6

The smell of French fries tickled my nostrils as I entered Bob’s Diner with Philip.

Delores Witt, a junior in high school with aspirations of becoming a nurse waved from behind the cash register. “Come on in. How ya’ll doin’?” Delores’s sweet voice barely carried over the people chattering at the counter.

“Hi. Fine, thank you.” I returned her gesture, and we scooted into the second booth.

Bonnie Sue hurried over tying the sash on her apron. She stood next to Philip and batted those long eyelashes. “I just made it here from church. You’re my first customer, handsome.”

“As long as there’s a chili cheeseburger waiting for me.” Philip’s words pointed to his interest in lunch, not Bonnie Sue.

She directed her gaze toward me, but without the flirty eyes. Philip hadn’t fallen into her trap, and he didn’t even know the words “biggest flirt” appeared under her name in the high school yearbook. What a smart man. “Sounds good. I’ll have one too.”

I tried to smile at her, but I think I smirked. What was wrong with me? Getting jealous over a man I hardly knew. From high school until the day Jordan died, I loved only him. I wanted him to hold me when I was sad and laugh with me when I was happy. He’d never do that again. A sinking sensation hit me in the gut.

I glanced at Philip. He leaned across the table and stared at me. I couldn’t deny he stirred something inside me. Did happiness knock on the door of my heart for the first time in years? Did I dare let it in knowing it was only for a short time? Either way, I had to stop resenting Bonnie Sue. Who could blame her?

Philip rested his chin on his fist. “What are you up to this afternoon?”

“I’ll probably take a nap then prepare something simple for dinner.” Maybe he’d want to come over. “Would you like to join me?”

His blue eyes lit up. “Sure, what time?”

“About six o’clock.” My parents had instilled hospitality in me, but I’m sure they had counted on me to temper it with common sense. If my heart broke when Philip left Triville, I had no one to blame but myself.

Lloyd ambled over and shook Philip’s hand. “That car still working for ya’?”

“It’s humming like a songbird.” Philip kept a straight face.

Lloyd slapped his knee, tilted his head back, and laughed. “Eve, he’s all right.”

Was Lloyd giving his approval for me to see Philip? Was it that obvious that he’d awakened a yearning inside me? My heart skipped a beat for all the pain it would cause when Philip left. I had to stop seeing him before the ache would be too much to bear, and to think, I’d just invited him to my home.

Lloyd ran his hand through his hair. “The part for the car I’m repairin’ should get here next week. As soon as I have it, we’ll get ‘er fixed.”

“It could be a month before I leave.” Philip’s grin spread across his face.

He must’ve liked the idea of staying here a while, but in thirty days he’d be gone, and I’d never see him again. What was I thinking? Heaviness formed in my chest. Then a bell rang in my head. There’d be no commitment for either of us. That meant no betrayal of Jordan and no guilt. I deserved a few nights of fun, didn’t I?

“We’ll have it for ya’ for sure by then.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You bet.” Lloyd took a step to my side of the booth and tapped my shoulder. “Hang in there, Eve. Pete and Charlie will make your place as good as new.” He headed to the back and Bonnie Sue set our steaming plates on the table.

Philip bit into his lunch, his mouth half grinning as he chewed. “Hmm. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a burger this good.”

“I guess I take them for granted, ordering one anytime I want.”

“Triville should be known for the country’s best chili cheeseburger,” Philip said.

“I don’t know about that. If we wanted to give it the title we’d have to go to every community in the United States and eat chili cheeseburgers.”

Philip sat back in his chair and laughed. “We should do that.”

What a frivolous thing to say. We didn’t have enough time to travel to even a few nearby places before he returned to New York. Triville wasn’t real to him. I wasn’t real to him. I slumped in my seat, blinking my eyelids, squeezing back the tears rushing to my eyes.

He ate his last French fry. “I hate to leave when I’m having so much fun, but I have work to do.” He left Bonnie Sue a five-dollar tip, stood, and picked up the bill.

I rose from my seat, and we went to the cash register. My head knew he’d leave for good one day. How could I let my heart ignore it?

In what seemed only moments we went outside and got in the car. We sailed down the hill and level roads leading to my house, and Philip escorted me to the door. He pushed back a tendril of hair on my forehead. Lightly etching the side of my face with his hand, he placed his soft lips on mine. His breathing increased and joy fell over me while my heart beat next to his. He pulled away and stroked my cheek.

“See you later, gorgeous.” He turned and headed toward the car, leaving my mind longing for one more moment of happiness before I stopped this relationship that never could be.

I hurried to the kitchen and pulled Aunt Rose’s instructions for beef tips over rice from a book with a tattered red cloth cover and papers sticking out of it at odd angles. Perfect, but I had to allow time for the beef to marinate. I laid down the handwritten notes and tore out to the car.

After a quick trip to the grocery I returned and stood at my counter top with a sirloin tip roast and my chef’s knife. I chopped the meat into bite-sized pieces, and set it aside. Aunt Rose’s secret sauce made the entree melt in one’s mouth. I added it and placed the dish in the fridge.

Music rang out from the radio as I polished my silver tray and arranged cheese and crackers on it. The clock ticked to four, and I danced around the room while I waited for Aunt Rose’s concoction to finish its magic. I hadn’t done that in ages, but the steps, the joy came back to me. The song ended, and I pulled out the seasoned delicacy.

I dipped juicy looking cubes of meat from the dripping liquid and browned them and the onions. To wrap up the meal, I poured in the remaining marinade, turned the burner to low, and prepared rice. Now for an elegant setting.

I retrieved a blue-checked tablecloth and napkins from the linen chest. They blended with the border on the plates my grandmother gave me. Only the centerpiece was missing. I marched into the kitchen and snatched the arrangement of dogwood blossoms in the blue vase from the windowsill in front of the sink. Then I plunked it down on the dining room table and placed blue candles on either side of it. Looked like New York to me.

