A Matter of Trust: Follow Your Heart by Marcia Dickson Page B

ahead of her.  Doug insisted on staying with her, despite
Allison’s protests.  “Look,” he said. “I’ve nothing particular planned, and I
would be worrying about you the whole time.”
    Allison saw that she couldn’t refuse without being
really rude, and anyway it would take more energy than she had, so she agreed. 
It was clear that there were others who needed the wheelchair more than she
did, now that she was inside, so she sat on a bench, fortunately one against
the wall, so she could lean against it.  Unfortunately, however, there wasn’t
more than just enough room on it for the two of them, so Doug was closer than
she really wanted.  But there was, once again, no help for it.  She was uncomfortably
aware of the scent of his aftershave or cologne or whatever it was, and though
he did his best to keep a space between them, she could feel his warmth against
her thigh.  That was not good and she had to struggle to stay calm.
    They sat in silence for quite awhile, and Allison was
grateful that he made no attempt to make conversation, but eventually he asked
her if she’d like something to drink.  When she thought about it, she realized
that she was very thirsty, and asked him to bring her some mineral water –
sparkling, if they had it. When he got back with coffee for himself and the
water for her, she drank it all almost at once, and felt a bit better.
    When he’d finished his coffee, Doug said, “If you feel
like talking, it would make the time go faster. But I’d understand if you don’t
want to.”
    Allison, to her surprise realized that she was curious
about Doug, and she did need something to occupy her thoughts.   So she
asked him where he had been coming from when he found her.  He told her that
he’d been doing a bit of teaching in the Drug Abuse Program at the prison near
Forrest.
    “You teach at a prison?”
    “Just now and then in my spare time.”  Doug explained
that he was a lawyer and watched a lot of guys that really didn’t deserve it
end up inside, so he wanted to help them if he could.
    “That’s really great,” Allison enthused.
    “Oh, a guy has to do something to justify his
existence.” This led on to a number of details about his life -  that he lived
in Little Rock, was single, and liked hiking when he was free to do so.  He
talked quite a lot – partly because he saw it was easier for her to listen than
to talk.
    Allison was impressed, despite herself.  He showed
none of the bravado that she’d seen in many men, and hadn’t set out to convince
her how great he was.  By the time the intern came to deal with her, she was
feeling quite comfortable with him, comfortable enough to notice that he was
quite handsome, clean shaven, with a shock of tawny hair, blue eyes and a trim
body. It surprised her somewhat to realize that she was thinking of him as a
person, not just a man.
    He escorted her to the examination room, and told her
he’d wait until he knew what the intern said.  She could see that there was no
use arguing, so she told him she’d see him later.
    After a thorough examination, the intern decided that
there was probably nothing very seriously wrong, but that it would be better if
she stayed overnight for observation. Doug went with her to the admissions desk
in case there were any problems, but when the formalities had been completed,
he had no excuse for staying longer.  He realized that he wanted to stay
longer which was a little puzzling.
    “Listen,” he said, “I’ll drop by with a change of
clothes for you in the morning – just some things I’ve got in the apartment -
not up to your standard, I imagine, but better than nothing. “
    Allison opened her mouth to refuse, but then realized
that she didn’t want to refuse.  Whatever is happening to me?  She
wondered.
    “Is there anybody you’d like to call?” Doug asked.  Sher
realized then for the first time that she’d dropped her cell in the car – at
least she hoped it was in