Confused” (Revised*) (2/6) (Sequel to “Crossing the Line”)
 
AUTHOR:  Shirley 
 
E-mail: sgoates2607@charter.net
 
RATING:  PG-13
 
CONTEXT:  “Confused” begins where “Crossing the Line” ends.  Nick has just left 
Alvin’s apartment where they talked about the murder of Nick’s probation 
officer.  This is the day after Nick and Lulu made love.  This story precedes 
“The Beginning”.  
 
DISCLAIMER:  I do not claim to know anything about mergers or acquisitions or 
stock trading.  My apologies to those of you who do have such knowledge and thus 
find my references herein less than accurate.  
~~~//~~~
 
Nick drove home from Alvin’s still thinking about the events of the last couple 
of days.  It was time for him to forget about Lulu and move on.  That would 
certainly be easier said than done but he had a pretty strong will when he set 
his mind to it.  He would just put this all behind him and get on with his life. 
 There was plenty to keep him busy with the issues facing him at Fallin & 
Associates.  If his father got the bench appointment, it would take a huge 
effort on his part to keep things together.  Working with the Senator wouldn’t 
be easy but he couldn’t just walk out and let everything his father worked for 
disappear.  Yeah, that was the term his father used, “disappear”.  He wouldn’t 
really have time to toy with Lulu.  She obviously had other plans for her life 
and he would just have to let her go.
 
It was midnight when Nick got home.  All of a sudden, he was exceedingly tired.  
A hot shower and bed would feel awfully good.  He checked through his mail and 
then went to check his answering machine.  He had one message.  He was surprised 
to find it was from Lulu.
 
“Nick, are you there?  Ah, I’m sorry I didn’t have much to say today.  Can you 
call me when you get this message?  I’d like to explain.”  She sounded matter of 
fact.  
 
Nick looked at the clock.  It was after midnight.  It probably wouldn’t be a 
good idea to call.  But, she hadn’t said not to call if it was late.  He found 
himself giving in once again.  Why did he let her manipulate him like this?  He 
decided to call.  If she didn’t want to talk tonight she could say so and they 
would talk in the morning.
 
Nick dialed the phone.  It rang several times and finally a sleepy voice 
answered, “Who is this?”  It was Brian.  Nick stared at the phone.  He 
disconnected and laid the phone down. After a couple of deep breaths he went to 
his bedroom where he undressed.  The hot shower felt good.  He stood for a long 
time, letting the water run over his tired body, trying to clear his mind of 
everything.  When the water finally started to run cold he shut it off and 
stepped out, grabbing a big fluffy towel.  He donned his pajamas and a T-shirt 
and fell into bed.  It was several minutes before he finally nodded off to 
sleep; a restless sleep.  He awakened a couple of times during the night but was 
finally able to get a few hours of rest. 
 
The alarm clock buzzed and Nick reached over to turn it off.  He lay there 
quietly for a moment, considering his schedule for the day.  He dragged himself 
out of bed and into the shower, hoping the rush of the water would get him 
going.  He did feel a little better.  After shaving, he dressed in his black 
suit, a crisp white shirt and a yellow-gold tie with a tiny fleur-de-lis pattern 
in black.  He put on his topcoat, gathered up his briefcase and headed for the 
door.  He’d grab a cup of coffee at the office. 
 
On the way to Legal Services Nick dialed his cell phone.  “Jamie?  Nick, here.  
Yeah, it has been awhile.  I thought if you weren’t busy tonight we might have 
dinner.  Okay, I’ll pick you up at 7:00.  Oh, well, I thought about that quiet 
little French restaurant, LeMont, on Grandview.  Okay, see ya tonight then.  
Sure, yeah, it will be nice to see you, too.”  Nick made a mental note to call 
LeMont’s later this morning to be sure he could get a reservation.  This was his 
dad’s favorite place to dine; the executive chef being a personal friend of his. 
 Well, this was the first step to getting over Lulu.  He had to get back out in 
the stream.  Jamie was a smart girl making six figures at a brokerage firm as a 
financial advisor.  She was great looking and from a good family.  Nick wasn’t 
sure why she hadn’t settled down. 
 
He was lucky to find a parking place near Legal Services.  That was unusual.  He 
stepped off the elevator and headed straight for Alvin’s office.  
 
“Mornin’, Alvin.”  Alvin looked up and said, “Oh, hi, Nick.  How’re ya doing?”  
Alvin didn’t really expect Nick to talk about last night, at least not here in 
the office.  He was too private for that.  But Alvin did watch to see if Nick 
gave any signals.  He didn’t.  
 
“I’m fine.”  He licked his lips and looked down.  He was a little embarrassed 
now having to face Alvin after last night.  “I wanted to see if I could work out 
some kind of courier service to pick up my assignments here.  Things are getting 
pretty hectic at the Firm and I don’t feel like I can afford to come over here 
except when it is necessary.”  
 
Alvin looked puzzled.  “Sure, Nick.  What do you have in mind?”  
 
“Well, I thought maybe Barbara could call me when you had something for me, and 
I could send our courier over.  Naturally, if I need to meet with someone here I 
can arrange that but it would really help out if I could limit my time here for 
a little while.”  
 
“I don’t see any problem with that as long as you understand there might be 
times you will need to be here.”  
 
“Sure, I understand.  Is there anything for me today?”  
 
“There might be something later on today.  I’ll have Barbara give you a call.”  
 
“Thanks, Alvin.  I really appreciate it.”  Alvin thought Nick seemed a little 
uptight but maybe that was just the workload he was facing at Fallin & 
Associates.   Nick turned to leave, raising his hand to wave bye.  
 
When the elevator arrived, Lulu stepped off as Nick stepped on.  She glanced his 
way and called to him.  He nodded and smiled as the door closed.  He was alone 
in the elevator.  He closed his eyes tight trying to block out the image of Lulu 
and took a deep breath.  This effort only served to conjure up the image of Lulu 
standing expectantly at his door the other night.  It was going to take a real 
effort to forget about her.  If he didn’t have to see her everyday it would be 
easier in the long run.
 
