Ava liked rising early on Sunday mornings. Before dressing for her run she lounged in bed for a few extra minutes marveling over how well she’d slept last night. True, she’d made a snap decision to walk away from Chris and Kate but during the time it took to walk the eight blocks back to her condo Ava had put aside any doubts about her decision to do so.

After all she’d broken her long standing rule to never allow herself to be picked up by a man and for awhile last night Ava had allowed Chris to do exactly that. She supposed someone as attractive as Chris Graber didn’t have any trouble in that arena. He probably didn’t even have to bother in the first place. Not with women like Kate Hagan throwing themselves at him. No, Ava was at peace with her decision. Better to keep away from complications in life especially when they were staring you right in the face before anything had really started.

Staying away from complications, just like not allowing herself to be picked up by a man, was another one of Ava’s life rules. She didn’t want to be tempted to break that one either.

Ava hopped out of bed and got dressed for her run. Sunlight was streaming into her east facing windows. Those windows were the reason she’d settled on this particular condo unit. It meant paying more than she had initially planned to for her very first home.

Making the decision to buy was nerve-wracking enough without deciding to mortgage her life away for thousands of dollars more than she had initially budgeted for. But after Ava got over buyer’s remorse she was thrilled with her decision. She simply had to have sunlight in the morning. It set the tone for her entire day. Besides if Ava knew nothing else, she knew how to live frugally. Meeting the higher monthly payment hadn’t been a hardship for her in the least.

Tying on her running shoes Ava dashed into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. She refused to look at her reflection in the mirror. She was still mad at her hair for betraying her last night.

Running her hands through it she felt its wildness and instinctively pulled it back away from her face to wind it into a French twist and pinned it in place. But as she headed for the door she could already feel tiny ringlets springing free to frame her face.

Ava stepped out of the elevator into the lobby. It was always deserted this early in the morning which suited Ava because she liked to do her warm-up exercises down here. It put her closer to the energy of the street which helped keep her motivated through the tedium of stretching out her muscles. Ava was always tempted to skip the warm-up but she knew how foolhardy that was.

Bracing against the wall as she stretched out her hamstrings Ava saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was a small piece of paper protruding from the bank of mailboxes incased in the wall near the glass entry doors. At first Ava tried to ignore it but she never was able to resist the pull of her curiosity.

Taking a closer look she saw it was a card; a business card and it was stuck in 7L’s mailbox. That was her mailbox! She tugged pulling it free. On the front it said Christian Graber & Associates Architectural Firm ~ architecture - interior design - planning. The address placed it on the upper east side, about twenty blocks from her condo.

Ava froze for a second. How did Chris Graber know where I lived let alone get inside my locked building Ava wondered and then instantly knew. Kate must’ve invited him up for a drink last night.

Something tightened inside Ava. It felt strange knowing when she had been asleep in her own bed Chris Graber had been at Kate’s having a nightcap. Ava’s clearheadedness was fogging up.

She turned over the card. There was something written on the back:

Reception 4 C. King, Sun. 1:30pm @ Blue River - join me?
Chris