I realized that I had been leaning on Charles, expecting him to sort out my difficulties for me. Granted, I had been in shock and needed someone to hold my hand, but now the time had come for me to manage by myself again. I needed to know that I could and, if I were ever to sort out my feelings for Charles, I would have to put some distance between us. Accordingly, I skipped breakfast at the hotel, took a taxi to work, very early, and found a cafe nearby where I could get coffee and eggs with beans. The eggs looked awful with the beans mixed in, but tasted marvelous. Afterwards, I felt ready to face the men at work. With a wry smile, I wondered what Charles would make of my absence. Would he feel concern? Relief? Somehow, Charles did not seem the sort of man who enjoyed baby-sitting semihysterical females, no matter how fond of them he was. I was the first one at the office and, by the time Carlos arrived, I had found the bug we’d been searching for the day before. That set the tone for the whole day.