~~~//~~~
 
Nick was a little miffed.  Burton had assigned a big merger deal to Barry Sands. 
 Nick had done some preliminary work on the deal but because he had another big 
deal working right now he hadn’t been able to devote the amount of time needed 
to get it closed.  The merger involved two technology companies; PowerTech and 
SunSystems, Inc.  The deal was likely to send SunSystems, Inc. stock through the 
stratosphere.  And there was a big commission to be made upon closure.  Well, 
Burton had told him to get over it.  He’d get another chance.  
 
He spent the rest of the day doing extensive research on a couple of cases he 
was working.  It was exhausting work but he got a big kick out of trying to find 
intricate ways to structure deals.  He tried to stay up on the latest legal 
periodicals and extensively researched any new laws pertaining to corporate law 
especially.  He felt like this gave him an edge.  And he was able to retain most 
of the information in his head.  At times, though, he really did miss Amanda.  
She had been great at doing a lot of his research.  
 
~~~//~~~
 
It had been another exhausting day.  He was looking forward to a quiet dinner 
without too much drama.  He pulled up in front of the high-rise building where 
Jamie lived.  Her place was on the 10th floor and had a fabulous view of the 
confluence of the three-rivers.  She greeted Nick at the door with a kiss on his 
cheek.  
 
“Come on in for a minute Nick while I get my coat.”  She was dressed in a little 
black dress which hugged her beautiful hips and flared at the knees, showing off 
her fabulous legs.  Nick had forgotten just how dazzling she was with her mane 
of long blonde curls pulled up and piled loosely on top of her head.   Wispy 
tendrils escaped the large gold hair-clasp, giving her a carefree yet 
beautifully coiffed appearance.  She wore diamond studs in her earlobes; at 
least 1 carat each and a simple diamond pendant hung from a delicate chain 
around her neck.  The only other jewelry was a tennis bracelet on her right 
wrist and, of course, her diamond incrusted Rolex watch on her left. She was the 
picture of style.
 
Nick helped her with her fur-trimmed cashmere coat.  “You look great, Jamie.  I 
had forgotten just how beautiful you are.”  He gave her a shy grin.  
 
“Oh, is that the reason you never call me, because you’re forgetful?”  She 
smiled back and her eyes twinkled.  
 
That was another thing to like about Jamie, besides her looks.  She didn’t have 
a lot of emotional baggage.  She was comfortable with herself and didn’t need 
anyone to “complete” her.  She was the kind of woman that Nick needed right now. 
 Someone he didn’t have to posture with.
 
They arrived at LeMont’s just prior to the time of their reservation.  The matre 
d’ greeted Nick, “How are you this evening, Mr. Fallin?  It has been awhile 
since we’ve seen you.  Your dad was just in here the other night.”  “Well, I’ve 
been pretty busy lately.”  Nice smiled and nodded.  It was nice to have 
connections.  Without his Dad’s influence he probably wouldn’t have been able to 
get a table here tonight.  Their table was near the window overlooking the river 
and the city.  They could see the river traffic which was always fun to watch at 
night.  With the lights dimmed it was all very romantic.  
 
“Well, Nick, what have you been doing with yourself?”  They had placed their 
order and it was now time to catch-up.  
 
“You know me, Jamie.  Just work, mostly.  And you?  I would have thought by now 
you would have found the right guy and settled down.”  
 
“You know that I already found the right guy, but he’s not ready to settle 
down.”  She looked seriously at Nick.  Nick knew where she was headed with this 
conversation.  This was the reason, really, that he had stopped calling her.  
They had gotten a little “steady” for awhile and he sensed she was expecting 
more from him.  That was about the time he was having all his drug problems and 
it was all too much to deal with at the time.  She never threw any tantrums or 
made any unnecessary demands but that almost made him feel guilty for not giving 
more of himself.  He usually ran like hell when he sensed a girl had more in 
mind than just dating. 
 
Nick looked seriously at her and said, “Nothing has changed, Jamie.  I 
remembered how much fun we used to have in the beginning.  That’s why I called.” 
 His eyes were downcast.  “I’m sorry if you’ve gotten the wrong impression about 
tonight.”  
 
“No, Nick.  Really, I enjoy being with you regardless of your motives.”  She 
