Chapter 20

I looked at the time and grinned. My shift was finally over, and I had another date with David that evening. I went to the back room to retrieve my coat, and Sara was just arriving to start her own shift.

“Hello, Sara,” I greeted happily.

“You’re in a good mood,” she commented. “Going out with you-know-who tonight?”

“Yes,” I answered with a smile.

“Have a good time!”

“I will!”

On the bus ride home I smiled as I thought about the familiar routine we’d settled into. We’d hug and flirt during the week building to the date we’d go on either Friday or Saturday evening, which always culminated in a lovely goodnight kiss.

When I arrived, there was about an hour until David was supposed to be home, so I decided to start getting ready for the evening. I spent a good amount of time brushing out my fur. For a moment I wondered what it would be like if David did it, but I shivered and tried to push the thought out of my head as quickly as it came. The idea of being that intimate was as frightening as it was alluring.

It was chilly out so I put on a gray sweater I recently finished knitting, and a longer navy-blue skirt. I was just brushing my hair when my phone rang. I was surprised when it was David.

“Hello, David,” I greeted upon answering.

“Hey, Ruth.” He didn’t sound happy. “I’ve got some bad news.”

“Uh oh. What’s going on?”

“I have to work late...” my heart sank.

“How late?” I asked tentatively.

“I’m not sure.” I groaned in dismay.

“Does this mean we’re not going to be able to go out tonight?” I heard David sigh.

“I don’t know. I’ll keep you posted though.”

“Ok. Thanks for letting me know.” I ended the call. Disappointed, I made my way to the front room and flopped down in my chair. I picked up my crochet materials to keep myself occupied while I waited.

Almost two hours after David normally got out of work, I got a message from him.

‘Should be leaving in about a half hour.’

By the time David got home and cleaned up he probably wasn’t going to want leave the apartment again. Even so, I had to ask.

‘Do you think we’ll still be able to go out.’

I waited for his reply with baited breath.

‘I don’t think so.’

I felt like I wanted to cry. Our dates had become highlight of my week.

‘I have an idea though. I’ll call you when I get out of work.’

With his last message much of my disappointment subsided and in its place was curiosity over what David had in mind.

‘Ok. I’ll talk to you then.’

I went back to my yarn and found myself looking forward to hearing about his idea.

As expected, about a half hour later David called.

“Hi, Ruth.”

“Hello. What’s this idea you’ve got?” I asked.

“I figure we could just have a night in.” I furrowed my brow.

“But every other night is already a night in.” He chuckled.

“Yeah, but this time we make a point to spend the evening together. I’ll pick up takeout on the way home, we can watch a movie, or whatever else we want to do. Maybe we could even go for a walk.” The more he spoke, the more I liked the idea.

“I think I would like that!”

“Good! I’m going to let you go so I can call in dinner.”

“Ok, see you in a little bit!”

I went back to my hook in a much better mood than since he first called with the news of his being late.

Around forty minutes later there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, David was there with several bags in his hands!

“Hi,” I greeted excitedly as he came in. “That’s a lot of food!”

“Yep! There’s an Italian place on the way home from the latest job site I’ve been curious about. I got you five cheese ravioli with marinara sauce and vegetable soup. I’ve got shrimp scampi, and a seafood chowder. And for dessert, I got us cannoli’s!”

“That sounds delicious!”

“I’m going to take a quick shower. I’ll be right back!”

The food didn’t just sound delicious, it smelled delightful too! Figuring I could make dining a little nicer, I got out a couple of plates and bowls, and transferred the meals to them while David showered. A short while later he was back, dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a blue button down shirt. Him making the effort to look nice made me quite happy.

“Hey, that was a good idea!” He complimented, gesturing to the plates. We sat down and ate our meals while we shared the details of our respective work days.

“That was very tasty,” I said as I was finishing the last bite of my cannoli. “I’ve never had Italian food before.” David grinned.

“Then I’m glad I could introduce you to it!” He gathered up the dishes and put them in the sink. “We’ll get to those later,” he said after coming back from the kitchen. He held out his hand to help me from my seat and I grinned widely. Without letting go of my hand he guided me to the front room. I watched curiously when he started fiddling with his phone, but a moment later it started playing some old classical music. Moving in front of me, he took my right hand and put it on his shoulder, then took my right in his left. I gasped when he placed his right hand on my hip and pulled me a little closer. Then we began to dance. It wasn’t much more than slowly shuffling our feet in a circle while we swayed back and forth, but staring into David’s beautiful blue eyes while we moved to the music was the most romantic experience I’d ever had.

When the music stopped he let go of my hand, then reached up and gently pulled my face toward his, and kissed me softly. While I normally preferred we wait until the end of the date, it was so sweet that I let it slide. When we separated he was grinning ear to ear, and I knew the corners of eyes were turned up in a smile too.

“Ready for that movie?” He asked.

“Yes. Did you have one in mind?”

“Yeah. It’s my Sister’s favorite, but I think it’s pretty good too.”

“Ok, that sounds good!” We both sat down on the couch, and David messed around with his game console for a minute and when the movie started up he took my hand once more.

“That Mr. Darcy seems like a real jerk,” I whispered, shortly after the move started. “I don’t like him.”

“Just keep watching,” David whispered back directly into my ear and I shivered slightly. Instead of resuming his sitting position, he leaned against my arm and my pulse started to quicken. When I looked over at him, his smile made me melt a little and before I realized it I had put my arm around him and pulled him into my side.

As I kept watching, the plot twisted and turned delightfully until it’s very satisfying conclusion.

“What did you think,” asked David, once the movie was over.

“I very much enjoyed it,” I replied. With the movie having finished, I looked down and my heart started to race anxiously again. Now that I wasn’t distracted I saw that I was holding David in my arms with him laying on me, just like the day he came home sick! Despite my anxiety, David looked so happy that I couldn’t resist hugging him closer for a moment, which only made him smile wider. He folded one of my hands in his and stroked the fur on the back of it, which felt quite nice.