Chapter 7
In the morning they went back to Park Machinery to work on the changes to the machinery that Parameter needed. Jim introduced Ann to all of the design team members that would be working on the changes. Jim directed the efforts and asked for Ann's input every step of the way. Several times a part of the design would be completed only to find that it would impact Parameter's operations or future plans.
All of the original drawings were in AutoCAD and the changes that were approved by Ann were quickly incorporated in the drawings for the project. Jim insisted that they only work 8 hours a day to keep from burning everyone out.
In the evening, Jim and Ann picked up something for dinner on the way home and reviewed what changes they had incorporated into the drawings that day. They would spend some time together either watching TV or listening to music.
By early Monday morning the design was complete and they both agreed to proceed with the construction and negotiate the price of the changes when the design team had assembled the additional costs. Ann shook the hands of all of the men and thanked them for the extra effort and for giving up their weekend. Jim ordered that the drawings be sent to his office At Parameter by e-mail and he would print them out at his office.
Before they left the office, Ann told him that she needed the home address of each man that had given up his weekend.
"What do you need that for?'
"I want to send a very large floral arrangement and a basket of fruit to the wives of all of the men. I'm sure that they are not too happy having to lose their husbands on a holiday weekend."
They stopped at a florist and Ann ordered the flowers and fruit baskets for everyone and wrote a short note to every wife telling her what the efforts of their husband meant to Parameter.
"Are you too tired to go out to dinner tonight?" he asked.
"What do you have in mind?"
"I just thought that you'd like to relax and enjoy yourself for a while. We have to get back to the old grind tomorrow."
Ann agreed and they relaxed around the house until it was time to get ready. Jim had made reservations at one of the best restaurants in town. Ann had brought a dress suitable out of habit. Many times, on business trips, she had been invited to a nice place and she needed to dress in something better than a business suit.
When she came out of the bedroom, Jim whistled and walked over to her and took her arm.
"You look beautiful. I'll have a fight on my hands keeping the men away from you."
She smiled, "You sure know what to say to a woman. You must be Irish with all of the Blarney you have."
He took her to the restaurant and pulled into the parking space. They walked in and Jim gave his name and they were seated immediately. They ordered drinks from the waiter and it was a while before their waiter returned to take their order.
"This restaurant is famous for their surf and turf. The lobster tails are flown in fresh every day."
She agreed and they both ordered surf and turf. They had another drink before their food arrived.
When Ann tasted her dinner she paused, "Your right, this is the best I've ever tasted. I can see why they do such a business."
They finished dinner and Ann wiped the corners of her mouth and dropped the napkin on the table, "I'm stuffed. Don't even think about dessert. I don't know where I'd put it."
"I was thinking that we might go somewhere that you can work some of that food off."
She looked at him, trying to figure out what he had in mind. He was quiet. He motioned for the waiter and asked for the check. He paid with his credit card and they left when the credit card was brought back to him.
She asked where they were going and he told her to wait and see. He drove to a place not far from the restaurant. He got out and opened the door for her and took her arm.
As the walked into the nightclub he was surprised to see that they had a good crowd for a Monday night. All of the booths were full, so they sat at the end of the bar. The lights were dim except for the dance floor. Most of the crowd was their age of a few years younger and the music reflected that.
They ordered their drinks and sat talking for a while. After their second drink was set in front of them Jim saw a woman walking over to them and his heart sank.
"Hi, Jim. It good to see you. I haven't seen you in quite a while. Have you been out of town?"
Jim introduced them, "Ann this is Marie, my ex-wife. Marie this is Ann Bristol. She runs a company that we're doing a big project for."
Jim could see that the women were sizing each other up.
"Where is your husband?" he asked Marie.
"We're getting a divorce. His career comes first, football second and I come in third. When I insisted the he get his priorities straight, he said that he did have them straight. So, I left."
"I'm with a friend of mine," she said as she pointed to a man in his mid-thirties.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries and she excused herself and walked back to her date.
"I'm sorry Ann. I had no idea that she'd be here. I thought she was still happily married to that salesman."
Ann put her hand on his, "I understand. She seems to be an unhappy person."
"Yes, I don't think she'll ever be truly happy. She refuses to grow older gracefully, she's going to fight it every step of the way, kicking and screaming."
Ann laughed, "Sometimes I wish that I could win the battle against aging. I'm not thrilled with the fact that I get older everyday."
"Lady, you have nothing to worry about. You ought to look at yourself in the mirror. You are a beautiful woman."
"Mr. Furol, you are very definitely Irish."
He put out his hand to her, "Let's dance."
"Oh, I haven't danced in over ten years."
"Good, then we can embarrass each other. It been almost that long since I've danced. I really want to dance with you though. I can make every man in here jealous."
She protested as he pulled her toward the dance floor. He took her into his arms and started to dance. She was surprised to find that she hadn't forgotten how to dance. Jim was a good dancer and he was very easy to follow. After the dance they walked back to their seats at the bar. A booth became open and he picked up their drinks and moved them.
"I've forgotten how much I used to enjoy dancing," she said.
"We'll have to try it again," he said as he stood up.
They danced about half of the dances the rest of the night. Toward the end of the night they were often the only ones on the dance floor. Marie had left sometime during the night and Jim hadn't noticed when she left.
When the last call was issued at 2 o'clock she grinned, "You're a bad influence on me. This is the second time in a week that I've closed a bar up."
They walked to the car. He opened the door for her. She paused and he reached for her and pulled her to him. She stood there in his arms for a long time enjoying the feeling that she was having.
She looked up at him and saw a certain look in his eyes that told her that he was having the same feelings. She put her head back on his chest and pulled him closer to her. It had been a long time since a man held her like this.
She reached up and gave him a soft kiss, "Jim, please give me some time. I've been hurt so bad that I have to sort out some things in my head. You just don't forget the hurt that easy. Can we take it slow and see where this leads us?"
He kissed her softly, "I've been hurt too. I know how you feel. The hurt is just as bad for a man as for a woman. I'll take it slow, but I warn you that you're not going to be able to get rid of me so easy."
They drove back to the house with Ann holding his hand. When they got in the house she went to him and kissed him.
"Thank you for the wonderful time you've shown me the past few days. You've made me feel alive again. My daughter was wrong about me being a bitter old woman. Thank you for agreeing to give me a little time."
She turned and went into the bedroom. After she crawled in bed she
laid there and thought about the dinner and the dancing afterward. It
had been so long and she had thought that she would never experience
such things again. She thought about Jim and the man that he was. She
wished that they had found each other sooner, before her hurt had a
chance to become such a part of her being. She took the extra pillow
and hugged it to her chest and fell asleep.