Chapter 5

Sam settled into her home office, kicked off her shoes and booted up her computer. Checking her email once again, she realized she had no new messages, and the new email from Joe was the last in the list, staring back at her. Sam felt her face grow hot as she read the message a few times over. She then opened up the first email he had sent her and looked at his picture once again. Did she really want to meet this guy and get to know him? On one hand, she wanted to jump at the chance, as she’d been alone for so long and was fearful that she might not be offered any more chances. On the other hand, her negative experiences thus far made her cautious.

For the time being, she pushed aside thoughts of Daniel. For some reason, she couldn’t admit to herself that what she was looking for might be right under her nose. She did think of Daniel as a good, albeit new, friend, but she didn’t know if she could ever be in a relationship with him. It was very similar to the “can’t-date-your-best-friend” mentality that was shared by some of her friends from school.

She stared at the computer monitor as she agonized over her indecision regarding Joe, and watched as the clock in the lower right hand corner gradually changed from 7:15 to 7:30 PM. She sighed, frustrated, as she kept going back to Joe’s latest email. Finally, she picked up the phone and dialed the number of the person she thought could help her the most …

“Yeah,” a somewhat deep male voice, with a slight twang, answered.

“Um … hi, is Sara there? This is her friend, Sam Carter,” Sam uttered nervously.

“Ya, sure, ya betcha,” the man answered in a lighthearted way, with a bit of a northern Midwestern accent.

Sam furrowed her brow in confusion, upon realizing that this must be Sara’s husband. Interesting guy, she thought.

Before Sara picked up the phone, Sam heard some commotion going on, followed by Sara laughing, “Cut it out, Jack!”

Yup, he’s interesting, all right.

“Hi, Sam?” Sara answered the phone, still laughing a bit.

“Hi, Sara. I didn’t call at a bad time or anything, did I?” Sam asked half-jokingly.

“Oh, no,” Sara laughed. “My husband’s just being a general pain in the ass this evening.”

“Ah,” Sam nodded.

“So, what’s up?” Sara continued.

“Uh …” Sam began tentatively. “I’ve got a little dilemma here, and I need some advice.”

“Okay …” Sara replied.

“You know that I had subscribed to a dating service a while back, right?”

“Yeah,” Sara held the word out, “But you cancelled, right?”

“Yeah. But, the strangest thing happened. The other night, I got an email from a guy who saw my profile and said he’d like to get to know me.”

“Really,” Sara said suspiciously after a beat. “How is that possible? I thought they’re supposed to remove your profile after you cancel your subscription, from what you’ve told me.”

“Yeah, they are, so I have no idea how he saw my profile,” Sam said, frustration in her voice.

“Unless …”

“What?” Sam asked.

“Could it be possible that they just left your profile up there, even after you un-subscribed?”

Sam frowned. “Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know … hey, maybe he saw your profile up there a while ago, before you un-subscribed and only thought about contacting you now?” Sara tried.

“I don’t know, Sara. It’s been almost a month since I cancelled. Why would this guy wait that long before contacting me?”

“I really don’t know, Sam. Guys are hard to figure out, you know that,” she said jokingly.

Sam snickered softly.

“So, come on, tell me about him,” Sara prodded.

“Um … well,” she began as she opened up the first email. “His name is Joe and he’s 37. He lives in Pueblo –“

“That’s not too far,” Sara interrupted.

“Yeah, I know,” Sam said briskly, seeming slightly annoyed at the interruption. “He works for a software company, and he wants to be a firefighter in Denver.”

“Hmm, wow,” Sara said, seemingly impressed. “Is that it?”

“Pretty much,” Sam replied.

“Does he have a picture?” Sara asked excitedly.

“Yeah …”

“And …?”

“He’s not too bad-looking,” Sam replied after a beat. “He’s about average height, kind of big boned, although he describes himself as athletic. He has short, brown hair, a prominent nose, and, um … nice teeth,” she finished half-heartedly.

Her description made Sara laugh.

“What?” Sam grinned.

“You don’t sound too enthusiastic,” she answered. “’Nice teeth’?”

Sam laughed. “Yeah! He’s got a thousand watt smile in this picture, but the way he’s smiling, it’s like …” she trailed off.

