Every time Harper’s cell phone rings with a number she doesn’t recognize she feels herself fill with a nervous excitement. Clearing her throat and answering with her best “hello”, it was never Shane on the other end.

Shane spends a little more time at The Planet then usual hoping Harper might just show up. If she would just show up it would be so much easier.

Harper had every intention of stopping into The Planet Wednesday night. She didn’t expect the field trip she and Greg took to check out a new screen press to become such an ordeal. Dead stop traffic due to an accident on the way there. Almost three hours worth of demos and wheeling and dealing with the sales guy. Greg’s car battery dying. AAA taking it’s sweet ***** time coming to jump it. Then a detour due to road construction, sending them off the Freeway getting them hopelessly lost in the OC. By the time she was back at the office to fetch her car the last thing on Harper’s mind was being social.

***

“Hey Shane!” Tina says from her perch on the front steps of her house.

“Hey T!” Shane changes course and heads to Tina’s house instead of her own.

“Just getting back from work?” Tina asks the tired looking Shane.

“Yeah.” Shane collapses on the step next to Tina. Her hair is messier then normal, her eyes look tired behind her rimless eyeglasses. “It was a doosey. Worked with a really nasty actor with hard to manage hair.” She groans thinking about it.

“If it makes you feel better, I had to deal with local politicians all day.” Tina smiles at Shane who just grimaces at the scenario. “Yeah, it was no fun.”

“I bet.”

“Hey, I wanted to thank you again for helping out the other day. It meant a lot to me and the kids.”

“Oh yeah, sure. I had a great time.” Shane’s voice is tired.

“The kids all really liked you.”