smiled a wide engaging smile.  It wasn’t long before Jamie had Nick laughing.   
She related some crazy stories about the downturn in the market.  Only Jamie 
could find something funny to talk about there.  For a moment, Nick forgot all 
about Lulu.  With a lull in the conversation, Nick glanced around the 
restaurant.  He didn’t frequent it often but when he did he usually ran into 
someone he knew.  But, he was a little surprised to see Barry Sands from the 
Firm sitting over in an obscure corner just barely visible from Nick’s vantage 
point.  He mentioned to Jamie that he saw a man from his office across the room. 
 She glanced over in the direction he indicated.  “That’s funny,” she said.  
“There’s a man from my office, too; one of our brokers, Mr. Adams.”  It just so 
happened that Sands was sitting with Adams.  Without appearing too obvious, Nick 
glanced Sands’ way periodically. 
 
“By the way, Nick, how’s your dad?  You know if I were a few years older I might 
even chase him around a little.”  She laughed.  Nick just looked sideways at her 
with a slight grin.  The thought of Jamie with his dad, well that didn’t create 
a good picture for him at all.  Nick glanced again across the room and thought 
he noticed Sands pass an envelope to Adams.  Not long after the exchange, Sands 
got up and left the restaurant.  Shortly afterwards, Adams left.  Neither one 
had dined.  
 
Jamie was looking at him.  He suddenly remembered she had asked him about his 
dad.  “Well, since you ask, it looks like he might get the vacant appointment to 
the Federal bench.”  
 
“That’s great, isn’t it?”  She surveyed Nick’s face.  It didn’t look like Nick 
was any too happy with the possibility.  
 
“It’s a great opportunity for him but it will just throw the Firm into a 
tailspin in my opinion.  Dad has brought in Senator Caldwell as new Senior 
Partner.  Looks like he’ll be running things and we don’t exactly see eye to 
eye.”  
 
“I thought you would eventually get the Firm.”  
 
“Well, that makes two of us.  Let’s just say that my relationship with my father 
hasn’t been all that I had hoped it would be when I signed on.”  Nick couldn’t 
keep the disappointment out of his voice.  “I guess there’s enough blame to go 
around on that issue.  Hey, would you care to dance.”  The bistro had a tiny 
dance floor.  There were a few couples dancing to the slow tunes of the Sonny 
Lane Trio.  
 
Nick gathered Jamie in his arms and they slowly danced around the floor.  She 
put her hand on the back of his neck and nestled her cheek next to his.  It felt 
good to have a woman in his arms who really wanted to be there.  Jamie looked 
into his eyes as they continued to dance and said, “Nick, I’m glad you called.”  

 
“Me, too.”  And he really was glad.  
 
After dinner, they retrieved their coats and walked out onto the patio of the 
restaurant.  Leaning against the rail they admired the lights of the city 
reflected in the river.  It was still a little brisk in late March so there was 
no one else brave enough to brace the cold for the spectacular view.  They 
turned to face each other.  She reached up and kissed him softly on his mouth.  
 
He pulled her to him and they kissed; a long, lingering kiss.  Finally Nick 
said, “Hey, it’s getting a bit cold out.  Do you think we should call it a 
night?”  
 
“Okay.  I guess, if it has to end.”  She smiled at him.  
 
They didn’t talk too much on the drive home.  Each was contemplating how the 
night would end.  Nick parked the car in front of her apartment building and sat 
for a moment.  “Nick, will you come up?”  
 
“I guess I could for a bit,” he said reluctantly.  That almost always led to sex 
and he wasn’t sure if he was quite ready for that yet.  Jamie didn’t seem to 
notice his reluctance.  
 
“Make yourself comfortable.  Take off your jacket and you can take of your tie, 
too, if you want.  I’ll get us something to drink.  Are you still drinking soda 
water?”  
 
“Yeah.”  
 
Nick removed his topcoat and suit jacket.  He even removed his tie and rolled it 
up, putting it in his jacket pocket.  He opened the top two buttons of his shirt 
and sat casually on the sofa.  Jamie had kicked off her shoes and gone into the 
kitchen for the drinks. When she returned she proceeded to light the gas 
fireplace and several candles along the mantle.  She then dimmed the lights.  
She sat down on the sofa facing Nick.  
 
“I had a great time tonight.  I hope you did.”  
 
“I did, actually.”  
 
She moved closer to Nick and started to unbutton the remaining buttons on his 
