Changing Her Heart

by Gail Sattler

  Lacey didn’t sit. All she did was stand and stare at him while he stared at her. They were so close, he could almost have leaned forward and kissed her again, just like he’d been thinking about for the past few hours.

  As if she could read his mind, Lacey backed up a step.

  He forced himself to look at her eyes, and not at her mouth. “I’m sorry about calling you on your cell at work earlier. I was out of line. We don’t have a lot of time. Let’s just sit down and relax while we can. It’s going to be a long day, and a long week.”

  Obediently, Lacey sank down into one of the chairs and stretched her legs out in front of her. “I’m sorry, I guess I overreacted. I probably needed this break more than I thought I did. By the time the weekend gets here, I’ll be wiped. None of my friends can understand what it’s like to stand all day, especially when a sale is on.”

  Randy sank down into the other chair. He said a short prayer of thanks for their food and began to unwrap the sandwich he’d bought. He’d probably been overreacting, too, but he couldn’t erase the memories of kissing Lacey.

  “I know what you mean. I spend a fortune on good shoes, but when there’s a sale like this, it gets me, too. By the time the week is over, I know I’ll be canceling my plans just to go sit in the hot tub at my apartment complex to try to get the stiffness out.”

  Lacey sighed. “That must be nice.”

  Randy sighed back. “It is. I don’t know what I would do without that hot tub. Wait. I have an idea. You’ll probably be feeling just the same. Care to join me?”

  “No.”

  Randy tried not to cringe at her instantaneous rejection of his invitation.

  He didn’t know if his expression gave his thoughts away, because Lacey reached over the small table and rested her hand on his arm. Her touch short-circuited his brain, making him want to lean forward and kiss her again. For the second time he pushed the thoughts from his mind.

  “I’m sorry,” Lacey murmured, “I didn’t mean to be so abrupt. It’s just that I don’t want you to see me in a bathing suit.”

  He blinked. “Why not? Don’t tell me you think you’re overweight.”

  Her cheeks darkened, giving him his answer.

  Randy’s jaw tightened. Lacey wasn’t exactly fashion-magazine thin, but she looked healthy. “I don’t know why you’re embarrassed. I watch you eat every day. I think it’s great that you don’t pick at your food and waste half the plate.”

  He looked into her face to get some hint of what she was thinking, but as usual, he got distracted, staring into her eyes. In the cramped quarters of the storage room, he was closer than usual, giving him ample opportunity. When they first met, he thought her eyes were simply plain brown but how he could see minute flecks of gold or green, changing according to her mood and the brightness of the light. The variety of the interchange of color fascinated him, and as corny as it felt, he never tired of looking into her eyes.

  Randy looked away. He wasn’t supposed to be studying her eyes. “I’m not exactly perfect, either. So if you’ll overlook my flaws, I’ll overlook yours, although I’m sure that you don’t have many.”

  Her blush deepened, and she stared down at the table.

  “I’m serious, Lacey. We’re just going to be in the hot tub to get the stiffness out. Maybe we’ll swim a few laps in the pool. It’s right next to the hot tub.” His words stalled. “Uh…you can swim, can’t you?”

  “Of course I can swim. I’m a little out of shape, but I actually swim very well.”

  “Then do you wanna race?”

  “Pardon me?”

  “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I have a feeling that neither of us get enough exercise during the week. Once a week, we should go swimming. You know, get some exercise. After all, it’s free. It’s not a big pool, but it’s big enough.”

  “I don’t know…. That may not be a good idea.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll pick you up Saturday on my way home from my meeting. We can do brunch and then go for a swim, have a lounge in the hot tub, grab something for supper and then go to Eric and Susan’s for the evening.”

  Lacey stared blankly at him. “Suddenly it feels like you’ve planned the whole day.”

  Randy grinned. “What if I have?” Quite frankly, he couldn’t think of a better way to spend Saturday.

  Lacey sighed. “Part of me wants to turn you down, but the smarter part of me says that what you’re suggesting sounds perfect. I really do need to do something to get in shape, or at least do something so I won’t get in worse shape.”

  Personally, Randy thought her shape was quite fine, but he bit his tongue until he flushed the testosterone from his brain. “Then we should think about getting together to swim every Saturday, after my meeting.” He paused to check his watch. “I know it’s only been fifteen minutes, but things are busy and we should probably get back out there.”

  Lacey stood. “This was a great idea, not just sitting, but getting away from the crowds. We’ll have to do this more often.”

  Randy glanced around the storage room. One bare light bulb hung on a cord from the ceiling, which had water marks on it from a few years ago when the roof leaked during a rainstorm. Shelves piled with boxes lined two walls, a worktable strewn with computer parts and components and some of his tools and a bright lamp for precision work was pushed against the third wall. The small table, two chairs and a pile of the staff’s personal belongings, including his inline skates, were against the fourth wall, where the door was.

  The room was small, crowded, messy and dingy.

  If Lacey was impressed with him taking her here, then he was losing his touch.

  He stood. “Then for Saturday, it’s a da…” He let his voice trail off. He’d almost said “date,” although he didn’t know where the thought came from. He wasn’t going to play the dating game, now or anytime in the near future. Maybe never. And certainly not with Lacey.

