“I’m definitely a burger fan,” Helen said. “You must be very well known for them.”
“Locally,” he said. “The best thing about this little business is that it allowed me the flexibility to raise my boys. They’re fifteen and seventeen now. Their mother passed away nine years ago and I needed a job I could escape when there were teacher conferences, sporting events, school programs or those nights they called to say they’d just happened to remember the big project they had to turn in tomorrow...that had been assigned a month ago.”
Helen laughed. “I’m a former teacher,” she said. “You just made my heart sing.”
“It all worked out, despite those emergencies. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m going to have to excuse myself. I want to keep an eye on the bar.”
“Thanks for stopping by,” Leigh said. “We’re going to get the check and be on our way.”
“I’ll have it sent over,” he said.
Leigh and Helen just looked at each other for a moment after Rob left. “I like him,” Helen said. “I suppose he’s very well known around here?”
“I’m sure everyone knows him,” Leigh said.
“Then the chances of him being a pervert and predator are slim.”
Leigh laughed. “I would think so.”
The check arrived. Compliments of the house was scrawled across the ticket. Leigh just shook her head, but she was touched that he would do that. She wasn’t completely sure, but she thought that was a gesture of goodwill and not just because he wanted a date. She left a tip for the waitress on the table. They were on the sidewalk when her phone pinged. She looked at the text and smiled.
If you’d like to include your aunt tomorrow night, feel free.
* * *
Everyone has a life story—in fact, several versions of that story, all of which are true but might differ in detail or emphasis. Leigh recognized that first dates were usually the time to share that story and the variations seemed to depend on how much she wanted the friendship or relationship to work. Most of the time she had no real interest in a serious relationship nor cared if it worked. She was very experienced with first dates. In fact, she was way too experienced with only one date. She had merely wanted to enjoy herself with a nice man for an evening but nothing beyond that.
The restaurant he’d chosen was perfect, Leigh thought. It was small, quiet, with a little soft background guitar playing. The chef immediately came out front to shake Rob’s hand and meet Leigh. They were delivered a menu of the nine courses to come. The food was a gourmet adventure designed to last a long time.
“I’m really surprised you’re not married,” Rob said.
“Oh? And why is that?”
“You know,” he said. “Because the good ones are always taken.”
She frowned. “That was a compliment?”
“I meant it as one.”
“Ergo, if you’re not taken, you probably aren’t one of the good ones?”
He put down his drink and smiled at her. “Or, like me, you have avoided marriage. While my kids were young and most of my energy went into building my business and taking care of them, I didn’t take the time to get involved with anyone. I was friendly with everyone in town and thought of the perils of dating any local women because of how small towns are. My sister lived with us for over a year after her divorce, then she met Dakota and within a few months moved in with him. She still helps us out but it was mostly down to me. But my boys are in a whole new place. Finn is graduating and going to college. Sean is a very independent young man. Sid and Dakota are moving north to Boulder. And I find myself with far more personal time than I’ve ever had. So, that’s my story.”
“That’s a very good story,” she said. “I guess you think I was being difficult. I know you meant it as a compliment.”
“I should have known better,” he said. “I get that a lot, even from my sister. ‘Why aren’t you dating?’ ‘Why haven’t you remarried?’”
“Well, let’s get to the bottom of it,” she said. “Tell me about your wife.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Julienne was such a sweet girl. We dated in college. She was a couple of years younger than me. I got a job offer in another city right after graduation but she had two years left. We didn’t want to break up so she dropped out and came with me, always intending to go back and finish her degree, but then Finn came along and, right behind him, Sean. Eventually she admitted that even though we lived like paupers, she loved being home with the boys. We had a small, two-bedroom apartment, but I worked my way up in that restaurant chain and we were saving for a house. And then my dad died. There was a little money after the distribution of his estate—his house and property. We hung on to it, thinking we’d eventually get an even better house. But then Julienne got sick. It was a mysterious illness at first. Weight loss, shortness of breath, a series of infections... She was in and out of the hospital and then it was discovered the infection settled in her heart...”
