Eye Exam

"Not at all. I kill bugs."

Mercedes gave him a puzzled look then said, "Oh. Pest control. Duh!"

There were pest control companies in nearly every town all over Florida to kill chinch bugs, mole crickets, sod worms, and other lawn-devouring critters as well as to stop the myriad of bugs that would enter the house with treating the outside.

"Not that kind," Dex laughed. "In software. I debug software."

"Oh, boy. Don't I feel stupid. Again," Mercedes said before telling Dex, "Um...I guess I know what that means."

"It means he sits at the computer 24-7 and never does anything else," Addison said.

"No wonder he needs glasses."

"I don't spend that much time working," he said in his defense.

"I was just kidding. My dad always does stuff with me," Addison admitted. "But he does work a lot."

"Well, college is just around the corner, you know. And it ain't exactly cheap," he told his daughter.

"Dad! I'm eight years old," Addison reminded him.

"Right. You just talk like your eighteen."

Addison giggled, and Mercedes found herself truly enjoying their banter and their company.

Over lunch the topic of work came up again, and Dex asked how she was enjoying her job so far.

"It's not so bad. I like meeting people, so that's a plus. The pay isn't great, but I don't exactly have a lot of work history, so I won't be pulling down a lot of money any time soon no matter what I might do."

"Do you have family in the area?" he asked, hoping he was about to step on a 'landmine' the way Mercedes felt she had.

"Um...no. My dad passed away twelve years ago, and my mother passed away in 2015. My husband...well, my ex-husband, isn't in the picture anymore, and although I really wanted children, he didn't so here I am at 50 starting over."

"I didn't mean to pry. Sorry if that was out of line."

"No. Not at all. I just didn't think you'd be very interested in the details of my life so I gave the shortest version I could without just saying 'no'. That's all," Mercedes said, remembering to smile.

"Well, I'm interested in anything you'd care to talk about, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Dex assured her.

"I'm actually enjoying this very much," she said looking at both of them.

"Daddy? Can I go get some more?" Addison asked, her first plate of mostly shrimp clean as a whistle.

"Sure. That's fine," her dad said. "I don't know where you put it, though. I mean, look at her. Skinny Minnie the Ocean Winnie."

Addison was thin but not any more so than most girls her age. And she really didn't eat that much unless it was Sushi, and shrimp didn't exactly pack on the pounds.

She rolled her eyes then went back to the open bar for more.

"She's a sweetheart," Mercedes said.

"Thank you. I think so."

"She's a pretty girl. She'll be beautiful when she grows up."

"Well, she has her mom's eyes, nose and mouth, and fortunately she didn't get any of my features, so she got pretty lucky."

Mercedes laughed then said, "You're very funny, Dex. I haven't laughed this much in quite a while."

"Funny. You just had to bring up my looks, didn't you?" he said in his deadpan style.

Mercedes nearly spewed her ice tea as she laughed again.

"Trust me, there's nothing funny about the way you look. You're a very handsome man, Dex."

"Well, thank you. Coming from a beautiful woman, that's actually very reassuring. I don't hear that kind of thing anymore, so I do appreciate it."

"I'd say the same thing except that I'm no longer young, so it's not that unusual for a woman my age not to hear things like that. But in your case, you still are young, and you really are very handsome."

"Again, thank you, but this 'I'm not young' thing is a little ridiculous. You honestly look like you're my age," he told her.

"May I ask just old you are?" she requested to know with raised eyebrows of her own.

"Sure. I'm 35," he told her without hesitation.

She nearly spewed again then laughed just as Addison came back with a half dozen more shrimp.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Your father. He's quite the comedian," Mercedes told her.

"He is very funny," she said.

Then just like her father, she said, "Looking," with a straight face.

"Oh, okay! So that's how it's gonna be, huh!" her dad said as though they were about to go to war.

He grabbed her plate and said like the 'Soup Nazi' on Seinfeld, "No more shrimp for YOU!"

Addison was cracking up, and Mercedes was laughing to the point of tearing up loving the back and forth and watching what was left of this family have the kind of fun she'd always longed for but never had.

Dex handed the plate back, looked at his watch, then said, "We need to get going. We can't be late, so see if you can polish those off, okay?"

