by Kaci Hart
His father was already half asleep when he replied a groggy affirmative.
Chapter 7
Donna stood around the counter watching her mother cut up vegetables and preparing her typical Saturday roast. The familiar smell of mixed spices, onions, garlic and only God knows what else were permeating the small kitchen. Donna inhaled the delightful aroma. Even uncooked, her pot roast smelled divine. A precursor of a happy tummy to come, that’s what Donna always called the smell.
“Mom, I knew there was a reason I made the trip here from Dallas at least two weekends a month. Your pot roast might be my actual favorite food of all time.”
Her mother chuckled at the comment. Since she had been back to town, it seemed like she had found her way over there for Saturday dinner almost every week.
“Honey, you know that you are welcome here any time, but I do hope that some of your visits are more about seeing family than they are about filling your belly.”
“Oh come on mom, you know I love you as much as, if not more than your pot roast.”
“I guess I will take that as a compliment even though it has been a while since I’ve been compared to a roast. That might be the first time ever.”
“Now mom, if you consider how good your roast is, you will understand just the magnitude of that compliment.”
“You’re right. I remember your father used to love my roast. He’s actually the reason I cook it every Saturday now even still.”
Donna felt her stomach turn at her mother’s mention of him.
“Geez mom. Why do you do that?”
“What honey?”
“You know I told you a while back that I don’t want to talk about him, ever.”
“Yes, but dear he is your father. You have to be able to at least talk about him. You know that.”
“You see mom. That’s where you are wrong. I don’t have to talk about him at all. It’s my choice and I don’t want to talk about him. I won’t tell you not to, that’s your choice but I don’t want you to force him down mine. I come here to spend time with you and I don’t want it to be uncomfortable. In fact, I’d have been gone already if I didn’t already start a countdown till supper in my mind already. I just want to enjoy this meal with you mom, please.”
Her mother relented.
“Alright, alright sweetie. The last thing I want is to alienate you. I love our weekends together.”
“Me too mom. I really do look forward to them.”
“Ok. I promise to not bring him up at our dinners again.”
“Deal.”
“Let’s talk about something else then. How is everything else with you? Anything juicy and new?”
Donna looked at her mother in surprise.
“Mom! Juicy and new? What do you think my life is, a soap opera? No, there isn’t anything juicy going on. Just work, which I am totally loving.”
“Really Donna, that’s it? Nothing going on in life besides work?”
Donna’s stomach growled with the smell of the roast growing stronger. She grabbed an apple off of the counter, rinsing it before biting.
“No mother, nothing at all. Besides, if I had something juicy, I wouldn’t be sharing that with you.”
“If there really is nothing new in your life, then you need to do something different Donna. I’m almost twice your age and your life makes mine sound exciting.”
Donna scoffed at her mother’s false admission.
“Serious correction mother. I know you and you are still more than double my age. That will change next year, old lady.”
Her mother wiped her hand on her apron and then placed it on her hip.
“Well gosh honey, you know you could have just given your old mother that one.”
“I could have, you are right, but then I’d be just as wrong as you are. It’s not my fault you waited until you were twenty four to have your first child. And you are still young mom. You’re not even fifty for a few years.”
“Did you just say that? You’re supposed to say that I don’t look a day over forty. Really, do you have any good girlfriends with those comments?”
“Yes I do mother, I just choose to be honest with people is all.”
“Enough about my slow aging. Back to you. When I was your age, I was happily in love. I had hoped that when you came back from school, you would have found yourself some nice doctor or lawyer to bring home to eat one day. Right now I’m getting a little desperate as a mother so I will now settle for any man, as long as he has a job. ”
“Mom I know you didn’t just seriously go from talking about dad to this? Yea, that’s a great idea. Let’s go ahead and continue creating that correlation between dad and any man I might be considering.”
“But sweetie, I wasn’t really talking about your father. I was talking about myself and you and what I want for you in life. What any loving mother wants for their daughter.”
Donna felt her patience leaving her. Times like then she hated the most because they were the times she reminded herself of her father. Temper short, and a little bit of anger coming out. She always fought to control that part of her. The part of her that she knew had to come from him. Whenever her mother went into those pie in the sky love stories that was when it tipped the scale for her. Still, she tried to talk to her mother with respect. She’d been spoken to badly for long enough already.
