“I’m glad you decided to let me join you Mr. Monroe.”

Charlene was hoping Joe would still let her call him by his first name as they had discussed in the office. “Had he forgotten already,” she wondered?

“Did you have any trouble getting here Charlene?” “No it was fine.” She didn’t mention the private car and driver provided to her by her father.

“I think we need to discuss the ground rules a little more closely.”

“Fine Mr. Monroe.”

“First, Mr Monroe isn’t going to fly on a three week vacation like this one, Charlene. It’s to cumbersome. You should just call me by my first name and I’ll call you by yours, as we have discussed. Back at the office we’ll revert back to the more formal greetings. What do you think? Can you manage that without feeling uncomfortable?”

“Yes Mr. Monroe, I mean Joe, she said with a feeling of excitement coursing through her body. No one will ever know about this, I promise.”

“Great then. I don”t want everyone to think that you are my favorite co-worker, even though you are.” Charlene’s heart raced.

“You are the best secretary ever and have you have helped me more than you may be aware of, especially with this whole marriage fiasco. I was at my wits end and you helped to push some of that despair away with your friendship and good advice.You can’t know how much you have helped me.”

Charlene looked away from Joe and saw a familiar face in the crowded waiting room. Two women sat close to each other talking quietly. The two looked to be traveling companions. Perhaps they were best friends. Charlene knew who the woman was or had been.

She had been a famous movie star, years ago.

Her last two movies had been large flops at the box office. “But that wasn’t her fault,” Charlene had thought. Her last great film had been “The Gun in the Sand,” filmed on location in Africa. “Was she going back to create a come back film?” Charlene wondered.

Her male costar had been equally famous at the time. She had been the ingenue in her last film and then “poof,” she was gone from the screen. Time had taken it’s toll on her, sadly. Charlene would have to talk with her on the plane and get her side of the story.

Charlene saw many things around her that weren’t real. That was due to her meds. But in this case, she was correct.

Charlene was beside herself. “Things were starting off better than she could have ever imagined.”

Charlene could smell the aroma of Joe’s body sitting close next to her. It was a little musky and sweet mixed in with the smell of the laundry detergent he used to wash his cloths.

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That’s the end of Chapter Twenty. Much more to come.

Remember to hug those around you that you love. They can be gone in seconds.