3.

Dimitri steered the car into the driveway of the apartment complex. It was still early in the evening, so he hoped to get one more errand run before his party. Dimitri was more than glad he had insisted on driving her home the day they met. It would have been a difficult process, combing through her purse for ID and making calls to find out where she lived.

He parked in a decent spot and got out of the car, grabbing her bag from the passenger seat.

"Good evening." He said to the man at the desk. "I am looking for someone who lives in this building. Ayesha Hansley. Average height, shoulder-length dark hair, tanned, has an accent. I believe she shares the apartment with someone."

He searched for the details on his computer. "Yes. She is a resident here. Are you family?"

"No. We met sometime back, but she left some personal items with me. I want to return them to her."

"Can I see some ID, please?"

Dimitri reached into his pocket to dig out his wallet. He handed over his driver's license. Recognition flashed in the receptionist's eyes, but thankfully he said nothing.

"Alright. I'll call and see if she is in."

He waited, drumming his nails against the counter while he called. No one picked up on the call, and the receptionist set the phone down.

"If you prefer, I can keep the item with me till she returns and inform her that you brought it over."

Dimitri looked down at the bag. He hoped to check on her, but he didn't see a point in keeping it with him just to do that. She surely needed most of the things in it.

"Can I have a pen and paper, please?"

"Of course."

He handed him a pen. Dimitri scrawled a short message down on the paper. He carefully folded it after he was done and dropped it into her bag before handing it to the receptionist.

With nothing left to do, he left the building and made it to his car. He was already strapping the seatbelt across his chest and revving the engine when he heard someone call his name. He glanced out the window, towards the street behind him, and there she was, walking towards him sceptically with her hand shoved down the back pockets of her shorts.

"Good evening."

"Yeah. Hello."

She waved and started jogging over as he got down. He closed the door and walked over to meet her halfway, shaking her hand in greeting. It was cold out, yet she wore only a sleeveless camisole and jean shorts. She looked well. A different bag swung at her side, but it was the same design as the one she left in his car.

"Dimitri, right?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to return your bag." He pointed over his shoulder at the entrance. "The receptionist called your apartment, but he told me you weren't in."

"Oh goodness. My bag."

"I found it when I got home, unfortunately." He explained, apologetically. "I should have gotten it to you sooner, but I got a little busy and didn't find the time."

"No, it's fine." She waved with a breathy laugh. "You brought it today, and I am so grateful."

"I left it at the desk because you weren't in, and I wasn't sure I could wait."

"That's okay. I wanted to step out for a bit. You know, get some fresh air, and get to know the place better."

He chuckled. "All this would have been easier if I took your number that day. I would have called and we could have found some good time to meet."

"Same problem here. The first thing I did was check my phone for your number and remembered that I never got it."

"It's your fault, you know?"

"Mine?" She chuckled in disbelief.

"I wanted your number so I could call and make sure you were alright."

She nodded in understanding before he could voice out the rest of his thoughts.

"I would have ignored that. Yeah."

Her definitive tone made him grin. "Thought as much."

"You flipped the whole thing on me. I was the one hit, and by the end, I was feeling for you. You were more panicked than me."

"Despite what you might think, I've actually never hit anyone with a car before. Especially someone intent on not accepting help. In the end, it was a good thing I drove you home, or it would have been quite difficult to return your stuff."

"I appreciate the effort." Her smile brightened, and Dimitri couldn't help returning it.

"I also wanted to check on how you're doing. You didn't let me take you to the hospital, and I was worried you might have been hurt more than we thought."

"As you can see, I am alright. Thanks for caring. The scars are all healed. A few more days, and they'll be completely gone."

"That's good to hear." His mind travelled back to the comment she made earlier, and he found himself asking. "You haven't lived here long?"

"What gave it away?"

He laughed. "You? You just said you went for a walk to get to know the place better."

"Right." She slapped her palm over her forehead, sending all the bangles she wore on her wrist clanging against each other. "I have lived here for almost a week and am trying to get used to life here. Hence, why I am taking walks. If not the entire town, I should know the area around my house."

"Adventurous."

"What's life without it?" She shrugged. "There are good eating spots, I think I found a pizza place that makes their pizzas super fresh, dough and all, and I am definitely going back for a taste."

"A pizza place?" He sounded incredulous.

"Yeah." She nodded, looking back to point at the road, though he wouldn't see it. "Down there and a little to the left. It's a bit of a walk, but I am hoping it would be worth it."

"Hmm."

"I am guessing you have lived here for a while."

His brow arched in amusement. "What makes you think that."

"The day you hit me. You asked where I was headed. I gave you the name of the apartment and bam, you drove over here. You didn't use a GPS or ask me for any directions."

At that, he found himself laughing. Now that he thought about it, he still remembered the route to various places in town, even after being away so long.

"Guess you could say that, yes. I grew up here."

"That also explains your face. I am guessing there wasn't a pizza place around here before."

"No. No, there wasn't."

"You used to live around here?"

