Chapter 12: Dating

Hana

“ROLLER SKATING? This is wonderful! I haven’t been on my skates in years. How did you know?” I couldn’t believe it when Liam told me to wear clothes comfortable to skate in. I tried my skates on just to make sure they still fit. And we were holding hands as we made our way around the rink the first time, just getting used to wheels beneath our feet.

“I try to be attentive. I miss things and I don’t understand others, but I pay attention,” he said. What a sweet boy. “You told me the story of your calling and said you and your friend had been roller skating. It sounded like you really loved it.”

“I did. I do. I just haven’t had time for a while.” The movement felt good and familiar. I’d be sore tomorrow. I turned and skated backward as he held me in a dance pose. Liam wasn’t a great skater, but he was good enough to hold me while we skated. I did all the spins and fancy moves. He just kept the momentum going around the rink.

Roller rinks aren’t the greatest places for conversation, but it was a great way to make contact, so to speak. We skated for almost two hours!

When we got to the restaurant, I was pretty used to touching him and held his hand until we were seated.

“Come on, fess up,” I said. “I know I didn’t say anything about Italian food being my favorite.”

“I know. I overheard Meredith say something about it.”

“Overheard her?”

“When I told her I wasn’t going to have her plan my dates for me, she turned away and mumbled, ‘She does like Italian food.’ I took it as a hint. But I chose the restaurant.” We were seated at a nice table and presented with a large Italian salad and bread before we’d had a chance to look at the menu. I ordered spicy chicken rigatoni and Liam showed some savvy about Italian food when he ordered linguine with clams in white wine sauce.

“It’s a good thing we skated first,” I said. “I won’t be able to move after this meal. If you chase me, I’ll have to let you catch me.”

“Hana, I wouldn’t do something like that. I’ll be too full to put up much of a chase.” He made light of it, but I got the feeling that if there was any chasing to be done, I’d be the one doing it. We’ll see.

“Tell me about your job. Meredith said you went to work.”

“Technically, it ended yesterday. It was a short-term project for my father. I studied what was running smoothly and what could use adjustment. This week, I have to put the report together in a non-proprietary format to hand in at school when classes resume,” he said. “I don’t think I could have done it without Meredith’s help. She kept coming up with ideas and helping me brainstorm situations. She typed up the reports when I’d written a draft and was really supportive. I’m glad I have her as an assistant.”

Somehow, I got the impression Liam was happy with Meredith. In fact, maybe more than happy. I doubted very much that I’d date Liam again. Although I doubted that after the first date, too. He might not be aware of it yet, but he was fixated on my former roommate. I sighed out loud.

“Hana, I’m sorry if that came off sounding like more than it is. Meredith and I have a professional relationship. We aren’t dating.”

“It’s okay, Liam. We’ve always known it would be difficult to have and maintain a relationship with each other. I hardly ever have time to see anyone and you have a whole new path ahead of you. Let’s just enjoy the food and company. Are you having dessert?”

I was still comfortable with him. I knew he wouldn’t be overly aggressive with me but I was interested in more than holding his hand. I cuddled next to him in the back seat as his driver took me home.

“Walk me to my door?” I asked.

“Of course.” We held hands and when we reached my apartment, I pulled him to me and brought my lips to his. It was like striking a match to tinder. I lost myself in the kiss and in his touch. I fumbled for my key and opened the door, pulling Liam toward me. He stopped without crossing the threshold. He bent and kissed me tenderly again.

“Thank you for a lovely evening, Hana. Maybe we’ll be able to do this again sometime. Good night.” My lips tried to follow him down the hall. I sighed. If things were different, I wouldn’t have let him go.

Meredith

OUR LAST WEEK before school would start was filled with working on Liam’s paper for Mr. Peoples and generally getting things organized. That included a trip into Covington to do last minute shopping and get Liam his driver’s license. I didn’t know what he’d be driving normally, but I let him drive my car for the test.

We met my parents at Rangers for dinner Wednesday evening at their invitation. Liam wanted to return to the restaurant and try another dish. My father was eager to show him some more of his cuisine. Erich drove and we waited for him to open the door. I took Liam’s arm and went in.

“Meredith, how wonderful to have you and Mr. Cyning with us this evening. Your mother is already at your usual table. I’ve never seen your father so nervous. Here we are.” The hostess showed Liam and me to the table where my mother stood at once.

“Please, Mrs. Sauvage, don’t stand for me. It is so nice to see you again.” Liam was a perfect gentleman, holding our chairs for us. Of course, I expected nothing less. Just in the few weeks we had been working together, I’d noticed a new maturity in his bearing. The incident with Mr. Wilcox had affected him profoundly.

“You are very kind, Mr. Cyning.”

“Meredith and I are very close and I am sure we will see you frequently. Please call me Liam.”

“Then you must refer to me as Kendall and Meredith’s father as Rainer.” Mother was Mother, of course—charming and relaxed with her quick smile. She’s very physical and frequently reached over to touch one of our hands or arms.

