Physician's Assistant

"That's not fair," she told him.

"It's the truth."

"No. Not that."

"Then what?" he asked as he looked right at her.

"When you smile at me like that. That's not fair."

"How do I smile at you, Tori?"

"I...I don't know. I only know that it makes me want to..."

"Mom! Are you guys coming in?" they heard Aiden call out as he bounded down the steps and back toward the car.

"I'm not leaving until you answer that question," Paul told her, another smile on his face as Aiden ran around to her side to open the door.

She started to answer him when Aiden asked if Paul could come in. Before she could answer her son, Paul said he'd love to, and Aiden did the 'YES!' thing, and Tori knew she couldn't just overrule him.

The 'talk' or perhaps 'the question' got put on hold as the three of them went inside where Tori asked if anyone was hungry.

"Me!" Aiden called out.

"I could eat," Paul told her with another amazing smile.

"Can we have grilled cheese?" Aiden asked before she could suggest something.

She looked at Paul, who was still smiling, who told her, "I do love grilled cheese."

Tori's tummy fluttered again and she smile back before letting the 'boys' know that was fine.

"My mom makes the best grilled cheese ever!" Aiden assured his new best friend.

"So she's a good cook?" he asked while looking at Tori who turned away when she saw his smile again, causing him to miss Aiden's reply.

"So what do you do for fun when you're at home, Aiden?" Paul asked.

"Um...video games mostly. But I like comic books, too. And watching baseball on TV."

A discussion of favorite superheroes ensued with Paul doing his best to make the case for Green Lantern, his all-time number one superhero.

Aiden had seen the Aquaman movie when it came out nearly a year earlier, and ever since, he was Aiden's favorite.

"Yeah, but Green Lantern can go into outer space or the ocean with a protective green energy bubble around him," Paul argued.

"Yeah, but he doesn't have huge muscles like Aquaman!" the boy countered.

"And Jason Momoa isn't hard on the eyes," a smiling Tori offered as she buttered bread and heated a pan.

"Oh, so he's your crush, eh?" Paul teased.

Tori smiled at him then said, "Maybe."

"Okay," Paul replied. "I mean, he's 40, so he is closer to your age."

"Hey!" Tori objected immediately. "I'm not 40!"

"You're almost 40!" Aiden chimed in saying.

"Not for another..."

Tori saw Paul, his arms folded and his head tilted, just waiting for her to say how much longer it would be.

"Never mind," she said, as she flipped her head back again.

"How old are you, Paul?" Aiden asked, having not understood the '126' comment from before.

"What? What's wrong with that?" Aiden asked his mom who was giving him a look.

She started trying to explain it when Paul floored her.

"I'm 26, buddy."

"Oh, okay," the boy said, having no idea that meant anything other than he was a lot older than him.

Paul saw Tori mouthing the words, "Twenty-six?" but could tell it was asked as a question. As in, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Yes. Twenty-six," he repeated.

"Oh...my...God!" Tori said with a shake of her head.

"Mom? Why did you say that?" Aiden asked as he looked back and forth between Paul and his mother.

"Oh, no reason, honey," she said as she pretended to glare at Paul.

"You're mom just can't believe I can be this handsome already," Paul told Aiden very seriously.

"What?" a very confused boy asked as he looked at both adults again for clarification.

"Someone is just trying to...change my standpoint," his mother said just further confusing her son.

"Okay. I have NO idea what's going on here," Aiden said as he held up both hands out in front of him.

"Someone is slowly changing her mind," Paul said to the boy as he smiled at his mother.

"Ha! Yeah, right!" the woman he smiled at said.

"Yes, right," Paul told her. "And you know it's true."

"I know no such thing," Tori told him as though that were impossible even as she realized her defenses were slowly caving in.

Two hours and a several games of UNO later, Paul thanked his hosts for lunch and a really nice time just before Aiden gave him another hug.

This time, when he stood up, Paul reached out to Tori with open arms, knowing he was taking advantage of the first hug to get one from her.

"Very slick, Mr. PA," she told him as though hugging him would be some kind of huge sacrifice.

She pretended to hug him back reluctantly, but when he put his arms around her, Tori felt something she hadn't felt since Mike was alive, and that feeling both scared and confused her. She didn't mention it, but within minutes of Paul leaving, she was on the phone with her sister.

"You sound upset," Amanda told her within seconds.

