Chapter 16
“Hayley, I want to explain why I’ve been slightly distant lately,” Aaron said.
Slightly?
That was a bit of an understatement.
Hayley took a deep breath. She wiped her mouth with a yellow cloth napkin and set it back down in her lap.
Aaron was nervous and fidgety. He stabbed at a fried shrimp on his plate and missed it twice before finally impaling it with the fork’s silver prongs and popping it into his mouth. The chewing bought him an additional few seconds before he had to speak again.
He wiped sweat from his brow with his forearm and with a full mouth said, “Awfully hot in here.”
Hayley was surprised when he had called her on her cell phone earlier in the day and asked if she was free for dinner that evening. Even if she hadn’t been, she would have cleared her schedule because the suspense was killing her.
She had to know what was going on with him.
Was he going to break up with her or propose?
Whichever it was, she just wanted to know.
He swallowed the shrimp, set down his fork, and cleared his throat.
The dinner at West Street Café, near the waterfront, had up to this point been uneventful and filled with small talk. Nothing of consequence. But finally, near the end of the main course, there appeared to be a breakthrough.
He was about to get serious.
She downed the last of her glass of ice water to hydrate and prepare herself for what was about to come. Water was a poor substitute for her reliable Jack and Coke, but the restaurant was busy tonight and the bar was backed up.
“I’m listening.”
“I’ve been thinking about us a lot lately and . . . Wait . . .” he said, reaching into the pocket of his tan khaki pants.
Was he about to pull out a ring?
He withdrew his hand from the pocket and there was a small white pill in the middle of his palm. He tossed it in his mouth and chased it by guzzling down some water.
He smiled weakly. “An antacid. I’ve been suffering from indigestion a lot lately. Probably because I’ve been eating tons of junk food and not your fine home cooking.”
Smooth talker.
Just get to the point.
“Anyway . . .” he said, reaching over and taking her hand. “We’ve been together almost two years now and I believe it’s time . . .”
“How dare you make an accusation like that?” a man’s voice roared from across the room.
Hayley spun around in her seat just in time to see Olivia’s husband, Nacho, spring to his feet and push the table aside with such force three wineglasses flew off and shattered into pieces on the floor.
“Chill, dude, don’t be such a drama queen,” Olivia’s son, Red, said with a smirk, just before Nacho hauled him to his feet by the collar of his shirt. “Whoa, man, don’t wrinkle the shirt.”
“I loved your mother and only wanted the best for her! Not like you, who only came around when you needed something.”
Peggy was at the table too and jumped to her feet, flushed with embarrassment, grabbing Nacho’s arm. “Would you let him go? People are watching.”
“He’s insulting my honor!” Nacho shouted.
“Honor? What honor?” Red spit out, eyes narrowing. “Everyone knows why you married my mother. If it wasn’t for her, you’d be back in Buenos Aires scheming and conning your way into whoever’s bed so you’d have a roof over your head for the night.”
“You smug little bastard! I will kill you!” Nacho yelled, punching Red in the nose with his hammy fist.
Red stumbled back, nose spurting blood, his eyes wide with shock. “You . . . you hit me. . . .”
Hayley glanced around for a waiter or the owner or someone to intervene, but everyone in the restaurant was slack jawed, in shock, watching the ugly scene unfold.
Peggy screamed. “Are you crazy? Red wants to be an actor! How could you hit him in the face like that?”
“The only role he’ll ever play is a lazy, no good, spoiled brat!” Nacho bellowed, gently rubbing his now throbbing fingers.
Finally, a young college-age waiter with slicked back hair and a scared look on his face intervened. “I’m sorry, but if you don’t leave now, we’re going to have to call the police.”
Nacho nodded, turned to head for the door, but then Red bounced to his feet and came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his neck, trying to choke him.
“You’re a fake and a cad and you never loved my mother! You just loved her money!”
Aaron had seen enough. He jumped up from the table, raced over, and tried pulling Red off Nacho. Red head butted him, catching him right in the face, and Aaron flew back into another table before sinking to the ground nursing an injured eye.
The owner rushed into the restaurant, having obviously been called by his staff and told of the emergency. He was apoplectic, screaming threats of arrests and lawsuits.
With the realization that their argument had spiraled way out of control, both Nacho and Red quickly calmed down. Nacho muttered apologies and bolted out the door. Red took the time to hand the owner a wad of cash for any damages and then, after stopping long enough to grab a napkin to hold over his bleeding nose, stormed out, dragging a still crying Peggy behind him.
Hayley was at Aaron’s side in an instant. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, a little humiliated about my fighting skills. Guess I won’t be jumping in the ring with Floyd Mayweather Junior anytime soon.”
“You were very brave.”
The owner came over and knelt down next to them. “Dr. Palmer, should we get you a doctor to look you over?”
“Oh no, I’ll be fine. Maybe just something for my eye.”
The owner stood back up and grabbed the young waiter. “Quick. Go into the kitchen and get him a piece of steak,” he said, before lowering his voice to continue. “Make sure it’s one of the cheaper cuts.”
The waiter was gone and back in a flash.
Hayley accepted the fleshy raw meat and helped Aaron carefully place it over his eye.
“Would you like me to call the police?” the owner asked Aaron.
“No. They both lost their temper and things just got overheated. It’s a very trying time for both of them. I’m willing to let it go if you are.”
The owner smiled, grateful the potentially litigious incident was over, and then, to insure the rest of the customers’ dining experiences hadn’t been completely ruined, generously offered every table free dessert. His gesture was met with resounding applause and lots of smiles.
Except for Hayley.
She wasn’t smiling.
She knew if Aaron had been planning on proposing, he wasn’t going to do it tonight.