Destiny by chance: A Contemporary Romance Fiction Novel by Margaret Ferguson

neck… surprise romantic back rubs and amazing foot massages.  Or random “I love you’s,” or a quiet smile that spoke the same.  All the things that had been a part of her everyday life for ten years were now just a distant memory.
    Winston had been hinting at a date for almost fifteen months and here she’d agreed to meet Owen after just one brief conversation.  It was as close to a blind date as one could get.  And now, thanks to Lisa, she was stuck.  Owen… the first man that had successfully asked her out though unofficially , in almost a dozen years.
    Destiny and Winston each checked their individual teacher mailboxes, rifling through messages as he continued to rattle on about working out after school or a new martial arts movie that was playing.  Winston usually chattered on and on about things she knew nothing about or even cared to know.  As he turned to leave, he nudged her with his elbow.  “See you Monday,” he said with a wink.
    “Monday,” she replied as he walked out the door to the teachers’ parking lot.
    Destiny turned toward the administration corridor and met a new face smiling up at her from the secretarial desk.  “Hi, is Rita still here?”
    “I’ll see.  May I tell her who’s asking?”
    “Destiny,” she smiled.
    “What a lovely name.  I’m Brenda.” She held out her hand.
    “Brenda, nice to meet you.”
    At that moment, the school principal, Rita O’Connor, walked from her office.  “Destiny!” she exclaimed.  “How were your meetings?”
    “They all went well,” she replied.  “Do you have a second?”
    “Sure.” Rita turned back toward her office.  “Did you meet Brenda?”
    Destiny smiled back at Brenda.  “I did.  Again, pleased to meet you.” 
    Brenda glanced back up from her computer without a break in typing, smiled, and looked back down.
    “Where’s Ginger?” Destiny asked as she sat across from her boss.
    “She quit.”
    “Quit?” Destiny exclaimed.  “Why?”
    “Not really sure,” she said, the disappointment evident in her voice.  “She was acting kind of strange the past two weeks, and then this morning she just didn’t show up.”  Rita nodded toward the door.  “Brenda’s an intern on loan from the central office until I can find a replacement.”
    “That’s peculiar,” Destiny remarked off-handedly.  Her eyes met Rita’s.  “I hate to add to your plate, but I wanted to see about doing a Habitat build with the seniors.  They approached me a month ago, and I have to give Habitat an answer by Monday.”
    “As long as you have all the proper paperwork, I don’t see it as a problem.”
    “Then I’ll call Habitat and set up a weekend.”
    Rita stood and moved to the front of her desk.  “That was painless.  I wish all the teachers brought me issues with such easy answers.”
    Destiny stood beside Rita.
    “Are you doing okay?” she asked with a compassionate smile.
    Destiny smiled sadly and shrugged.  “Today’s a good day.”
    Rita’s smile grew.  “Give yourself time.”  Rita understood Destiny’s pain, having lost her husband ten years before to a massive heart attack.  Rita, as Destiny had, threw herself into her work.  Her love for the kids was great and helped her deal with the loss.  Helped her deal with the pain.
    Destiny nodded.  “One day at a time,” she sighed.
    “Look, we’re all meeting for drinks at the Oasis in about an hour.  You’re welcome to join us,” she offered, already knowing the answer.
    Destiny slowly shook her head.  “Thanks for the invite.  Winston already invited me.”
    Rita’s smile faded.  “Yeah, well, Winston’s sweet, but there’s something just a little off about him.”
    Destiny furrowed her brow.  “What do you mean by that?”
    “Think about it.  Why does someone that good looking, who is the perfect gentleman, not have a girlfriend and never been married?”
    Destiny shrugged again.  “Maybe something happened, and he’s nursing a