Good Day Iowa!

I smiled back to Marilyn and replied, "Well, it's not the most comfortable idea for me, but I'm thrilled about the increase in donations, and if it helps raise money, then I'll do just about anything."

Marilyn patted me on the arm. "I had a feeling you'd say that. I think we need to get the ALS board together in the next couple of weeks and see where we might expand our fundraising efforts. If the TV station is willing to showcase us, we need to have events they can publicize."

As I headed back home, I couldn't believe how things were looking up for ALS in Iowa, and about the excitement of having the TV station behind us as one of the main features of their public relationship program. And I was cautiously optimistic about this "spark" that supposedly was visible between Tracey and me. Even if this went no further than us working together to stop ALS, I realized I was fine with that, because being with Tracey in a professional role still left me glad to have spent time with her.

******

On Wednesday of the following week, I received an email from Marilyn Loomis from the local ALS Iowa Foundation. She had called a meeting of some of the key figures of the Foundation, inviting them to get together to do some future event planning to capitalize on the success of the "All Out for ALS" fun walk and run. It was set for Tuesday of next week, and as usual, that evening was free for me. She also asked me if I would invite Tracey to come, since she seemed so interested in bringing publicity to our cause. I responded that I would be there, and that I would invite Tracey to join us.

I still didn't have Tracey's cell phone number, but I did have the number of the station that Marilyn had given me to set up my interview segment on the show. The receptionist put me through to Tracey's desk, but I wasn't surprised when I got her voice mail. I explained about the planning meeting and invited her to join the ALS team, leaving my cell phone number so she could direct message it if I wasn't available to answer.

My last client of the day left just prior to 4:00 p.m. I reached for my cell phone in my desk and saw that I had a new voice mail from a number I did not recognize. I called it up and was excited when I heard Tracey's voice. In her message, she laughed and said that she was just getting ready to call my office to talk to me. She sounded excited to be invited and told me she'd be honored to meet with the planning team. Then she asked me if we could get together sometime before, because she wanted to show me the video packages she was working on for the promotion of ALS in Iowa. Finally, she told me that we must be friends since we both have each other's cell numbers.

Friends indeed! I added her contact information to my address book, and then called her up. She answered on the second ring.

"Hello, Brian Stewart! How nice of you to call!"

The sound of her cheery voice warmed my heart. "Good afternoon, Tracey. I'm so glad that you will be joining us for our planning meeting. There is a lot of energy with the committee right now after the huge success of the fun walk and run and having your team on board with us is exciting!"

"I am so excited to be a part of your group! I'm also excited that the walk did so well! I know that bigger and better things are possible, and I'm looking forward to being a part of the effort."

She paused, and then said, "I was wondering if you are available to get together with me this evening. I have several pieces of our promotional package created, and I wanted to get your opinions on the direction we are going with it."

A meeting this evening with Tracey? It wouldn't have mattered if I had a meeting scheduled with the President of the United States - I would have canceled it immediately to spend time with Tracey this evening. Of course, there were very few evening activities on my schedule, so I knew I was available to meet with her.

"I have all evening available for you, my friend. When and where would you like to get together?"

There was another pause on her end, and then she replied, "Well, if you feel safe and it doesn't sound too forward, I thought maybe you could come over to my apartment and watch them here."

Now it was my turn to pause - I didn't want to sound too excited in my reply, but her suggestion had elevated my heart rate! "I'd love to - shall we make it a full evening and have dinner somewhere?"

"Actually," she replied, "I'd love to cook for you here. I'm not the greatest cook in the world, but I have survived on my own cooking for several years now and so far, I've not gotten sick! Would six o'clock be too early for you?"

Two hours away? I wasn't sure I'd be able to wait that long! "That sounds great, but if you cook for me this time, next time it will be my turn to cook for you. I'm in the same position as you - cooking for someone else sounds fun!"