"No problem," Addison told him as she popped one in her mouth, chewed it up, swallowed, then popped in another.

"Can you help me?" she asked Mercedes as she pushed the plate her way.

"Well, I guess I could have one more," she said before taking one and popping it in her mouth the same way Addison had done.

The little girl giggled then popped one more.

"Daddy. You take the last one, okay?" she said, pushing her plate toward him.

"You sure?"

"Uh-huh," she said as she finished the last of what she'd been chewing.

He popped his in, too, and got another laugh before signaling their server for the check.

They got back to the office with seven minutes to spare, and sat in the parking lot as they said their goodbyes.

"Thank you both so much," Mercedes said once the car stopped. "It's been a long time since I had so much fun."

"It was our pleasure, right, honey?"

"Yes, it was," Addison agreed.

"Well, I hope your new glasses do the trick. You really do look very good in them," Mercedes told Dex.

"They were your choice, so I owe you the thanks you for that."

"All right. I guess I'll get back to work then," she said.

"No, wait. My dad has to open the door for you," Addison said just as her dad was moving to do just that.

"Oh, yes. Chivalry and all that. Gosh, I haven't had anyone open my door in...well, I'm not sure how long," she said as Dex was getting out.

He came around, opened it, then offered her his hand.

She stood up, thanked him again, and he told her it was his pleasure.

They stood there looking at one another for a couple of seconds before Mercedes said again, "I really should get inside."

"Right. Yes. Sorry. I don't mean to keep you," Dex said as he stepped aside.

Before he closed her door, she leaned down and told Addison goodbye.

"Bye!" the eight-year old said with a smile. "See you later!"

"I do hope so!" Mercedes said back.

As she walked away, Dex made a snap decision and caught up with her.

"Hi. Long time no see," he said when she noticed him.

Mercedes laughed again then said, "Did you forget something inside?"

"No. I was just wondering if, well, if you had as nice a time as I did, if you'd maybe like to, you know, do this again sometime."

Mercedes stopped, turned, and looked right at him.

"I had a wonderful time, Dex. But you can't be serious."

"Why can't I?" he asked. It was deadpanned but not for the same reason.

"Um...35," she said kind of pointing at him. "And...50," she added, pointing to herself.

"What does that have to do with anything? I believe we both just had a very nice time together and our ages didn't seem to matter."

"But that was just lunch. It wasn't...a date."

"Well, then call whatever we do together next time by it's name, too. It'll just be...a movie or...it'll just be roller skating or..."

"Roller skating. I used to love to skate. You know, back when I was Addison's age."

"Then let's go!" Dex said. "There's a rink up in Orange Park, and Addison loves going there. It's a bit of a teen hangout, but it's still a lot of fun."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Mercedes said as she looked right at him so see if he really was.

"Yes. I'm very serious. And Addison really likes you, too."

Mercedes still hadn't committed so Dex waved to his daughter.

"Dex. What are you doing?" she asked as Addison came running over.

"Addison. Would you rather go roller skating with just me or with Mercedes and me?" he asked after putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Duh! With her and you, of course," the little girl said as she smiled at the beautiful woman.

"You can't say 'no' to a sweet girl like Addison, can you?" Dex said as he poured it on.

"Oh, that was downright dirty pool," Mercedes said.

Addison played her part and tried to look as sweet and innocent as she could.

"Please?" she said to Mercedes.

After letting out a long exhale, Mercedes said, "Okay. Fine. But this is just roller skating."

As Addison said, "Yes!" and did a fist pump, her father said, "Of course. Like this was 'just lunch'. And next time it'll just be..."

"Okay. Okay. Stop right there," Mercedes said.

She was trying not to smile and was deeply flattered by all the attention, but no matter how lonely she might be, she was very much a realist, and Dex was still a whopping 15 years younger than her.

"No one said anything about a next time, okay?" she tried to say very authoritatively.

"Oh, well...I sorta already did," Dex said, as he made a 'sorry' kind of face.

"He's right. My dad did kind of already say that," Addison said just as directly.

"Now you're ganging up on me!" Mercedes said, pretending to be offended by being overwhelmed.

"What can I say? We're a team," Dex told her as he put his arm around his daughter.

"That's right. We're a force to be reckoned with," Addison let her know.

