Park and the horse track in Jacksonville all the time, but he got in deep when he became obsessed with pro football which later spread to NBA basketball, and by the time I realized what was going on, the FBI was involved because he was embezzling money from his business to pay his debts, and..."
"What's bezeling?" they heard Addison ask.
"Hey, honey. Did you sleep?" Dex asked, unaware she'd walked in.
"Uh-huh," she said as she gave her dad a hug.
Without asking, she then went to Mercedes and hugged her, too.
"That's what I never had," she said as an end to the discussion.
Dex nodded then asked who was hungry.
"Me!" Addison said immediately.
Mercedes smiled then raised her hand, too, but only to about shoulder height.
"Three hungry people," Dex said. "What shall we have for breakfast?"
"Well, since we have a special guest, I think we should have French Toast," Addison said to her dad as she smiled at Mercedes.
"You are the sweetest girl ever!" Mercedes told her.
"I agree. French Toast coming right up!"
"Oh, let me help you, Dex," Mercedes said as she reached for her crutches.
"Addison? Can you take Mercedes's crutches away so she doesn't do anything foolish like stand up or try and help?"
His daughter laughed as she took the crutch out of the woman's hand.
"Sorry. You're not allowed," Addison informed her.
On the verge of tears again, Mercedes reached out and touched the girl's face then said, "Okay, honey. Whatever you say."
An hour later, they were done eating, the table was clear, and the dishwasher was running.
"I really need to brush my teeth," Mercedes said. "And take a shower."
She looked at Dex then asked, "Am I allowed to get up now?"
He loved the way she smiled at him, and it made him smile back.
"You are, but only with my help," he told her.
"Addison, can you give Mercedes her crutches back?" he said as he moved closer to her.
"Thank you, sweetie," she said as Dex helped her stand up.
She got the crutches in place then took one step and stopped.
"I wish they didn't hurt my arms so much."
"Hold on, then," Dex said. "Here, let me have those."
"I can't walk without them," she reminded him.
Mercedes was maybe 5' 6" and if she was 120 pounds she weighed a ton. Dex was 5' 10" and somewhere around 175 pounds, so picking her up wouldn't be an issue.
Addison took the crutches again just as her father reached down and put an arm under Mercedes's legs and scooped her up.
"Oooh!" she nearly yelped as he held her.
"This way you don't put any pressure on your ankle," he told her as her arms instinctively went around his neck.
"That's true, but what if you hurt your back? Who'll carry you around the house?"
"Don't look at me!" Addison said, smiling at them both.
"Well, it's not like you weigh a lot, so I think I can carry you without too much concern for throwing my back out."
Mercedes was smiling at him, and when he finished speaking, there was a moment of eye contact that caused a rush of very pleasant chemicals to be released in their brains. Neither of them mentioned it, but both of them definitely felt it.
"So if my daughter can bring your crutches, I'll carry you to your room," Dex told her.
Addison followed them in and leaned the crutches on the bed so Mercedes could reach them as her father gently laid her down.
"This is kind of embarrassing, but I can't get these Capri pants over my ankle by myself," she said rather apologetically.
"Oh. Well, I'm sure Addison could give you a hand with that, right, honey?" he said to his daughter.
"Sure!" she said immediately.
"Great. I'll be brushing my teeth and taking a shower myself. After that, I'm all yours."
"Don't you have work to do today?" Mercedes asked. "I don't want to keep you from doing what you normally do."
"No. I have a couple of rare day between projects. Besides, this isn't a normal day."
Mercedes assumed he somehow meant she was interfering and was about to apologize when Dex said, "Having a beautiful women in our home hasn't been normal around here for far too long."
Her concerns vanished as she smiled at Dex and told him that was very sweet of him.
"It's also true," he told her as he winked at Addison who smiled as her father walked out.
Dex closed the door behind him, and as he headed to his bedroom thought how nice it was to have a woman in the house again. Especially one as caring and polite as Mercedes. He also didn't mind that she was very attractive, something he couldn't get off his mind.
Addison helped her get the stretchy material over her ankle wrap, and Mercedes thanked her.
"You're welcome!" she replied. "Can I help with anything else?"
"Um...would you mind picking out something for me to wear from my suitcase?"
"Sure! Anything else?"
"Oh. Maybe carry my makeup bag to the sink?" Mercedes asked, feeling like she was starting to take advantage.
"Got it!" Addison said, as she grabbed it and took it in for her.
"You really are a wonderful young lady, Addison," Mercedes told her when she came back in.
