Autumn in Covington Falls, Idaho had always been a time of renewal for Professor Rachel Engel, until this year.  As head of the local college English department, Rachel was always excited about start of the new academic year, and an end to the hot, torpid days of summer.  Now comes the warm days; cool evenings when the foliage grew more beautiful everyday.  Her garden at the house was still a riot of yellow, orange, purple and burgundy from her prized plate-sized dahlias.  Autumn was always a time of constant activity of one sort or another, a time of year when everybody on the small Idaho campus moved with a sense of purpose.

On the first day of this new term, for the first time, Rachel was not looking forward to going back.  Reluctantly she stood at her kitchen sink, looking out the window at nothing, which she seemed to do a lot of these days.   She was pouring another cup of coffee when the doorbell rang.  So startled was she that she sloshed coffee onto her wrist, and dropped the cup in the sink.  Grabbing some ice from the dispenser on the refrigerator door she ran for the front door, but when she threw it open, there was no one there.  Then she glanced down and saw the package.  Curious she bent to pick it up, and immediately knew it was a manuscript.  Pretty hefty too, but it wasn’t the first time she had been asked to read someone’s first novel.  This was weird because nobody had asked her this time.

She quickly changed, noticed her wrist wasn’t too bad, and as she rushed out the door she grabbed the package she had set on the hall table and tucked it under her arm, shifting her briefcase to her other hand.  It wasn’t until after lunch that she remembered the package.  By the time she was crawling into bed that night, she had nearly finished reading the manuscript, which she had read avidly while eating her lonely dinner, as well as all evening.  Titled “A Second Chance” it was about an older divorced woman who found happiness and true love in the arms of a younger man.  Her own divorce last year had totally destroyed her confidence where men were concerned.  Being dumped for a grad student left a bitter taste in her mouth.  The manuscript was like getting even.  I’m still an attractive woman, she thought, this could happen.

The next morning as she was getting ready to leave she smiled at the new bounce to her step.  Then as she was once again pouring that second cup of coffee the doorbell rang.  This time without incident, she returned the pot to the burner, and calmly walked to the door.  On the doorstep this time, was the author of the manuscript.  He was a former student from her Creative Writing class five years back.  She recognized him instantly, not because of the high marks she had given him for the class, rather because he had elicited feelings in her back then that weren’t proper for a married woman.  Now she smiled and opened the door wide for him to enter.

“I have to confess that you were the inspiration for the book, which is why I wanted you to be the first to read it.  It wasn’t until I got home last week from New York that I discovered that you were divorced.  I have had such a crush on you since college, that I can’t hide the fact that I am delighted.  You will have dinner with me tonight.” 

It was more a statement than a request, and her eyes grew large as she looked at this sexy man, who wanted to spend time with her.  Her instinct was to refuse and something in her demeanor must have alerted him to a possible rejection coming. 

“Come on Rachel,” he said, “Don’t crush this young man’s heart again.  What’s one dinner?”

She smiled at him then and said, “No boy, I have no intention of turning you down.  If you thought that, then you must be crazy.”