Mercedes couldn't take anymore and laughed.

"You are one very smart young lady," she told Addison.

"She reads a lot," Dex said. "And she's like an elephant. She never forgets. Anything."

Addison was smiling so happily it made Mercedes happy.

"Okay. We'll go roller skating," she said as she unlocked the door.

"And?" Addison said as though she were the adult reminding a child of something else they'd already agreed to.

"And...we'll see," Mercedes told her. "Okay?"

"Okay. That works for me!" Addison said, unable to stop smiling.

"Yeah. Me, too," Dex told her. "So can we come pick you up later this evening?"

"Wait. Tonight?" she asked, having assumed it would be somewhere down the road.

"Oh, well, if you already have plans, then sure, we could do it some other time," Dex told her.

"I...I don't have any plans, I just thought you meant sometime later. Like Friday or maybe next week."

"The weekends are insanely crowded, but any evening is okay with us, right?" he said to his daughter.

"Right. Anytime is fine," Addison told her. "Like...tonight."

"In for a penny, in for..." Mercedes began saying.

"A pound," Addison said with a smile, finishing her sentence.

"Okay. I give up. That sounds...nice," she told them.

She unlocked the door and opened it when Dex said, "We uh, we kind of need your address."

"Oh. Yes, that might help, huh?" Mercedes said with a smile of her own.

She gave it to them, and Dex added it into his phone.

"Any chance I could get your phone number while I'm at it?"

Addison was still smiling, and Mercedes realized she'd lost the battle even as she realized she hadn't exactly put up a fight.

She provided that, too, then said, "I really do need to get inside. Doctor Andrews comes in from the back, and I don't need to be late."

"Sure. Of course," Dex said.

"Well, thank you both—again. The Sushi was very good."

She paused then said, "So was the company."

"Bye!" Addison told her. "See you tonight!"

"Yes, I guess you will," Mercedes said, pretending again to be put out as she smiled happily then went inside.

"So...what do you think?" Dex asked his daughter.

"I think...nice work!"

Addison offered him a high five which he accepted.

"Do you like her?" her father asked.

"Yes. I like her a lot. She's very nice," Addison agreed.

"Okay. Good. I just wanted to make sure you felt the same way I do."

"Dad?" she said as they held hands and walked together.

"Uh-huh?"

"I'm glad you're finally trying to meet someone."

"I've tried," he said somewhat defensively knowing he hadn't made much effort.

Addison knew better and looked up at him. She didn't say a word because she didn't need to.

"Okay. So maybe I haven't made all that much effort."

They got to the car and Addison gave him another look.

"Fine. I haven't done much of anything, but this counts, right?"

His daughter put her arms around his waist and hugged him, and that said more than any words from her could have.

Skate Station Funworks was located 11.6 miles north of Yume Fusion Sushi & Grill on Blanding Boulevard. It opened at 6:30pm, so Dex normally tried to get there by seven so he could have Addison home by 8:30 and in bed by 9pm. She was home for summer vacation, so it wasn't critical, but the place got crazy busy around nine o'clock, so getting out of there before that was still a good idea.

So when they got home, he texted Mercedes:

"Hi! I just wanted to tell you again how much we enjoyed having you join us for lunch. We normally get to the skating rink around seven, but we can be flexible. I try and get Addison in bed by nine, but that, too, isn't a big deal, so please let us know when to come get you. And we both very much look forward to seeing you again. Dex & Addy."

Mercedes saw the text come in as she was going through two orders from just before lunch. She knew Dr. Andrews's policy about texting during work, but she couldn't help looking. It only took a few seconds to read, and when she did, it made her smile.

She'd been alone for over a year now, and divorced for just over five months. In that year, she'd been asked out a grand total of five times with three of them coming from Dr. Andrews. He was a nice enough man, but she had no interest in him romantically, and although she'd tried to tactfully convey that to him, he'd continued to flirt with her.

Well, until just recently. After her third refusal, he'd become openly distant and increasingly hostile, and that was what had led her to believe he'd let her go after mentioning 'alternative treatments' to a patient. All she wanted was to be able to do her job, but he had made it very uncomfortable for her.

The other two invites had been from men she'd known during her marriage who were now divorced. She'd said 'yes' to one and 'no' to the other. Her one and only date had been nice enough, but she had very little in common with this old friend, and truth be told, he looked...old.