"No. A friend of mine did, and we would hang out at the coffee shop on the other side of the street from you, behind this building. I spent a lot of time around these parts."

"And no pizzas then, huh."

"Unfortunately not."

"And what's your verdict then?"

"On?"

"The town." She bit the inside of her lip as she indicated to their surroundings. "As a previous resident, what do you say? Is it a good area to live?"

"I dare say that it's a pretty nice place to live. The weather's nice most of the time, and there are a lot of nice places to visit when you want to take a break from...work or school."

"Work." She chose, she was sure she didn't look that young, but maybe he thought she was in college.

"How are you liking it so far?"

"Everything is pretty neat." She bobbed her head, folding her arms across her chest. "One good thing I have going for me right now is that the marketplace gives me everything. It would have been a horror story trying to go around and find different places to buy different things."

"I am glad to hear that. It is not a small town. But if you are outgoing, it wouldn't take you long to learn your way around the place. Soon, you'd be moving around without a GPS, too." He grinned, glancing towards the road when a set of headlights shun in their direction.

Reflexively, he took her by the elbow and pulled her towards his parked car so the approaching vehicle could pass. They watched the car drive by, and then she looked back at him, pushing her hair away from her face.

"Some drivers, huh?"

He laughed. "I won't take that personally."

"Of course you wouldn't." She remembered her bag, and her mind latched on the one detail she hadn't thought of. "Goodness, I am so sorry. Did you have to go a long way to return my bag to me?"

"Oh no. Don't worry about it."

" Do you live around here?"

"Not around, no, but not too far from here."

He looked down at his watch a frowned when he noted the time. He had a dinner to get to with an old friend, and he was slightly behind time. It wasn't in his plan to stay talking for as long as they had, but one topic to another and he had spent more time than intended.

"Sorry, I have to get going. It was nice seeing you again, though."

"You too," she replied, stepping away from the car. "And thanks again for the bag."

"Don't mention it. Take care of yourself." He made it to his car before turning back to her again. "Since I know your full name, I think it's only fair I introduce myself again. I am Dimitri Adams."

"It is a pleasure to meet you."

"And you too."

Later, after retrieving her bag, Ayesha sat on the sofa, it's contents of her bag turned out in front of her. She didn't suspect anything was missing, but she did it all the same. Her purse was intact. She touched the passport picture on her ID. Not allowing herself to wallow in the budding feeling of nostalgia, she set it aside. Her small make-up kit still had everything in it. Everything was there.

One by one, she shoved them back into the bag one by one. When everything was clear, she noticed a folded piece of paper. At first, she thought it was the grocery list she had with her the day she lost the bag. When she opened it, the handwriting wasn't hers. And it wasn't a grocery list.

"Sorry, I couldn't give this to you personally. I hope you are feeling better. Dimitri."

He was nice, she thought as she pondered over his note. As she thought back to their conversation, she wondered if she should have asked for his number. Not that she wanted him checking on her again, but she wouldn't mind inviting him out one day, for a drink or something. Not a date. No! Not that, but she enjoyed his company.

It was weird, she chuckled to herself. She tucked the note inside a pocket of her bag and took it to her room. It went up on the rack with the others she owned. Even after he had rammed into her, his demeanour had a way of breaking her anger, and now it was causing her to think she could invite him out. Ridiculous.

She shook the thought off and sat down in her window seat. The night was young, but she had nothing to do with herself. Joseph was out, and her shift at work didn't start until ten in the morning. But she didn't feel like sleeping either, so she settled for watching the night activities below.

When she was bored, she liked to look down from her window and watch others living their lives. She watched the busy clergyman who waited on the sidewalk for a taxi, talking into his phone. It was constantly by his ear. If she fancied, she imagined she was the woman that rode her bicycle down the street with flowers in the basket or the couple that walked their dog in the mornings.

She wondered how many of them went through their day second-guessing themselves, looking over their shoulder. When she liked something, she pondered how long she would enjoy it. She woke up most mornings with an aching weight on her chest.

When she stood in the driveway speaking to Dimitri, she found herself enjoying the moment. Then the headlights flashed, and her heart skipped for a second.

"Hey." Joseph's voice scared her, and she jolted in response. "Sorry, I knocked."

"It's fine. I was being foolish. How was work?"

Her roommate groaned and dramatically banged his head on her door frame. "I got to work with an unbearable gossip today for deliveries. Every second we were on the road, his mouth was running. I have learnt more about my bosses and some other colleagues than I needed to know in this lifetime."

She laughed. "Only you wouldn't like a little gossip."

"Try driving a car for 8 hours with someone chattering at tell me how much you like it."

She smiled and stood from the seat, moving to the desk to grab some things. She planned to hustle him into the kitchen so they could spend the evening recapping his day. He was her only entertainment so she hoped he wasn't too tired.

"Is that your bag?" He pointed to the rack.

"Yes."

"He brought it back? When?"

She sighed, walking over to him and steering him towards the kitchen.

"I'll make you a sandwich and fill you in about it."