“What do I deserve mom? Love? Marriage? A relationship? Didn’t you realize all of that was a waste of time with dad?”
“Oh honey, none of it was a waste of time. Yes, your father and I had issues, but we also had love. And we had you as a result of that love. Now your father and I are not you and our issues do not determine the future that you are going to have. You do.”
Her mother walked around the counter, giving her daughter a tight hug.
“You know you amaze me sometimes Donna. For you to be such an intelligent person it is interesting how you could be so oblivious to your own truths at the same time.”
“Why do you say that mom?”
“Honey, you and I both know that if you were in your office talking to a patient and they laid out their life and actions like you have, you would have told them that they have daddy issues and that they shouldn’t let that interfere with finding someone to love.”
Donna stood in the kitchen silently looking at her mother. She knew her mother loved her and she knew she wanted to help her. She also knew that her mother was right. In fact, she had recently had a client that she had had that very same conversation with a few weeks back. Beyond that, on many a night when she sat at home alone wondering what was going on with her life, she had told herself the same thing as well. But knowing it and doing it were two different things. She knew she shielded herself from relationships with men because it would be easier to protect herself than to let her defenses down. Typical fight or flight only she found that since her childhood, she’d never stopped running. If her mom could break it down to her like that, then she had to admit the truth of it. What kind of therapist would she be if she couldn’t take advice herself?
“Alright mom. You win.”
“I win?”
“Yeah you win. You’re completely right about me not dating anyone. I don’t like the idea of getting hurt and I do compare every situation to what happened when I was younger.”
“Donna, I’m sorry you had to grow up like that but you have grown into a beautiful young woman.”
“Thanks mom.”
“Now all we need to do is find you a man then.”
“Actually, about that…..”
Her mother dropped everything and smiled at her.
“You do have new and juicy after all!”
“Mom, enough with that already. But I did have a possible dinner invitation yesterday.”
“Really? Who is he?”
“Well, if we are pretending to be girlfriends now I guess I have no choice. You know the Dellingers, right?”
“Who doesn’t know the Dellingers Donna?”
“Right. Biggest family in town and all. Well I told you that I started working for a local company as a therapist. It turns out that the company is run by the youngest of the Dellingers, Nick. He asked me out yesterday but I said no.”
“Nick goes to my church. How in the world did you say no to a man that cute? I guess when you have got a made up mind, nothing is getting in.”
“Its funny mom because when I used to work at the diner, he’d always come in all the time but I never knew it was him. It wasn’t until recently that I found out it was the same guy.”
“Ok, enough of the back story, are you going to call him now or what?”
“Right now?”
“Yes right now. Or would you rather I call him? I can invite him for supper tonight if you’d like.”
“Goodness no mom! I’ll call him. Just give me a minute.”
“Sorry sweetie, I’ve given you long enough.”
Her mother went into her purse, took out the phone, and handed it to her before she even realized what was happening. Donna took a deep sigh and grabbed the phone from her, getting up from her chair. Her mother immediately questioned her.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“Into the other room.”
She looked at her mother and laughed.
“I know that you didn’t think I was going to call him with you standing right there dissecting my every word. I am not a glutton for punishment. I’ll be back when I am done talking, and for all this, you better make some extra cornbread and maybe even a cake”
“Well worth it. One extra batch of cornbread and a German chocolate cake to go. Now you get to dialing honey.”
“I’m going mom. No eavesdropping either.”
Donna walked out the back door and sat on the rocker on the back porch. She was nervous. Once she called him that meant that she was opening herself up to whatever could happen. She wouldn’t be able to just change her mind and she would be changing her whole philosophy on so much in life. Right or wrong, she didn’t think her mother really understood the magnitude of what she was doing. Or maybe she did. Donna had never made the decision to do something different before even though she had thought about doing so hundreds of times. Maybe her mother knew that she needed the push.
Donna scrolled through her past calls until she saw his number from the previous day.
Now or never I guess.
Donna closed her eyes as she hit the send button, silently hoping he would save her from the embarrassment by not answering the phone. At least she could say that she tried. When the phone when silent after the first ring she looked down, shocked that it said call ended. Now she just felt embarrassed. He probably saw it was her and hung up since she had already rejected him once. She turned to go back into the house when her phone began to ring. It was him.