Mercedes knew she was very fortunate to be her age and still have very few lines and wrinkles let alone no gray hair. Many of her female friends her same age had not been so fortunate with several looking like they were in their mid-60s with most 'looking their age'. Even so, she'd been married for 22 years, and the thought of trying to meet someone new—someone her age she found both interesting and attractive—seemed downright daunting.

So as much as she hated sitting home alone in the one asset the courts hadn't taken to pay her ex-husband's debts, she did her best to try and stay busy and not think about things like love or especially—lovemaking. Where that word was concerned, it had been close to two years now, as that's when John, her former husband, was arrested. It had been very public with his arrest carried on the local news followed by his trial.

He'd been released on bond, but his entire focus had been on trying to stay out of jail, and as a result, there'd been no physical contact of any sort. And once Mercedes learned just how much financial damage he'd inflicted on them, just the thought of being with him made her ill.

They had a very large sum of money in investments, they owned their home outright, and often took expensive vacations traveling around the world. She had no idea he'd gotten so deeply into sports betting over the years.

By the time she knew anything was wrong, virtually everything they'd spent a lifetime building was gone. Even the home she lived in was once again owed by the bank. But because she'd done nothing wrong, the bank couldn't legally take it from her as a result of a settlement reached in a plea bargain which sent her her husband to prison for ten years rather than for the twenty-five he was facing.

So she was allowed to live there, but were she to move, there was no equity in the home, and the bank would seize it immediately. Without any money to buy a new home, she was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

For now, she was earning just enough to let her pay the property taxes and her other bills. There was nothing left over to allow her to go anywhere or really do anything, so her life had become work, television, and playing games on her phone to pass the time.

Being asked out by someone so handsome of any age had been a huge boost to her ego; a boost she'd sorely needed. So even though whatever amount of time she might spend with Dex and Addison couldn't possibly go anywhere, it felt very good to have a man like Dex tell her he thought she was attractive and show some interest in her. And the fact that he had such a sweet, adorable little girl was an added bonus.

Without even taking the cell phone out of her lab coat pocket, she quickly typed, "Seven is fine!" then hit 'send'.

Dex got her reply, smiled, then texted back, "Okay. See you at seven!"

Mercedes also smiled when she got his reply seconds later, and wondered if this was what it was like to be in love in the age of cell phones and texting. Not that she thought she was in love or anything close to it. It was just so different than her experience growing up waiting for a boy to call on the phone to talk, something she'd done a lot of when she was in high school.

By the time she got home, Mercedes was wondering how she could be so excited about something she hadn't done in maybe 25 years or so. If that wasn't enough of a concern, she found herself fretting about what to wear. It wasn't a difficult choice. Jeans made sense in case she fell, and a decent tee-shirt would be more than adequate. And yet she looked through her entire closet and chest of drawers twice before finally deciding.

She chose a close-fitting salmon-colored sleeveless blouse with a pair of black Capri pants then debated about how much makeup to wear. There was no need to wear any, and yet she painted her lips a glossy color that matched her blouse after adding a touch of eye shadow then freshening up her mascara.

"Oh, get real," she told herself when she started rummaging through her jewelry. She put on a pair of silver earrings but told herself the necklace wasn't needed. But after putting it back, she picked it up again and put it on.

She also couldn't avoid one last look in the mirror once everything was in place—just to make sure. And as always, she looked amazing. Mercedes wouldn't allow herself to use that particular word even thought it was true.

"Not bad," she did allow herself to say, satisfied that everything looked...okay.

She'd lost track of time, and less than two minutes later, the doorbell rang, startling her and causing that nervous feeling to well up inside her. She stopped at the door, took a deep breath, then smiled as she opened it.

"Hey!" she said to her two favorite new friends.

"You look beautiful!" Addison told her immediately.

But even better than the compliment was the hug she got when Addison walked right up to her and put her arms around her.

"Oh, my goodness. Thank you, sweetheart!" Mercedes said as she hugged her back.

Dex looked at her then nodded Addison's way and said, "What she just said."

"That's very sweet of you, Dex," Mercedes told them before inviting them in.

"Nice place," he said as they looked around.