Ian headed out the door of the restaurant and returned to his apartment. Once there he dug out the bottle of Wild Turkey he had received as a Christmas gift and broke the seal. He upended the bottle took a healthy slug into his mouth and soul; he hoped that the smoky burn of the amber colored liquor would burn her memory away.

The weekends were the hardest on him as he and Margo had spent a lot of time together on the weekends and everything he saw reminded him of her. So it was on the weekends that he did his heaviest drinking. 

Phone calls went unanswered as did the buzzing of the intercom system of his apartment. He received an invitation to their wedding a few months later and simply tore it in tiny pieces before returning it to them.

It was about a year later that few of his longtime friends caught him in the parking lot of his apartment. They were sick of his self-destructive behavior and decided to intercede..

"You wanna drink yourself to death over a woman?" Al started.

"We've all been there and yes it hurts. But enough is enough," Troy added.

They took him to a local bodybuilding gym and forced him inside.

"Time to channel your anger into something beneficial," Al added.

So Ian reluctantly began to pump iron with his buddies. As time passed he stopped drinking and hurting and he embraced this new sport. He read every magazine that was solely for those in the sport and purchased all the supplements they mentioned.

As the months his physique and attitude changed. He began to house hunt and found the perfect one after a brief search and moved in about a month later. 

The whining sound that the shower made as it was being turned off brought him back to the present and he collected himself before Margo appeared. Even clad in the oversized sweats that he had provided she was still attractive. She carried her wet clothing wrapped in her used bath towel.

Before she could speak Ian stood up and informed her that the dryer was at the bottom of the stairs to the right and showed her the way..

One half of his basement resembled a gym and was equipt with top of line lifting gear and not the cheap stuff you buy at a big box store. The washer and dryer appeared new and she threw her clothes into the washer and set it on spin.

Once the water had been forced out of her garments she placed them into the dryer, her bra she hung on a hanger and placed the end over a pipe. She saw Ian blush as he caught sight of her silk and lace bra and smiled to herself, her former friend was in there somewhere.

They returned to the kitchen table where he offered her coffee, tea or a brandy. She chose tea and smiled again as she saw the shiny kettle already on the burner, he remembered that she adored tea.

In her absence he had snapped on the Weather Channel and listened to them talking about the storm, according to the announcer this was just the beginning of a massive front.

"So, how did you know where I lived?" he finally asked as she sipped her tea.

"One of our mutual friends told me. Why? Is it some secret?"

"No not really. I just never expected to see you here."

"I didn't think you'd let me in."

"If it wasn't raining as hard as it is I wouldn't have."

"Wow, something smells great," she stated when she felt the ice in his response .

"I made some chili. Are you hungry?"

"I'm famished."

"Why don't you cook her a seven course meal you weakling? " a voice inside him asked.

Ian pulled the garlic bread out of the oven and sliced it before he placed in on a plate. He then ladled a healthy portion of chili into a bowl and slid it to her.

"So how come you called your parents and not your loving husband?" he inquired attempting to keep his sarcastic tone to a minimum as he took his seat.

"No reason," she responded and reached for the tray of bread.

As she extended her arm Ian caught sight of the faint purple, blue and yellow marks on her wrists and she saw his stare. She quickly pulled the sleeve down with a look of shame on her face.

"Like it? I've got a matching one the other side."

"Oh Margo, we all tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen," he said in a sympathetic voice.

"Yes, you all tried to tell me," she responded in a sad voice and pushed her bowl away.

His former buddy Chaz had a reputation for manhandling his lady friends. The girls from their group had been warned and none of them questioned the warning. So his requests for dates with them were declined, only Margo refused to listen.

"So just why didn't you listen to us? Did you think we were making this shit up?"

"I figured the girls wanted him for themselves and the guys were just pissed because they realized that they had no chance of bedding me."

A loud crack of thunder that shook the house was followed by a brilliant flash of lighting and the house was instantly plunged into darkness, even the street lights went out. Ian reached for the candles on the counter, he lit three and placed them on the table.

Margo's eyes were wide with fear so Ian went into the living room and placed another log on the fire and then escorted her into the warm glow coming from the fireplace.

"I met him after work at a downtown bar for drinks. When I tried to leave the table to greet some friends he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back in my seat. I waited until the waitress dropped off the second round before I slipped out my seat and headed outside. We had a loud argument that ended with him grabbing my cell phone and smashing it."

Tears began to crawl down her cheeks as she continued.

"I tried to walk away but her grabbed my other wrist and tried to pull me toward him. I raked his shin with the side of my shoe and then stomped on his toes, as he stood there in shock and pain I made my escape.

I know all the buildings and pedestrian cut throughs in downtown and he doesn't. He didn't even know where I parked my car so I was safe. The rain started as I was halfway there and I got soaked."

Ian handed her a tissue so she could dry her eyes and he struggled with the urge to move next to her and hold her in a gesture of comfort.

"What are you doing downtown? The last thing I heard you were working in the lab at that big hospital on the South side of town."

"That was over a year ago, I gave it up and became a real estate agent. The corporate offices are downtown and in the beginning I used to go down there a couple of times a week as I was learning all I would need to obtain my license. So when did you buy this house?"

"About six months ago, I got sick of apartment living. Didn't our big mouthed friends provide that information?"

Margo could not believe the anger she sensed when he spoke.

"The only information they provided was that you were on your way to being a full time drunk. Why?" she stated.

"I had this hole in my heart and soul that hurt, the booze filled it made living bearable."

A wave of sadness washed over her as he spoke of the hurt. Was she so blind that she was unable to see how much he loved her?

"I never knew," she said softy.

"Oh spare me the empty sentiment's. Once Chaz appeared you were so hot to hook up with him that you didn't see shit. What was it about him that lit your fire? His looks or his college education?"

"Yes, he was dammed good looking and educated,"she snapped back.

"While I was not."

"I never said that."

"Actions speak louder than words," Ian responded.

"Stopping here was a big mistake," she said standing up.

"So leave."