“I’m sorry, is this Donna?”
“Yes it is.”
“Hi this is Nick. I don’t mean to bother you but my phone rang just now and it says it was you. My phone has been acting up recently so I assumed it was probably behaving funky still but I wanted to make sure that I hadn’t actually called you by mistake or something.”
“Nick, there is nothing wrong with your phone. Or at least not regarding this. I was the one that called you. “
“You called me? You’re not quitting because I asked you out, are you? If so, please don’t. I was way out of line and I’m ready to keep our relationship professional. I know there is no place in the workplace for that.”
“Oh well if that is how you feel, I guess I understand. I was just sitting here thinking though and I realized that you might be right. I don’t really work for you so technically there is nothing wrong with maybe going on a date.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“I am. So about the invitation to dinner from yesterday…., would that offer by any chance be accompanied by a movie?”
“I’m sure that can be arranged.”
Donna laughed as she sat on the porch and continued to talk to Nick. She realized how much she was enjoying herself just talking to him and she knew she had made the right decision.
Chapter 8
As he drove his car to the address that she had given him, Nick was more excited than he had been in a while. He was shocked when Donna called him back yesterday but definitely happy that she had done so. It hadn’t been that long since she had so easily brushed him off before. Her unforeseen change of heart astounded him and he knew it was something beyond him. Whatever the reason, he was glad for it.
He pulled his car up to the apartment complex that she lived in and got out, hurrying up to the front door. He knocked and waited with an enormous amount of anticipation for her to open it. For what he was sure was the longest few seconds of his life, he waited for her to appear at the door. When he saw the handle turning, he couldn’t contain his smile. She peeked her head out to see him.
“Hi Nick. I saw you running up to the door so quickly. Is everything ok?”
“Everything is fine. I wanted to start our date as quickly as possible so that I didn’t give you a chance to change your mind. I’ve been looking forward to this for a few hours now.”
“Have you?”
“Longer than that to be honest with you, but if I gave you the whole story it might really run you off.”
“I don’t know about that happening. I’ve been looking forward to this as well. Give me one second and I will be right out. I just need to grab my purse.”
“I’ll be waiting right here.”
Donna closed the door again, before returning a few seconds later bag in hand. When she opened the door, his breath stopped. She was stunning.
“Donna. I know this sounds cliché, but you look beautiful. I mean really beautiful.”
Donna felt her face warm at his compliment.
“Thank you Nick. You are looking pretty sharp yourself.”
Her smile was captivating. It reminded him of something he read about in a book when he was a kid and he really didn’t want to stop looking at her smile. Ever.
“Here, this is for you.”
He handed her a single red rose.
“One flower. Most of the time people give these in bunches.”
“True, but I was hoping to have a few more dates. I don’t want to fill your house with too many flowers.”
“So you are thinking about next date already? Don’t get ahead of yourself Nick.”
“I might have considered it.”
“Well now I have to go put this in water. Just one minute more, ok?”
“Sure. I should have given it to you before.”
“No worries. I’ll be right back… again.”
When she came back, she locked the door and they headed towards his car. He opened the door for her.
“So I see you still believe in opening the door for a woman?”
“Doesn’t every guy?”
“Nope. In fact, the few dates I have gone on in the past few years, I don’t recall any of them ever opening the door for me or getting my chair or anything like that One guy even made me pay half of the bill. Wait, you are paying for this, right?”
“We will have to see. I guess it depends on what you order. How hungry are you again?”
“Starving. I mean I could literally eat a cow.”
“Dutch it is!”
“If that’s the case, you might not need to worry about buying the rest of those flowers buddy.”
“Suddenly I am feeling like I should just pay for the whole meal.”
Donna laughed at his quick change.
“I figured you would see it my way.”
“You know I was joking, right? I wouldn’t dream of making you pay for any time I ask you out.”
“Of course, silly. You’re a smart enough man to know the basics of a woman’s worth.”
“Good. I’m glad that I exude some level of intelligence.”
“Nick, I hope that none of our past conversations made you think I thoug
ht that about you.”
“Absolutely not. So, movie or dinner first?”
“I’m a movie first kind of girl. It will give me something to think about at dinner if you bore me.”