More

by Heidi Marshall

  “You are too much.”

  “So was talking about my ultimate humiliation enough to pull you out of your funk? Why were you in a bad mood, anyway?”

  She pointed at the box on the table, and Darren began to rifle through its contents. Kate didn’t stop him.

  “Ahh, so this is your Ian box, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she said with a sigh. “I haven’t looked at any of this stuff since January. And it’s still kind of painful to be reminded of all of the good times we had.”

  “Understandable.” After several moments of silence, Darren said, “You know, I think it’s easy to only remember the good stuff sometimes.”

  “Trust me. I remember the bad stuff. All too well.”

  “I’m sure you do. But don’t let the things in this box make you miss something that wasn’t there. He wasn’t the right guy for you. He wasn’t enough for you. Honestly, you’re better off alone than with someone like that.”

  “Thanks for reminding me that I’m alone. You’re such a pal.”

  “You know what I mean, though. Wouldn’t you rather be on your own than with someone who doesn’t truly love you?”

  “I’d rather be not alone by being with something who does truly love me, thank you very much.”

  Darren looked at his friend and could practically feel her pain and her loneliness. She was such a good person with such a big heart, and he hated to see her doubting herself. He hated to see her anything but happy, in fact.

  “That’s it!” he said resolutely. “No more. No more being down in the dumps. You are better than that. What time do you work tomorrow?”

  “Um…nine to six,” she said. “Why? What crazy thing do you have planned now?”

  “A date,” he said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m taking you on a date.”

  “You. You’re taking me on a date.”

  “Are you hard of hearing, woman? Yes, I’m taking you out on a date. We’ll get dressed up and go to a nice restaurant and I might even open the car door for you.”

  Kate cocked her head and squinted her eyes as she looked at Darren, trying to figure out his angle. “But…why?”

  “Thanks!” he said, indignant.

  “Oh don’t get offended. I’m just asking an honest question,” she said.

  “Look, you’re a wonderful person, and obviously so am I. We are two single adults who don’t want to be single, we enjoy spending time with each other, and I think maybe we should try it out.”

  She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again when she realized she had no idea what she wanted to say.

  “Come on, say yes,” he said. “We’ll have a good time. I promise.”

  “I’m sure we will,” said Kate. “You just caught be completely off guard.” “So is that a yes?” asked Darren.

  “I think it’s a yes,” she replied, sounding surprised by her own answer.

  “It’s a date,” he said with a smile. “I’ll pick you up here at seven. Deal?” “Deal,” she said.

  Suddenly, Darren seemed very unsure how to end the conversation. He stuck out his hand and gave Kate a quick awkward handshake, then jerked his body around towards the door and left. Second later, he opened the door and came back in.

  “I think aliens momentarily took control of my body. Please excuse that incredibly awkward exit, and know that I won’t be nearly as awkward tomorrow night. I hope.”

  She silently giggled at Darren, which seemed to bring him back to his normal self. “Oh, don’t worry about it. It wouldn’t be a first date if it wasn’t awkward,” she said with a wink.

  Darren laughed and shook his head, then stepped forward to give Kate a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Kate Henry. I’m glad you want to go out with someone who poops his pants.” And with that, he walked out the door.