“Like what?”

“Like he thinks he’s God’s gift to women,” Sam smirked.

“Oh, come on, you’re being picky!” Sara exclaimed, still laughing.

Sam shrugged. “Can’t help it,” she said simply.

“Can’t help it? Did you stop to think that maybe that’s the reason you haven’t had many relationships?”

“Stop it, Sara,” Sam said quietly.

Sara calmed down abruptly. “I’m sorry, Sam, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yeah, okay,” she replied reluctantly.

“So, tell me more about this guy.”

“Well, he says he’s never been married and he’s looking for a serious relationship. He said that it seems like we have things in common. What those things are, I’m not sure … probably the fact that we’re both looking to settle down. He said I sound like the type of girl he’d like to get to know.”

“Did you email him back?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, but I kept it short and sweet. I told him that he seemed like a nice guy, and that I’d like to know more about him. That’s about all I said.”

“Did you hear anything back yet?”

“Uh … yeah,” Sam sighed. “He told me that it looks like we’re both looking for the same thing in a relationship.”

“Okay …” Sara began.

“Get this, Sara. He gave me his phone number and asked if I’d like to chat on the phone with him. He said he apologizes if this is too forward, but he’d rather talk than email.”

“Wow!” Sara exclaimed.

“He said that, if I wanted him to call me instead, I could give him my number,” Sam continued.

“Huh. So, what do you think you’re going to do? Have you replied to him yet?” Sara asked.

“No, that’s why I need some advice. I’m not sure if I should do this, and the whole thing seems so fishy. He emails me nearly a month after I un-subscribed from the service, seems really interested in me, and after two emails, wants to talk on the phone. Don’t you think it’s … rushing a bit?” Sam finished uneasily.

“I don’t think so,” Sara answered thoughtfully. “Some people just prefer talking on the phone to email.”

Sam thought for a beat. “I guess so, but still …”

“What? Is something up?” Sara asked curiously.

Before Sam could answer, the familiar call-waiting tone invaded their conversation.

“Oh, hold on a minute, Sara,” Sam said briskly. She thanked her lucky stars. The interruption couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Hello?”

“Ah, hi … Sam?” a familiar man’s voice asked.

Sam blushed madly.

“D-Daniel?” she said softly, her voice a touch incredulous.

“Yeah, hi,” he said. “I didn’t call at a bad time, did I? I mean, you said you were home evenings and weekends –“

“Uh … no, no, you didn’t,” Sam replied, sounding aloof. “I was just on another call.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll be quick, then … or I’ll call you tomorrow instead if that’s okay.”

Sam’s chest heaved as she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She began to feel somewhat ashamed. If she had a choice, deep down she’d rather talk to him than to Sara. The fact that the conversation involved the situation with Joe made it an impossibility to speak to him. She had talked to him about it once already. It was probably her imagination, but she thought there was a hint of jealousy in his voice, and she decided then and there not to discuss it further with him. A tiny voice inside of her admonished her for thinking this way, for wanting to go behind Daniel’s back. She shouldn’t have anything to hide from him, as he didn’t seem to have anything to hide from her.

She realized what a good friend he was, and how important his friendship was to her.

“Sam?”

“No, it’s okay, I’ll call you right back in ten or fifteen minutes.”

“Are you sure?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, if that’s okay with you. I’d really like to talk to you, Daniel,” she said.

“Okay, I’ll, ah … I’ll talk to you later,” he agreed.

“Thanks. Bye,” she finished before pushing her “flash” button to resume the call with Sara.

“Sorry about that, it was my mom,” she said without thinking.

“Your mom??” Sara said incredulously. “Sam, your mom has been dead for 25 years!”

“Oh, uh …yeah,” Sam said, flustered. “Okay, it was my dad.”

“Your dad …” Sara replied, her tone indicating that she didn’t quite believe Sam.

“Yes, it was, okay, Sara? Please!” she suddenly exploded desperately.

“Whoa, Sam, take it easy!”

Sam held her hand to her forehead and sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.”

“Sam, what’s wrong?”

