Chapter 3: The Story Continues

In the morning, I woke rested and ready for a run or to go meet the pretty woman who had come into my life.

I had just turned on the coffee maker when my phone rang. It was Claudette. She said, “Good morning, Eric. Is it too early to call?”

“For you, never. I would like to see you today.”

“I don’t have anything special for today but you’re welcome to come over.”

“I need to shower and dress but I’ll be over quickly.”

“Give me half an hour, Eric.”

“Okay. Bye, Claudette.”

I thumbed the button. I went to the bathroom and showered shaving carefully. I dressed in nice pants and shirt. I rolled a pair of shorts and a tee shirt with socks and sneakers and a swim suit in a towel. I jumped in my car and drove to her place knocking on the door exactly thirty minutes after getting off the phone.

She let me in. “Eager this morning, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” I pulled her into my arms and kissed her gently. “Have you eaten yet, Claudette?”

“No.”

“I’ll be glad to take you to eat.”

“You aren’t dressed for running or we could run to that same coffee shop.”

“Claudette, I brought running clothes. If you’ll let me borrow a bathroom, I can change quickly.”

She smiled. “I’m not dressed for running either. Let’s just ride over. We talk about what we might do today while we eat.”

I nodded. “Why don’t you load a running outfit and a suit and towel. That would keep our options open.”

“You just want to see me in a swim suit!”

“Yes, that, too.”

“At least you’re honest in your perversions.”

“You bring out the best in me.”

By then we were at the car. She got in and I followed her directions to a breakfast place. We were seated and ordered. She said, “I know just the place. Let’s go to the Garden of the Gods.”

I smiled. ‘I’m already with a goddess.”

“Don’t overdo it, Eric.”

“I won’t under do it either, Claudette.”

We were served or food and I blessed it. We ate and she explained some about the Garden of the Gods. It was an enjoyable meal listening to her talk. She truly is a beautiful woman. I noticed that I wasn’t the only guy watching her.

That made me smile. She looked at me. “What?”

“I was enjoying listening to you and glanced around just enough to realize that I wasn’t the only one mesmerized by your beauty. I’m grateful for your presence.”

She blushed. “Have you been listening or just looking?”

“Both. With you, there is no ‘just’ ever involved.”

Now, she was really blushing. However, she was smiling also. I basked in the warmth of that smile.

I paid and tipped. We left for the Garden of the Gods.

We arrived at the visitors’ center. We looked at everything inside. I was willing. After all, she was holding my hand. We left with a map and returned to the car. We changed into our sneakers planning to take the trails after driving around. There was so much to see. It was dry but the rocks were neat. We had lunch at the trading post after hiking some. After lunch, we hiked some more. It was possible to get close to many of the more spectacular rocks. During a bathroom break, Claudette called her mother and got us invited for supper.

We left with enough time to drive to their house. We arrived as her father was arriving and went in with him after hugs for Claudette and a handshake for me.

Mister Gaines said, “Two days in a row. Should I read something in that?”

“You might infer that I had uncommonly good sense to hang around with your beautiful, intelligent daughter. It is also possible that your wife’s cooking is a draw. I may also be trying to lower Claudette’s resistance for when I’m involved with the team so she won’t forget me.” I grinned.

Mister Gaines grinned back. “Are you going to be with her tomorrow?”

“That’s up to Claudette. I hope so.”

“What’s up to me?” Claudette just walked into the room. She looked at me.

“Whether or not I’ll be with you tomorrow. I hope so.”

“That hope may well be fulfilled. By the way, dinner is ready.”

After the blessing, we ate. Claudette asked, “Mom, do you have plans for tomorrow?”

“No, dear. Should I?”

“I thought Eric and I might hang with you and Dad tomorrow.”

She looked a little surprised. “We enjoy having the two of you around. Let’s you and I think of something to do.”

The four of us cleared the table. Mister Gaines and I were sent into the living room while they, Claudette and her mother, did the dishes. We sat down.

Mister Gaines said, “You know they will plan something fun to do for tomorrow.”