LOVE ONLINE

Chapter 6

'Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye."                                                                                                       H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

 July 11

When it was time to bring home his date from the gala, Dan Gallagher couldn't believe that it had been already seven hours since he picked her up at her apartment. Odd, it only felt like a couple of hours, he thought. He had absolutely no idea that he would be having such a grand time spending the night with her. In fact, he prayed up to the last minute that it wouldn't pull through. But it did, and he thanked God for allowing that to happen.

He was not fond of driving at all. But tonight was an exception, he appreciated every single minute of it, and secretly wished they had gone farther than New York to be able to talk some more. Sitting at the passenger seat, she looked nothing but beautiful, dressed in a cute décolleté black dress, her wavy blonde hair swept up in a chignon, with full make-up on. Although his company, Perseus, didn't win any awards that night, but he already felt like a winner with her sitting beside him all throughout the evening. People were talking to him suddenly, quietly asking him about her. He actually felt relaxed with her by his side in such a big crowd.

At first, there was an awkward moment between them, she thought. But after she broke the ice, they were chatting like old friends again. Lily Blackwell was almost glad that her friend had broken her leg last night, and wasn't able to go to the gala. It was a blessing in disguise. She thought Jamie owed her big time for coming tonight, but it was actually the other way around now. She couldn't believe that she would enjoy the night as she saw Dan as little less exciting than the guys she dated. She stole a glance at Dan who looked smashing in his custom-tailored midnight blue tuxedo. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that Dan was the exact opposite of the guys she dated. Matured, dependable and caring, those were the qualities that her sister had loved him in the first place. "So, have you heard about Jamie's new friend?"

"What new friend?" Dan sounded concerned.

Lily sighed deeply.  Truly, Dan Gallagher was a worrier; to worry most of the time over something so trivial that was overwhelming sometimes... She advised him, "Relax."  You know, the one who gave you the graphics of your client's latest book cover."

"Oh, that guy." A little more worried, Dan scratched his chin and continued. "I didn't know that Jamie still talked to him."  There was no way that he would know.  The fact that he was so wrapped up in his own world he barely noticed his own daughter. But then again, not every parents nowadays knew what their children was up to. 

"Well, she does now, every night after work. Zach seems like a great guy. In fact, I encourage Jamie to get to know him better."  She admitted.

"I don't know...I don't think it's a good idea to be chatting with a guy who hides behind a computer."  He said, unsure.

Lily rolled her eyes.  "Oh, come on. He's done you a favor. Plus Jamie is turning eighteen in a couple of months. You should get used to it and give her more freedom."

"It might still be dangerous though..." Dan clutched the steering wheels tightly as worry lines creased his forehead.

"That's why, I told her to talk to him more often, get to know the person first before meeting with him." Lily explained further. "I'm sure Cindy would agree with me if she were still alive."

Dan just shook his head and kept quiet. Lily was right. Jamie should be given more freedom now to decide for herself. Although he didn't want to be like other overprotective parents who became slaves to their own anxieties about parenting, but he still couldn't shake off the nagging feeling about it. If only Cindy, his wife, were still alive, things would have been a lot easier for him to handle. Now he had to be both a father and a mother to Jamie.  And man, was it hard!