Grace was never happier to see the bus arrive. She boarded and took her usual seat in the back. She glanced out the window and saw Jim smiling at her, waving her goodbye and she quickly looked away. All the way to her receptionist's job at a large accounting firm downtown, her mind wandered back to Jim and that smile as he waved her goodbye. She though to herself, 'Thank God tomorrow is Friday. Maybe I'll skip the apple and avoid contact with him for a few days. The last thing I need in my life right now, is drama!'

When Friday morning arrived and Grace was in her usual spot, sipping her usual OJ and taking her usual glance at the produce market, she realized something was wrong. Jim's brother Frank was tending to the produce and she saw no sign of Jim. Grace walked over to Frank and said, 'Good morning Frank, Jim taking the day off today?'

He answered, 'Yes he is, he woke up this morning with a terrible cold and asked me to cover for him.'

Grace purchased her daily apple and returned to the bus stop. She knew Jim lived in the apartment above the market and thought about going up to check on him. Then she thought she'd better not, for fear of being alone with him.

The longer she thought about him being sick, the more she became concerned. She pulled out her cell phone from her purse and called her employer. Her boss's secretary answered. 'Good morning, Steele & Steele Accounting!'

In a faked sickly voice Grace whispered, 'Morning Marsha, this is Grace. Would you tell Bill that I can't make it in today? I'm deathly ill and I don't want to spread it around the firm.'

Marsha said, 'You poor dear, go back to bed and rest, I’ll let him know.'

Grace closed her phone and headed back to her apartment.

Back home, Grace opened a big can of chicken noodle soup and placed it on the stove, then went into her bedroom to change out of her work clothes. As she changed into her short Levi’s skirt and a lightweight button front top, she looked at her body in the mirror. Grace was only 5' 4" tall, auburn colored hair, nice 34 C perky pears, tightly toned hips and a well rounded ass, that she had been told 'was to die for' by numerous men at work. She whispered to herself, "Not bad Gracie, you've seasoned well in your 38 years." She then went to her medicine chest and grabbed her Vick's VapoRub and put it in her purse. She placed the soup in a lockable bowl and grabbed a pack of saltines, putting them both in a bag for easy carrying, and headed out the door.

Her mind began churning images of him. Would he be stretched out on the sofa, in a state of near undress? Would he be standing in a hot running shower, trying to flush the virus from his pores? Or... would he be seated in an easy chair, pulling a wanker on his unit, as he thought about her? As all of these desires and imaginations ran through her mind, she almost turned to head back home.

'No Grace! You must check on him', she thought to herself. As she reached the foot of the stairs that led to Jim's apartment, she paused. A few minutes passed before she started climbing up the stairs. As she got