Finding Love Again

Chapter 6

The days leading up to Monday were really busy for Natasha. On Friday evening, the workers finished with the remodeling of the building. On Saturday, she spent most of the day setting up the final details. Before she knew it, it was Monday morning. If you asked Natasha, her morning couldn't have been more disastrous. First, she woke up late because she didn't hear her alarm. When she opened her eyes, she saw she was already thirty minutes behind schedule. She quickly got up and went to take a shower. As she was taking a shower, she finished her shampoo, so she made a mental note to buy more. She quickly put on the outfit she had picked out the night before. She went into the kitchen to prepare her coffee, but it hadn't brewed. Nat knew she had set the timer to brew at 7:30, but when she checked it, she saw that the timer was not set. Frustrated she opted to just go ahead and stop at Dunkin Donuts to buy herself a cup of coffee and maybe, just maybe, a donut even though that was not part of her diet as a ballerina. The next thing that went wrong was that she could not find her car keys or her wallet. By the time she found them, it was already 8:30. She had to be at the studio at 9 for her first class. She dashed out the door, quickly locked her apartment and ran down the stairs. Once she was in the car, she put the key into the ignition and turned it, but the car would not turn on. She was already really late, and she knew that she would not make it in time for her first class. Since her ten o'clock class wasn't that full, she decided to send a message to her students that for today the class would start at 10. After sending the message, she tried starting her car again with no success. She thought about taking the subway, but she knew Maria wouldn't accept that. She decided to go with Plan B. She dialed a phone number and waited for the person on the other side to pick up.

"Detective Barton."

"Hey,Clint. It's Nat."

"Nat? I thought you were already receiving students or warming up or something. Is something wrong?"

"Yes, I mean, not in the way you're thinking. My car broke down."

"Where?"

"I'm still at the apartment."

"You're still at your apartment?!" Clint asked incredulously.

"Yes," Natasha answered meekly.

"What are you doing there? I thought you had your first class at 9."

"It's a long story. You could say I haven't had a very good morning. Before you go on about how I'm going to lose students, I already sent out a message to change the class to 10. My nine and ten o'clock classes aren't that full, so I can do both for today. I called to ask if you could come pick me up, and if you could do me a favor of making sure my car goes to the mechanic."

"Of course, I'll pick you up, and don't worry about the car. I'll take care of that."

"Thanks, Clint. How far away are you?"

"I'll be there in 10-15 minutes."

"All right, I'll be waiting."

Fifteen minutes later, Clint and Natasha were on their way to the ballet studio. "Care to tell me what happened this morning?"

Natasha bowed her head in embarrassment. "I woke up late, and things went downhill from there," was all she answered.

Clint nodded his head in comprehension. In the little bit of time he has known Natasha, he knew better than to press for details. She was a very private person, and he could understand why given her past. But even though he knew her past, he knew she hadn't shared all the details with him.

"Clint, do you mind if we quickly stop at Dunkin Donuts so that I can buy coffee?"

"Yeah sure, but be quick."