Quench Me
      Chapter 18
 

 
It's 5:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, as I mindlessly turn my key in the front door of the house. The Pharmacology final is history, and all I want to do is sit down on the sofa and think about absolutely nothing. I know that I have other finals next week, but Pharmacology was the one that worried me the most, and now that it's over, I just want to relax.

I haven't talked to Danny since late Monday night. The situation in Atlanta was far worse than he or Phillip had anticipated. An outside team of accountants had been brought in, to conduct an audit of sorts, and Danny was overseeing the entire process. He was extremely busy, and he knew that I was studying non-stop, so he told me that it would probably be Friday before he called again. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday crept by for me, wanting to talk to him so badly, but knowing that it wasn't possible.

I settle onto the sofa, curling up with a pillow and an afghan, a gentle peace filling my heart, as I realize that soon I'll hear from him.

Rick is at the hospital, so the house is empty, and I doze off into much deserved rest. I don't know how long I've been sleeping when I'm awakened by the ringing of the telephone. Immediately, I reach for the phone on the lamp table, answering as quickly as possible.

"Hello," I anwer.

"Hi Michelle." It's him, just like I knew it would be.

"Danny, how are you?"

"I'm good. How about you? How was your Pharmacology final?"

"Actually, it wasn't bad at all," I reply.

"Good," he says. "I'm glad to hear that. I was thinking about you and that test today."

"How are things in Atlanta?" I ask.

"Better. It's beginning to come together, but we've still got work to do."

"Do you know when you're coming home?" I ask.

"Well, it's not going to be as soon as I thought," he says, as my heart sinks. "I was hoping to be able to fly home tomorrow, but Phillip is flying down here this weekend to go over things one more time, and then I'll have to tie up all the loose ends on Monday and Tuesday. If everything goes well, I'll fly home late Tuesday night, and be back in the office bright and early on Wednesday morning."

"Wednesday, huh?" I ask, trying to sound light-hearted. "That gives me enough time to finish my finals before seeing you again."

He laughs slightly and asks, "When are your finals over?"

"Wednesday afternoon," I answer. "And then I'm done until August."

"Well then, I guess I'll see you sometime on Wednesday," he says.

"I'd like that," I answer.

"I'm going to have to get back to work," he says. "Hopefully we'll finish up in about an hour, and I'll be able to get back to my hotel room by ten o'clock. I could use the sleep."

"O.K., Danny," I respond. "I'll talk to you Wednesday. And Danny… I miss you."

"Miss you too, Michelle," he says, just before I hear his end of the connection break.


For some reason, I feel very unsettled by Danny's phone call. Something in his voice sounded different. He didn't say anything to upset me, but he seemed somewhat distant, more distracted than usual. Has something happened to make him distant? Or was I just imagining things?

"He's just busy," I say to myself. "And he's tired. Things will be fine when he gets back home." It makes sense to my head, but my heart, heavy and fearful, is not convinced.