When Heather married Dave, everyone knew it would be the Ideal Marriage. He was an rising executive with a major corporation, and she was the gorgeous secretary who worked her way into his heart. They made a lovely couple, and no one was surprised when he ended up proposing to her. He had been a confirmed bachelor for years who enjoyed playing the field without tying himself down, but from the moment he laid eyes on Heather, he knew it was time to change his game plan. It was a picture-perfect wedding, a spectacular function held in a chapel overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and it was obvious to everyone in attendance that Dave and Heather loved each other very much.
There was only one little thing on which Heather hadn't counted, however. The reason Dave was so successful in his job was because he worked brutally long hours, sometimes spending the night at the office, where a bed was specially installed for just such occasions. It was a 70-mile round trip to his job, and sometimes he thought it would be safer not to get on the freeway after one of his 20-hour workdays. Sometimes his job took him out of town, often at a moment's notice, leaving Heather alone for days at a time. She'd miss him greatly, but slowly learned to accept this as Part Of The Deal. Dave loved her very much, and tried to give her everything money could buy, but more and more often he was unable to give freely of the one thing she really wanted: himself.
Heather woke up, alone, in her bed. She would have loved nothing more, on this day of all days, than to have her husband kiss her awake. For this was Heather's 25th birthday, and she was looking forward to making up for last year, when Dave was unable to get away from the office. This year, however, she planned a special dinner for two, followed by a romantic evening neither one of them would ever forget. He had been in Atlanta all week on business, but he'd be arriving at the airport by 4:00 p.m., where a company car would bring him straight home.
