Eternal Service Read Free

lovely lady I stood up this evening, and I plan to make it up to her tonight”
    “Ben,” Raymond touched his friend’s arm, “if you’re talking about the secretary from this afternoon, did you notice the ring on her finger?”
    “Yes, but she doesn’t seem to be a fanatic about it. Plus, her husband is out of town. See you later.”
    Overall, the trist wasn’t any of his business, but it still bothered Raymond that the secretary was a married woman. His empty bottle indicated it was time to go.
    Sterling finished his drink and walked out with his father. As Raymond locked up, Sterling announced, “See ya at home tomorrow.”
    “Where are you going?” Raymond asked.
    “I have a date,” he said, hopping into his red Ferrari.
    Raymond tried to bite his tongue, but failed as usual. “With whom?”
    Sterling cocked an eyebrow and a devilish smirk appeared on his face. “I don’t know yet.”
    Raymond had to collect himself once again as he dealt with his only child. “Sterling, I don’t understand why you insist on this reckless lifestyle of dating any human that crosses your path. I can’t say anything to Ben since he isn’t my son, but it bothers me when you behave like this. We have blood at home, so there’s no reason to go looking for your next meal.”
    “Blood isn’t what I’m after.”
    “Yeah. I know.” He shook his head. “A wife would be …”
    Sterling cut off his father. “We’re not having this conversation again, Dad.”
    Raymond raked his hand through his dark, thick hair. “I just don’t understand.”
    Anger flashed across Sterling’s face. “Because unlike you, I don’t like to sleep alone. Mom’s dead. Stop loving a ghost.” He then drove off, his license plate, ‘LOVR4U’, fading into the distance.
    *******
     
    Alex Brennan entered her therapist’s office, and folded her long, lean body into her usual spot on the couch. Vanilla fragrance hung in the air from the candle on the windowsill and assaulted her nostrils, leaving a sick feeling in her stomach. She hated the smell of vanilla since the fragrance always reminded her of this room. For a distraction, she mentally reviewed her long list of things to do that seemed to never get done. A dentist appointment topped the list. Sighing, she thought how much nicer a teeth cleaning sounded. Checking her watch, she realized she arrived early for the session. Damn. She hated therapy, and definitely didn’t want to appear eager for her sessions.
    She stared at the spot on the wall where the calendar charted time. She had seen three different calendars hanging over the years and would prefer not to see a fourth one. She glanced at her watch and readied herself to hit the stopwatch feature. She was paying for 50 minutes of therapy, and she always made sure she got her full time.
    Dr. Micki O’Neil entered and closed the door. Alex appreciated that Micki always arrived right on time. She dressed in her usual button down blouse and slacks at every one of these sessions, and it pleased Alex that Micki was a civilian therapist and didn’t wear a military uniform. She suspected that she opened up more to the doctor when she thought of her as perhaps just an old friend, rather than a military officer. Micki sat in a chair adjacent to the couch. Overall, everything from the wing backed chairs, the paisley pillows with tassels, on down to the throw rug on the floor seemed designed to give one a sense of calm in this room. Perhaps such decor did work for many people, but Alex’s anxiety–wrung hands told a different story.
    “Good Morning, Alex. Happy belated birthday.”
    Alex’s eyebrow rose questioningly, but she composed herself quickly. She had given the therapist a fake birthday due to security reasons, but had forgotten until this very moment. Her birthday was actually weeks ago. She smiled at the woman and said, “Thanks, Micki. My birthday was earlier this week.”
    Micki pulled out a pen. “What age did you turn this