to a nice dinner. He went to the nicest steakhouse he could think of, tipped the maitre d’ to get a table, and indulged in a porterhouse big enough to feed two. On the side he polished off an order of creamed spinach and braised spare ribs. He had three glasses of scotch to wash it all down. The maitre d’, returning the favor of the generous tip, insisted that he try dessert. Even though he was already well beyond his usual capacity, Brody managed to finish the complimentary slice of German chocolate cake as well. He had never been so stuffed in his life. If this proved to be his last meal it was certainly one hell of a way to go out. Brody went home to get a good night’s sleep. He would need all his energy the next day. He briefly thought about calling Hannah but quickly ruled it out. The temptation to not leave the next morning would be too great. He also wanted to get an early start the next day and it would behoove him to sleep in his own bed on this night. He laid his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes. Even though he couldn’t be with her on this night, images of Hannah still filled his dreams.
FOURTEEN Hannah's Night
Hannah had her own preparations to make that day after Brody had left to take care of his own. She didn’t have class until that afternoon and was able to spend the morning catching up on her work. For the first time all week she was able to concentrate. Her talk with Brody hadn’t exactly been encouraging, but it at least put to bed the many questions she’d been struggling with all week. Feeling him inside her again certainly helped to ease her tensions as well. It was time for her to start repairing the damage she had done to her future career that week. She sent her adviser an email apologizing for her actions. She caught on some of the work that she had been neglecting. She even found a little time to give her apartment a much needed straightening up. Her high level of productivity made her feel better about her prospects. She took comfort in the fact that she was still capable of living a normal life. Her run of positive achievement continued through her class that afternoon. She was able to pay attention and even participate in the discussion group. It was an admirable rebound from where she had been earlier in the week. She even began to think that she would be able to keep it up the following week. There was no way of knowing, of course. It was always possible that her debilitating fever over Brody could return. Still, it felt as if she had truly turned a corner. Now that she understood the nature of his work she was able to accept it, if not quite fully embrace it. She wasn’t sure that she would ever be able to completely make peace with it. At the very least, however, she was now confident that she would be able to close herself off from it as long as Brody didn’t bring his work home. When she got home that evening it dawned on her that it was Friday night. That is, it was exactly one week since she had first met Brody. To think, she hadn’t even wanted to go out that night. Now she couldn’t even imagine what her life would have been like if she had declined as she originally intended. It was even possible that she owed Julia a “thank you” for forcing her to go out that night. Serendipity was a powerful thing, just not powerful enough to overcome her locking herself in her apartment that night. She thought about what he might be doing at this very moment. He could be behind the wheel of a stolen car right now. She caught herself beginning to worry about him. She knew he could take care of himself. She knew this wasn’t the first risk he’d ever taken. In all likelihood whatever job it was would go off without a hitch, allowing them to be together without a specter hanging over their relationship. She just had to make it through the uncertainty of this weekend. Then, and only then, could she breathe a sigh of relief and make some attempt to