by John Everson
“Of course I missed you,” he said, and then felt a qualm for saying it. He should be saying he missed Ceili, not Regina. But there was no room to change his answer. Regina closed her little book and got up off the couch. She ran a light hand over his shoulder as she walked past him.
“Did you eat?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, I figured I’d finish off the leftover chicken.”
Regina’s voice lilted from the kitchen. “I hope you don’t mind, but I fixed something from what I found in the refrigerator. I just felt like cooking, and some of that stuff was going to go bad.”
“Oh my God, you didn’t have to do that,” he said, following her into the kitchen. She was setting a plate and utensils on the table. A single setting. She pulled a pot out of the oven with two potholders and set it in the center of the table. Then she motioned for him to sit.
He did, while she got a serving spoon from the utensil drawer and then began to scoop out a big portion of something with noodles and red peppers and green vegetables and chunks of chicken beneath a raincoat of white cheese.
“What is it?” he asked.
Regina shrugged. “Food. I don’t name it…I just put stuff together and hope it turns out okay.”
“Aren’t you having any?” he asked, when she hovered near the table but made no move to make a place for herself.
“I should probably head home,” she said with a smile.
Austin shook his head. “Oh no,” he said. “You cooked it…you’re going to enjoy it with me.”
“You’re assuming you’ll enjoy it,” she said.
“I know I will,” he said, and stood up. He walked around her and grabbed a plate and utensils. Then he set them on the table and pointed at the chair.
“Sit,” he demanded. “I’ll get Ceili and we can enjoy a Friday night dinner together.”
She nodded meekly and slid into the chair. Austin went to pick Ceili off the floor and returned to put her in the high chair so they could keep an eye on her during dinner. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a jar of pureed beef and peas. They made the most disgusting food for babies.
“Oh, I fed her already,” Regina said. “Why do you think she’s so quiet?”
“A full belly is a great comforter,” he laughed, and returned the jar to the shelf. He put some Cheerios on the high chair tray for Ceili to play with, and then sat back down.
“Thanks for cooking this,” he said, digging a fork in and enjoying the long strands of cheese that stretched out as he lifted it toward his mouth.
Regina beamed. “I enjoy just making recipes up. Especially when it’s someone else’s refrigerator. You don’t know what you’ll find. It’s kind of a creative challenge.”
Austin chewed, and rolled his eyes in appreciation. When his mouth cleared, he said, “Well, you beat the odds with this one. I don’t know what was left in the fridge, but this tastes awesome.”
“It’s all the secret magic ingredients I put in,” she said with a laugh.
He watched her as she took a bite. She didn’t say anything, but her face lit up as she chewed. She was obviously proud of the way her concoction had turned out.
“So, are you all moved in at this point?” he asked. “It’s been a month or so now, right?”
She nodded. “About that,” she said. “I didn’t come here with much though, so it was an easy move.”
“What brought you here, of all places?” he asked between bites. “Parkville is not exactly a mecca for…anything really. This is more like the place to go just before you die.”
“Well, I don’t intend on dying anytime soon,” she said.
“Did you come here for work, family, a boyfriend…?”
“Yes,” she said. She made an amused face but did not elaborate.
“Okay, I won’t pry,” he said. “But you’re renting the house, right? Will you be staying long?”
“As long as it takes,” she said. Her eyes sparkled with playful humor. She was baiting him. “But it’s a one-year lease, so don’t worry. I’ll be around awhile no matter what.”
Austin shook his head and pushed a Cheerio toward Ceili’s pudgy fingers. She was being amazingly quiet, but she had slowly nudged all of the cereal just out of reach.
He ate a couple more bites in silence and then shook his head and moaned in appreciation. “This is so good,” he said finally. “I wish I could make it up to you, only I’m not much of a cook. I can char meat on the grill but that’s about it.” And then he hesitated, but the words came out on their own anyway. “I’d love to take you out to dinner someplace nice.”
Regina’s eyes widened. “I’d love to go,” she said.
“Really?” he said. “I mean…I probably shouldn’t even be thinking this but I’d love to have an adult night out again. Angie and I didn’t do that much this past year. And the last time didn’t really go well.”
“Then it’s long past time you did,” she said. “What kind of clubs do you like to go to?”
Austin laughed. “Clubs? I don’t know. I don’t think there even are any in this town. The last time I went out to a place with a band or a DJ might have been college. Or maybe my friend Bill’s bachelor party. We did hit a blues club in Chicago then.”
“There are places we could go,” she said. “There are always places.”
“Well, the problem is, I don’t have a sitter,” Austin said with a frown. “Cuz that job’s yours.”
Regina shook her head. “I know a couple girls in town that would watch her for the night. If you’re serious.”
Austin’s stomach suddenly flipped. It almost sounded like a challenge. Something he couldn’t just back out of. Not that he wanted to.
“I am serious,” he said. “I’d love to take you out for a night. It’s the least I could do to say thanks for all you’ve done.”