"Thank you. So are you," she said sincerely. "And my dad thinks so, too."
"Oh. I had no idea," she said.
Addison was smiling and Mercedes asked why.
"Well, I probably shouldn't say," she told their guest.
"Oh. If it's a secret then no, please don't."
"Well...it's not really a secret."
Mercedes tilted her head and raised an eyebrow and waited.
"I can tell my dad really likes you," Addison said. "Not just likes you, but...likes likes you."
"Oh. How...how do you know that, sweetie?"
"Mostly because of the way he looks at you. I remember that's how he used to look at my mom. You know, all 'lovey' and stuff."
"I'm sure he's just being nice, honey. Your father is a very nice man."
"Yes he is, but he's also really lonely even though he never says it. But I can tell."
Addison got very serious then said, "It's my woman's intuition."
Mercedes somehow managed not to laugh as she reached out again to put her hand on Addison's cheek.
"You're going to be such a beautiful woman, sweetheart."
"Can I sit with you?" Addison asked.
Mercedes patted the bed next to her and the little girl jumped up and put her head on her shoulder. Mercedes put her arm around her shoulders and leaned her head on top of Addison's.
"I really like you," Addison said after a few seconds of silence.
"I really like you, too, honey."
The young girl looked up then said, "Do you know what I prayed for last night before I feel asleep?"
"No, sweetheart. Tell me."
"Well, I asked my mom, who's in heaven, to make my daddy fall in love with you."
"You...what?" Mercedes asked, as tears began welling up with tears again.
"I don't want you to leave," Addison told her. "So I asked my mom to ask God to let you stay. With us."
"Oh, honey! That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me!" Mercedes told her as she hugged this wonderful little girl.
"I don't know how long it takes God to do stuff, but he always hears our prayers, right?"
Mercedes hadn't been to church since she was maybe 17, but even so, she told Addison that was true.
"Just remember, though. God doesn't always answer our prayers exactly the way we want him to."
"Then why even ask him?" Addison said, her eyes wide open, hoping to hear a satisfactory answer.
"I...I'm not sure, sweetie. Just don't be too upset if that doesn't happen, okay?" she said as gently as she could.
"It will," Addison said, the smile coming back. "It will because my mom told me God always hears and answers our prayers."
Mercedes kissed her on the forehead then said she needed to take a shower.
"Oh, do you have a plastic bag and a rubber band?" she asked before explaining why.
Addison was back in a flash with both.
"See? I'm not even God, and I answered your prayer just like that," she told Mercedes.
"Yes. Yes, you did, huh?" the older woman said, now praying the little girl's feelings—and faith—wouldn't be hurt too badly when things didn't go the way she hoped they would.
 Addison was waiting for her father in the living room when he came out.
"Hey, there. Is Mercedes doing okay?"
"Yes. She's fine, but I have a question."
"Okay. Shoot," her father said as he sat next to her.
"Does God always answer our prayers?"
Dex was caught off guard to the point of being speechless.
"Where did that come from?" he asked rather than answer her question.
"I was just wondering. That's all," his daughter said before she gave her father a hug.
Then without waiting for and answer she skipped away.
It was another half hour before Mercedes came out, and when she did, Dex did a double take.
"Wow. You look...amazing."
"Addison chose my clothes," she told him.
"I like her choices," Dex said as he admired how nice she looked.
She was wearing a black, sleeveless knit top and a pair of white shorts, and Dex got a real look at her figure for the first time. He knew she looked nice, but between her hair and makeup being done again, and this very cute outfit that revealed a pair of very shapely arms and legs, it was obvious she was even more attractive than he'd thought.
"May I?" she asked as she looked at the couch.
"Oh, sure. Please," he said as she set her crutches down.
Dex offered her a hand so she could use one leg to sit down.
"Thank you," she said with a smile.
The smile was genuine but somehow...strained.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
"I...I just think maybe I should go home, you know?" she said as she sort of looked over at him.
"Wait. Why would you suddenly want to go home? Did something happen? With Addy?"
"No. Heavens, no. Well, yes. Maybe."
She looked at Dex then said, "Sort of."
It took her a minute or so to explain what happen, and Dex let her talk without interruption.
"I just don't want her to get hurt, Dex. She's too young to understand that, you and I aren't...well, you know."
"No. I don't know," he said as he turned sideways to look at her.
"Well, we're not...we don't feel...you couldn't possibly..."
"Be attracted to you?" he said quietly.
