by Leah Atwood
After Jean married her long-time love, Cyclops, he later began to have an affair with sex therapist and former villain, Emma Frost.
How strange when truth followed fiction, at least symbolically. Well, like a phoenix, Lacey would rise from ashes. She had a date… sort of. She took the next fifteen minutes to blow dry her hair into a style like Jean Grey’s.
Lacey studied the inside of the limousine, the gray leather seats, the small table with brie and crackers on a silver platter. She tried not to stare at Anders. He’d looked handsome before, but this evening, he’d combed his dark hair back, and wore a tie, jacket, and dark woolen pea coat with the collar up. Black shoes gleamed beneath pleated dress pants. His eyes held the same shine as his shoes, the secret excitement of a little boy, and it canceled a portion of her feelings of intimidation. She watched his lips, how the edges quirked upward. She longed to kiss him, lose herself in his scents—a clean like soap, and zest like carnations.
She smoothed her dress over the edge of the seat. Maybe she should have picked a longer one. Breathe, Lacey. “This is my first nice limo ride.”
“Company perk. Wait, nice limo ride?”
“Yep. One winter my family was stranded in Portland with countless other airport refugees. We managed to get on a flight when my dad pulled his doctor card. But when we arrived in Seattle, friends couldn’t get there to pick us up, and there were no rental cars available. The taxi wait was four to six hours. A limo was available and cheaper than the taxi would have been. Turns out, our house was near the limo driver’s mother’s home, and since he wanted to check on her, he was happy to take us home. Sometimes, things seem to work out perfectly.” She brushed the tinted window with her finger, tracing the Space Needle’s rising hour-glass tower up to the Jetson-esque futuristic top.
“Miraculously.” He nodded. “Or are you not a person who believes in miracles?”
“I totally do.”
“I thought so. You have the mark of a Christian about you.” A teasing smile curved his mouth.
“Had.” Lacey touched her cheek where the pen imprint had been. “But hopefully, it can be seen in other ways. How about you?”
“Four years saved by grace.”
“Great.” It seemed too late to ask, but she had to know. “What do you do, work-wise, Anders?”
“I’m kind of a mergers and acquisitions guy, and a bit of an overseer, as well.”
“The Man.”
He laughed. “I guess in a way. Is that a problem?”
“I’m more the whale-and-tree-hugging kind.”
The driver let them out, and Anders led her to the Space Needle.
“We’re eating here?”
“I had to. I know it’s touristy, but they say the view is great from the top.”
“It is. Sunset is especially stunning, but evening is lovely, as well.”
“Then you’ve eaten here before?”
“For my 16th. I’ve also been up to the viewing platform several times with out-of-towners.”
“And so you shall go up with an out-of-towner again. Does it go against your whale-hugging ways to eat at a posh place?”
“Not at all. Seattle businesses try to be Earth-friendly. They prepare reasonable quantities, and use renewable resources.”
“Right on.”
Handsome, kind, but he was here for business, and he’d soon be gone.
Don’t get attached, Lacey.
She wasn’t some high-school girl. Of course she wouldn’t get attached.
The twenty-something elevator man spoke to the group of riders, but he watched Lacey the whole time. “Hold tight. We’re speeding toward the sky at ten miles per hour, helping one imagine the possibility of flying to the stars. But don’t you worry. With the foundation weighing 5,850 tons, it’s not going anywhere, and can, in fact, withstand a 9.1 magnitude earthquake.”
Maybe not the wisest to remind visitors that Seattle had earthquakes as they rode up in an elevator. It was like telling divers that only five people die from shark bites each year, but millions starve to death. They only heard one word—“shark.”
At the top, they followed the crowd headed to the restaurant, and were seated by the window, panorama of lights around them.
“I have to tell you, Lacey, I thought you were pretty the first time I saw you, but tonight, you are stunning.”
“Jean Grey, all the way?” She winked.
“No. Jean always looks angry. Of course she has reason for her fury, but you have more of a sweet look, a radiant look. You’re… shiny, and Stephen sees it.”
“Well, thank you.” Her cheeks went firebird molten. “I thought he’d be here.” She squirmed as she unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap.
Why was it so hard for her to take a compliment?
“I left him with a trusted co-worker. He’s not much for fancy food and, tonight, I wanted to leave Anders-the-dad at home and just be a man and woman together.”
The words made her tingle to her bare knee caps. Clearly, the instinct to mate was strong in people too, but she wasn’t going to pull herself from her tank to the hard floor in search of something that would end her plans, her life. If she got picked for the research voyage, she was going. She wasn’t losing that for a love which left her alone and ready to die.
How about a life-time love?
She barely knew him.
Then why did you tell him you’d come to dinner with him?
Whether she wanted to believe it about herself or not, she hoped for romance, hoped for love. She was as attached to her instincts as salmon were to theirs, as Gabriel was to his.
Lights glowed blue and pink through air thick with mist, giving the building-scape below a wintry dream-like appearance.
Anders waited, as if he’d asked a question she’d missed.
She lifted a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“It is a bit loud up here, isn’t it? I said I’m loving the Seattle area.”