shirt.  He didn’t stop her.  All the time she was looking into his eyes.  She 
put her hand on his chest and leaned over to kiss him.  He put his arms around 
her and kissed her.  Jamie then reached for his belt buckle and he placed his 
hand over hers.  
 
“Not tonight, Jamie.  I can’t explain it but it’s just not the right time.”  
Here was a sensual, beautiful woman he was refusing.  He must be sick in the 
head, he thought.  
 
“I understand.  Or, I say that.”  She turned to face the fireplace.  “I guess I 
really don’t understand.  But I respect your wishes.  You know, Nick, we can be 
perfectly honest with each other.  I’m crazy about you and I know that you know 
that.  But, I can tell that you don’t feel the same for me.”  She glanced back 
at Nick.  “My guess is that it’s another woman; someone who doesn’t feel the 
same about you as you do about her.”  She stood and walked to the fireplace.  
“Of course, you know that’s a recipe for disaster.”  She turned to face him.  He 
nodded.  “You don’t have to bare your soul to me, but do know that whenever you 
come to your senses, you can always call me.”  
 
Nick smiled at her accurate analysis of his problems.  This is another thing 
that he loved about Jamie.  She was so practical and matter of fact.  
 
“I should probably throw something at you but I’ve known you long enough, Nick, 
to know that tantrums don’t work with you.”  She pulled the hair-clasp from her 
hair and let it tumble down her back.  She shook her head to settle the curls 
and looked over at Nick.  She knew her hair was one of her major attributes.  
 
God, she was one beautiful woman, Nick thought, his heart taking a little leap.  

 
“It was wrong of me to call and get you mixed up in my fucked up life, again.”  
Nick was feeling a little guilty right now, angry at his treatment of Jamie who 
had always been so open and honest with him.  “I thought you could make me feel 
better about everything.  But, as it turns out, I feel worse having used you in 
this way.”  
 
“Nick, you know our relationship has never had any strings attached.  I’m not 
going to start now.  Whatever it is you need from me, you’ve got it.  I love 
being with you, plain and simple.”  She circled the sofa and picked up his suit 
jacket.  “But tonight I think I’ve done all I can for you.”  
 
“Well, you’re right. I’d better be going before I take you up on your offer.”  
He rose to leave, putting on his jacket, then his topcoat.  “It was great seeing 
you again.  I really mean that.”  Nick reached over and kissed her on the mouth. 
 “I wish things could be different.”   
 
As they walked towards the door, Nick asked, “Jamie, can I ask you a work 
question?”  
 
“Sure, Nick.”  
 
“Would you be able to pull up all the trades for a given day on a particular 
stock and find out who had made those trades?”  
 
“If I knew the broker or financial advisor I could check their computer records, 
with their permission.  Why do you ask?”  
 
“I was just curious.  If there was suspected insider trading going on, how would 
that be detected?”  
 
“Well, monthly summary reports are submitted by all the advisors to the managing 
broker and they are analyzed for unusually large buys and subsequent large sells 
in a particular stock.   Any unusual activity can be broken down further by 
broker, buyer and seller.”  
 
“Well, thanks for the information.”  They walked to the door.  
 
“Why all the sudden interest in insider trading?”  She asked.  
 
“Oh, I just wanted to educate myself.  You’ve helped a lot.”  
 
“It has been my pleasure.  If you think of anything else you need to know, you 
know how to reach me.”  She smiled and kissed him sweetly on the cheek.  
 
On the drive home he was wondering why he couldn’t be happy with a girl like 
Jamie.  Well, it was simple, really.  He was in love with Lulu.  And that was 
turning out to be a no-win situation.  Lulu had as many demons as he had and 
believing they would ever be together was just wishful thinking.  
 
It was late when he arrived home.  Going into a dark house was not very 
appealing.  He would quickly get ready for bed and crash, hoping to get at least 
one good-night’s sleep.  He checked his answering machine for his messages and 
was surprised to find another message from Lulu.  It had come in at around 10:00 
pm.  
 
“Nick, this is Lulu.  Sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk today.  I wanted to 
apologize for my behavior lately.  Well, guess I’ll be seeing you at the office 
and we can talk then.”  Nick erased the message.  
 
