Our story thus far: Charles Crafton, a confirmed bachelor, finds himself in a car wreck in front of his home. He and Alina Stanton, the other vehicle's driver, tell the police that they are both at fault.
Charles and Alina sat in the kitchen of Charles' house, telling the police sergeant their versions of the accident. The tow truck driver had already taken both cars -- Charles' stately dark sedan and Alina's bright green sports car.
"I'm afraid it's my fault," said Alina, red curls framing her face. "I was late for work and I may have been going a little too fast."
Charles said the same thing, and the officer finally told them he would report it as "No Fault" and left.
The pair then found themselves sitting alone in Charles' messy kitchen, wondering what to do with the rest of their day -- neither of their bosses expected them to come in to work.
"Oh, dear," Charles murmured, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day; Alina responded by bursting into laughter.
When she had managed to get her laughter under control, she asked, "So, why were you going to be late for work? And what kind of work do you do?"
"I am a lawyer," he replied, mildly embarrassed, "and I was going to be late for work simply because I did not want to get out of bed! I lay there contemplating how nice it would be to do nothing all day, and by the time I remembered a client meeting I had scheduled it was rather late." He grimaced, then continued. "I guess I should have stayed in bed!"
She smiled, then answered, "Don't laugh, but I was late for the exact same reason. Only I decided I had best go in to work because I began to feel guilty -- our fall show is coming up and I've hardly done any clothing designs!"
He leaned up against the disorderly counter, then smiled.
"Well, it seems we were both inadvertently given a day off, so why don't we make the best of it? My original thought this morning was to have a picnic in the park, so why don't you and I walk down to the grocery, pick up a few things, and do just that? We are obviously not meant to work today!"
She laughed, obviously pleased with the idea.
"That, Charles, is a capital idea. But first let me borrow your powder room."
Charles attempted to clean the countertops while she was gone, and he was putting some newspapers under the sink when she walked back in. He found himself blushing when he glanced up and saw her looking at him. She somehow managed to look even prettier than she had looked seconds before.
"My," he mumbled under his breath, then smiled.
"My powder room seems to have done you good," he said, then flushed an even brighter red as he realized how badly that sounded. He found himself wondering once again how he could be such a good lawyer and still get tongue-tied around an attractive woman.
"I mean -" he stammered, suddenly at a loss for words.
"Thank you!" she curtsied, then laughed again. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"It was meant, feebly, to be one," he replied. "And now, if you'll follow me, we'll be off to our picnic!"
