The Temptation of Eva
by Julie Campbell

The Kiss of a Stranger

Several years ago I was on my way to a reception for a friend's college graduation. I headed out of the city and towards the rural town where she went to school. I decided to use a short- cut on a smaller country highway for the last fifteen miles. It was starting to rain but at least there was hardly any traffic. I put in a CD and started to relax. Out of nowhere a pickup truck pulls out onto the highway in front of me. I brake and slide for several hundred feet. I stop short of a full on crash but I did bump into the car. 

There appeared to be no damage and I seemed ok. I jump out of the car and run up to the driver's window to cuss him out. I'm shaking now and very upset. He gets out of the car as I approach. "What the hell were you thinking? Don't you look both ways?" I screamed. He screamed back "look lady there are heavy trees blocking the view. Look for yourself!" 

Sure enough you could not see anything. It was not his fault. He countered my last fit with "you were driving way too damn fast. The speed limit here is 45, and you had to be going at least 70! And I'll tell that to the Highway Patrol when they get here!" With that I started to cry. I was sobbing. He changed his tone to one of condolence "Hey I'm sorry. Are you Ok? Did you get hurt?" "No I'm just fine damn it!" I answered angrily. It was starting to dawn on me that now I was going to be late for the graduation. 

We walked over and looked at both cars and saw there was no damage. Surprisingly there was not even a dent. He spoke up "well I guess I don't have to call the Highway Patrol after all." And then he said, "Why are you still crying?" He came closer and offered a tissue from his truck." "I don't know. I'm just shocked and upset." He was standing next to me and tried to offer me some comfort "It's all right. Everything will be ok." I fumbled through my purse looking for my aspirin, but I had left them at home. I cried again "I don't even have any damn aspirin. I wasn't expecting a wreck today." I reached out to him and he put his arms around me and hugged me. 

It was the comfort that I needed. I stopped crying. He spoke again, "look lady I have some pain relievers at my house. This is my driveway. Let me drive you down to my house." I looked down the long half-mile dirt road that led to a sprawling white country house on the hill. I replied "Well Ok. I don't know what else to do." I got into his new truck and left down the dirt road. Now that I had stopped crying I felt a little more relaxed. I looked over at him. He was very fit and good-looking in an intellectual sort of way. I always found that very attractive in a man. I said, "My name is Eve. I'm driving to Youngstown to attend a friends graduation."

He smiled "nice to meet you Eve. I'm Robert Anderson. I'm a doctor over in Taylor." Wow I thought to myself. I said, "this is some place you have here, it's beautiful." He answered, "It sure is. I love it out here. I bought this farm last year after my wife divorced me. She hated horses and I love them. I always wanted to move to the country to raise horses, but she would rather live within driving distance of a mall." "Her loss!" I said. He stopped and came around and opened the door for me. That hasn't happened since I don't know when. We went inside and he left for the kitchen and returned shortly with some Iced tea and a Tylenol. He left again and I looked around the house. It was gorgeous, oak wood floors, old marble and a lot of tasteful antiques. We sat on the couch and talked for a while. I felt really comfortable and attracted to him. I stood up to use the bathroom and swayed a little. "Damnation! How am I going to drive to Youngstown like this?" I said in despair and sat back down. He then offered for me to spend the night and drive me in the morning when I felt better. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was sincere.

He came up to me and said "or I can drive you to Youngstown and you can get a lift to pick up your car later." We were looking into each other's eyes, as we sat very close. "I think I would like to stay here tonight if that's Ok with you." I said.

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