Chapter 55

Once it was agreed that she was going with me, I had to follow her back to her locker so she could get her books, then stand holding everything for her when she went to ‘freshen up.’

She left me holding the bag, literally, as we walked to my car. I was a gentleman, and opened the door for her, then dropped her bag into the back seat along with my much lighter one.

“So where are we going?”

I reached into a pocket and pulled out a copy of my review, handing it to her.

“Wow, I’ve never heard a love poem about onion rings before,” she teased.

“You just wait. I’ll probably have to order extra because you’ll steal all mine,” I told her, as I pulled into the parking space.

“Wow, this is beautiful. I don’t ever drive thru town this way. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many roses on one building.”

I offered her my arm, which she took with a grin, and led her up the ramp and thru the entrance. I met Teddy, standing guard, with a wide grin.

“Teddy, good to see you again,” I said, reaching out to shake his hand, and slip him a five, “I was wondering if I could get a private table for two on the back porch?”

He glanced down at his hand in confusion, then realized what he had. I’m sure it was the first time he had ever been slipped something for a table. He greeted me with a short bow, “If the sir and madam would follow me?” he said, trying to sound extra professional.

We followed him down the hall and out onto the porch. It was empty, so he gestured, “Any place you wish is fine.”

“Thank you Teddy, is Lizzy in?”

“No it’s her day off, Susie’s working though. I’ll send her out to get your order.”

“Thanks,” I said to his rapidly disappearing back.

I look at Beck with a smile, “That’s Susie’s little brother.”

“He’s got the same sandy blond hair.”

“But he’s quieter,” I said, which made her chuckle as we picked a spot still in the afternoon shade. It was proving to still be warm this late into September.

Susie came out, wearing a standard waitress uniform, just like Lizzy had worn. She was carrying menus, “Hi! I’m Susie, I’ll be your waitress, we don’t have any specials right now, as we are between lunch and dinner service, but the lunch menu is still available till 5.”

It was just after 3, but that was fine, I knew what we wanted. “I’m interested in two orders of onion rings and a milkshake, what are the flavor options?”

“Vanilla, chocolate, mint chip, and caramel swirl.”

“I’ll have the mint chip,” I told her.

“I’ll take the chocolate,” Beck ordered.

“Excellent, two orders of onion rings, one chocolate, one mint chip milkshake, it’ll be a couple minutes we do the onion rings to order.”

“Thank you,” I told her, as she turned to leave.

Beck looked out over the park, and then at me, a big grin on her face, “This is very romantic.”

“An evening at Azteca Amigo, with the big booths blocking the noise, and the table candles lit, that would be very intimate and romantic too,” I offered.

“Which would you rather have, Azteca poppers, or Rose rings?”

“Could you imagine a plate with both?” I asked, avoiding the question.

“I’ve had the Azteca poppers, and they are good. I just think you don’t want to admit that the onion rings might be better.”

“The problem is that I managed to convince them to give me the poppers recipe, the onion rings recipe is still a mystery. I’m pretty sure if I eat enough of them, I’ll figure it out,” I explained.

“So this is a spy mission!” she concluded.

“Careful, not so loud,” I said, playing along by turning around to see if anyone heard us. We were all alone on the back porch.