Shades of Deception

The rain was coming down hard, and traffic was bumper to bumper. It was close to midnight, and Penny was on the road for almost two hours. She never liked driving in the rain and would have premonitions of skidding off the wet road, ending up in a ditch and being all alone for weeks.

When checking the weather earlier, there was no mention or sign of rain. It was as though the sky had just burst into tears without any forewarning. She was on her way home from a dinner date with her now ex-boyfriend, who abruptly ended their two-year relationship. His excuse was that she was moving too fast, and he was not ready to take their relationship to the next level.

His rationale for breaking up was a complete surprise to her, because she never placed any demands on him. If he wanted to see other women, it was fine with her.

It was almost two in the morning when she got to her residence. By then, the rain had stopped. She parked her car into the building's underground garage, got on the elevator and went straight to her apartment.

Since she was a little girl, Penny wanted to work in the area of medicine. Just about every family member was on some type of medication for health-related problems.

The idea of taking a pill to help alleviate pain, cure, or manage a disease fascinated her. She wanted to dispense drugs and offer drug-related information to consumers, so she chose to go into pharmacy.

She attended a well-known college in New York State, received her Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacy and got a job as a pharmacist assistant at a neighborhood drugstore.

A year later, she took and passed the state exam to become a licensed pharmacist.

Several months later, she was head pharmacist at a major pharmacy chain in New York City.

While reading her mail, Penny fell asleep.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Who could that be at this time of night? she thought to herself.

When she looked at her watch, it was almost 10:00 a.m. When she looked through the peephole, the person on the other end was unfamiliar to her.

She asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Ebo, your new next door neighbor. I just moved in about a week ago," answered the man.

When she opened the door, a feeling of delight overtook her body. He was undoubtedly the most handsome man she had ever seen. If she were questioning why her ex had dumped her, it did not matter any more, because Ebo had her full attention, and he was going to be her next main squeeze.