~~~//~~~
 
The next morning, Nick went straight to Fallin & Associates.  He had one meeting 
scheduled this morning with Mr. Slade but most of his day would be spent 
researching a new merger deal for Bryson Technology.  He hadn’t heard anything 
from Legal Services.  Apparently things were kinda slow there.  He left a 
message at the front desk that he would be in the library on the second floor 
and to route his calls there.  
 
~~~//~~~
 
Lulu arrived earlier than usual at Legal Services just to try and catch Nick 
before anyone else got to work.  He had been avoiding her and she didn’t really 
know why.  She needed to talk with him.
 
By 10:00 am, Nick had not come in.  Lulu headed for Alvin’s office.  “Alvin, I 
haven’t seen Nick lately.”  
 
“Oh, yeah.  He said he had a heavy workload at Fallin and wanted to have his 
assignments couriered over to him.  I just got something in for him, though, and 
was going to have Barbara call him to pick it up.”  
 
“Well, you know, Alvin, I have an appointment with a client at the courthouse 
today and will have to go right by his office.  I could drop it off, if you 
want.”  
 
“Yeah, sure, so long as he gets it.  Thanks.  By the way, Lulu, did I hear 
right?  Have you and Brian called off the wedding?”  Alvin handed her the 
envelope containing Nick’s assignments.
 
“Yeah.” And she glanced down.  “Things were just getting too crazy.”  
 
“I see.”  For weeks now, Alvin had suspected there might be something going on 
between Nick and Lulu.  There was that visit with Nick the other night, his 
absence from Legal Services and now Lulu’s interest in seeing him.  “Is this 
just a temporary postponement or permanent?”  He knew that was overstepping his 
bounds.  
 
“Ah, I really don’t know right now.  Guess I’d better get going if I’m going to 
get by Nick’s office before my court date.”  She twirled and left his office 
abruptly.  Well, Alvin was pretty sure now there was something between these 
two.  He just grinned.  It was odd to think of Nick “in love”.  
 