  She slowly sat down on the couch, replaying the last several minutes in her mind. What in the world just happened? she thought.

  ~~~~~

  Jacob and Denise strolled hand in hand down a small street, trying to savor the moment and take in all the sights that Italy had to offer. There was a cool ocean breeze in the air.

  “So, is this better than sitting in a classroom?” said Jacob jokingly.

  Denise had just graduated from high school, and she nudged her boyfriend playfully at the mention of school. “Nah. Europe is nice and all, but there’s nothing quite like the joys of Trig class.”

  “You’re right. Maybe we should cut this trip short and go back home to see if they’ll let you stay for another year.”

  “That’s one thought. Or we could walk down towards the ocean and make out.”

  “Sold!” They shuffled down towards the beach, laughing like the young kids in love that they were.

  “Do you know where Brett and Mary are?” Denise asked. Brett was a good friend of Jacob’s and Denise’s older brother; Mary was her twin sister. The foursome was very close, and had been saving their pennies for this trip when the girls graduated.

  “They said something about walking down the beach to find a place to rent some snorkel gear.”

  “Perfect! I love snorkeling. Plus, I’m going to love making fun of how silly you’ll look in fins and giant goggles.”

  “Wait, I’ll look silly, but somehow you won’t? How does that work?”

  “Yep. You’ll look silly and I’ll look adorable. Deal with it,” said Denise.

  Jacob pulled Denise close to him and kissed her tenderly.

  “What was that for?” she asked.

  He held her close with his arms wrapped around her waist. “Just because I love you. And I’m so happy to be here with you.”

  “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Do you realize that?”

  “Actually…I was hoping that this would be the best thing that ever happened to you.” Jacob slowly dropped to one knee and pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket. “Denise, you bring so much joy into my life. I love you more than anything. I know we’re young, and I know some people might think we’re crazy, but I literally cannot wait another day to ask you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

  Jacob opened the box and revealed a silver ring with a small solitary square-cut diamond. He looked up at Denise expectantly. Her big blue eyes were full with tears. As soon as she saw the ring, she clasped her hand over her mouth and kneeled down to be eye level with Jacob.

  “It’s beautiful! I love it! And I love you!”

  “Is that a yes?”

  Denise threw her arms around Jacob. “It’s absolutely a yes!”

  Jacob slipped the ring on her finger and let out a great sigh of relief. He hadn’t exactly been worried that she would say no; he knew how much she loved him. They had many long talks about how they pictured their futures, and it was always together. But now that the ring was on her finger he knew, without question, that she was his.

  “We’re going to be so happy together,” he whispered.

  “I know we are.” She looked down at her ring, turning her hand slowly so that the sun would catch the diamond and make it sparkle. “Let’s go find Brett and Mary! I can’t wait to tell them!”

  Jacob and Denise took off down the beach, both the happiest they had ever been.

  Chapter 11

  Kate was looking through her inventory files on the computer in her office at the bookstore when Amy came bursting in with two cups of coffee.

  “Number one, good morning,” said Amy. “I brought you a caramel latte. I thought you might need a little extra caffeine and sugar today. Number two, would you like to tell me why I might think you might need a little extra caffeine and sugar today?”

  “Well let’s see,” she said, accepting the cup from her friend and taking a long sip. “Mmm, it’s delicious. Thanks.”

  “Katherine.”

  “Right, extra caffeine and sugar. Well, perhaps it’s because you know I was up late last night finishing my spring-cleaning and you know I needed
a little push to get me through the work day.”

  “Try again.”

  “Okay,” said Kate, purposely prolonging the inevitable answer to the question. “Oh, I know! You and I are going to jump in the car and go to some fabulous concert tonight, so you want me to be alert.”

  “Kate! You can’t go anywhere tonight. Don’t you have…plans?”

  “As a matter of fact I do. Did Big Mouth Darren call your husband?”

  “You better believe he did. And that stinker told Rick that I had to promise not to call you and tell you that he had called. But I outsmarted him,” she said, putting her feet up on Kate’s desk. “I didn’t call you. I came to see you.”

  “Your brilliance will never cease to astound me.”

  “Thank you, thank you. Now come on. Let’s get to the good stuff. You? Darren? A date? How did this happen? Are you excited? What are you going to wear? What if he tries to kiss you? Can you please get married tomorrow and get pregnant tomorrow night and have an adorable baby girl that can grow up and marry one of my sons?”

  Kate shook her head in disbelief at her overly excited friend. “No more lattes for you. Like, ever.”

  “Come on, give me something. How do you feel?”

  “I feel…I feel like I don’t know how I feel. Is that weird?”

  “Not really.”

  “I mean, Darren took me completely by surprise. It was even kind of weird the way he asked. It was like he decided one second and did it the next second without even really thinking it through.”

  “Darren doing something impulsive? Shocking.” Amy rolled her eyes.

  “It’s not that I don’t think he’s sincere or anything. I think it’s really sweet that he wants to take me out. It’s just so random!”

  “Rick and I were talking last night – well, we were doing other things last night, but then we were talking…“

  “Gross. Too much information.”

  “Anyway,” Amy continued without missing a beat, “I told him that it was so bizarre, but I have never thought that you and Darren would get together. And I can’t figure out why I’ve never thought of it. I mean, you’re both wonderful, you get along great, and let’s face it, I love to play matchmaker, so it’s completely strange that this was never on my radar!”

  Kate shuddered. “Please don’t remind me about you being a wannabe matchmaker. I have endured some horrific blind dates because of you.”

  “Oh come on, some of them weren’t that bad!”

  “Oh really? Which ones weren’t that bad? The one with the guy who asked me if I knew how many calories were in the pasta dish that I ordered at dinner? Or the one wore leather pants to church? Or how about the one who locked his keys in his car and called his grandmother to come and pick us up? Would you classify any of those as ‘not that bad’?”

  “Fine. You’re right. But the point is, my dear Kate, that there’s absolutely no reason why you and Darren wouldn’t be great together. I always saw you as just friends, but who knows? Give it a chance.”

  “I plan to,” she said. “It’s just weird!”

  “What’s weird?” asked Meredith, gliding into the office and taking a seat.

  “Darren and Kate are going on a date tonight, and she thinks it’s weird,” said Amy, catching her grandmother up to speed.

  “A date? That’s wonderful! This is your first date since The One We Don’t Speak Of, isn’t it?”

  “Thank you for remembering Ian’s proper nickname, and yes, I haven’t been out on a date since him,” she said.

  “Maybe you should give Hank a call! He was your soul mate, remember?” said Amy with the snicker.

  “Don’t even start with me,” growled Kate.

  “Hey, you can’t blame that one on me. That was all Brooke.”

  “So you’re going out with Darren? My my my…well, I agree with you. That’s ‘weird’,” said Meredith.

  “I know. I almost feel like my brother is taking me to the prom or something.”

  “Would you two stop already?” said Amy. “You’re psyching yourself out. You and Darren always have a good time together, and tonight will be no exception. Just relax and let things happen.”

  “Says the girl who wants us to get married and have babies tomorrow,” Kate muttered. “Look, no offense to either of you, but I’m in the middle of some work right now, and the more I talk about this, the more it freaks me out. Can we just drop it for now? Please?”

  “Fine, consider it dropped,” said Meredith breezily. “Come on Amy, I want to show you some new books I got in that I think the boys might like.”

  “I’ll know if you’re talking about me!” Kate yelled after them as they walked away.

  Kate shook her head back and forth, trying to shake all of the crazy thoughts right out of it. She didn’t want to make more of this than she needed to. It was just a date. It was going to be fun. And the fact that she pretending to go over her inventory spreadsheet while she was trying to think of which dress to wear that would best accentuate her curves and bring out the color of her eyes had nothing to do with Darren Davidson. Nope. Not a thing.