“Endocarditis,” Leigh said.
He tilted his head and looked surprised. “Of course, you’re a doctor. Well, they didn’t catch it in time. We lost her. Sean was six and Finn was eight.”
Leigh almost envied him, in spite of the tragedy. He’d had a good marriage that gave him two sons. Sometimes she fantasized what her life would be like if she had children. “How did you get through it? You must have been devastated!”
“Truthfully, I was terrified. I was the assistant manager of a five-star restaurant on a good salary with great benefits and bonuses and my hours were 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. There were a lot of employees—many of them young and inexperienced. Some of them were great, some were smoking pot in the alley out back. I was afraid to turn my back on the place for an hour. A schedule like that with two little boys at home? I had no family to help. And my boys missed their mother. I had to either change careers or create a job that was made to order for a single dad in a place where my boys could be safe and happy.” He took a sip of his wine. “I bought an old pub that needed lots of work. Shandon’s Pub. Keeping my life together was a full-time job for a long time. I think, in a way, it was good that I had to do that. I was too busy to feel sorry for myself.”
“I’m so sorry for all you went through,” she said.
“Thank you, but I’m okay. And the boys are great.” He smiled. “Your turn.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Never married? Not even close?”
“Oh, I was close, but that was so long ago...”
“We have lots of time,” he said.
She took a breath. She played with the stem of her wineglass, uncertain. “I haven’t been in a serious relationship since college. I was engaged to the boy next door. We’d been best friends since the age of three, went steady all through junior high and high school, got engaged. He was in the army reserves and deployed to Kuwait for nine months. While he was there, I planned the wedding. He came home just before the wedding. And broke up with me.”
Rob looked momentarily stunned. “Shit,” he said.
“Yeah. I was very young so it was hard to get over. That damn wedding dress hung on my closet door and stared at me every day! Eventually I compensated by going to med school, something I never would have done had things worked out with him. But don’t expect me to thank him.”
“I bet you were pissed,” he said.
“I was only twenty-one,” she said. “I was crushed. When I got my sea legs again, I focused on school. But I didn’t date much for a few years.”
“You’ve dated since, though,” he said.
“Sure. But I haven’t been seriously involved. Not because he damaged me but because I didn’t meet anyone that I was dying to be with forever.” She sipped her wine. “The problem is probably me. I know, I know—people get dumped and get over it. I felt like I’d lost my best friend since I was a toddler. And eventually his actions established that I dodged a bullet.” She smiled. “Now, Aunt Helen, she was pissed. She gave him a very large and loud piece of her mind. Several times.”
“She seems like such a sweet lady,” Rob said.
“She is many things but sweet old lady isn’t one of them. Aunt Helen is a badass.”
The chef, Peter, approached their table and put their plates down with a flourish. “And here we have your hors d’oeuvres—clams in garlic with a saffron wafer. It is incredible and, before you ask, you may not make a meal of this. There is so much to come. This wine you have is all right for now, but when we get to the entrée you must let me choose the perfect wine.”
“This is beautiful,” Leigh said. “Do you usually make it a point to serve your guests yourself?”
“Of course not, but when Rob brings a woman to dine I know it’s a special occasion and, I admit, I’m showing off a little bit. I like to impress Mr. Shandon.”
He bowed away from the table.
Leigh smiled at Rob. “He invested so much in our dinner and we’re talking about our traumatic pasts.”
“Apparently that’s one of the things we have to take care of,” Rob said. “I want you to know I’m not a grieving widower anymore. I think about Julienne often. The boys ask about her sometimes. Sean has her smile. Julienne’s parents stay in touch, of course—they love their grandsons. They visit and the boys visit them—they’ve retired to Florida. But I’m not stuck in the past...”
“Do you date much?” she asked.
“Not really,” he said. “A colleague in the restaurant industry has been an occasional date. She’s divorced with grown daughters. I haven’t seen her in a few months. You?”
She gave a huff of laughter. “No lasting relationships, much to Aunt Helen’s disappointment.”