She gave me her address at an apartment complex out on the edge of the city. I couldn't believe this was happening! I saw this as a sign that maybe she was more interested in me than just a charity partner. We could have watched the videos she had created without going to her apartment and without her cooking dinner for me. I still had trouble believing that it was possible, given the vast age difference between us.

Maybe she was lonely like me. Maybe it was difficult for her to go out since she was a local television personality and wasn't comfortable being out in public by herself. If it was just a friendship she was seeking, I was okay with that. In the years that my Lucy had been gone, I really didn't seek out too many friendships either, so the thought of having Tracey as a friend was very comfortable.

I knew I was over-analyzing the situation. It was an occupational hazard at times. I reminded myself that it was important to just relax and have a good time and let whatever happens be good enough. After all, it was still work for the ALS chapter, and that was always one of my highest priorities.

The two hours went by incredibly slowly. I decided that causal dress was in order, so I put on a pair of relaxed jeans and a button-up long sleeve shirt. Since I'd lived in the area nearly all my life, I was able to drive right to her apartment complex, wandering through the driveway until I found her building. I walked up to her door and stopped, taking a deep breath before knocking.

I was relieved when she opened the door to see that she had chosen casual dress as well. Of course, she looked much better in her jeans than I did. Her long sleeve top fit her like a glove, accentuating her delightful figure. She greeted me with her million-dollar smile and a nice hug, and I felt the tension slip from my body. The over-analyzation from before had been stupid. I was looking forward to a nice evening with a nice person while we worked together on a nice charity awareness campaign.

Tracey's apartment was lovely, although it could have been like a lot of the others in the city, and I would have known anything about it. I had chosen to remain in our house after Lucy had died. I didn't think I would enjoy living in a small area with so many other people, and the house was paid off, so there really wasn't any reason to move. It was certainly more than I needed, but it was mine, and it held so many wonderful memories of my marriage to Lucy, which helped make it a very comforting place for me to be.

"Brian, I'm so glad you could come over!" She flashed me her million-dollar smile and continued. "Why don't you have a seat at the table. Dinner is just about ready. I really hope this is worthy of a person in your position!"

I laughed at that. "I'm not going to analyze the meal you have prepared! I'm sure it will be just fine." I moved to the chair she pulled out from under the table for me. It allowed me to see into the kitchen where she was making final dinner preparations. Her apartment smelled wonderful, and if that was any indication of how the food was going to be, I knew it would be great.

She started bringing dishes to the table. She had a plate of roasted asparagus which had been seasoned and sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese. She placed a plate of dinner rolls next to that. Soon a bowl of Caesar salad had been delivered. For the main dish, she brought out a plate of chicken parmesan, sitting on a bed of sauteed onions and mushrooms.

It was delicious! I would never again listen to her bullshit about not being able to cook. Each time I tried something new, she would stop eating and watch me, making sure I was pleased with what I had just put in my mouth. She had made more than enough, and I had to resist taking seconds, mainly because I didn't need any more, but also because I didn't want her to think I was a gluttonous pig!

Tracey noticed the fact that I stopped eating. "Don't you want more? I made enough for seconds."

I smiled at her. "Yes, I DO want more, but I know that if I do, I'll have to get on my bike after work tomorrow and ride at least 25 miles to burn the calories! It was delicious, Tracey. Please don't take me stopping as indicating I didn't like it."

She smiled at the compliment. During dinner, she had been telling me about some of the station's ideas for the ALS program, and how some of it was still in development, but she had about ten minutes of promos to show me, which would be more than enough for the first months' campaign. As she talked, I could see in her eyes and her smile that she had really developed a passion for this campaign. She knew the station wielded some power among its viewers and advertisers, and by using some of that power to bring notice to the fight against ALS, she was making a difference, which I could see was very important to her.