~~~//~~~
 
“Mr. Fallin, a Ms. Louisa Archer is here with a package for you.”  Gretchen had 
located Nick in the upstairs library.  “Ms. Archer, he will be right down.”  
 
“Thanks.”
 
A second later Nick came bounding down the stairs.  “What is it?”  He didn’t 
smile or offer any greeting whatsoever.  
 
Lulu thought he was a little brusque.  The smile left her face and she stood 
stone faced.  
 
“I brought your Legal Services’ assignments.  I was coming this way so Alvin 
thought I might deliver them to you to save you a courier charge,” she lied.  
“Nick, do you have a minute to talk?”  
 
“Come this way.”  Nick started down the hallway to his office.  He opened the 
door for her and closed it behind them.  “Have a seat.”  He walked around the 
desk and sat down, leaning back in his chair.  Lulu placed the envelope 
containing the assignments on his desk.  She looked across the desk at him.  He 
looked back at her.  
 
“Nick, there’s probably a good reason why you’re avoiding me.  I’ve left 
messages on your answering machine and you haven’t called back.”  
 
“Well, you see that’s wrong. I did call you back the other night and Brian 
answered the phone.”  He raised his eyebrows expecting an explanation from her.  

 
“Oh, I didn’t realize that was you.”  She bowed her head.  She didn’t know how 
to say what she had come to say.  
 
“Lulu, I was totally out of place with my actions and I hope you will accept my 
apologies.  If your problems with Brian have anything to do with me, I’m sorry.  
Just tell me what I need to do to make it right.”  He couldn’t believe he was 
saying all this tripe.  
 
“No, Nick, you don’t have to apologize.  It was I who came to you.”  She was 
avoiding eye contact by concentrating on her hands in her lap.  “It was unfair 
to you and unfair to Brian,” she continued haltingly.  “It is over between Brian 
and me.”  She raised her eyes to catch Nick’s reaction.  She could gather no 
clue to what he was thinking.  His face was expressionless.  
 
She proceeded to try and explain.  “I’ve known him a long time and we’ve become 
good friends but I realized that sometimes good friends don’t necessarily make 
good lovers.  Nick,” here she softened her voice and said “you made me realize 
that passion is important in a relationship.”  The phone rang on Nick’s desk, 
startling them both. 
 
 Nick quickly reached for it to stop the ringing.  Recognizing the call as 
interoffice, he answered, “Yeah.”  He listened.  “Okay.  I’ll be right there.”  
Hanging up the phone he said, “Lulu, I’m sorry.  I have a meeting with a 
client.”  He started to rise reaching for a file folder on his desk.  Lulu 
stood, not knowing what to say.  
 
Nick turned with his hand on the door handle.  “Lulu.”  He paused, glanced down 
at the floor and rubbed his right hand over the back of his head before he said, 
softly, “I think you know how I feel.”  His gaze locked onto hers.  Lulu 
thought, there’s that look again.  
 
She glanced away.  She didn’t know what to say so she didn’t say anything.  Nick 
said impatiently, “Well, I gotta go.  Can you see your way out?”  He opened the 
door and Lulu stepped into the hallway.  
 
“Sure, Nick.  I’ll see ya later.”  She started down the hallway to the front 
door.  Nick stood in his doorway and watched her go.  
 
