Chapter 5: The Date

I willed myself to be calm as I climbed the steps to the Carlisle house. In my left hand I clutched a clear-wrapped bouquet of flowers while my right thumb tentatively pressed the door bell. I heard the chimes and waited for the door to

open. I could hear footsteps and then the door swung wide. It wasn't Nicole, but a middle-aged woman I guessed to be her mother.

"Hi, I'm Will Travers and I'm here for Nicole," I said, forcing my voice to be calm.

"Oh, come in Will, Nicole should be right along."

"I brought these for you ... for looking after Jimmy tonight," I said, handing the flowers to her.

"Oh, they're lovely. Thank you, Will, that's very thoughtful. Come in and meet the rest of the clan," she said merrily.

I followed her into the living room and saw a man rise from his chair to greet me.

"This is my husband, Angus. Angus, this is Will Travers."

"How do you do, Mr. Carlisle. Nice to meet you."

"It's Angus, lad," he said with a slight hint of his native brogue. "And my wife is Mary."

I stood not knowing what to say next, noticing neither Nicole or Jimmy were in sight.

"You're off to a play, then," Mary spoke, breaking the ice.

"Yes," I said, happy for the comment. "It's a comedy about office manners and other chaos. I'm told it's good fun."

"A wise choice," Angus said with a smile. "A bit of a laugh on a first date is always a good idea."

I was beginning to breathe a little easier because of the congenial way I had been greeted. Maybe this wasn't going to be so hard after all. I was a bit premature with that thought. When Nicole appeared from the rear of the house, I caught my breath in surprise. She was drop-dead-gorgeous.

She must have seen the look on my face. I know Angus did.

"Ah, lass, you look a treat tonight," he said, taking the initiative away from me.

"Yes ... yes you do," I agreed lamely.

She was dressed in a very colorful blouse that I would describe as artistic in pattern. Like broad strokes from an artist's palette on a background of navy blue. It accentuated her figure as it tucked snugly into a navy blue knee-length skirt. For the first time, I saw that her body was more curvaceous than I originally realized. Last Sunday, her jacket had hidden much of it. Tonight it was on display, but in a dignified and classy way.

"Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, Will."

She was still in stocking feet and was fastening a single strand of pearls around her neck. I was about to go to her to help her when she finished the task. She looked amazing and I think she read that on my face.

I caught a glimpse of her mother, smiling knowingly at both of us. That was a relief.

"Look what Will brought for us," Mary said, showing Nicole the bouquet.

"Oh, that's lovely, Will. Thank you," she smiled.

I was about to say something when a towheaded youngster walked into the room, looking at me curiously.

"You must be Jimmy," I said, hoping to put him at ease.

"Uh huh," was the solitary answer.

"I'm Will," I said, extending my hand toward him.

He looked at it and approached carefully before accepting it. We shook equally carefully, mindful not to squeeze too firmly.

In a moment that I would have taken back if it hadn't been too late, I said, "I'm taking your mom to the theatre tonight. I hope that's okay with you?"

He looked at me carefully, then his mother, then back to me.

"I guess so. Is it just one time?"

"You mean this date?" I asked and he nodded.

"Well, that's up to your mom. I hope there might be more than one."

"How many?" he asked. I was getting in deep and I was looking for a life preserver.

"Laddie, you'll have to wait and see, just like we will," his grandfather said, putting his hand on Jimmy's shoulder and saving me from embarrassment.

"Okay," he said, moving to stand beside his Grandad.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but when I looked at Nicole, I thought she might burst out laughing. Her mother seemed to find the whole episode amusing too. I struggled to get myself under control and turned to Nicole.

"Shall we go?"

"Quickly, I think," she giggled as she stepped into a pair of medium height heels. I helped her with her light jacket to ward off the cool of an October evening.

We said our goodbyes, with Nicole reminding Jimmy of his bedtime and to be good.

As we walked down the front stairs and out toward my car, Nicole took my hand a bumped my shoulder with hers.

"Not nervous are you?" she jabbed.

"Oh yeah. That was hard. I haven't been on a date in ten years. That was torture."

She stopped as I held the car door for her.

"Is it that important? This date?"

I looked at her closely. "Yes. Yes it is."

I caught the hint of a smile as she slipped into the front seat before I closed the door.

Between the Saturday evening traffic and the time it took me to park the car, we arrived at the theatre only ten minutes before the opening curtain. We decided to forego the drink and wait for the intermission. We seated ourselves in our reserved seats and I was pleased that they gave us a good view of the stage without being right on top of it.

I handed Nicole a program and a printout of Max Peller's review from our paper. It would help her follow along with the play as it went without giving away all of the plot.

By intermission I knew I had chosen well. Nicole was laughing along with the audience almost from the beginning and was clearly enjoying every minute. I had scored a winner.