She got up to begin clearing the table. I stood to help as well, but she quickly put a stop to that. "You are my guest, Brian. I'm just going to rinse these plates and put away the leftover food. I'm splitting what's left into two portions, and you're going to take one of them home for your lunch tomorrow. I'll do the same, and even though we will be across town, it will be like we are eating lunch together again!"

It was silly and cute and almost child-like, how she put that together. But it also got my analytical mind going again, even though I didn't want to think about this evening like that. If she's thinking about us eating the same lunch tomorrow and considering us being together even when we were both at our places of work, does that mean that she wants to push our relationship to a level beyond working on a community service project together?

Before I could have any other self-destructive thoughts, Tracey rescued me, saying, "Brian, I'm just about done here. Why don't you take your drink and go have a seat on the couch?"

I did as she asked. Her couch faced what looked to be about a 60" television. She had a coffee table in between the TV and the couch, and on it I could see an open laptop. There were a couple of other chairs in the room, but by directing me to the couch, I could see that she was going to sit next to me. I told myself that it didn't mean anything other than we would both have a direct vision of the TV, but I was having a hard time convincing myself.

In a couple of minutes, Tracey joined me on the couch. She turned the TV on, as well as the laptop. She cast her laptop screen to the TV and went to the file she had for the ALS promotion material. She finally found the one she was looking for, but before she started it, she turned to me.

"Keep in mind, some of these may be a little rough. We're still working on polishing them. But I also have a couple that we are ready to start showing, and one in particular I think you are going to really like. Are you ready?"

I was excited to see what she had created. "Yes - let's see them!"

She double clicked to open the file. On the screen was Chad Bozarth, lead anchor for the six and ten o'clock news. It was a good move, having the man who had been described as having "the most trusted voice in all of Iowa news" speak on behalf of your campaign. At the end of his promo, he uttered this line - "Thank you, Iowa, for making a difference. But don't stop now, the race isn't over yet." When Tracey asked me what I thought about it, I smiled and said, "That's a very good way to start! And I liked that last line very much!"

Next was a thirty-second spot that Tracey had made with Steve Ransom. Even though Steve liked to have fun in his work, he and Tracey were very serious as they talked about the campaign to cure ALS. If I hadn't seen them on their show being silly with each other so many times in the past, I would have thought they were award-winning journalists. It was a break from their normal, and it really made an impact on me. They also used the same line Chad did in his promo, with Tracey saying, "Thank you, Iowa, for making a difference." Steve followed with, "But don't stop now, the race isn't over yet."

The last one she played pulled hard at my heart. It was short clips taken the day of the race. I don't know how they did it, but somehow during the race, Steve and the camera crew had convinced several runners to run right up to the camera and stop, saying, "Thank you, Iowa, for making a difference!" Then they would take off running again, and the camera would pan around to watch them continue.

We saw that several times, and then they cut away to one of the dearest people I had ever met. The camera zoomed in on Ellen Czaplinski, a 44-year-old woman who was battling ALS. She was confined to a wheelchair, and it was easy to see that her body was being ravaged by the disease. The ALS committee had named Ellen as the honorable chairperson of the ALS campaign for the year, and she took that responsibility personally, showing up at so many events and functions, ignoring her own potential discomfort at people seeing how the disease was affecting her.

Ellen was in the crowd about two-thirds of the way on the course, cheering as loudly as she could. Someone had put an ALS flag into her hand, since she would not have been able to pick it up herself, and with her limited arm mobility, she had waved that flag as long as there were runners going by. As the camera came up to her and zoomed in on her face, she smiled and managed to say, "Thank you, Iowa, for making a difference!" in a manner which was both understandable and yet showed what terrible things ALS did to those who were affected by it.

I leaned over in my seat and put my elbows on my knees, bringing my hands to cover my mouth. But the clip wasn't over yet, and the next scene was me and Tracey holding our hands high in the air as we crossed the finish line. I looked over at her and she beamed with happiness. That little three-second clip was followed by Tracey, obviously now at the end of the race, looking directly into the camera with her sweaty face and hair all in disarray, and said, "Thank you, Iowa, for making a difference! But don't stop now - the race isn't over yet. Help us continue to wipe out this terrible disease."

