Friday - 9:00 p.m.
Sheridan parked her car and slowly made her way up the path to her cottage. She'd never worked so damn hard in all her life. Her back was hurting and her arms were sore from bending and lifting for hours. After cleaning out the storage room, Luis had slapped a list of other chores into her hand that needed to be finished before she left the center for the day, most of which had involved more cleaning. She hadn't finished on time so she'd stayed an extra hour. But she didn't mind working another 60 minutes since Luis left three hours before she did every day. The more Luis-free hours she worked the better. Finishing her community service as fast as possible would be even more better. But she still had many many more hours to go before she would be free of one Luis Lopez-Fitzerald. She couldn't wait to get as far away from that wretched man as possible. She was sick and tired of taking orders from that Neanderthal. He didn't know the meaning of the word civil. But then neither did she when it came to him. He made her say things she normally wouldn't to another human being and he made her act in ways that was completely out of character. He wasn't having a very good affect on her mental health either, working with him was causing her more stress than all the men she'd ever known put together. He just had a way of getting to her without having to try very hard. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Gwen sitting on the steps of the cottage until she almost walked right into her. "Gwen?"
"Hey, Sheridan."
Standing, Gwen adjusted her tight skirt, which had a provocative slit down one side of it. But it wasn't half as provocative as her top. When had Gwen started going bra-less? Sheridan was about to ask her why she was dressed like that but decided not to because she looked on the verge of tears. "What are you doing here Gwen? Is something wrong?"
"Yes, something is wrong. My life."
"Come inside," Sheridan said gently, looping an arm around Gwen's slumped shoulders. "I'll make you some tea and then we'll talk."
Weakly, Gwen nodded, "Okay."
By the time Sheridan returned to the living room with the tea, Gwen's mascara was running down her pale cheeks. She accepted the cup Sheridan offered and took a small sip of the steaming tea before setting it down on the coffee table in front of her. "I'm so glad you came to see me Gwen," Sheridan said, taking a seat next to her on the sofa. "I was worried about you. I haven't even seen you since-"
"Since Ethan dumped me."
"Gwen-"
"It's all right, Sheridan. You can say it. It's the truth isn't it. He dumped me."
Sheridan gently patted her friend's back. She couldn't imagine what Gwen was going through. Poor thing. Ethan was the only man she'd ever been with, ever loved, and now he was in love with someone else. "Did you see Ethan tonight?"
"No."
"Then what's got you so upset?" she asked in a soothing voice.
Plucking a tissue from the dispenser, she wiped her tears. "Tonight, I finally decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and move on with my life. I wanted to prove to myself that my life didn't revolve around Ethan. That losing him isn't the end of the world...On impulse I decided to go out and try to have a good time, maybe even meet someone new."
"That's wonderful."
"It was until I actually met someone."
"What do you mean?"
She averted her eyes, suddenly looking embarrassed. "I ended up driving around town until my car ran out of gas. I was stranded and didn't even know where I was. And if that wasn't bad enough I locked my keys inside my car. After I called Jeffrey to come and get me I went inside a bar across the street to wait for him. It wasn't long before I felt someone's gaze on me so I turned around and found this guy watching me from the bar...I don't know what I was thinking," she said self-loathingly.
Sheridan frowned at her friend worriedly. "Did he do something to you?"
"It wasn't what he did, it was what he said," she said miserably. "Like a fool I approached him. I couldn't believe what I was doing but I...I know this might sound silly but I felt drawn to him somehow." She stopped and reached for her cup. After taking several sips, she rested the cup on her lap and stared down into it.
When she didn't continue, Sheridan asked, "Well what did he say to upset you? Did he insult you?"
"Oh, Sheridan," she said quietly, her pale cheeks suddenly flushed with color. "It was awful. I've never been so humiliated in my life. We started up a nice conversation that I thought was going pretty well until I found out that he thought I was a prostitute."
Sheridan's eyes widened. "What?"
"That's exactly what I said."
"What did you do?"
"I slapped him across the face and ran out of the bar. Luckily Jeffrey arrived just in time."
Sheridan placed a gentle hand on her friends arm. "Gwen, I'm so sorry."
She sighed deeply. "So am I."
"Don't get discouraged because of one bad experience. You'll find love again."
"I'm not sure I want to," Gwen said softly. Then meeting Sheridan's eyes, she said," What about you? One bad experience is one thing, you've had several. Do you still believe that you'll find love?"
"Not really. Although a part of me hasn't fully given up yet. But I'm through with trying to find love with the wrong men. This time I'm going to let love find me."
"And what if it never happens? What if we never find the right man?"
"I don't know," Sheridan siad, smiling. "I guess we'll just have to settle for the buff and brainless type then."
Gwen laughed and leaned back against the sofa. "If I ever see that man again I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. I can't believe I ran away like some weak wounded creature."
"Was he cute?"
"Very."
Luis' mood had improved only slightly by the time he pulled into his driveway. But only because the day was finally over and he could relax for a few hours. It had been a long day, every day was a long day. And every day it was the same damned routine. Wake up, go to work, go to sleep. Sleep, it was the only thing he needed right now. And a long hot shower. Come to think of it, he could use some food too. Working the night shift at the station prevented him from having dinner with his family, so he had to either settle for fast food or reheated leftovers. As he got out of his car he wondered why all the lights inside the house were still on, everyone should be in bed by now. Not that seeing his family members was a bad thing. He'd been meaning to spend some quality time with his younger siblings but time was something he never seemed to have enough of. The last time he'd actually seen Miguel was on Wednesday, Theresa on Thursday afternoon when she'd stopped by the station to bring him lunch. As he opened the front door he heard his mother's voice, teary and happy, but when he went inside he go the shock of his life. He stared at the man seated on the sofa next to his mother and sister.
"What the hell are you doing here?"