"I've got it," Eileen called out, racing down the steps as quickly as she could in high heeled shoes. She had never been so nervous before a date before. She spent hours going through her closet, called Chloe over for a second opinion, and changed her mind half a dozen times before finally choosing something to wear. She wasn't usually so indecisive. Normally before a date she would just throw something on, take an extra glance in the mirror, and would be ready to go, but this date was different and she knew it.
"Hi," she greeted Lawrence at the door with a nervous smile.
"Hi. Are you ready to go?"
"I'm ready."
They rode down the street in near silence. Eileen watched Lawrence as he drove and smiled at him when he looked over at her. She wasn't used to dating someone so quiet, but he seemed comfortable in his silence and strangely enough, so was she.
Finally she asked, "Where are we going?"
"Bernardi's. I made a reservation for 7:00. I hope that's alright."
"That sounds great," Eileen said. "Have you ever been there before?"
"No, but I've heard good things about them."
"It is a very nice place. I've been once or twice."
Since they arrived at the restaurant a little bit earlier than their reservation time, Lawrence and Eileen took a walk in the gardens in front of the restaurant. Eileen struggled to think of something sophisticated to say to break the ice.
"So how have you been? How is work?" she asked.
"Fine. I've been keeping busy."
"I'm sure. I heard you took over for my dad. I think that's great. Congratulations."
"Thanks . . .How is your dad?"
Eileen shrugged. "He's not taking his retirement well. I try to stay out of the house as much as possible. He hasn't been easy to live with."
"Oh look," Eileen called out as they walked further along the path. "It's the wishing well."
Lawrence followed along as she made her way towards the well. She searched through her purse until she found a penny. Gripping it tightly, she made a wish before dropping it down into the well. "Do you have a penny? Make a wish. It's good luck."
Lawrence grinned. "You aren't superstitious, are you?"
"No, not really . . .It's kind of childish, I guess, but it's something I remember doing with my mother before she died."
Lawrence was surprised at Eileen's comment. He had just assumed that Veronica, Mr. Townsend's wife, was her mother. Not wanting to pry into a sensitive subject, he didn't ask her about it and instead tossed a penny into the well after Eileen's.
"Does this ever work? Do your wishes come true?"
"Sometimes . . . Sometimes not," she replied thoughtfully. "We'll have to see if this wish comes true or not."
"We? Are you letting me in on the secret? I thought that was against the rules."
Eileen grinned coyly and looked up at the darkening sky. "Oh, look at that. It must be almost 7:00 by now. Don't we have a reservation to keep?"
Lawrence played along and escorted her to the entrance of the restaurant.
As she walked into the restaurant, Eileen was met by a familiar face.
"Hey, Eileen."
"Hi, Trevor. What are you doing here?"
"I just dropped in to pick up my paycheck on my way home from the gym. Where have you been hiding yourself? All the guys miss seeing you at our games."
"Oh, I've been busy," she said. She glanced back at Lawrence who was holding the door and tried to quickly end the conversation with Trevor. "I'll see you around."
As they were seated, Eileen spotted another acquaintance from college working at the bar. When he waved to her, she nodded back a silent greeting. Fortunately, he was too busy at the bar to come over and say hello. Eileen sat down with her back to the bar and was relieved that Lawrence didn't seem to notice that she knew the bartender as well.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get us a better table," Lawrence said as he sat down and picked up a menu.
"What's wrong with it?" Eileen asked.
"Maybe someday I'll be influential enough to get a table away from the kitchen."
"This is fine, really," Eileen promised. "I'm still impressed that you decided to take me here."
"Why is that?"
"It's so expensive . . .and popular. Some people would consider themselves lucky to be here, even if they are sitting next to the kitchen."
"You're right." He smiled at her. "Anyone would be lucky to be in my seat right now."
"Eileen, I thought that was you. How's it going?"
"Fine, Kennedy." Eileen forced a smile and tried to be polite to the man walking past their table. "And you?"
"Great, but I was wondering why you never called me." He waited for an answer, but Eileen didn't have the heart to tell him that she wasn't interested in guys who wore pink flannel shirts with shorts, especially to fancy restaurants. "It doesn't matter though," he said lightly, trying to save face. "I've got to run. Call me sometime when you get a chance."
"Bye," she said. As he walked out, she rolled her eyes and, with a sigh, turned to look at Lawrence. She expected him to be annoyed by the interruptions, but instead he just looked amused.
"You're very popular tonight," he remarked.
"I know a lot of people, mostly from school." Thoroughly embarrassed, she felt the need to explain. "I like spending time with other people, so I've made a lot of friends, girls too, not just guys. Some of my guy friends have been interested in dating me, but I don't know, none of the dates I agreed to go on ever turned into anything serious. Probably because I never took them seriously."
"Why not?"
Eileen shrugged. "Maybe I was just waiting for someone to come along who was worth being serious about."
He wondered where Eileen's recent engagement fit into her history of casual relationships, but the last name he wanted to bring up that evening was Hector Burgess. "Well, if you decide you're interested in going out with me again, I'll try to pick a place where we'll be less likely to run into so many people we know."
"I think that's a wonderful idea."
Outside, Hector was walking past the restaurant when he spied Lawrence and Eileen through the window. The sight of them together made him stop in his tracks. He felt sick with jealousy. First Lawrence took his job, now he was after his girl too. Hector stood up straighter and resolved to take action. He knew exactly what he had to do to put a stop to this.
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