“I don’t want you to take me out as some kind of misplaced feeling of duty,” Regina said. “But if you actually want to go out with me, say the word.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment. The air was charged. The gauntlet was down. Was Austin interested in going out with Regina because he was interested in Regina? Yes. But was it appropriate to say that a week after his wife’s funeral? No.
“What are you thinking?” she asked after another moment went by.
“I’m wondering if you’d want to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night,” he said. “But I don’t know if it’s really appropriate for me to ask you.”
“I think you just did,” she said. “And the answer is yes.”
“And Ceili?”
“I’ll bring one of my friends over tomorrow around seven,” she said. “Is that okay?”
Austin could almost feel himself blushing. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s very okay.” And then he shoveled another mouthful in, so that he didn’t have to speak anymore as he lost himself in the light of her eyes.
Chapter Nine
Austin spent Saturday morning and afternoon in a wildly oscillating state: while Ceili napped he paced the kitchen, one minute filled with anticipation and the next considering cancellation. But while his brain vaulted back and forth between shoulds and should nots, he luckily had other distractions. This was the first full day he had of watching Ceili completely on his own, without Angie or her mother or Regina in his house helping out. And being with his baby girl – rocking her, feeding her, crawling on the floor next to her in the family room – helped push his silly adult worries of propriety to the back burner over and over again. At the end of the day, whether or not he went out to dinner with his neighbor, his true mission in life was to make sure this little girl was happy.
He held her in his arms and pressed his nose to hers, laughing as her eyes grew wide and her lips crinkled into the kind of unrestrained happiness that only an infant can display. She cooed and lifted her p
udgy fingers to grab at his cheeks.
That was all that mattered.
And that was the position he was in when the doorbell rang.
Austin walked to the door and opened it with the baby in his arms.
A young woman with long golden hair and a hot pink T-shirt stood on the other side of the storm door. “Hi, we’re here with your Girl Scout Cookies,” she said with an exaggerated grin.
Regina was right behind her.
“I didn’t order Girl Scout Cookies,” Austin said.
“What about Girl Scouts?” Regina asked.
Austin shrugged. “Now those I might be able to use.”
He stepped aside as Regina opened the screen door and the two stepped into the foyer.
“Austin, this is Brandy,” Regina announced. “She’ll be your Girl Scout for the night.”
“I thought you were my Girl Scout for the night,” he said.
Regina shook her head. “Nope, I’m your date. Don’t get it confused. You don’t date Girl Scouts, do you, because….”
Austin shook his head. With that, Brandy lifted Ceili from his arms and held the baby up to look at her. “Well, aren’t you a doll,” she said.
“Come on,” Regina said, leading the other girl toward the kitchen. “I’ll show you where all of her things are.”
Austin closed the front door, and then smiled as he listened to the two women laughing and talking in the other room. He had a good feeling about the night.
* * *
Two hours later, after a heavy dose of pasta and fresh-baked bread at Martinelli’s, they walked into the Secret Room and took two seats at the empty half of the bar. After Brandon pushed a pint and a martini glass across the bar at them, Regina held her glass up for a toast. Austin tapped his to hers, and she pronounced, “To déjà vu…and new beginnings.”
Austin nodded and took a deep sip of his beer. “I think I might be sitting in the same stool I was when I met you,” he said finally. “Things were pretty different the last time we were here though.”
“Life is about change,” she said.
“I’ve seen plenty of change over the past two weeks,” he said.
“I know,” she said. “I hope I’ve made it easier for you.”
“I could never have gotten through it without you.”
Regina smiled and looked at him with wide eyes over the rim of her martini.
Across the bar, someone cheered. At the same time, someone else swore. Austin looked up at the baseball game on television and saw the Cubs had just taken the lead in the weekend Cubs vs. Cardinals series. The two teams were huge rivals, hailing from relatively nearby big cities. With Parkville poised halfway between Chicago and St. Louis, there were always an equal number of fans of both teams on hand for any game…which could lead to bar fights from particularly enthusiastic and passionate patrons.
“This game is running way late,” he observed.
“I think there was a rain delay in St. Louis,” she said.
“That would make sense,” he said. “Are you a Cardinals fan?”
“Would it change your mind about me if I was?”
He shook his head. “Not as long as you don’t mind going to a Cubs game.”
“Oh, are you asking me on a field trip date?”
Austin laughed. “Maybe?”
“Then I can tell you that I think Wrigley Field is one of the most beautiful parks in the world,” she said. “But Busch Stadium is really nice too.”
“Playing both sides of the field?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Playing both fields. I keep my options open.”
“Well played,” he said, and raised his pint.
Brandon was there a minute later, asking if he needed a refill. Austin shrugged and got them both another round. When the game ended in Austin’s favor an hour later (the Cubs built their lead to a healthy 7-3 after a surprise three-run homer), Austin still couldn’t tell for sure which team Regina rooted for…if either. But she did know about baseball and joined him in critiquing umpire calls and defensive strategies employed by both teams.
