Leaving his shoes at the front door, Nicola dropped his backpack in the coat closet and yawned as he made his way to the kitchen. Looking into his refrigerator he discovered that there was nothing inside except one beer. Damn it, he had forgotten to go grocery shopping again. Grabbing the lonely beer, he closed the refrigerator door and grabbed a bag of potato chips off the counter.
Nicola walked quietly through his home observing in the dark with only small nightlights to guide him his perfectly organized home. It was a shame to have such a nice place and no one to bring home to it. Climbing his stairs with his bag of potato chips clutched tightly to him, he tried to fight his tiredness. When he got to his bedroom, he pulled off his uniform quickly and dropped it on the floor beside him. Turning on the television, he laid his head back on the soft goose down pillows and breathed in heavily feeling his body finally relax. As he closed his eyes, without any intention or focus, the familiar trace of Ivy’s body came to mind.
“Ivy Winters,” Nicola said under his voice as he felt a strain in the small of his back. He would definitely never forget her, but one thing was for sure. He had to move on and quickly, and there was no better time than to start right then.
Picking up his phone, Nicola ignored the beeping signal indicating that he had messages. Who could he call at this time of night? Most of the women that he knew had to be in the office early in the morning. Kate? No. Liz? No. Erica? No. Rita? Maybe. He dialed her number. Hearing her voicemail pick up, he hung up. It was probably best she didn’t answer. She liked to stay up after sex talking about absolutely nothing for hours.
Lifting his tired head, Nicola turned up the volume to television. “What’s on tonight?” he said to himself switching from channel to channel.
Suddenly his cell phone rang. Looking at his caller ID, he saw that it is was Rita returning his call. He smiled deviously. He might as well get up and take a shower, because it appeared he would be up all night talking about nothing after all.
Chapter Six: Ivy’s Truth
Chapter 6
IVY’S TRUTH
We’re finally back on track….
Ivy relished in the thought. Feeling accomplished in her relationship, she counted the days down faithfully now that Grey was back in her life. It had been a long month of exile, but the makeup had been all that she could hope for and more. Grey had been extremely understanding lately and incredibly helpful with the planning of their wedding. He seemed eager to marry her, the way that he did when they first became engaged.
“I can’t believe we have less than six months before our wedding,” Ivy said crossing another day off of her calendar.
“Good, that means I only have six more months to put up with you,” Trina said printing off the last of her report for Dr. Peterson’s class.
“Now you know that you’re going to miss me,” Ivy said disregarding Trina’ tone.
“Hardly.”
“Whatever. If I’m not around, who is going to be here to make sure that you do your homework?”
“No one, that’s the whole point.”
“Anyway, I’m about to head out. I’m already late. Call me on my cell if you need me.”
“Alright. Say hello to Madison for me.” Trina put her report its presentation binder.
“Will do.”
Grabbing her purse, Ivy headed out of the house to meet her father for lunch. He called the night before and asked her to meet him at Mischas’s restaurant so that he could give her the check to pay for her wedding dress. Happily, she agreed considering that it had been nearly a month since she had talked to him. Plus, she really missed him.
Lieutenant Colonel Madison Winters, M.D. was the only man she had ever truly loved more than Grey. He put on his military face around others, but around her he was just a Creole boy from Louisiana, who liked to fish off of riverbanks and drink moonshine out of a pitcher when no one was looking. He had been her best friend for many years and her personal confidant.
In fact, two weeks before Grey proposed, Madison asked Ivy was she ready for marriage, because he thought that Grey would ask at any moment. And one week before she and Grey broke up he had asked was everything going well in their relationship. Although, she was clueless as to how her father knew so much about her life, she only hoped that he wouldn’t pick up on Nicola. She didn’t see how he could, but somehow Madison always surprised her with his ability to acquire “sensitive Intel”.
Walking into the dimly lit restaurant, she was greeted by her father who stood at the bar with a glass of beer in his hand watching ESPN and talking to the bartender. As he turned to see her approaching him, he opened his arms with total approval and hugged his only daughter warmly.
“Little sister,” he said throwing a five dollar bill on the bar table. “So good to see you.” Madison had always called Ivy little sister, because she always been so mature for someone her age, and he had always been so immature for a man of his.
“Hello, Madison,” she kissing him on his cheek. She had never called him daddy a day in her life. She observed her aging father. He stood a towering six feet five inches with freckles and light brown eyes. His complexion was fair and his sandy brown hair now carried accents of gray. Still in very good shape with a well-built physique, he wore his usual khakis, navy blue polo and brown loafers. She had always thought that his clothes never really matched his playful manner.
“I figured while I was visiting Memphis, I