He saw Mercedes look away immediately, but even so, he reached over and brushed her hair back then said, "Because I am."
"Dex. Please," she replied. "That's just..."
"That's...true," he said. "Physically, for sure, but every minute I spend around you, the more I realize it's more than that."
"I...I don't understand," she said. Her body was trembling, and she couldn't look at him, because if she did, she knew she'd do something she'd regret like...kissing him.
"Why? Why don't you understand?" he asked as he slid a little closer. "Why is it so hard to believe I think you're beautiful, Mercedes? Inside and out?"
"Because...because I'm...fif...so much older than you, Dex. That's why."
"Then why doesn't that matter to me? And why can't I stop thinking about you? For even one second?" he asked as he gently twirled her hair in his finger.
"I...I don't know," she said, barely above a whisper.
"Or why do I find myself wanting to..."
He leaned closer and moved his head forward so there was no way Mercedes could misunderstand what he was doing.
Her heart was pounding as she slowly turned to look at him, and when he did, he whispered, "Kiss you."
Everything was moving in slow motion as Dex pressed his lips against hers. Her body reacted not only to the touch of his flesh against hers, but to the words he'd just spoken along with the others he'd said before.
Slowly, she raised her arm and put her hand on his face then kissed him back. She was so lost in a sea of emotion she had no idea how long it lasted. She only knew her body was on fire, and that she didn't want it to end.
When it did, she sat there looking at him while he smiled at her.
"Now do you understand?" he asked her.
"I...I think so," she replied, barely able to speak.
"Then let's make absolutely sure, shall we?" he said as he kissed her again.
Mercedes put her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer as she kissed him back. Unable to stop herself, she offered the tip of her tongue to him, and to her delight, he did the same. When their tongues began to intertwine, Mercedes felt like she might cum for the first time in months without so much as the slightest touch 'down there' where such things normally originated.
And then she heard it. The unmistakable sound of little girl giggling.
She pulled away so fast it startled Dex who saw her sitting straight up with her hands in her lap.
"Hi, honey," her father said. "I take it you, um...saw us."
"Uh-huh," she said as she tried to stop giggling.
"May I ask why that's so funny?"
"I'm just so happy," she said.
"Oh, I see," her father said even though he didn't.
"I knew it would work. I just didn't know it would work this fast," she said as she turned around to leave.
"Hey! Where are you running off to?" her dad asked.
"I have to got thank mommy...and God!" she said as she skipped to her room.
"She's very happy," Dex said as he put his arm around Mercedes.
"That makes two of us," she told him as she looked at him.
"No, that makes three of us," he corrected her before kissing her again.
When it ended, she said, "Dex? Are you sure you want to...get involved...with someone my age?"
"No. No, I'm not," he said in his deadpan style.
Feeling nearly crushed, Mercedes tried to be strong.
"Oh. Okay. I didn't think this could possibly be..."
He gently put a finger over her soft, full, very kissable lips then said, "Shhh," before saying, "I'm not interested in any other woman your age. Or any age."
He took her pretty face in his hands then said, "I am, however, very interested in you."
"I...I don't understand why," she told him, "but I'm very glad you are," before kissing him even more passionately.
"May I tell you something else?" Dex asked once the kiss ended.
"Of course. Anything," Mercedes replied.
"I...don't want you to leave."
"All right. I can stay one more night," she told him, smiling more happily than she had in years.
"No. Not just tonight. I...I don't want you to leave...ever," Dex told her.
"Dex, you...you can't possibly know that," she said.
When he didn't answer she asked, "Can you?"
"All I know is I'm falling in love with you. So if you want to leave—temporarily—I guess that would be okay, as long as I know you're coming back."
He moved around in front of her then said, "Listen. I know how fast this is happening. But I also know I've only felt like this once before. It was right then, and I believe it's right now. So unless you want to leave...please stay...with us."
"I...I've waited all my life to feel like this," she told him, as a kind of emotional dam broke. "I'd given up thinking I ever would, but I never completely lost hope. And now that I've found it, I don't want this feeling to end, so if you mean that, if you really want me to stay...I'll stay."
"I do," he told her. "I very much mean it."
"Me, too!" they heard Addison say.
She'd walked back in so quietly neither of them heard her.
"Come here, Honey Bunches of Oats," her dad said.
She walked over and he put his arm around her and said, "Are you really okay with that?"
"Uh-huh. Of course I am," she told him.
"How come?" her father asked.
