by Laura Domino
The moment had come and gone in a flash. His only hope was that he could catch her in the coffee shop again tomorrow. He might see her if he’d come a little earlier and wait for her. He could get in line right behind her to order a second cup and strike up a conversation.
Adam started his slow walk back to his car. Trusty Rusty.
It occurred to him he could never ask Benita out on a date. If she saw him in that…No way he’d ever see her again. He could sell it and buy a new one. His heart sank. TR was a classic. Selling it would be ripping that beautiful mess right out of his heart.
Fishing for his car keys in his front jeans pocket, he thought about other options. He could borrow his mom’s car. No. Or he could rent a car for a date. That might work. No. Something would go wrong. He just knew it.
He opened the door and sat. Trusty Rusty might look better with a bit of sprucing up. It had been a while since he’d vacuumed the dark carpeted floorboard. And a coat of paint wouldn’t hurt. A little effort was all that was needed. If it could work on his own scraggly face, it could work on TR. He started the engine and headed home.
Let me get that door for you?
What a line. Who says that? The good deed of the day had given him a bad taste in his mouth.
He could finish his mission to give out compliments if he tested the limits of his determination. But his heart wasn’t in it anymore.
Part of him wanted to drown the failed attempt in a cold beer. That would hush the roar of disappointment as he jumped back into the death spiral of drinking.
His mom was already desperate for him to stop. If he wanted to show her that he wasn’t really a useless drunk, he could pick up all the canned goods and other nonperishable food in the kitchen and drop it off today.
And then go home and start on his next six-pack. Or not.
That woman’s face, still fresh in his mind, pushed him toward hope. He didn’t get her name.
But that didn’t mean he never would.
What if he challenged himself to get her name tomorrow? It was more to live for than a beer.
For now, he was back to delivering the food to the donation center.
Chapter 6
Benita hit send on the last email and looked at the clock on her computer screen. Time for lunch. She needed to work on the forms she had to sign and turn in before lunch was over. That had been delayed all morning when other things jumped up the priority list. She grabbed the papers, stuffed them into her backpack, and threw in another pen. Pens were always disappearing. It wasn’t her idea of fun to be ready to sign the forms and not find a decent pen. She would talk to Dee and Gail about that, but both of them were already gone to lunch.
There was a cafe not far away where she could grab a quick sandwich or salad while she reviewed her forms again for mistakes. Then she’d sign them. If there weren’t any tables available, she’d just take her lunch to somewhere nearby where she could find shade and solitude.
She looked inside the backpack and did a double-check for keys, wallet, forms, pens, mints for after lunch, and a purse-pack of wipes in case the only table that was available had a mess on it.
Everything was there. She was good to go. With one swing, the backpack balanced on her shoulder. All that was left was to find her shoes, which she always took off between her chair and the wall. One was visible, but the other was hiding. When she moved her chair out of the way, the backpack slid down her shoulder and landed on a stack of papers at the corner of her desk, scattering them onto the floor.
Benita looked at the time again. Scurrying around her office picking up papers was not in her plan. She only had a short time for lunch, and this wasn’t effective time management.
She finally put the desk back into good shape, put on both shoes, and hurried out the door. When she turned the corner, she almost stopped and went back for more desk straightening.
Robert stood in front of the elevator, waiting to ride it down to the lobby.
“Hi, Robert.” She didn’t look at him, but rather pointed her face to the button on the wall that showed by its brightness that an elevator was on its way.
“Miss Benita Finn, my friend. How are you?” Tony Award-winning friendliness. It was all for show. For some reason, he didn’t show her the kindness that he showed to others. Or maybe that was all in her head. No, he was definitely playing games with her. Always had.
Since other people were surrounding them, almost like theater in the round, she might as well take part in the chitchat. She looked at him. How could she give him enough syllables to have to answer? Just enough rope to hang himself. Not encouragement. Not a compliment. Just a statement of the obvious. “Prepared, Robert. That’s how I am.”
He stepped a little closer to her, his height advantage obvious as he loomed over her. His size wouldn’t intimidate her. She looked away, but she could still see him in her peripheral vision. “My goodness, you’re tall.” Not that this was a change from yesterday or the day before. Simply a signal that she wasn’t interested in a conversation.
He shook his head. “You mean I’m head and shoulders above the rest.”
She turned to see if the light above the elevators gave a hint as to which door would be opening first. Not interested in the conversation, she kept her lips sealed.
“You mean people look up to me.”
This was not working like she imagined it would. Benita wished she’d just said hello. Might as well sound nice to him as long as she had an audience. “You are looking good today, Robert.”
“Thanks.” He turned to one of the guys standing with him. “She has so much respect for me. It’s a little awkward sometimes.” He nodded at her and chuckled with the guys.
XOXO
Through the thin glass of the kitchen window, Adam heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. He put away the jelly and cut his sandwich in half.
“Adam?”
He looked up, ready to say hello. But he swallowed the greeting.
Mom brought a man inside with her.
