I heard him being paged again over the loudspeaker. “Baby, I have to go.” I heard a smile in his voice. “I’ll see you in a few days.”
“Okay.” I pressed end on my phone and laid my head back on the couch with the biggest smile on my face.
The week sidled on and the days seemed long. I looked forward to my evening call from Nate every day. I noticed after the one heady phone call that he tried to keep our conversations light. I told him I wanted to take things slow, that I hadn’t done that with Jake. Part of me felt like I needed space to grow. I’d been at an emotional standstill for five years without so much as an introspective thought. I tarried along for so many years inside of my numbed mind. It made falling for Nate feel like an exposed nerve hitting the air. I wanted to remember who I was and who I wanted to be when I thought I had a future.
On Friday, Trish came to my cabin with a basket of goodies. When I opened the door, she held them out with a smile. I took the basket from her hand as she walked past me into the living room. “My sister and I used to help each other get ready before our dates.” She looked back over her shoulder and smiled. “Well, are you gonna show me what you’re wearing tonight?”
“Nate said he wants to take me shopping.”
“Well, isn’t that sweet? But you don’t want to be lookin’ like that when he shows up, even if he plans to buy you the world.”
I looked down at my T-shirt and jeans. “No, I’m just gonna throw on that dress with the red flowers.” I looked in the basket. It was full of lotions, perfumes, hair ties, and some flowers she must have picked on the way over.
“Okay. Why don’t you go get cleaned up and I’ll do your hair for you when you’re done.” She winked.
“Thanks, Trish.”
“My pleasure, darlin’.”
She sat at my kitchen table knitting while I took a shower. When I came out she had conjured up a glass of wine and turned on some music.
“Let’s have fun with this.” She braided my hair, twisting a red ribbon through it. It was a little bit too “rodeo queen,” but I appreciated her effort. We danced around my cabin and sang to the music. When knocks sounded on the door, we both froze. She looked me up and down. I was dressed in my nice brown boots and the white dress with the red flowers that Nate had requested. Trish’s expression was warm, and her eyes welled up. “Enjoy yourself, sweetie. You deserve it.”
“Thank you, Trish.” And I meant it.
I opened the door to Nate, donning his usual sneakers and pegged jeans that hung perfectly on his narrow hips. He wore a simple charcoal gray V-neck sweater over a white T-shirt. It looked like he put a touch of product in his hair and he wasn’t clean-shaven. His face was etched with a day or two of growth, making him look even more handsome. His eyes were wide when I opened the door. He glanced down at my legs and then back up to my eyes quickly.
From behind his back he produced one single Casablanca lily stem. “These remind me of you,” he said, shyly. He looked behind me to Trish as she was gathering up her things.
“Hi, Aunt Trish.”
She came over and kissed him on the cheek. “Nathanial, you’re looking as handsome as your uncle.” She was down the steps and gone before he could even respond. I laughed but his face remained serious.
“You’re stunning, you know that?” he said.
I shook my head, putting the flower to my nose. “Mmm, let me put this in water and then we’ll go.”
He took me to a boutique in Great Falls, and when we pulled into the parking space I turned toward him, feeling a little nervous. “You really don’t need to buy me anything. I feel silly.”
“I love what you’re wearing but I thought maybe I could pick something out for you to wear on our next date.” He smiled, arching his eyebrows in a playful way.
“Next date? Okay.”
When we got into the store I realized that Nate had called ahead and asked them to stay open an hour later than usual. He could be very persuasive and charming. He’d also had the young girl who worked there pick out a pile of things for me to try on. I tried on several dresses and, for each one, I walked out and twirled around for Nate as he sat in a chair by the dressing room. Every time he would say, “Gorgeous, let’s get it.”
“This is the last one.” I walked out holding it close to my body because I was unable to zip it up in back. Nate immediately stood. “Let me get that for you.” Standing behind me, he brushed my braided hair over my shoulder. As he zipped up the dress, I could feel his breath on my neck. He kissed my shoulder. “This one is my favorite,” he said.
I looked into the mirror at the knee-length, muted red dress. It had a romantic flowing skirt. “I like it, too.”
He unzipped the back and gently nudged me back into the dressing room, following behind me and shutting the door. He pushed me against the mirrored wall and kissed me until I was breathless.
I broke away, panting. “They’re going to wonder what we’re doing in here,” I said.
“I couldn’t care less.”
He brushed one strap off my shoulder and the entire dress fell to the ground, leaving me heated and flushed in my black lace underwear. “Nate!” I scolded.
He leaned in and kissed me again, this time slower and more delicate. “I can’t keep my hands off of you,” he said. “I’d stay in here all night if I could.”