"No. I'm not...upset. I'm just confused."

"Huh. Well...me, too," her sister replied.

"Sorry. It's just that I'm almost embarrassed to even talk about it."

"I know you didn't get fired, so what could be so...embarrassing?"

Tori did her best to explain her feelings after setting the stage with some additional background information. Up 'til then, the only thing she'd told Amanda was that she'd seen a PA at the clinic who'd been very helpful.

"So he's cute," her sister replied.

"What? After all that, the only thing you took away from it was that he's cute?" a baffled Tori asked.

"Well, he is, right?" her sister teased.

"Yes. He's very cute, but he's also..."

She heard Amanda laughing as she said, "Twenty-six."

"That sounds even worse when you say it," her sister told her.

"Sorry, T. Let me be serious, okay?"

"Gee, that might be nice," Tori told her.

Amanda laughed again then began recapping.

"So...he's very handsome. He's a physician's assistant. He's been extremely helpful getting your medication. He loves baseball and has taken a personal interest in your son who thinks he hung the moon, and he likes you. So...what am I missing?"

"Oh, my goodness!" Tori cried out. "Were you not listening?"

"Every word."

"Then why is this so difficult for you?" an even more exasperated Tori asked.

"For me? Tori, it isn't difficult for me at all. You're the one making it difficult."

"Oh, great! So now you're taking his side?"

"No, I'm taking your side."

"How so?"

"Okay. You've been alone for a very long time, right?"

"I guess," Tori admitted.

"And this guy is totally amazing in every way except that he's younger than you, right?"

"Younger? He's...he's a baby!" Tori insisted.

"Tori? You're my sister and I love you, but I don't always agree with you. Yes, he's younger than you. A lot younger. But I know you, and you like him. A lot. So unless you give him a chance, you'll never find out if he's right for you, the age difference aside."

"So much for being supportive, huh?" a now-deflated Tori quipped.

"I am being supportive, T. I'm trying to get you to see that this guy seems perfect for you. Look. No one will ever replace Mike. Mike was an amazing, one-of-a-kind guy. But from what you've told me, Paul seems pretty amazing to me, too, and I think you know he is. So it is being supportive to tell you how I honestly feel."

There was a long period of silence before Tori finally asked a question.

"So you don't think it's crazy ridiculous to, you know, see a guy his age?"

"No. I don't. Not in this case, anyway. In general, I'd say 'yes', but after everything you've told me, and the fact that you called to basically get my permission to date him, I'd say..."

"Whoa! Hold on! Get your permission?" Tori asked as though she were deeply offended.

"Again, I'm your sister. You might pull that 'I'm so offended' nonsense with someone else, but I know you, Tori. You like this guy, and you just need someone you trust to tell you it's okay. I just told you, so now it's up to you to decide whether or not you'll follow your heart or shut him out because he's..."

When Tori finished her sister's sentence with, "Twenty-six?" both of them started laughing.

When the laughter stopped, Tori felt overwhelmed with gratitude for having a sister who was also her best friend; a friend who would tell her the honest truth no matter what.

"So...are you going to let him know how you feel?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know," Tori told her truthfully. "But I'm not as afraid to admit how I feel now that we've talked."

"Good. And I have a pretty strong feeling you won't have to tell him. I'm pretty sure Paul is going to let you know again, and when he does, you won't have to say a word."

"What? How do I let him know if I don't say anything?" Tori asked.

And just like when they were teenagers, Amanda said, "Because you can just kiss him like this!"

The noises she made over the phone told Tori she was kissing her hand and moaning for effect to make her point.

"Okay! Stop!" Tori said before she started laughing which made Amanda laugh.

"Just...give it a chance, okay?" Amanda suggested just before hanging up.

"Manda?" Tori said. "I love you."

"Back atcha, T," her sister said before the line went dead.

As Tori sat there recounting the conversation, she knew her sister was right. She really did like a man who was twelve...a lot younger than her. The only remaining question was what she was going to do about it.

The initial answer came later than evening when she saw that Paul was calling her.

"Hi," a sweet voice said when it answered the phone.

"Hi. I just wanted to call and apologize if I came on a little too strong today," Paul told her.

"A little?" Tori teased.

Paul heard the playfulness in her voice and she 'heard' him smile.

"So I wasn't too out of line?" a hopeful male voice asked.

"Oh, I don't know," came an equally playful reply. "Let's just say I'm at least open to having my standpoint changed."

