~ A Time of Forgiveness ~

by

Mary S. McGuire

"Okay, here’s something else I want you to hear. I’m falling in love with you. When we were planting those seeds, it wasn’t just a garden we started--something a little more lasting than that."

She caught her breath. "Oh, Ryan, that’s the nicest thing you could have said. Thank you very, very much."

"Talk to you tomorrow night, honey."

With a voice that was oh-so soft, she answered, "I’ll be waiting. Bye."

~ * ~

Thus it was. Routinely, their weekends were filled with gardening and lovemaking. Sometimes they would go dancing with Roy and his wife, Debbie, or visit Meg’s parents, but their schedule remained regular and predictable from spring into summer.

One Monday morning, Meg went by to get Ryan’s dry cleaning that he’d forgotten to pick up. She drove into her office parking lot with Harry pulling in beside her. He waved and stood waiting for her. Because she wanted to take the time to put Ryan’s cleaning in the trunk so it wouldn’t get stolen, she signaled for him to go ahead. He stood watching her with the clothing and then proceeded upstairs.

She spoke to Thelma and then went down the hall past Harry’s office.

"Hey, Meg," she heard him call. "Come in for a minute." She stopped. "Whose clothes were those? Know those weren’t your suits."

"Ryan’s. He forgot to stop for them this weekend. Why?"

"Just wondered." He looked down at his desk. "You aren’t having an affair with him, are you?"

"That’s none of your business..." She stopped. There’s no use in denying it. Harry already knows the answer. She stood tapping her toe on the floor, glaring at him.

Under the force of her stare, he glanced down and began rifling through his desk drawer. Finally mustering up his courage he said, "Meg, you and I have been in this business for several years and I feel an obligation to you." A look somewhere between concern and anger crossed his brow. "Have you ever looked at his file? I know you were there when we hired him, but I bet you never really read this." He threw the folder on the desk, pushing it towards her.

"I guess you’re going to tell me he’s a convicted felon or something dire." She started to laugh, but his expression convinced her he was dead serious. Grasping the file, she went to her office, quickly unlocking the door. She opened the folder. She began to scan the file as her stomach became an angry, knotted entity. She read: Name: Ryan William Zarsky Age: 25. Her eyes darted back to the space marked age again and again, but the information was always the same. It was unbelievable. Meg Phillips, a woman thirty-seven years old, was in love with a man who was nearly twelve years her junior.

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