“If you like it in December’s dark drizzle, you’d love it in April.”
“Does it really rain all the time?”
“Sometimes, it feels that way, but when the clouds part and the sun shines on the water, reflects off the mountains, I don’t think there is a more beautiful place in all the world.”
He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “Are you a world traveler?”
“I’d like to be. I’ve only ever really been to England to visit my aunt.”
“Have you spent time on boats?”
“Around the Sound and Lake Washington. I love it.”
“So if you get the call, you’ll go on the research trip?”
“Yes.”
“Leave everything you love for six months.”
“I would.”
“You must be a brave lady.”
She almost laughed. “One of my brother’s nicknames for me was C. S. and it wasn’t because I read all the Narnia books.”
“C.S.? I’m not getting it.”
“First word chicken, second…”
“Gotcha. Then how come you want to go?”
“I want to make a difference to the beautiful creatures who call the ocean home.”
“No doubt you shall.” He gave a firm nod, as though resolved to fight anyone keeping Lacey from making a difference, and in that nod of confidence, he looked knightly. Ironic that it caused her to want to say no to the voyage of a lifetime, a difference-making six months.
“Are you ready to order?” The waitress leaned toward Anders.
“I am. Are you ready, Lacey?”
She glanced at the menu for the first time. “Uh, yes,” she swallowed. “I’d like the halibut, please.”
“Salmon for me.”
“Wonderful. I’ll get those right out to you. Thank you.”
“Thank you.” Anders passed her both menus and turned a smile Lacey’s direction. “I tend to be brave, but I admit to a fair amount of trepidation at the idea of eating
stinging nettle puree.”
“Nettle is tasty, kind of like mint. It’s supposed to be one of the highest plant proteins out there.” Lacey twisted a corner of the napkin in her lap, feeling the threads press her fingers.
“How about the stinging part?”
“It cooks out.”
“Perhaps each of us is brave in our own way.”
She smoothed out the napkin and smiled across the table at Anders. “Probably true.”
“When have you eaten stinging nettle?”
“School project for AP Bio.”
“Hmm. In my AP Bio class, we just studied our heads off.”
“I did that too. What was your favorite subject in high school?”
“Math. So straightforward.”
“Uncomplicated?”
“Exactly.”
Straightforward was good. “But there’s something to be said about adventure, as well.”
He stared for a moment, as if seeing all her insecurities and fears. She felt exposed, but she was okay, safe in his eyes. “You think so?”
“Yes. Yes, I do.” She wasn’t sure what she’d agreed to, but he leaned back in his chair, as though her answer meant more than she’d intended. Her finger ran across the napkin. “I was a fort-builder, tree climber, ocean watcher.”
“The ocean can be unpredictable.” His finger followed the edge of his knife. "Wild.”
“That very thing is what gives it such charm and appeal.” Then, she knew. They’d ceased talking of the ocean and adventure. They were speaking of Stephen. After an initial startle, she realized it was okay with her. Her answers fit for him as well, complicated though that little boy might be. “If I get the job, I have to go, Anders.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
“So what’s San Diego like?”
“Perfect. The weather is always in the upper 70’s, the ocean inviting. I’m going to miss it, but as you say, unpredictability has charm and appeal to offer.”
“Miss it? You’ve been transferred. Why didn’t you tell me? The Eastside is great for children, especially ones with a math and science bent. I could help you find a house.”
An empty offer. If she was leaving for six months, he’d find a house without her help. The voyage left in just over a week. Regret bubbled through her insides. It’s unlikely you’ll get the job. She smiled.
Blue eyes, child-like in their trust sparkled back at her. “How are the schools in Seattle?”
“Depends on the area. You can find good anywhere when you’re looking for it.”
“Ah, a philosopher as well as a marine biologist.”
The man following the waiter past their table stopped and stared at her.
Brett.
“Lacey.” He studied Anders, then turned back to her. “I see you’ve moved on.” The tone was judgmental, hurt.
“You’re marrying one of my best friends. Shouldn’t I move on?”
He licked his lips, something he always did before deciding on dessert. “You look good, Lacey. I like your hair that way.”
The two men with him, people she didn’t know, turned to assess her. Attractive. Hot. Their eyes said.
An unkind gloating feeling filled her. She shook it off and smiled up at Brett. “Thanks. Enjoy your dinner.” It was hard to put the awkwardness behind her, to turn back to Anders, but she was glad she did. His face was a mask of sympathy. So handsome, so kind.
What kind of man was Brett that he would reconsider his decision to dump her based on a hair-style? Fury hardened her middle.
“Halibut. Oregon shrimp and pork dumpling, flageolet beans.” A plate of fish and deliciousness wafted beneath her nose.
Anders leaned toward her, as though to ask about the encounter, but the waitress set a dish below him. “Salmon with nettle puree and asparagus.”
“Thank you. It looks wonderful!” Still leaning. Anders’ mouth opened and the question came.
She braced herself, ready to answer all manner of personal questions.
“What is a flageolet bean?”