"Yeah?" a much-happier male voice asked.

"Yes," Tori said, biting her lower lip as she waited for his to reply.

"So would you maybe be interested in having dinner with me this week?"

"Maybe," a still-playful Tori told him. "I'll have to ask my sister if she can watch Aiden."

"What? No. I meant you...and Aiden," Paul told her without hesitation.

"Oh. Well, in that case, I think that sounds very nice."

"Yeah?" she heard again.

"Yes."

"Okay. Um...how about Wednesday?"

"Wednesday sounds great. What time?"

By the time she hung up, Tori had a date she actually wanted to go on for 7 o'clock that Wednesday evening, and when Aiden saw her a few minutes later, she was still smiling.

"Mom? Why are you smiling?" he asked after making sure no one else was there and the television was off.

"I guess maybe I just feel happy," she told him.

Aiden shook his head then asked why.

"I think it's because I changed my standpoint on something."

"Huh?" a confused eight-year said.

"Come here," his mother said, as she tapped the seat next to her.

Aiden looked up at his mom who said, "How would you feel about me...dating someone?"

Aiden's eyes got big as he said, "Paul?" so hopefully it nearly made her tear up.

"Well...maybe. If it was him, would that be okay?"

Without a word, Aiden threw his arms around his mom and hugged her like she hadn't been hugged in a very long time. As she hugged him back, she had the strangest feeling that Mike was there whispering in her ear to 'follow her heart' just like Amanda had said.

"Okay, honey. I will," she said out loud very quietly.

"You'll what?" Aiden asked as he let go and looked at his mother.

"Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking," she told him before putting a hand on his cheek and telling him how much she loved him.

A slightly embarrassed boy who still loved hearing such things told him mom, "I love you, too, Mom," before jumping off the couch then humming all the way to his room.

And while Tori knew there was a lot to learn about Paul Jacobs, she no longer felt sick to her stomach for being excited about the thought of seeing him again. As in...seeing him, seeing him.

Tori waited until she and Aiden were driving home from school on Wednesday to tell him they were going to dinner with Paul that evening, knowing how her son would react. But his excitement was so over the top she couldn't help but laugh, too, partly because she was also excited. Maybe not as excited as her son, but she was very much looking forward to the evening.

"Hey. You wanna help me choose what to wear?" she asked, expecting a much less enthusiastic response from a boy with no interest in clothes or fashion.

"Um...sure!" her son told her as they smiled at each other.

Tori didn't laugh when Aiden suggested the slinkiest, sexiest dress she had. She only told him that was for a more formal occasion.

"Oh. Okay," he said, out of ideas.

"How about this?" she asked.

She had a light-blue sweater that was somewhat shear but not so much so that it was inappropriate. It had long sleeves and a mock turtleneck collar that was perfect for the cooler weather but dressy enough to wear to any restaurant.

"Definitely!" Aiden said when she held it up to herself.

"Okay. Then...you go get ready and I'll do the same. And don't forget to comb you hair!"

Aiden was still too young to care what girls thought, and he often forgot to brush his thick, dark hair (and his teeth.) His mom was tired of reminding him, so most days she just let him let it go. But tonight, she wanted everything to be just so, and asking her son to comb the mop on his head wasn't too much to ask.

Tori chose an off-white, linen skirt and a pair of dark-blue heels to wear with the ribbed sweater than looked very pretty on her. It was just shear enough that it had a hint of sexiness, and a hint seemed like the perfect amount.

Once she was ready to go, she realized Paul had never seen her dressed up or wearing full makeup, and that's when she wondered for the first time if he was the kind of guy who preferred a more natural look. It was ten minutes before seven, so what was done was done, and all she could do was hope he didn't think it was excessive.

The doorbell rang at 6:59, and an overly-excited Aiden hollered out, "I got it!" as he ran to the door.

Tori walked toward it and stopped a few feet away, and when her son opened it, she was amazed at what she saw. She, too, had never seen Paul dressed up, and as he stood there in a jacket and tie, she couldn't believe the difference. She completely forgot about herself as he smiled at her while Aiden invited him in.

But when he stopped and stared at her then said, "Wow!" she realized it wasn't too much.

"Wow yourself," she told him as he produced a bouquet of red roses.

"Paul! You did not have to do this!" Tori told him as she accepted the beautiful arrangement. "They're beautiful. Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Tori, and I think...you're beautiful."

