If you missed yesterday’s post, start there…and if you missed that one then start with the 15th.

Ashley called the office and canceled her afternoon appointments. The snow was still coming down and the forecast was now for six to nine inches. She wanted to get home before the roads got worse than they were. Already, traffic was crawling along at just 10 miles an hour.

The slow drive home gave her time to think about her conversation with Alex. It felt good to be understood. It had been a long time since she felt that from Kyle. All he wanted to understand were the latest sports scores.

Alex listened to her. He cared about what she thought and asked her opinion. He respected her work. She wanted Kyle to be more like Alex, but didn’t that would ever happen.

Alex was also thoughtful. He had started her car and cleaned off all the snow while she waited in the restaurant. He even offered to drive her home, but she assured him she’d be okay.

She thought about how the office would probably be closed the next day and how she would miss seeing Alex. He’d often bring her a cup of coffee in the morning or just stop by her office to talk.

Normally, it would only take about 10 minutes to get home from downtown, but the snow made it almost an hour. She turned into her driveway, which was already covered with at least four inches.

Kyle’s car was not in the driveway. She thought about calling him back, but didn’t feel like it. She didn’t know what she’d say anyway.

Just as she was thinking about Kyle, her phone buzzed. “Hey, what’s up?” she said.

“Just checking to make sure you got home okay. The roads got bad pretty fast,” Alex said.

“You’ve got perfect timing,” she said. “I just pulled into my driveway.”

“Yeah, I’m still on the road. I’ve got another 10 minutes or so.”

“Well, please be careful. Okay?”

“I will. You, too.” After a moment of silence, Alex said, “Call me if you want to talk or anything.”

“Thanks, Alex. See you tomorrow. I hope.”

Ashley said goodbye and shut off the car. She grabbed her purse and briefcase and went inside. She changed into more comfortable clothes, sat down in the living room and watched the snow falling outside. Her backyard looked like a painting of a winter day.

The little Christmas tree she and Kyle had put up a couple weeks earlier was next to the window. They’d had fun that day. It felt like when they were dating. They laughed a lot. They held hands. Then they decorated the tree together and ate Chinese food. She felt connected to him. It had been a good night, too. She wished those kinds of days hadn’t become the exception.

The lack of sleep from the night before was catching up with her and it was getting difficult to keep her eyes open. It was a perfect day to take a nap, so she curled up on the sofa and pulled a small blanket on top of her. She was asleep within minutes.

She never heard the four calls to her cell phone.

Part 4 tomorrow and part 5, the conclusion, on Monday.