“I …” she hesitated. “Okay, I was talking to another guy,” she said flatly.

“…”

“He’s a guy I met at the university. He’s a professor in the Anthropological Sciences department.”

“Really …” Sara said.

“Yeah, I’ve known him for just over a week, now.”

“And how did you meet him?”

“He just … sort of bumped into me,” Sam smirked faintly as she remembered the incident that led to their meeting.

“Okay, Sam, if you don’t want to tell me how you really met, I guess I’ll have to drag it out of you,” Sara said mischievously.

“I’m serious, Sara!” Sam exclaimed amid laughter. “That’s how we met.”

“Come on, Sam, you don’t just bump into people!”

“Well, he did,” Sam insisted.

“Tsk. So, what is he like?”

“He’s … um … very nice. He’s a very interesting person, and I feel very comfortable with him. We’ve talked on the phone a few times, and I met him for lunch today.”

“Well, it seems like you have a good thing going with him,” Sara said thoughtfully.

“And that’s my problem,” Sam pressed. “That’s why I’m not sure what to do about this Joe.”

“Are you and …?”

“Daniel.”

“Are you and Daniel dating, or seriously involved?”

“After only a week? Come on, Sara!” Sam scoffed.

“Hey, you never know,” she replied defensively. “So, you’re not deeply committed to each other yet, right?”

Sam’s answer was definite. “No.”

“So, there’s no problem. You can date two guys at the same time, Sam.”

Sam’s face contorted in confusion. “You’re kidding.”

“Oh, geez, you really are out of practice,” Sara teased. “No, I’m not kidding. As long as nothing’s serious between any of you, it’s perfectly fine. Just make sure you don’t set a date with both on the same night.”

“Ha ha,” Sam deadpanned. “Okay, so you think I should talk to Joe on the phone?”

“Sure, there’s no harm in it. He sounds like a nice person. It can’t hurt.”

Sam thought for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. And, who knows, maybe I won’t even like him. Maybe it won’t work out at all between us.”

“Maybe it will,” Sara challenged.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Maybe it will?”

“Maybe it will work out between you and Joe, or maybe it will work out between you and Daniel,” Sara backpedaled.

Sam mulled it over and smiled faintly.

“Yeah. All right, I better get going. I told Daniel I’d call him back in 10 or 15 minutes, and it’s just gone over that.”

“Okay, take it easy Sam, and good luck.”

“Thanks. Have a good night, Sara.”

“Bye, Sam.”

Sam hung up the phone and sighed. She thought about the advice Sara had given her as she looked back at Joe’s second email. She felt stupid when she thought about how naïve she must have sounded when she balked at the idea of dating two men at once. She finally conceded that Sara was right, but, for some reason, a little part of her still felt that dating Joe or even talking to him on the phone would make it seem like she was cheating on Daniel.

Cheating on Daniel? Do you know how ridiculous you sound? He’s just a friend, Sam. You’re not both solely committed to each other. There’s no need to feel guilty.

Sam shut her conscience up as she searched her purse for the note Daniel had given her with his phone number on it. Once she found it, she picked up the phone once more and dialed his number. She took in a few, short, nervous breaths as she waited for him to pick up.

“Hello?”

She breathed a sigh of relief as she heard his voice. “Daniel? It’s Sam.”

“Oh, ah … hi, Sam,” he greeted.

“Hi. Sorry about that, I just had to finish this conversation.”

“Yeah,” Daniel replied, holding out the word and sounding a bit suspicious. “So, what’s going on?”

“Uh … not much,” she said nonchalantly. “I was talking to my old girlfriend, Sara; you know, the one I told you about who likes to interfere with my love life, such as it is?”

“Oh, right,” he replied, chuckling softly. “I guess you told her about that guy?”

Sam’s brow creased ever so slightly. “Um … y-yeah. I really don’t want to talk too much about that.”

Daniel paused, and she wondered if he was suspicious at all. Maybe that was the wrong choice of words.

“What, did she bother you about it?” he asked curiously.

“Of course,” she said facetiously. “She practically gave me the third degree, asked all about him, gave me opinions on him, and finally told me I should call him.”

“Whoa – you should call him??” Daniel broke in, a touch incredulous.