She searched her plate. Instead of the green beans she hoped to see, there was a pile of white, kidney-shaped beans. “It seems code for some kind of lima bean, you know, like how people spell words around a child. They knew I’d have a tantrum if I suspected they were trying to make me eat lima beans.” She winked.
“We could trade—lima for stinging nettle.”
“Deal, though I’d like to try them first. Tastes change.”
“A brave woman, indeed. I’m glad your tastes have changed… or was that a forced change?” He looked toward where Brett had disappeared.
“It was. But it’s a blessing in disguise.”
“You know, whenever I doubt the existence of God, something like that happens. Of all the restaurants in the area, why would your ex walk into this one?”
“It’s a test to see if I’m still banging on doors God has closed.”
“And?”
“I’m not. I don’t know why we dated for six years.”
“Maybe he was a place holder to keep you from jumping into something else. Perhaps you are salvation for some other guy who was busy making mistakes of his own.”
Salvation. That was a lot of pressure, especially since she hoped to be cresting waves in just over a week.
“Whatever God’s reason, your ex was impressed with what he saw, as were his buddies, and that has to be balm to the wounds of rejection.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m embarrassed to say, it is.”
“His loss…”
He didn’t continue. He left the, “is my gain.” hanging in that complex social void of unspoken words that spoke volumes.
“If they call me, I have to go on this research voyage.” Unspoken words joined his in the void, “Will you wait?”
If he got them, he showed no sign. “Do you mind if I ask a blessing on the food?”
“Please.”
“God, thank you for this food and for our time together. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Despite his proclaimed belief, Brett had never prayed in restaurants, and despite hers, she’d never objected. Yes, she was glad he’d closed that door. She glanced his direction, then back at Anders, who was picking up a forkful of nettle puree. “If you can be brave, I can, as well. Mm. Not bad, maybe a bit more spinachy than minty. You want to try?”
She reached over. He was right. Pureed nettles had a spinach taste. “And good for the environment to use native plants.”
“Renewable resource. Double score.” He poked another bite into his mouth.
“I thought I was the only one who said that.”
“I always thought it was a gamer thing to say. Do you enjoy games, Lacey?”
“Um, Sea Farers, Scategory, Scrabble, Clue, and I have poured myself into a video game or two. I confess sportsmanship issues.”
“You like to win?”
“Sure. But more than that, I like to accomplish goals, and woe to the one who thwarts my plans.”
“Everyone gets to have fun.”
“What?”
“That’s my philosophy. Very similar, actually.” He ate a bite of salmon, and his eyes grew. “Man, I never knew fish could taste so good. No dessert needed for this guy, ever again. I think if salmon like rain, I could get used to it, too.”
“Try the halibut.” She pushed her plate close.
“Yum! Kind of a combination between sanddab and calamari. Sold!”
“Wait until you see the mountains.”
“You want to show us this weekend?” He raised his eyebrows.
“I’d love to. We could take a ferry to the Peninsula and go to the Olympics. People come from around the world to see them. We may even see orcas on our way.”
He laughed. “Again, sold. You have my card. Give me a call.”
“I’ll do that.” Don’t get too attached, Lacey.
Anders leaned back, smiling, watching her face as she ate a flageolet bean and tried not to gag. “
You have the most charming glow about you, Lacey. I don’t know that I’ve seen its like before. If you showed even a spark of that in your interview, no doubt the job is yours.”
That was a new one. She’d been called animated before, expressive. Brett always told her to “chill.” Anders found her charming.
Were it in his hands, he’d give her the job. Sweet, but it wouldn’t help her rise above the other 93 candidates NOAA expected to apply.
She poked at a bean. Why was anything like a lima bean so vile to her? Some of the center pushed out through the fork mark. Maybe it was a texture issue.
The halibut was wonderful. Melt-in-the-mouth, buttery, crispy-on-the-outside deliciousness. “You want another bite?”
“I’d love one.”
His expression reminded her of Stephen in its six-year-old cuteness. “Mmmm! I have to live here.” He pointed his fork to the table.
“Could be expensive.”
“Less so than San Diego.”
“I mean living at the Space Needle.” She flashed her most mischievous full-toothed smile.
“You may be right.”
She glanced next to her, where she’d left her purse that held his card, his phone number.
Her purse was gone. She looked under the table.
“What’s the matter, Lacey?”
“My purse. I’m certain I put it beside me.” Had she left it in the limo?
“Looking for this?” A young waiter, who wasn’t theirs, handed her the purse. “Rotating restaurant.” He smiled. “Rebecca should have warned you.”
“No. I should have known. Well, I feel ridiculous.”
“Don’t. It happens often.”
Often or not, once was more than she wanted it to happen to her.
“I hope everything else was great.”
“It was.” Anders’ eyes shone with another Stephen look. “Unforgettable.”
“I’m glad. That’s what we strive for.”
Unforgettable it was. Yet, Lacey hoped he might forget at least one part of the evening—a blunder as embarrassing as forgetting the tide when pitching a tent on the beach.
Anders stood in front of Lacey’s doorstep, smiling. “A pleasure, Lacey.”
“Yes, it was.” She reached into her purse for her key. Hadn’t she put it in the big pouch?