“Meredith, did you know you have something of the same sparkle in your eyes that your mother has?” he asked.

“Liam! I ... How kind of you to notice.” He was flirting! No wonder Hana was infatuated. I was still puzzled that when I called, she said she had a wonderful time and really liked Liam but wouldn’t be able to see him again—at least not soon. I wondered at her attitude but she just said the new term was starting and she couldn’t afford an entanglement that might distract her from her studies.

“Even my heart jumped a beat with that,” Mother said.

Father emerged from the kitchen bringing us each a bowl of hot soup and a plate of bread.

“Good evening, Mr. Cyning...”

“Just Liam, sir. Please.”

“Wonderful. Liam, have you noticed the weather getting cooler? Lovely, of course, but I thought our meal needed to start with a hot soup. I hope you find this French onion soup to your liking. And don’t worry about your breath. The characteristic odor of the onions is muted by the broth and cheese. I’ll join you for the entrée but must ask that you excuse me from the soup.” He nodded his head and ran back to the kitchen.

I watched Liam savor the soup.

“This is heavenly! Mmm. It warms one up, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. It is one of our favorite winter soups. Rainer was torn between this and the minestrone, but chose this because it is warming but not so heavy as the minestrone. I’m so glad you like it,” Kendall said.

“I do. Meredith, what kind of cheese is this that your father uses? It seems so unusual.”

“The usual in this area is to melt Emmental on the top. Father found an old recipe that used gruyere. They are both Swiss cheeses but the gruyere is a little softer and sweeter than the Emmental,” I said.

“It’s delicious. I wonder if I’ve ever had that on a cheese tray. I’d like to sample it sometime. Could you assist me in selecting cheeses for a tray some evening? Perhaps we could serve my parents and grandmother. I do owe them something for their tolerance this summer.”

“I’d be delighted.” I smiled at him. He could have just told me to do it and as his employee I would. But it sounded much more fun this way.

“Here we have the entrée,” Father said as he and a server returned to the table. “For our dining pleasure this evening, I have chosen a lamb fricassee with avgolemono sauce. You will discover, however, that I have included greens in the sauce, which lightens it and enhances the flavor of the lamb. Bon appétit!” Liam leaned forward and inhaled just to savor the enticing aroma. He started eating and moaned his pleasure.

“The avgolemono is exquisite! I’ve never had anything like it.”

“It’s why I serve this only with crusty bread. It is the best way to get every last sop of the sauce.” Father was being very formal, explaining dishes as if Liam were a food critic from the newspaper. When I teased him, however, he started telling stories—some I found quite embarrassing.

“Meredith, I didn’t realize you had four older brothers. Did you have a difficult childhood?” Liam turned to me, picking up Mother’s mannerisms and touching my hand.

“Oh, not so terrible. I learned a great deal from my brothers. Including, I’m told, a vicious right hook.” We all broke up laughing at that.

“We never quite forgave her for that. To think that she would bloody the nose of the host! I died of mortification.”

“Kendall, please forgive her as I have. I was being insufferable and deserved the punishment and embarrassment. I assure you, both Meredith and I have learned more civilized behavior since that day.” Desserts arrived.

“How colorful, Papa!”

“It’s a parfait with layers of fruit and frozen cream.”

“This is ice cream? It’s so rich!” Liam scooped past the creamy layer into the fresh berries beneath.

“Not ice cream, precisely. It is frozen cream. I have a good relationship with a local dairyman. He skims the top of the cream for me. It is so thick a spoon will stand up in it without whipping it or freezing. When lightly whipped and frozen, it retains a pliability that is softer than the typical ice cream. I did not even sweeten it.”

“It is a wonderful capstone for a delightful meal, Rainer. I can scarcely thank you enough for this invitation,” Liam said.

“We hope you will not be a stranger to us here. As Meredith knows, I have this table ready for her or for you at any time. Please join us often.”

“Thank you for your generosity, Rainer.” Father excused himself to check on the kitchen and encouraged us to take our time over coffee. Liam decided it was time for us to leave, too.

“I’ll go into the kitchen now,” Kendall said. “Sometimes there are little tasks Rainer has left for me so I can feel useful.”

“I’m going to run in and give Papa a kiss before we go. I’ll be right back, Liam.” I moved quickly to say goodnight to Papa.

Thursday evening, we sat at the kitchen table at Buxton House and shared a meal of steak au poivre. Cook served it with a layer of mashed roasted potatoes, crisscrossed with asparagus spears. The steak rode atop the stack with abundant sauce over all. I wondered if Cook felt threatened by our having dinner with my father the night before. This was a basic meal if you thought of it as simply steak and potatoes but it contrasted nicely with the lamb my father had cooked.

“We start classes Monday,” Liam sighed. “The summer is over.”

“Well, since you finished your paper this afternoon, you can have a long weekend to enjoy the last of summer before Monday.”

“I am glad to have the paper finished. Of course, Peoples will want a complete discussion of it as soon as he’s read it. That will be okay.”