 

~*~

 

The doorbell rang.

“Hi, I’m so glad you could come.” I pointed toward the den. “Have a seat.”

Phillip sank down on the sofa, and I left the room. My heart danced as I brought in a tray of hors d’oeuvres. “I’ll be right with you.” I returned to the kitchen and came back with two big glasses of sweet tea.

Philip sipped his drink. “Umm. Good.”

“I’m glad you like it.” I joined him, picked up a cheese cracker, and munched it. “Did you have any trouble getting here?”

“No, I didn’t have to climb a hill.” He snickered.

“Maybe it won’t be long until Lloyd has your rent-a-car repaired.”

“Pff. That car’s fun to drive. Now I admit, at first I worried it might quit on me, but it doesn’t appear to be a problem.” Philip set his glass on the coaster.

I wanted to ask if he’d visit Triville after he snagged Mr. Jacobsen’s account, but the words stuck in my throat. “I’m sure running around these hills in that vehicle has been quite an experience.”

Philip chuckled. “One I won’t easily forget.”

Would he remember the times we’d shared here? “You’ll have lots of memories—crashing into a beauty shop, driving a clunker that keeps humming in spite of itself, and of course, there’s Mr. Jacobsen.” A twinge of pain pricked my heart when I said Mr. Jacobsen’s name. Once Philip met him and secured his business, there’d be no more memories for him and me.

“All good. At least, I hope Mr. Jacobsen and I will get along and our meeting will go well.”

“I’m sure it will.”

“So, you don’t cook much on Sundays.”

Aunt Rose’s beef tips hardly could pass for a simple dish. At the same time, I didn’t want Philip to know how much I yearned to impress him. “After you left, a recipe that’s been in my family for years popped in my head, and I couldn’t resist.”

“It smells delicious.” Philip tapped the rim of his tea glass. “I’ll have this with dinner if you don’t mind.”

“Sure. I already placed fresh ones on the dining room table. Sounds as if you’re ready to eat.”

“With the aroma wafting in here it’s hard not to be.”

“Let’s go.” I smiled and floated on his compliment as I guided him to the home-cooked meal. The quiet room and centerpiece lent an intimacy Bob’s Diner lacked. I scooted in the seat across from Philip and fanned my face from the warmth pulsing from my heart. Did Philip experience it too?

“Should I say grace?” he asked.

“Yes, please.”

Philip said a blessing then picked up his fork and scooped up a bite of rice.

I’d stuffed in so many meals by myself at the kitchen table. Looking at him seemed like an illusion.

Philip speared a forkful of beef tips. “Hmm. This is so good.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you enjoy cooking gourmet dishes?”

It’d been fun preparing this one because he was coming to dinner. “I like it fine when I have time, and I’m in the mood.”

“You must have been in the mood today. This is great.”

Heat rushed to my face, not at the praise, but at the affection in his voice. Was I reading more into it than he meant? His searching gaze told me I wasn’t. Who’d have thought someone like Philip would turn up in this little mountain town and have a meal in my house?

“Is this a secret recipe?” Philip wiggled his eyebrows when he said the word secret.

“It’s my great Aunt Rose’s special marinade.”

Philip placed his napkin on the table. “It was incredible.”

I carried our plates to the kitchen and brought in homemade brownies and coffee. I’d never entertained a date in this house. Jordan loved my cooking, but we were married when we built our home. Now there was an attractive man from New York in my dining room, and he wasn’t just any man. He drew me into him as though he’d cast a spell over me. I hardly could believe this evening was real.

Philip popped a sweet treat in his mouth. “Umm.” He picked up his coffee cup and sipped.

“When will you go back to New York?” I made polite conversation, but my words sent an ache to my chest.

“As soon as I finalize things with Mr. Jacobsen.”

Finalize! I couldn’t do this. I had to stop seeing him.

He pushed aside his dessert plate. “That was delicious—beyond words.”

“Thank you.” I picked up our dishes and carried them to the kitchen as he wandered into the den. I set them down then joined him.

A hairstylist magazine I hadn’t noticed earlier when I’d brought in the hors d’oeuvres lay next to him on the sofa. A fine, distinguished man like Philip sitting next to a periodical with pictures of hairdos. My face grew hot. I’d been so busy setting the stage for my New York act I’d left a piece of the real me lying around.

He picked it up and flipped a few pages. “Some of these styles are pretty wild.”

I snatched it from him and sat down. “I’m sorry I don’t have a news magazine.”

“That’s OK. I’d rather look at you.” He pulled me close.

Snuggling into his chest I found a safe, comfortable place and yearned to stay there. He ran his finger down my cheek, his tender touch melting my heart. His lips brushed against mine, and I put my arms around his neck. My emotions twirled.

He released me and touched the tip of my nose with his forefinger. “How did you get so cute?”

My stern will to resist his charms turned to mush. “You’re not bad yourself.”

“Then you might say ‘yes’ if I asked you to go to the Western Hills Festival with me tomorrow. I saw an article about it in the paper. It looks interesting.”

“Sure. That’ll be fun.” Had I really said those words? It would be rude to back out, and I didn’t want to, but each time I saw Philip I gave him another little piece of my heart.

“I should go and turn in. I’ll pick you up around eleven o’clock.”

He stood, and I escorted him to the entrance. He gave me a peck on the lips then opened the door and disappeared into the night.

I locked up and leaned against the wall like a moonstruck teenager. One day he’d go out for good. My plan not to see him seemed so simple until I was with him. By agreeing to go with him tomorrow and kissing him goodnight I’d dug a deeper hole for my emotions to fall into. Tomorrow I’d stand firm and end this once and for all.