  ~~~~~

  Kate tucked a piece of her smoothed hair behind her ear after putting on a thin silver necklace with a sparkly pendant. She had chosen a dark navy dress that skimmed her leg just above her knee. Her makeup was done to perfection, but she touched up her lip gloss as she slid into a pair of pewter wedges.

  She heard a knock on the door and gathered her purse and a light sweater from her bed before heading down the hall to greet Darren. She opened the door and saw Darren standing there in dark gray slacks, a white shirt, and a black tie, holding a small bunch of flowers. Usually a very casual dresser, she wasn’t used to seeing him in much other than jeans and simple shirts.

  “Darren! You’re wearing a tie!”

  “Why yes I am,” he said. “But don’t let it throw you off. It’s a clip-on.”

  “No!” said Kate, her eyes widening in horror.

  “No, it’s not a clip-on. But thank you for actually believing that I would own a clip-on tie. What a great confidence booster for a guy on a first date.” Darren smiled to show he was joking and handed the flowers to Kate. “For you, m’lady.”

  “Thank you!” she said enthusiastically. “I love daffodils. That was very sweet of you.” Setting the flowers on the table, she turned back to Darren and said, “You ready to go?”

  “Well, in the movies the girl always puts the bouquet of flowers in a vase of water that she just happens to have waiting conveniently in the kitchen.”

  “Yes, but what most girls don’t know is that daffodils actually live longer out of water than they do in it. So please accept my humble apology for ruining your perfect entrance with my exceptional knowledge of horticulture.”

  “Is that true? Where did you learn that?”

  “From my mom. Now, where are you taking me? I’m starving.”

  “The Woods.”

  “Yum,” she said at the mention of her favorite steakhouse. “I could definitely go for a rib-eye tonight.”

  “I love a girl who appreciates a good steak,” said Darren.

  ~~~~~

  Darren pulled his car up to the valet station at the restaurant. “Valet, huh?” said Kate. “You’re really going all out tonight.”

  “You see, I have a couple of options right now. I could play it cool, or I could admit that it’s been so long since I’ve worn these dress shoes that I forgot how much they hurt my feet and I don’t want to walk any farther than absolutely necessary.”

  “So which one are you going to go with?”

  “I think I’ll play it cool. Try it again.”

  “Wow, valet, huh? You’re really going all out tonight. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention that I like your shoes.”

  Darren grinned at her. “Clever.”

  “I try.”

  The waiter led them to a cozy table. The entire restaurant was dim and peaceful, and a single candle on the table p
rovided a little flickering light. They both began to peruse the menus.

  After both had ordered and began to nibble on some bread, Kate noticed that Darren had a distant look in his eyes. Pensive, almost. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

  He brought his gaze back to her and smiled a slight smile. “It’s funny. One minute I was being brutally attacked by a Slurpee, and the next minute I was practically begging you to go on a date with me. Quite a turn of events, no?”

  “You’ll get no argument from me there. To be honest, I’m still not 100% sure if you’re serious or not.”

  “I can’t possibly imagine why you’d doubt me!’ said Darren. “I’m such a serious guy. Not one to kid or jest.”

  “Riiiight,” said Kate sarcastically.

  “Well, all I can tell you is that I definitely didn’t see this coming, but I’m seriously glad we’re doing this.”

  The date continued seamlessly as the friends poked fun at each other, talked about everything from Kate’s parents’ divorce to the church service a few months back when Darren’s fly was down the entire time, and there was never an awkward or dull moment.

  The apple crisp that they had decided to share for dessert arrived. She took only a few bites before admitting, “I can’t possibly eat another mouthful. I’m stuffed.”

  “Good, neither can I.” Darren motioned for the waiter and quickly handed a credit card to him before he could even set the check down on the table.

  “Smooth move, Double D.”

  “I saw it in a movie.”

  “No, but really. Thanks so much for dinner. This whole evening has been…well, it’s been pretty great! I’m having a really good time with you.”

  “And I with you.”

  Darren pulled Kate’s chair out for her as they got up from the table and took her hand as they walked out of the restaurant. Once they were in the car, she turned towards Darren. “I’m not ready to go home yet. Want to go to something fun and juvenile?”

  “As long as it’s something that involves me letting my feet out of shoe prison, I’m game.”