“Uh …” Sam felt as if her face was on fire. “Yeah, um … he gave me his phone number in his latest email.”

“Oh,” Daniel said after a beat.

Sam suddenly felt quite ashamed for leaking this little piece of information, when she reminded herself that she shouldn’t have anything to hide from him.

“Well, I … ah … I guess I’ll let you go, then,” he said slowly.

“No,” she said suddenly. “It’s okay; I’m not going to call him right away.”

“Oh?” he asked curiously.

“I haven’t really made up my mind yet,” she confessed. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something, Daniel.”

“… Go ahead.”

“When we met for lunch this afternoon, you told me you had a relationship with a girl in your class at college?”

“Oh, yeah, at the University of Chicago,” he said, familiarity in his voice.

“You mentioned that she was in a class you were TA-ing, right?”

“Uh-huh …”

“Isn’t that … I don’t know … against regulations? I mean, if something went wrong you could have been kicked out – at least from what I’ve heard.”

She heard Daniel chuckle amusedly, and furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Oh, boy, I should have been clearer on that. No, we first met when she was in the class, and I was a TA. We didn’t start our relationship until after she graduated, more than a semester later. At that point, we were both graduate students in the department, and neither of us were TA’s for each other’s classes. I’m more than aware of the regulations, Sam. I never would have agreed to do something unethical like that.”

Sam smiled. “Glad to hear it.”

“And, to be perfectly honest, she sought me out.”

Sam began to snicker faintly as she could hear Daniel’s blush coming over the phone line.

“Really?”

“Ah … yeah. I noticed that she was beginning to come to my office hours an awful lot, but I never questioned it and shrugged it off. It seemed innocent enough, since she came prepared with actual questions about the day’s lecture. The following fall, I ran into her, a newly admitted graduate student, and she confessed that she was … ah … interested in me,” he chose his words carefully. “We were in some of the same classes together. We’d get together to study for exams, and things just blossomed from there.”

“Well, it seems that she knew a good thing when she saw it,” Sam said playfully.

“Please take your flattery someplace else, Samantha. You’re making me feel about ten feet tall right now, and I’m not used to that, I’ll have you know,” he said, half-jokingly.

“Okay,” she conceded with a little laugh. She turned back to the computer monitor, as Joe’s email seemed to be reminding her of its presence. “Uh, I better get going. I had a long day and I’d like to shower and get to sleep early tonight,” she said as she stifled a yawn.

“Yeah, sleep doesn’t sound too bad about now,” he agreed. “Are you doing anything tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.

Sam minimized her email program so the email message would stop distracting her. “Uh … Saturday?” she asked, flustered.

“Yeah,” Daniel replied.

“Um … no, I’m not … doing anything,” she trailed off as she glanced quickly at the small calendar on the wall to her left. “Why?”

Daniel hesitated, as if he wanted to propose something, but changed his mind at the last minute. “Okay if I give you a call tomorrow afternoon? Will you be around?”

Sam’s brow knitted in confusion for a moment. “Yeah, I should be around.”

“Okay, would about three o’clock be good for you?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, great. I’ll talk to you then,” Daniel said happily.

His tone of voice warmed the cockles of Sam’s heart.

“Okay, Daniel. Have a good night,” she returned genially.

“Good night, Sam.”

Sam took a deep breath after she hung up the phone. She felt nice and warm inside, which was how she usually felt after seeing Daniel or talking to him. Shouldn’t that be trying to tell her something? Why was she wasting her time with this Joe? Why should she even bother going any further with him?

She thought back to what Sara had told her not long before. You can date two guys at the same time, Sam. She decided there wouldn’t be any harm in it. As long as she and Daniel were only friends, she shouldn’t feel ashamed at all.

She clicked “reply to sender”, and began typing:

“Joe,

Yes, I agree, I think we both are looking for the same thing. Don’t worry – you’re not being too forward. I have friends that would rather talk on the phone instead of emailing back and forth.

Thanks for your phone number. When would be the best time to call you? Actually…it might be better if you call me. My phone number is 555-1473. I’m home on evenings and most weekends. Look forward to hearing from you.

Sam”