  He cleared his throat. “…Deal.”

  “Wow,” Randy winced as he sank slowly into the padded restaurant chair. “Did anyone get the license number of that truck? I feel like I’ve been hit, and then run over a few times for good measure.”

  Lacey empathized as Randy massaged his upper arm at the same time as he flexed his elbow. “I know what you mean,” she said as she also flexed the stiffness out of her own arms, at least temporarily. She knew she would be stiffer tomorrow. “I haven’t had a workout like that for years, and it sure felt good to swim today.”

  Randy arched his back, then twisted from side to side as the waiter appeared beside their table. “I don’t think I’m going to comment.”

  The waiter gave them both menus, filled their coffee cups, then left them alone to decide on their orders.

  While Randy scanned the menu, Lacey scanned the restaurant. She’d been expecting a regular pizzeria, but Randy’s friend’s brother’s restaurant was the farthest thing from a pizzeria she’d ever seen. Pizza wasn’t even listed on the menu. Instead, many of the items were things she’d never heard of before. There was a large selection of pasta, beneath which the menu stated it was “proudly made on the premises by the Delanio family.”

  Without moving her head, Lacey tried to take in everything she could about the restaurant, which was as classic Italian as Italian could be. The decorating was set in rich earth tones, mostly browns and greens. The tablecloths were deep red and every table had a soft candle burning in the middle. Framed photographs of people and scenery lined the walls, and the rest of the decorating consisted of small sundry items that were probably native to different areas in Italy. The lights were dimmed, and soft romantic music played in the background. Even though there were many different-sized groups, ranging from two to eight or more people per table, there were no children. The youngest people she could see were a couple of teenagers who looked to be about sixteen, out on what could have been a first date.

  And thinking of dates, Lacey leaned forward on the table and lower
ed her voice almost to a whisper as she spoke to Randy. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind, and I wouldn’t call this a ‘family’ restaurant.”

  Randy massaged his upper arm, wincing as he pressed into the muscle with his fingertips. “But it is. It’s owned by the Delanio family. And if you want to get technical, you’re not exactly the definition of someone who swims ‘well.’”

  Lacey straightened and gently sipped her coffee, closing her eyes for a few seconds to savor the rich blend. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Don’t give me that nonsense. I knew I was in trouble when the first thing you did was go straight to the diving board and do a double flip with that spinny move. You barely made a splash with your entry. I’ve seen it on television, but I’ve never actually known anyone who could do that.”

  Lacey knew she was in trouble the second they had entered the restaurant and been escorted to a cozy and private table for two that had a reserved sign on it. She also saw the owner, who would have been Randy’s friend Tony, at the front counter, grinning when they walked in together.

  “But I told you I could swim very well.”

  Randy snorted softly. “Up until today, I would have said that I swim very well, too. After all, I have a pool at my disposal all the time. I used to swim every day, but lately I’ve only had time to go once or twice a week. Still, when I asked you earlier if you wanted to race, I was just kidding. That ‘very’ of yours was apparently a little understated, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know what you mean. You won twice.”

  He arched, and pressed his fists into the small of his back. “Yeah. Two out of seven, and I think you just let me win at least one of those two times before you graciously refused to do any more racing.”

  Lacey tried not to smile, and failed. “That’s how I got my college scholarship. I was on my college swim team. We won the national championship that year. I don’t like team sports, but racing is more a test of individual endurance. Today, when we started racing, I discovered I still have a bit of a competitive streak left in me.”

  “You didn’t tell me that before.”

  Lacey set her coffee cup onto the saucer. “I could very easily remind you of something important that you didn’t tell me and you probably should have.”

  She waited for an explanation, but instead, a silence hung in the air between them. As the silence continued, if it hadn’t been for the soft music in the background to ease some of the tension, Lacey might have run away screaming.

  When he finally spoke, Randy’s voice came out in a husky whisper, and he stared down into his coffee cup, not looking at her. “The past is past. I wish it could be changed, but it can’t.”

  Lacey’s stomach rolled. “I know.”

  She wanted nothing more than to believe with all her heart that Randy would never, ever again pick up a drink and sink to the depths he once came from. But after watching Eric for years, she knew that it was difficult, sometimes impossible. She’d also seen some of Eric’s drinking friends, and they were no different than Eric.

  She couldn’t understand the compulsion that kept a person drinking even though they knew it caused so much destruction to their own lives, as well as the lives of those around them. She wanted to understand the reason Randy had felt the need to let alcohol deaden his senses to the point where instead of controlling the alcohol he consumed, the alcohol controlled him. Except the thought terrified her that his reason for drinking might be something he’d done that would cause her to hate him.

  Yet for the entire time she’d known Randy, he’d done nothing to cause her to doubt his faith, his sincerity, or his character.

  She stared up into his face, into his beautiful eyes—eyes that shone with trustworthiness and something else she didn’t want to acknowledge.

  Randy sighed. “I don’t want to get bogged down with past garbage, especially not tonight. But if you must, then ask me one question, just one. I’ll answer honestly, no matter what, and then let’s move on to something more pleasant.”