It had been so long since Tori had felt the kinds of emotions that were coursing through her body that she'd almost forgotten what they were like.

"Thank you," she said very sweetly before saying she should put them in some water.

"Where are we going to eat, Paul?" a very excited Aiden asked.

"Have you heard of Matthews?" Paul asked.

As her son said, "No," Tori said, "I have, and that place is VERY expensive."

"And your point is?" he asked her with a smile.

"I guess I just wanted you know I'm as happy with Red Lobster or The Outback as I am with a place like that."

"I appreciate that, but you only get one chance to make a good first impression, right?" Paul asked as he walked into the kitchen where she was trimming stems.

She felt his presence behind her and felt a jolt of emotional electricity shoot through her body when she smelled the fresh scent of Irish Spring soap coming from his body.

"You've kind of already done that," she told him almost coyly.

Paul gently touched the sleeves of the sweater, and when she didn't pull away, he moved slightly closer then said, "I should have worn a coat and tie before this, huh?"

A very happy Tori smiled and told him, "It isn't what you're wearing, and it has nothing to do with tonight?"

"Oh?" Paul asked, as he slowly ran his fingers up the sides of her arms.

"Uh-huh. You see, had you not already made a very good impression on me, we wouldn't be going out at all."

"I see," he told her as he moved his head closer until it was cheek to cheek with hers, her long, soft hair the only thing separately them.

She looked over and saw a smiling Aiden looking at them, and his smile made her even happier.

"So does this mean you've come around to my point of view?" he asked, his face still very close to hers.

"Don't push it," Tori told him as she tried not to laugh.

"Push it? Me? Never!" Paul said so seriously it made her laugh.

"Okay. I think these will live," Tori said as she put the last rose in the vase.

A meal for three consisted of lamb chops in roasted peanut romesco, Maine diver scallops in a smoked corn puree with roasted cipollini, and prime beef tenderloin in an english pea puree.

Neither Paul nor Tori gave a hoot about sharing what was on each person's plate with everyone else, and Aiden was too busy eating and enjoying himself to even think about such things. But most of all he was busy watching the way his mom looked at Paul and the way she smiled at him the entire night. Paul was doing the same thing back, but Aiden's grown-up concern was for his mother, and because she was happy, so was he.

"I don't even want to see the bill," Tori said after their server left it.

They'd also had a bottle of red wine plus appetizers, and she knew it was close to $200. But Paul only smiled and told her the only thing money was good for was trading it for things that made people happy, and Tori told him she agreed wholeheartedly.

By the time they got back to her place, Aiden asked for the keys again.

"You went to the bathroom just before we left," his mom replied as she handed them to him.

"I know," he told her with a smile that said he wanted to give his mom time to be alone with her date.

"He's such a great kid," Paul said as Aiden went to unlock the door.

As before, Tori told him she agreed.

Paul turned toward her, smiled, then said, "Speaking of kids..."

Tori's eyes opened wide when she realized he was talking about himself, or least her previous view of him.

"How am I doing so far?"

Tori's heart fluttered as she said, "Wonderfully."

Paul smiled then reached for her hand which she let him take.

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh."

"Wonderfully enough to..."

As he leaned over to kiss her for the first time, Tori's heart was beating so hard it surprised her. As the soft, slow kiss ended, she told him he was doing very, very well.

"I'm glad," he told her as he slowly pulled away. "Well enough to possibly see you again?"

Before she could answer, he said, "As in...another date."

"Oh. Well, I think that might be possible," she replied as though it were doubtful.

There was a brief moment of silence before Paul said, "In case it isn't obvious, I really, really like you, Tori."

"Wow. Two reallies. I'm impressed," she told him, a sweet smile on her pretty face.

"So you wouldn't mind if I kissed you again?" he asked.

"No. Not at all," she said as she leaned his way.

This kiss lasted for well over ten seconds and when it ended, Tori was suddenly aware of a spreading warmth as well as a...wetness in a place that had been 'closed for business' for a very long time.

As she pulled away, Tori said, "Paul? All kid...ding aside..."

Paul laughed then waited for her to finish.

"I'm still not sure how I feel about, you know, the..."

"Age difference?" Paul suggested.

"I was going to say 'cavernous gap', but okay," Tori teased. "But I do know that I like you, too."

She smiled then said, "A lot."