With her voice at its sweetest, she instructed him to have a seat at the kitchen table. “Paul, do you want hot tea? I’m out of coffee. But I do have some terrific pound cake.”
“Mom.” Adam picked up half his sandwich and took a bite.
“Not now, Adam. Sweetheart, this is Mr. Ruddig. He’s a real estate agent. Paul, this is my son, Adam.” She went to the pantry and searched for something that obviously wasn’t there.
“Mom.”
“Sweetheart, have you seen the pound cake?” She kept looking. “And the new box of tea bags I had in here.” Her voice was disturbingly sweet. She was on a mission.
“Mom.”
She pulled her head out of the pantry and smiled at Paul. “Sorry.” Then she focused her gaze on Adam. “What, honey?”
“I did a good deed today.” He gave his best good-son smile, knowing what was about to hit the fan.
Mom spun around to look for the food donation bag. It was missing. She turned back around to him with her eyes big and round. “You didn’t.”
He shrank down a little, bracing for it. “Proud of me? A good deed?”
“Adam.”
“I went to the food bank today. Hurray.” His voice trailed in hesitation, waiting for the storm that was about to break open.
“I bought that pound cake yesterday. Yesterday.” Her gaze went to the ceiling as her ability to keep calm deteriorated completely. “See? See what I have to put up with?”
“It was your suggestion.”
“They don’t take pound cake. They take cans of food, not cake and tea bags.”
“I took the cans too. And then I gave them the tea bags and told them to heat some water because I was cutting up the cake.”
Mom looked at him. No smile. No words.
“When they said they didn’t have a machine to boil water, I came home and made sweet tea and served it to them hot in that 2-gallon, insulated, red…”
“Where is it now?”
“I told them to keep it. You can get another one that you like better.”
“Adam. Why?”
“They seemed to like it. And you were right. It felt good to serve others.”
“Adam, it wasn’t yours to give. You didn’t ask me.” She grabbed his arm and led him to a chair by Paul at the table. “Sit. You are a grown man, and you’re getting your own place.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Ruddig.” Adam shook his hand, neither one of them smiling.
“Paul, find him a place. Take him on home tours. Get him some appointments to see houses. Start right now. My son is moving out.”
Chapter 7
Tuesday morning. Bright and early. The clouds provided the exact amount of shade so he could pretend it was a cool fall day on his way into Fulton Ridge’s downtown area. Adam found a place by the door of the coffee shop again. He listened to the coffee grinder and the low mumblings of customers as he worked the whole situation out in his mind. His current coffee cup would save the table for him while he was in line to get his next cup. There were two chairs. He could invite her to sit with him. It would work out. How could it not?
He should practice on other people, but not just women. But that might be uncomfortable if she were to walk in as he complimented other women. Self-doubt flooded his mind.
Shake it off. He could do this.
A woman took a seat not three feet away from him. He smiled at her, but more of a nod than a smile. Toning it down was a good idea. “Good scarf. Brings out your eyes.”
She smiled and mouthed a silent, “Thank you.” That was the end of her eye contact with him as she opened a book and began to read.
He looked to see if anyone was coming down the sidewalk, about to enter the cafe. He couldn’t see very far away from the door, but no one was coming.
A few minutes later, a man came inside. The guy was probably in his fifties. So not elderly, but older. Well-dressed. Salt and pepper hair. Mostly salt around his temples.
“Looking good there.” Adam watched for his response.
The guy did a double-take and pointed to himself with raised eyebrows.
Adam gave a nod to the man as if to say, “Yes. Obviously. Who else would I be talking to? You’re the only one standing where I’m looking.”
The guy stayed where he was in the coffee line. “Thanks, man. But I’m not gay.”
Okay. So practice didn’t work out. Self-doubts were in full voice.
Then she walked in. Oblivious to all other mortals, she swept into the room like a goddess. Out of his league.
He had wasted his time coming here. There was no way she could be interested in him. She was perfect. Mysteriously perfect. A Mona Lisa. A modern day Cinderella. Except not in a ball gown. And he certainly wasn’t Prince Charming. Not today. He was doomed to failure.
But if you never try, you never win.
He had to try. Standing behind her in the coffee line, he took a breath to build his confidence. “I’ll buy your coffee if you’ll do me a favor.”
She turned to him. They were similar in height, almost eye-to-eye. “What’s the favor?” Her voice, richer and deeper than the average female voice, had a breathy quality to it.
In need of more confidence, he took another breath. Her floral soapy scent tickled his nose. His heartbeat sped up. The moment he’d waited for all morning had arrived. He swallowed down the nervousness and leaned into it with a smile. “I’m terrible at giving compliments. I need your help giving out five compliments.”
She smiled. “Unusual. Five compliments?”
“It’s worth a coffee, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know.” She studied his face.
This was no time to back down. He had to persuade her. “The blonde reading the book over there? I complimented her scarf. Said it brought out her eyes.”
“And?”
“She was scared to thank me out loud. I must look like some kind of serial killer.”
“No. Definitely not the serial killer type.”