He finally pulled his door closed behind him and headed for the conference room. 
 Taking a deep breath, Nick slid open the conference room door and, with hand 
extended, walked quickly to greet Mr. Slade.  
 
~~~//~~~
 
Lulu emerged from the building into an especially gray and gloomy day which 
mirrored her emotions at the moment.  Her life was a mess.  Meeting Nick had 
really complicated things.  Well, she would have to think about that later.  She 
was late for her court appointment.
 
~~~//~~~
 
Well, the end of another exhausting day, Nick thought, as he turned the key in 
his front door.  He had brought home a few papers to look over but it was going 
to be an early night for him.  He shed his suit and pulled on a pair of comfy 
old jeans and a long-sleeve mock turtleneck sweater.  He slipped on a pair of 
loafers and walked into the kitchen to check out the refrigerator.  Eating had 
really become a chore lately.  He wasn’t much of a cook, unfortunately.  If 
Connie didn’t cook up something then he usually didn’t eat at night, unless he 
grabbed something on the way home.  On the top shelf of the fridge there was a 
container with a note attached to it.  He pulled it out and grinned as he read 
“You’re much too skinny.  Eat this.”  It was a bowl of Connie’s fabulous beef 
stew.  He stuck the bowl in the microwave and hit the REHEAT setting and padded 
off to the bedroom.  He flipped on the desk lamp and unloaded the papers he was 
going to review from his briefcase.  He returned to the kitchen as the microwave 
BEEPED.  Taking a spoon from the utensil drawer he grabbed a bottled water from 
the fridge and sat down at the dinette table to look over his mail while he 
gulped down the stew.  
 
The ringing of the phone broke his concentration.  It was around 8:30 pm and he 
couldn’t figure out who it could be.  He almost let the answering machine take 
it but at the last minute yanked up the receiver.  “Hello.”  
 
“Nick, it’s Lulu.”  She was crying hysterically.  
 
“What is it?” Nick demanded into the phone, his voice a little higher pitched 
than normal.
 
“It’s Brian.  He’s at the door and he won’t go away.  He’s threatening to break 
it down.”  Brian was yelling through the door.  It was all beginning to really 
frighten her.  
 
“Call the police.”  
 
“I’ve never seen him like this,” she blubbered.  
 
“CALL THE POLICE!!”  Nick said again as he walked to the closet to get his 
leather bomber jacket.  “Lulu, I’m coming over.  Call the police.”  He hung up 
the phone, grabbed his car keys and raced out the door.  
 
