Not What We Expected by Tiffany B. Quinn A chance dinner date brings echoes of the past. A strong sense of déjà vu has Andi wondering where this will lead.

Chapter 1

I normally like watching snow fall when I am in a warm dry place. But not today. I prefer to be holed up somewhere comfy when it happens.

It started snowing early afternoon and there’s already four inches of the stuff on the ground with another four inches on its way to join it. It is also rush hour. It will take me over an hour and a half to make the thirty minute drive home if I leave now. The commute time will be about forty five minutes if I wait an hour or so for the rush hour traffic to clear.

I am standing in the atrium of the corporate headquarters of Broussard Industries pondering my options while the snow falls heavily outside. I am not the only one. There are about a dozen other people who all seem to be contemplating a solution to the same dilemma. With Christmas a week away, I could go shopping while waiting for the traffic to clear. I could also go out to dinner by myself or even head back to my office to work a bit longer. I have already completed my gift shopping, dinner at a restaurant by myself wasn’t appealing, and I’ve already put in a long day. Sitting in traffic with thousands of other people didn’t sound like fun either.

A young man standing by me sighs and states the obvious. “It looks like we’re stuck for a while.”

Turning to me, he asks, “Andi, I can help you dig out your car if you are leaving.”

“Do I know you?” I asked puzzled.

“Probably not,” he admitted, “But I know who you are.”

That’s not unusual, given that my adoptive parents own the building we are standing in and the company that occupies it.

“Andrea Marie Broussard,” he starts, “computer engineer extraordinaire. High school volleyball star, Prom Queen, and should have been Valedictorian of our high school class."

"Kelley earned it," I pointed out. "Wait! We were classmates?"

"Maybe she did earn it," he admitted, ignoring my question, "but the rumor is that you intentionally blew your final exam in a science class, which dropped you to third in the class. Right behind two of your best friends."

I am not about to admit to anything. "Is that all?"

I take a hard look at him as he continues. He does look vaguely familiar. He also triggers feelings that I have not experienced in a very long time.

"Not hardly" he said, and then proceeded to summarize more of my accomplishments. "You had three high profile patents and a BS in Computer Engineering by the time you graduated from High School. You completed your master’s degree at MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in two years, adding four more patents in the process. You now collaborate with your father on the development of new medical technologies which your mother then turns into a fortune.

"Depending on which rumors a person listens to, you are either 21 years old or 41.

"In high school, you had a hard time getting a date because you have the scariest parents in the world. The few boys that asked you out were so intimidated by your overprotective parents that they rarely took you out more than once. Rumor has it that you had to pay the biggest geek in our class $1,000 to take you to the Prom because no one else was brave enough, or clueless enough, to do so.

"By the way, afterwards he said that the pay wasn't worth the hassle of dealing with your parents.

"You were elected Prom Queen in part because you were the most beautiful girl in our class, both inside and out, and because you were likeable in spite of being the best at almost everything.

"Oh, and you lead an all female crew in sailing races with great success. Do you want to hear more?”

“Are you stalking me?” I ask while looking at him askew. "And I only paid $500 for the prom date. But I paid for the limousine and dinner on top of it."

He laughed. He has a nice laugh. “Actually, I think that there are a lot of people who know about you. I would be surprised if you remembered me. My name is Pete Campbell. My most notable accomplishment in high school was to be captain of the debate team. I finished tenth in our class.”

I looked even more closely at him. He appears to be a little over six feet tall with rugged good looks. He looks very fit. He has the tan of someone who spends a lot of time outdoors. His bulky winter coat can’t hide a set of broad shoulders. Unbidden, I feel myself being attracted to him in a way that I have never experienced before. I am developing a gooey feeling. I try to shake it off.

Searching my memory, I do remember a serious boy from high school by that name. I think that we shared a few classes together.

I smile at him, “You were always better than me in Government class. As I recall, you made yourself scarce when I came around. I thought that you didn’t like me but could never figure out why. I remember you as being a bit awkward around girls. You’ve changed. What are you doing here?”

His face lit up when he realized that I remembered him. “I am doing a short internship in your legal department over the holidays. I am a first year law student.”

I snort at him with a playful smile. “It’s not MY legal department. It’s my parent’s legal department. I just work here as a lowly engineer-in-training.”

“Yes,” he snorts back with a grin, ‘“with an office on the executive level. I hear that all lowly engineers-in-training have such an office.”

“You are stalking me,” I playfully accuse him. Am I really flirting with this guy? “How do you know about my office?”

“No, I am not stalking you,” he laughs. “It’s just that I went to a meeting about the status of some new patent applications up on the executive level this morning with my mentor. I noticed your name on the door to your office. Your mother chaired the meeting, by the way. She’s a force of nature. I can see why you had trouble getting dates."

Looking a bit nervous, he changes the subject, “I know an old restaurant within a couple of blocks of here. My parents have been going there for decades. It’s really good. Would you consider joining me for dinner while we wait for the traffic to clear? My treat.”

I look out at the falling snow and contemplate wading through ankle deep snow to have dinner with a classmate that I’ve never really met, but who I seem to want to know better. I am glad that I chose to wear boots with a sensible heel today. Unfortunately the knee length dress is not really up to the weather. I decide to take him up on his offer.

I laugh, “Do you have a death wish? Do you think that you are up to enduring the scrutiny of my parents?”

He looks nervous, “Are they still vetting your dates?”

“Let’s just say that they never cease to worry about their little girl,” I grinned at him.

He swallows hard. I catch myself thinking, my goodness, this guy is really cute when he’s worried.

“Let me run up to my office and change first.” I suggest. “I keep clothes up there that are better suited to walking a couple of blocks in this weather. I won’t be a minute or two.”

“I’ll wait.” He smiles broadly, throwing caution to the wind.

Twenty minutes later, we walk into a small restaurant in one of our city’s old landmark hotels and my heart stops.

Twenty years ago I had dinner here with a girl that I had just met while waiting for the traffic to clear during a similarly bad snow storm. A girl with whom I fell madly in love that same night.

Pete notices the blood drain from my face, “Are you alright? You look as if you've seen a ghost,” He asks with true concern.

“What’s the date today?” In somewhat of a daze, I ask my handsome companion.

“The 19th,” he responds, “Why?”

I first truly fell in love at this very place twenty years ago today. Only then, I was the tall, handsome young man. I married that girl the next summer.

The Maitre d' showed us to the very same table that I had shared with Sandra that night long ago. A strong sense of dejavu washed over me.

Can history be repeating itself, after a fashion?

If so, can it turn out differently this time around?

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Author's note: I've been working on this story for a few months now. It is over 40,000 words and climbing. Watching this story unfold has been truly fascinating for me. I hope that you enjoy it too. I plan on posting chapters of variable length once a week or so as long as there are still readers.