  Lacey didn’t know what she would do if he told her that he drank because of the guilt from doing something terrible before he let the drinking get so bad it became an issue. Maybe she was in denial, but she couldn’t believe Randy could have done anything so awful that it would cause a person to drink himself out of control. Therefore, she wondered if the reason he drank was because of something that someone had done to him.

  It would almost make it acceptable if his reason for drinking was because he’d been a victim of something horrible, although she didn’t want to think that he’d suffered. However, it would be best for her to know, as she knew people who could probably help him.

  “Did someone do something to you that you’re ashamed of?”

  “No.”

  She waited for him to say more, but he didn’t.

  “Did you have an unhappy childhood?”

  “That’s two questions. Sorry.”

  Lacey gritted her teeth. Her next question would have been: Had someone broken his heart? Although, right now she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that one.

  Randy leaned forward on the table. “Do I get to ask you a question now? You asked me a question, and I answered.”

  She folded her hands in front of her and swallowed hard. “Fair is fair, I suppose. Go ahead.”

  Randy raised one hand and rested his index finger over the top of his upper lip. “Do you think I should grow a mustache?”

  “What?” Lacey sputtered. She stared at his face. When they first met, she thought he was quite attractive, especially when he smiled. Not only did his dark blue eyes mesmerize her, the beginnings of laugh lines at the corners of those striking blue eyes made him more handsome than any man had a right to be. More than anything, those laugh lines were a visual indication of the most prominent parts of his personality—his optimistic outlook and his charming sense of humor. She didn’t want him to change anything, including the way he looked.

  “No. I don’t think you should grow a mustache.”

  “Why not? Don’t you think it would make me look more dignified?”

  She didn’t want him to grow a mustache because when the day came that he would kiss her again, she didn’t want it to tickle.

  Her breath caught as she realized the direction of her thoughts.

  “That’s two questions. Sorry.”

  Randy laughed just as the waiter arrived to take their orders.

  Randy rested one finger on the menu. “I’ll have the Polla alla Parmigiana.” He leaned forward to her and lowered his voice to a whisper. “This is my absolute favorite. Tony makes it even better than his mother.”

  Silence hung until Lacey realized that the waiter was waiting for her to give him her choices. Unfortunately, she’d been too busy checking out the decorating and not paying enough attention to the menu. “I think I’ll have this one.” She pointed to the Linguina Frutti di Mare, recognizing the name from the supermarket, although she’d never tried it before.

  “I’ll be right back with some fresh bread for you.”

  The waiter picked up the menus and left.

  “You could have taken more time if you weren’t sure what you wanted.”

  “I know, but that one did sound good.”

  “It’s all good. Whether Tony makes it or Mrs. Delanio.”

  While they waited for their meals to arrive, Randy filled her in with some tales from Bob’s mother’s kitchen. When the waiter finally delivered the food, Lacey’s sides were beginning to hurt from so much laughing.

  She wiped her eyes. “I think you should say grace. I’m not together enough.”

  Randy nodded. “Thanks, Lord, for this food, this time to get together and for the great day we’ve had so far. I pray for Your blessings on the rest of the evening—my time with Eric, and Lacey’s time with Susan. Amen.”

  Lacey began to eat, immediately savoring the delicious meal. “Remember that we can’t take too long here. What time doe
s this evening’s meeting start?”

  “Seven o’clock. We’ll be okay.”

  “Are things still going okay with Eric?”

  “You know I’m not supposed to talk about that. Anything you hear has to come from him. But I suppose I can say that he’s doing about average, although I have mixed feelings about him leaving his own church and coming to mine while he gets his head together.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he needs his nondrinking friends right now. I don’t know if I could be where I am today if it wasn’t for Bob, Adrian and Paul.”

  “Actually, I don’t think he has any nondrinking friends left.”

  “That’s too bad. No matter how stupid I was, Adrian, Bob and Paul were always there for me. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

  “It’s great that God has blessed you with such good friends. Have you known them long?”

  “We pretty much grew up together, and we do everything together, or at least we did until recently.”

  “Oh, dear. I hope you didn’t have some kind of disagreement after all this time.”

  “It’s not that. It’s just that now Adrian’s married and about to become a father, and Bob is about to get married. Paul is still single, like me, but he’s been getting busier and busier with other stuff. I guess I have, too.”

  Lacey wondered if one thing Randy had been busy with was helping others the same way he was now helping Eric. If so, she considered that quite admirable.

  They ate quickly, and Eric was ready and waiting when they arrived. As Eric and Randy left, Lacey walked into the living room to wait for Susan. When she sat on the couch, Kaitlyn climbed onto her lap.

  “Auntie Lacey, will you tell me a story before bed?”

  Lacey smiled. “Of course.” Since she knew she was genetically predisposed to be a bad judge of male character, she wasn’t likely to ever get married, which unfortunately meant she would never have children. But she loved both Shawn and Kaitlyn with all her heart, and they were the next best thing to a family of her own. “Go get a book you haven’t seen for a while, and we can do that.”