When it finally ended, and Austin looked at the clock, it was nearly midnight.
“Déjà vu again,” he said, pointing at the clock behind the bar.
“The witching hour is nigh,” she said. “Do you want to make a wish?”
Austin’s chest constricted. The last time he’d been with Regina and made a wish, albeit an offhanded one, very bad things had happened.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I think I’m good right now.”
“Suit yourself,” she said with a wink. “But you never know what you could get.”
“I hate to say it, but I think what I need to get is home…I should check on Ceili and let Brandy go home.”
“She’s a big girl,” Regina said. “But I’m ready whenever you are.”
Austin settled the check and they headed home just after the cuckoo called the hour. Regina followed him in through the garage door. Brandy was sitting on the couch in the family room, reading something on her Kindle. She flashed them a grin and quickly hopped up.
“How was your date?” she asked.
The question made Austin feel a little weird since he really believed he should not be dating anyone this soon after his wife’s death. But before he could answer, Regina said, “We had a great time, and Austin discovered I might be a Cardinals fan.”
“I did?” he asked, thinking back quickly on all of her baseball comments. In his mind, she had actually never given her allegiance away.
“Or, I might be a Cubs fan,” Regina continued, and Austin shook his head.
“Thank you so much for watching her,” he told Brandy. “Did you have any problems?”
“She was an angel,” the babysitter proclaimed. “I gave her the last bottle about two hours ago, and she’s been sleeping ever since.”
“She’s so good,” Regina said.
Austin pulled two twenty-dollar bills from his wallet and offered them to Brandy. The girl slipped them into her front jeans pocket and thanked him before heading to the front door. “Call me whenever you need me,” she said, and let herself out.
As the door closed, Regina took his arm and leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks,” she said. “I had a really good time.”
“Thank you,” Austin said. “I am so glad we did this.”
She didn’t say anything, but moved closer to him, as if to give him a hug. But when her hand slipped around his shoulder and drew him closer, she instead leaned up to give him another kiss. On the lips this time.
The heat of her body was palpable, and he let his own arms pull her even closer, enjoying the softness of her body, the silky heat of her lips.
It was instinct and desire and the natural culmination of the evening. He couldn’t have pulled away from her if he had wanted to. And while a nagging bite of guilt somehow touched the heat in his chest, it couldn’t stop his tongue from answering the tease of her own. She swayed her body slowly as they kissed, her feet edging closer until they touched either side of his. Her hands slid slowly up and down his back, pausing occasionally at the base of his neck to ruffle his hair.
In minutes, they were on the couch, Regina’s summer skirt hiked up to expose the soft silken skin of her thighs, and Austin’s short-sleeve button-down shirt unbuttoned and hanging loose over her. Regina drew him into her embrace, and they kissed with an increasing fervor that she finally broke when his fingers released the hooks of her bra. He could finally see the full tattoo that had teased him from her cleavage – a five-pointed star inside a circle.
“You haven’t shown me your bedroom yet,” she whispered.
“It’s not that exciting,” he said.
“I think it’s about to be,” she promised.
Austin was off
the couch and helping her up in a heartbeat. Regina grabbed her handbag and he took her by the arm to lead her tiptoeing up the stairs. They stopped for a second in front of Ceili’s room and peeked in, confirming that the baby was still asleep. And then they were closing the door to Austin’s bedroom. He turned up the speaker on the baby monitor, and the static of ‘empty’ sound warmed the air.
Regina shrugged her shirt to the floor and then she was in his arms, pressing her hands up his ribs and shoulders and working his shirt off as well. Then her hands slipped lower, to unbuckle his belt.
She punctuated her every hand movement with a soft kiss somewhere on his lips or neck or chest. In moments they were nearly naked and beneath the sheets of his bed, grabbing and probing each other with a fever wild and uncontrollable.
Austin gasped for breath at the same time as he pressed his lips to her breasts and belly, needing more of her, his burning need to taste every inch of her overriding his basic need for air.
Regina seemed just as eager. Her mouth covered his skin with kisses as her nails left their marks in his back and butt and thighs. She drew him inside her suddenly and with a desperation that he could not deny.
In the end, when they lay spent and gasping for air next to each other, sweat sticking her hair to his shoulder and the sheets to her breast, Austin whispered one word.
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “That was pretty all right.”
He snorted. “That was the best ever.”
“You’re easy to please,” she said, rolling over to lie atop his chest. She kissed him lightly. “But I think we can do even better.”
“We do much better and you’ll kill me,” he said. “I still can’t catch my breath.”
She slapped his hip. “You’re out of shape. We’ll fix that.”
Austin grinned. “This is the kind of workout I don’t mind at all.”
Regina held his face in one palm and stared down into his eyes. “I hope not,” she said. “Because I’d like to see what the best ever really could be like.”
He stifled a yawn. “I can’t even imagine,” he said.
“You need sleep,” Regina said, pushing off of him a little. “Ceili will probably wake up in a couple hours, right?”