That she had allowed herself to be vulnerable by not having her "studio" face and hair on showed me that she was becoming as passionate about this as me. The clip ended with words on the screen that said, "For more information or to donate, please go to our website," and the address for the ALS Iowa campaign was visible. The screen faded to black, and I sat there for a minute, processing what I had just seen.

I turned my body to face Tracey as best as I could, sitting so close to her on the couch. "Tracey - my god, that was amazing! I don't think I've ever been moved as much in my life as I was while seeing those spots. They are so well done! Are you planning on showing these to the committee next week? They are going to love them!"

Tracey beamed at my praise. "Actually, we should have at least a couple more ready by next week, and if they approve, we want to start our aggressive campaign to make the public aware of ALS. But the race one is going to run without their approval - since you have given your approval to me tonight, I know they will be fine with it also."

"Tracey, start all three if you want. You don't need the committee's permission to play something that is so amazing and so good for our campaign. If anybody complains about any of these videos you have shown me tonight, they probably shouldn't be on the committee in the first place!"

I started to say something else, but then I realized I had absent-mindedly put my left hand on her right knee. I was mortified, to say the least, since I didn't want her to think I was trying to be forward with her. I quickly pulled it back. She caught sight of what I was doing and stunned me with what she said next.

"Put it back, Brian."

I looked into her eyes and saw a twinkling I hadn't seen before. My reaction was typical of one who thought he got caught doing something he shouldn't have. "I'm sorry, Tracey, I had no idea what I had done. I turned to talk to you, and I guess I just put my hand down without thinking. I'm so sorry if you..."

She didn't let me finish. Instead, she reached for my hand and put it back on her knee. My skin flushed hot and red at the thought of intentionally touching Tracey, even if it was only her knee. I looked up at her again, and a perfect little smile had joined the twinkling in her eyes.

"Brian, I want you to listen for a few minutes, because I've been thinking a lot about us the past few weeks, and I have a feeling you have done the same. Your job is to help people who are struggling, and to do that, you really need to dig deep to get to know them so you can help them. My job is not all that different. I need to dig a little into the hearts and minds of some of the people I interview so that they can be represented on air in the best way. I did it when I interviewed you, but because you opened yourself up to me so much, I didn't have to do any digging. But I know where I stand on our relationship, and I think you do also. So, let me talk for a bit, and we'll see how close to correct I am."

She took a drink from her glass, and then continued. "You are one of the nicest men I've ever met. I've had more than my fair share of attempts to have relationships with guys who aren't even a quarter as nice as you are, which is why I'm still single in my mid 30's. You think I'd learn not to seek out those guys who eventually don't treat me well, but for some reason, I haven't made that happen yet - until you came along.

"You may not know it, but in that twenty or so minutes we spent together in that sports bar the first night we met, you opened my eyes to something I've never been able to articulate myself. Do you remember what you said to me that night?"

I shook my head no, remembering some things about it, but not wanting to say something wrong.

"You told me that I was more upset at the time I'd spent trying to make a bad relationship work than I was at finding out what eventually was the cause of the relationship stopping. I realized that every single boyfriend I had since college had been one that I took on as a project, thinking I could turn them into the man I wanted. I failed at that with each and every one.

"I don't feel that way about you. From that very first night, you treated me differently than anybody else ever had. You actually cared enough about me and my feelings to risk putting yourself out as a stalker - and believe me, I've dealt with stalkers before. But I was never worried about that with you. I could tell that you were genuinely interested in my well-being, and it had been a long time since a man had been that way around me."

I laughed and said, "Well, in fairness, I did tell you that I watched your show because of you, and part of that is because you are so damn cute!"

She laughed back at me. "Yes, you did, but you did it in a cute and innocent way, and I liked that as well."