"Because I prayed and asked God to make her want to stay. Then he answered my prayers so how could I not want this?"
"She has a point," Dex said to Mercedes.
"Oh, yes. I mean, who wants to argue with God, right?"
"Not me!" Dex said.
"Not me!" Addison joined in.
"Well, I'm certainly not about to, either!" Mercedes announced.
Addison moved closer and gave the beautiful woman a hug and said, "I love you."
"Ahh! I love you, too, sweetie," Mercedes told her without tearing up.
"I love you, too, Daddy," she told her father.
"And I love you."
"And?" Addison asked with a smile.
Dex reached out and took Mercedes's hand and said, "I love you, too."
"And I love you," she said without hesitation as she reached out and hugged both of the Halls.
Mercedes never did leave. In fact, when Monday rolled around, Dex convinced her to stay home. For good. He even offered to call Dr. Andrews and tell him she wouldn't be coming back.
To his surprise, she said she wanted to tell him, and as Dex listened in, she said, "Oh, the reason I'm not coming back is because Dex took the time to make me give me cause to be interested in him."
She paused for effect then added, "And fall in love with him."
There was silence on the other end, and with that, she was no longer employed, and not the least bit concerned about it.
Mercedes slept in her own bedroom for another two weeks, as she and Dex really got to know each other. It wasn't necessary, but it seemed reasonable and prudent.
It wasn't necessary, because neither of them never once doubted their love after that moment on the couch, and both of them spent every day thereafter showing their love for the other person, and for the beautiful girl who would call this new woman in her life 'mom' for the first time just days later.
It was almost a joke at first, but Mercedes was so moved that it stuck. So when this eight-year old girl asked them why her 'mom' didn't sleep with her 'dad' a week or so later, they had no answer for her, and that night, after Addison fell asleep, Dex made love with Mercedes Berman for the first time.
As wonderful as their lovemaking had been, the most amazing part was waking up together the next morning and realizing it hadn't been a dream along with the knowledge they would wake up together just like that every day for the rest of their lives.
The weather finally cooled down in October, and when they finished trick or treating on Halloween, Dex asked Mercedes if she got any candy.
"You know I didn't," she told him. "Addison got all of it."
"Oh. Then what's this in the bottom of the little plastic pumpkin you carried around?" he asked as he shook the plastic container.
She gave him a 'what are you up to now' kind of look as she took the bait and checked.
When she looked inside, her body began shaking with her hands going first.
"What...Dex...is that...are you..."
Addison knew. In fact, she'd put the ring in there when her 'mom' wasn't looking.
"What is it, Mom?" she asked as she plopped down beside her.
Dex fished it out, and got down in front of her on one knee.
"So here I am in front of the two girls I love the most."
Addison put her arm around her mom and said, "Don't cry."
"I...can't help it," Mercedes said. "I love you two so much!"
"Enough to marry us?" Dex asked as he took her hand and slid the ring on it.
She was nodding and crying but not speaking.
"Is that a 'yes', Addy?" he asked his daughter.
She leaned forward and watched her mom crying as she continued nodding.
"Um, I'm pretty sure that's a 'yes'," she said as her father took her mom's hand and placed the beautiful diamond ring on it.
"Come here. Both of you!" Mercedes said as she pulled Addison in tight and kissed her fiancé.
"I couldn't be happier right now no matter what," she told them as she did her best to 'stop the leak' coming from her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm pretty happy right now, too," Dex said.
"Yeah. Me three," Addison said.
The soon-to-be nine-year old girl looked up then said, "Mommy? Thank you! I love you, too, and I miss you. Oh, and please God thank you for Daddy and me, okay?"
Mercedes gave up trying, and let the tears flow, and although he tried to hide it, Dex's eyes were a little watery, too. After all, he'd also given up ever thinking he'd be loved like this again. But here he was, happy and in love with a beautiful woman who loved him back with all her heart.
He didn't look up, but he did say to himself, "Thank you, honey. And God? If you're listening, thank you, too."
That week, Mercedes gave her house up to the bank never looked back.
That Spring, she became Mrs. Dexter Hall with his sister, Beth, serving as her Maid of Honor. And before school started the following year, she was officially Addison's adoptive mother.
At 51, Mercedes Hall couldn't believe how her life had turned around so dramatically after a handsome, younger man came in for an eye exam. Now, every so often, when she saw him on the computer, hard at work, earning a living for them, she, too, looked upward and said a silent, "Thank you," before walking over and putting her arms around her amazing husband and telling him how much she loved him.