Chapter 4

“We’re having pizza, okay? Maybe going to a movie. That’s it. You should be thrilled I’m doing that much.”

“I am, honey,” Shelly said. “I want a full report tomorrow.”

They had their pizza and beer, checking movie listings on their phones when the plates were gone. “What do you see that you like?” he asked.

“You’re the one who asked me out on a date.”

“Oh, so I’m supposed to pick. Hmm. Kung fu movie in 3-D? Horror in 4-D, whatever that is? Ooh! There’s a new Swedish slasher film with sub-titles!”

“Are you serious?”

He laughed. “No, but your reaction was priceless.”

She scrolled through her phone. “Honestly, those look like some of the better choices. It stopped raining. We could go for a walk.”

“A cheap date? I like you better already!”

They chose the well-lit walking path by the river. A few couples and late evening joggers were the only people there. They didn’t say much other than to point out boats and lights on the water. For some distance, they covered ground at a casual pace in silence.

“This is one of the paths I use, but I would never come here at night alone,” Kay said.

“You shouldn’t. Too many weirdos.”

“Am I safe with you?”

“With me? Or from me?” he chuckled.

“I feel like I’m safe from you. Am I wrong?”

“No, Kay, you’re not wrong. That’s not how I play.”

They strolled quietly for a while. “How do you play, Jim?”

He stopped under a lamppost where they could see each other well. “I’m not a player.”

“Why not? You’re a hunky single guy who tends bar at a club where single women go. Don’t tell me you couldn’t score there.”

“Score? That sounds kinda cheap.”

“That’s what Sid called it. Picking up someone in a bar for sex is scoring.”

“I see guys try all the time. I’m not like that,” he said. “The whole player mentality is foreign to me. I’m not made that way.”

“Shhh,” she whispered. “Look.” She pointed toward the shadows where a couple was making noise behind a tree. “Are they...?”

He followed her finger and watched for just a second. Then he turned her by her shoulders and motioned for her to walk silently with him back the way they came. When they were a safe distance away, he started to laugh. “I didn’t expect that!”

“I hope they don’t get poison ivy,” she giggled.

“I felt so bad for you in the woods,” he said. “I heard you fall, and I wasn’t sure how far down that slope you tumbled. I was afraid you were hurt. Then you told me you got poison ivy.”

“You can tell your buddies you saw a girl’s ass before you even asked her out.”

“Do you think I’d do that?”

“Sid would have made it his status post, complete with whatever photos he could get away with.”

“I’m not Sid.”

She stopped. “That was horrible of me.”

“What’s horrible? Comparing guys to the man you thought you were going to marry? Seems pretty natural.”

“It’s unfair.”

“Not at all. Did you compare the coffee today to other coffee?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Okay then.”

When they got back to the Jeep, he held the door for her while she climbed in.

“You’re such a gentleman,” she remarked.

“What?”

“The thing with the car door.”

“Mom taught me well.”

“Do your parents live around here?”

“Dad could, for all I know. Mom never told me his name. I’m not sure she knew. She passed away a few years ago – stroke.”

“I’m sorry,” Kay said.

“She was ready. It wasn’t her first stroke. I couldn’t take care of her, and she didn’t want me to, so she was in a nursing home for a couple years. I visited at least twice a week. She died soon after I got out of college.”

“You said you had a girlfriend then?”

“Melanie. We had fun. I guess I was like you – more serious about being in love than she was. When she felt I had it together enough after Mom’s funeral, she broke up with me. No big scene. She simply said settling down at that point in our lives would be a mistake. I never saw it coming. Tore me up pretty bad.”

“She got you started on your writing career?”

“She did. Her name will be on the acknowledgments page of my book.”

“That’s kinda cool.”

“She always said we should follow our dreams. Last I heard she was living at a wildlife preserve.”

“I like being outdoors, but not that much,” Kay said.

“I have my limits too. My cabin will have a nice bathroom.”

“What do you do for fun?”

“Work, write, and run. I’m not the party type, and I don’t have any other hobbies. You?”

She gave a rueful little laugh. “Now? Going out for drinks was the first thing I did that wasn’t a necessity for a while, other than my walking. If I’m going to sit all day at work, I need to walk. Losing Sid didn’t ruin that for me, at least.”

They were startled by a tap on Jim’s door. He unzipped the plastic window.

“Everything okay?” the policeman asked.

“Yeah, fine,” Jim said.

“You two are old enough to make out somewhere other than a Jeep parked on the street. Get out of here before I think of a reason to write you up.”

“Yes, officer. We’ll go as soon as the windows are clear.”

“Have a good night, you two.” The cop walked away.

Jim started the engine. “Wanna ride with the top down?”

She helped with the fasteners and zippers removing the old Jeep’s awkward canvas top. By the time they were done, the noisy fan had cleared the windshield.

“Whither shall we go, milady?”

“You’re a gallant knight now?”

“James of the House of Preston, knighted by His Majesty the King, and now thy humble servant, milady. If I were not bound by this strap to my rusty steed, I would bow before thee and beg to kiss thy hand.”

“You’re weird,” she laughed.

“Oh, hell yeah.”

“I never rode in a Jeep before, especially one with the top off at night.”