The streets were wet from a recent rain and he was driving above the speed 
limit; way too fast for the road conditions.  At least the streets were pretty 
much clear of traffic in this area this time of night.  It would take him about 
another 10 minutes to get to Lulu’s at this pace.  
 
~~~//~~~
 
Finally it was quiet.  Brian must have left, Lulu was thinking. Thank God.  But, 
Brian had gone around to the back door which he found had not been secured for 
the night.  He opened it and stormed through the kitchen stopping just inside 
the living room where Lulu was huddled on the couch.  She gasped when she 
noticed his image in the doorway to the kitchen.  Brian covered the distance 
between them quickly and roughly reached out to grab her and yank her off the 
sofa.  She struggled and slapped him hard across the face.  He pulled back, 
touched his stinging cheek and stared at her.  She could see he was wild-eyed 
and distraught.  She was really frightened but she thought perhaps the best way 
to diffuse the situation was to talk calmly with him.
 
Difficult as it was, Lulu stifled her sobs and calmly said, “Brian.  I think we 
should talk.  Why don’t you sit down and let’s talk.”  
 
He squeezed his head between his hands and finally collapsed into a nearby 
chair.  She could tell he had been crying.  
 
“I just want to know why.  Why?”  Brian pleaded with her.  
 
“I’m just not ready to get married right now, Brian.  I know we’ve been friends 
for a long time and I care a lot about you, but the more I thought about 
marriage, well, the more I questioned our relationship.”  
 
“You didn’t feel that way two months ago when you agreed to marry me.  What 
changed?  You know I would do anything for you.”  He buried his head in his 
hands.  
 
“I…”  Lulu began just at the door bell rang.  She sat silent watching Brian.  
 
“Lulu, let me in.”  It was Nick and now he was pounding on the door.  
 
“That’s what happened….you and Nick,” yelled Brian.  He stood up and started for 
the door.
 
Lulu scrambled up from the sofa and beat Brian to the door.  She turned the 
deadbolt and reached for the door knob just as Nick shoved the door open.  Brian 
grabbed Lulu and threw her to the floor.  Nick barreled in through the door and 
stood staring eye to eye with Brian.  Lulu was nearby on the floor crying.  Nick 
raised his right hand slightly and said, “Brian, just hold on.”  He carefully 
watched Brian’s eyes for any indication of what he would do next.  “Lulu, did 
you call the police?” he asked, not taking his eyes off Brian.  
 
“I didn’t Nick.  I just couldn’t.”  
 
“How did he get in?”
 
“He must have come in through the back door.  I took the trash out and forgot to 
lock it, I guess.”  
 
“Brian, I think it’s best that you leave now.”  Nick moved slowly to help Lulu 
off the floor.  As he turned his head to help Lulu, Brian bounded forward, 
grabbed his arm and swung him around, at the same time coming up with a powerful 
right hook to Nick’s jaw.  Nick staggered backwards barely able to stay upright. 
 He put his hand to his jaw and felt a trickle of blood from the corner of his 
mouth.  He recovered in time to block the next blow from Brian and countered 
with a punch of his own to Brian’s mid-section.  Brian double over and staggered 
back.  
 
“Brian, we don’t need to do this.”  Nick stood ready for the next onslaught.  He 
was breathing heavily with all the adrenalin surging through his body.  Lulu was 
slowly getting up.  “Lulu, go and call the police.”  She started slowly for the 
phone.
 
“No, that’s okay.”  Brian said weakly.  “I’m going.”  He slumped towards the 
door still holding his mid-section.  Nick watched him until he was well out the 
door then closed and locked it.  He went to the front window and watched as 
Brian got in his car and drove away.  
 
He turned to see Lulu standing in the middle of the room, sobbing into her 
hands.  He walked over to her and took her in his arms.  “It’s okay, now.  
There, there.”  He pushed back her hair with his right hand.  She turned her 
tear-stained face to his.  He gently kissed her on the mouth.  She went limp in 
his arms.  He picked her up and carried her to the sofa.  “Lie here for a 
minute,” he said and went to the kitchen where he dampened a paper towel which 
he carried back to the sofa.  He pushed Lulu’s hair off her face and gently 
wiped the tears away with the damp towel.  
 
Lulu took Nick’s hand in hers and kissed it, pressing it against her face as she 
closed her eyes.  Finally she looked into his eyes and said, “Nick.”  
 
“Yes?” He asked softly.  
 
“I love you.”  Nick glanced away and then back to Lulu.  
 
“You need to get some sleep.”  He bent to kiss her forehead.  Nothing further 
was said.  Lulu finally fell asleep on the sofa.  Nick found a quilt in the 
bedroom which he covered her with.  He checked the back door and shut off all 
the lights.  For a moment he stood looking down at Lulu, sleeping soundly.  She 
seemed finally at peace.  He made his way quietly out the door, locking it 
behind him.  
 
On his way home he noticed the streets were still wet.  There was virtually no 
traffic now.  Lulu had said she loved him.  For a brief moment his heart soared 
but then he remembered her less than warm welcome the day after they had made 
love.  He wasn’t sure Lulu even knew what she wanted.  For the moment, Nick was 
going to stay on the sidelines.  He didn’t know whether to be worried about 
Brian or not.  His actions tonight had been somewhat out of character for him.  
After all, he had been the one whoring around on Lulu when he got picked up for 
solicitation.  Nick guessed that Lulu still didn’t know about that little 
incident.  Brian probably thought he had told her.  For now, he was just going 
to take it slow.  Make no commitments.  
 
To be continued… (Death 3/6)