“The guy paying for his coffee right now?”
She looked. “That one?”
“He thought I was gay because I said he was looking good.”
“Oh. Okay. You don’t look gay.”
He’d take that as a small bit of hope. At least he didn’t look gay. He wanted her to notice him as an available, attractive, boyfriend option. “So I’m in need of help. I’m asking you because you look smart.” That ought to tip the scale in his favor.
She nodded. “Hmm. So why five compliments?”
“It’s my good deed of the day. Doesn’t everyone do at least one good thing every day?”
“It’s a great idea, don’t get me wrong. But why five exactly?”
“Why not? Especially if I’m not good at it. By the time I’ve completed five decent compliments, I should have learned how to do a good job.” Hoping for a positive result, he widened his smile.
She laughed. “You’re cute. But I’m not doing it.”
Now he was cute. Things were looking up. “Thanks. Wait. Why?”
“If I do it for you, it’s cheating. It’s like I’m doing your math homework. You have to do it.” She stepped up to the counter and gave her order.
He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and reached for his card. It wasn’t coming out. Of course, today he was all thumbs.
She paid and stepped away from the register.
He intended to pay for her coffee, but he was too slow. Women love that kind of gesture, don’t they? But the moment was over. How was he going to keep her interest? Now that he was cute, it shouldn’t be that hard.
He ordered, paid, and stood beside her to wait for his cup.
“Get us a table, and I’ll bring your cup over.” She looked into his eyes. “Adam, is it?”
He stood silent, staring at her, waiting for words to come out of his mouth. She’d heard him give a name for them to put on his cup. “Yes.”
“Go. Get a good table, Adam.” She fluttered her manicured hand at him, shooing him away.
He took off in a daze. What had Mom said? Make a new friend? That’s a good goal. A new friend. He took a breath and sat down at a table in the back corner where isolation provided a curtain of privacy so they could get to know each other. He guarded the other chair.
XOXO
Benita stood alone, holding two coffees, looking for Adam. Why would a man just take off like that? She scanned the tables again, but she didn’t see him anywhere. The table by the door was vacant. Unless that cup of coffee was holding the table for someone. Nobody was rushing to retrieve the lonesome cup, so that table might be as good of a place as any. She set his cup down and sipped from hers.
Still standing, listening to the coffee grinder, her busy morning schedule popped into her mind. She had time to think through how she could train Gail on another project. When the coffee machines silenced for a second between customers, she heard footsteps coming from behind her.
“I had a table.” It was Adam. She was sure she’d seen him before somewhere else. He stood in front of her, almost breathless, with his hand sliding over his chestnut-colored and neatly-trimmed hair.
“Sit with me here, if you like. It’ll have to be quick. I have to go to work.” She took another sip, hoping he would sit. He didn’t.
“You were going to help me out. Remember?” He stared like a little lost puppy. Who could resist?
Stifling her need to laugh and enjoy his cute expression, she settled for doing him the favor, but doing it her way. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”
“It’s important to me to treat people well. If I can improve in that area, all the better.”
“Good for you. In fact, today, I’ll join you. I’ll give out five of my own compliments.”
Adam smiled and grabbed his coffee from the table. He headed for the door and held it open for her. “After you.”
Then it dawned on her why he seemed familiar. “Wait a minute. You were here yes
terday, weren’t you? I remember you now from yesterday’s door-opening experience. That happens so rarely these days.”
“That’s a shame. I guess kindness is somewhat of a lost art.”
They strolled together down the sidewalk toward her building. If she was a little late getting to her office, she’d be fine. That happened about as often as a man opening a door for her.
“You look like someone I saw at the Book Nook.”
“That’s it. I couldn’t remember where else I had seen you.”
“The magazines. I was between you and the tech magazines.”
She laughed. “Yes. I was in a rush. Do you check out the tech magazines too?”
“No. The car section was right next to it.”
“Cars. Of course. Those can be fun. So… compliments. I’m almost at my building. You’ve got three more to do. If I’m going to help you, I need to get busy. I don’t want to give anything away, but you haven’t complimented me.”
He looked at the ground with a grin. “You have a beautiful face. Striking features.”
“Well now, that’s not good. You weren’t even looking at me. If you don’t mean it, it doesn’t count.” She adjusted her backpack and tried to look threatening as they walked. At the look on his face when he made eye contact, it seemed she failed.
His slight smile and wide eyes suggested honesty. “You’re distractingly beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that inside the coffee shop, I didn’t hear you tell them which name to write on your cup. Your hand’s been covering your name this whole time.” He squinted. “What’s your name?”
She laughed. He was cute. “And here’s my building. I have to go now.”
He stepped back, shaking his head. “You’re kidding.”
“You have three more to do.”
“Just two now.”
“Right.” She couldn’t leave the little puppy-eyed man like that. “It’s Benita.”
XOXO
After a brief goal-setting meeting, Benita shooed Gail and Dee out of her office and refreshed her email inbox. The computer screen showed no new emails. Time to get back to work.