By My Side

CHAPTER 8

"Then what, exactly, seems to be your dilemma? You usually have women throwing themselves at you in throngs. Am I to understand that this one is any different?" She asked, earnest interest showing in her eyes.

"This woman is different. Quite the opposite of throwing herself at me, she has actually turned me down more times than I can count. At first, it was just innocent flirtations, but – without my even realizing it – it has moved far beyond that point."

Pushing his hand jerkily through his wind-blown hair, Cole continued, "What's more, I just found out last night that this woman has a son...a 4-year-old son...who is raising all on her own, without help from anyone. She even has a second job at a sewing plan. I don't know how she finds the time to work two jobs and take care of a small child."

Cole took a deep break and considered his next words very carefully, "She desperately needs help and I sincerely want to be that person who helps her. She is so stubborn, though, and I honestly don't think she will accept any help from me. When I offered to pay a hospital bill for her, she all but threw it back in my face with some comment about not wanting to accept charity. How am I supposed to deal with someone like that?" Cole ground out in frustration.

"Sounds to me like you truly do have feelings for this woman," ay said studying Cole's face as she said it.

"I do," replied Cole, almost as if saying it aloud made him realize the veracity of the words for the first time. "I really do."

"Then, I believe you probably need to think about how you would feel if someone offered to provide you with charity," she pointed out.

"But, she truly needs it." Cole shook his head as if trying to clear out the confusion that was keeping him from a full understanding.

"She might need the help, my dear, but no woman wants to be considered a charity case. When I first met your uncle, Art, I disliked him greatly. He drove up to the diner where I was waitressing in his sporty, little roadster acting for all the world like he owned the establishment. I must have caught his eye, because he immediately began flirting with me. My only desire was to dump a hot pot of coffee on the cocky man's head. Unfortunately, I really needed the job and that definitely would have gotten me fired on the spot. He must have come into the diner and sat at the same table ordering that same cup of black coffee for two weeks straight." May's eyes glittered and her smile increased as she relived the fond memory in her mind.

"I finally took pity on the man and asked him what he thought he was doing taking up that table everyday and ordering nothing but a cup of coffee. Do you know what that sweet man said to me?" She asked, still lost in her revelry of the past. "He looked up at me, waited until I we were gazing into each other's eyes and admitted that he was trying to get up the nerve to ask me out. Can you imagine? Him? Nervous of me?" She laughed and patted Cole's arm as if the thought of it still brought her humor.

"Well, after a few months of getting to know each other, I invited him back to my flat for a home cooked dinner. While there, Art noticed that my bathroom sink was beginning to become quite clogged. He stood there in his ran suit and silk tie and offered to pay for a plumber to fix the problem for me. And do you what I replied back to him?"

Cole smiled and shook his head, sure that his Aunt May would soon enlighten him.

"I told him that a real man wouldn't pay for someone else to do a job that he could do himself. He left that night covered in water and pipe grease. I was quite sure, after ruining a perfectly good suit, and likely embarrassing the poor man, that I would never hear from him again. Much to my surprise, however, he came back the very next day and proposed to me on bended knee." Tears filled May's eyes as the sweetness of the memory overcame her emotions.

"That is a wonderful story, Aunt May, but how does that help me with my dilemma exactly?"

May shook her head, as if the lesson should be obvious, but expecting him to miss it.

"You have got to find a way to get past her pride if you really to help her," she replied decisively.

"How am I supposed to do that when she won't accept my money?" Cole grumpily inquired.

"Don't throw money at her. Throw yourself at her, figuratively speaking, of course," she said with glittering eyes as if discovering the meaning of life for the very first time.

"Excuse me? Throw myself at her? Isn't that what I have been trying to do this whole entire time?" Cole asked, astonished that his aunt would offer such a suggestion.

"Like I told your uncle, don't pay someone else to do something that you yourself are perfectly capable of completing," she explained, clearly quite proud of her advice.

While he wasn't really sure where to start, Cole thought that his Aunt's idea had merit.

"I'll try. Thanks, Aunt May."

Cole stood up and squeezed her shoulders in gratitude before making his way to the door.

"Don't forget to bring your young lady and her little boy down for a visit, now, do you hear me, Cole?" she called after him, still sitting at the kitchen table with her hot cocoa in front of her.

With a laugh, Cole assured his aunt that he would do just that and headed towards his car with a decidedly new bounce in his previously depressed step.