CHAPTER ONE

Anne sat on the park bench totally relaxed in the warmth of the sun watching the two girls playing on the swing. She allowed her mind to wander back to an earlier time.
Looking back on things, Anne is so happy to have been able to make the right choice. At least the right choice for her.
A few years ago things were very different for her.
Lost in thought, she remembered the big gray building and how she had to cross over the railroad tracks to get into the parking lot every morning. The time clock she punched everyday for eight years setting on the wall inside the double doors was probably still there.
Anne had been a production line supervisor for a company that built underground telephone equipment. The work area was like one giant room divided into many different departments. There were no windows in the warehouse and many days she didn't even know it had rained until she went outside or onto the shipping dock.
At twenty seven, she was an attractive, recently divorced woman with a two year old daughter.
She loved her job and most of the people she worked with. She was well liked by her employees. Her good friend Sandy also worked with her.
Sandy was a sweet girl and devoted friend but she was an insecure person and had a problem with Anne having other friends. She had never been married and still lived at home with her mother. Her favorite thing to do was eat and it showed. Anne was basically her only friend and Sandy didn't want to share her.
One particular day at work Anne had to go to the shipping dock to check on some equipment that needed to ship. She noticed the new guy immediately. Tall, broad shouldered, with soft brown eyes. He walked over to help her with the boxes and she read his name on his badge. Donald.
It didn't take long for Anne to realize that Donald was as charming as he was handsome.

CHAPTER TWO

Donald was glad the day was over and he could get away from work. It had been a long day for him and he was ready to unwind. He was happy about finally meeting the girl from the production line. He had been watching her for a couple of weeks. He asked around and found out from other coworkers that she was single. He wanted to talk to her but he had to be careful. He didn't know how she would feel about dating an ex con.
Luckily for him he was only in prison a little over a year, but he was still on probation. "Funny", he thought, "how I just threw it away and now I work on a shipping dock in a warehouse".
Memories came rushing back as drove himself home. Four years ago he was going to school to be a dentist and was working as a dental assistant. He was married to Rebecca. She was a pretty girl who liked to party. This inevitably led to Donalds downfall.
Drinking and getting high on weekends soon was not enough and Donald began stealing drugs from the doctor he worked for. It was just a matter of time and he was caught and prosecuted. He was sentenced to five years but only served eighteen months. During that time Rebecca found other sources and divorced him.
Unfortunately four months ago when he was released the first thing he wanted to do was get high. Getting high for Donald wasn't smoking pot. He was twenty nine years old and a hardcore heroin addict.
Donald put up a good front for everyone. By day he worked hard and was well liked by his coworkers.
The night was a different story. Almost every evening he was out scoring his drugs as soon as work was over. The path he was on was leading him to destruction. He couldn't keep up the pretense of being two different people forever.
Then there was the girl at work. He could tell she really liked him and if he played out everything just right he could get something going with her. That was his plan anyway. With his record he wasn't able to get the best paying job and with his habit there was never enough money. He was using more often now and his supplier was taking all his money. Getting together with Anne would give him the money he needed. He knew he would be able to charm her into believing anything he said.

CHAPTER THREE

At every opportunity Donald was flirting with Anne and asking her out.
Sandy did not like Donald. She warned Anne not to go out with him. There was just something about him she did not like or trust. And she told Anne she had heard rumours he had been in prison.
Anne shrugged off her friends warning and finally gave in to Donalds advances. They started dating and Donald treated her good. He made her feel special all the time, especially around their coworkers.
Anne was falling in love with him. She loved the simple bond they had formed. They would pick up Anne's daughter, Angie, and go to movies after work, out to dinner or sometimes just walk around the lake. Anne usually paid for everything when they went out. She knew she made more money than he did and she didn't really mind. She was just happy to be with him. Often they would leave Angie with her grandmother and go to Donald's apartment where they would cook dinner and make love. Anne never spent the night with him.
There were occasions, Anne noticed, when Donald seemed really tired and in his own world, Being naive about certain things, Anne didn't have a clue.
One night Donald was extremely attentive and told her he wanted to take their relationship further. Anne watched in amazement as he pulled a small plastic bag from his pocket. He turned to her and said, "if you really love me you will 'get down' with me just once.
She sat on the side of the bed stunned as she watched him "cook" his drugs in a spoon amd pull it into a syringe. He reached for her hand, and tied his belt tightly around her arm. She just sat ther thinking, "I really do love him. I don't want to lose him. One time won't hurt me.
Donald took the heroin filled syringe and stuck it in the vein in the top of her hand. She watched as he pulled back on the plunger. "Oh I missed the vein", he said. "No register, no blood. I gotta stick you again". Anne just sat ther frozen. She winced as she felt the needle pierce her skin and as she saw the blood come into the syringe she jerked her hand away. "No", she shouted at him. "I won't do this. Not even for you. Get it away from me. I'm leaving". As she ran out the door she heard Donald say, "I guess I'll just have to do yours and mine. Can't waste it".
Crying, she ran to her car and drove away. Once she was at home she really thought about the huge mistake she almost made. She also realized that having attention showered upon you doesn't make it love.
Her decision was made. It hurt but she knew she would survive, literally.
Donald never came back to work and Anne never saw him again. He couldn't face her knowing she knew the truth about him and was not willing to be a part of his lifestyle.
Now, years later and married to a wonderful man, Anne watches her children play and has no regrets. Only memories

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