Page 23 of Picking Pismo

“Ruggedly handsome?” asked David teasingly.

Claire laughed then shook her head, and said, “That’s a given, but no, kind, generous, compassionate. Those qualities are more of what I’m looking for.”

“Isn’t that what everyone is looking for?” asked David.

“You’d think so.” Claire glanced out the window. “But I don’t always think that’s the case.” She waved it off. “Anyways, I’m glad I met you now, not earlier.”

Shifting forward, inches from her, fire filled his gut. His pulse galloped while his hands became clammy. David reminded himself to reply. “Luckily, most of life is in the timing.”

Claire’s posture stiffened. His words hadn’t landed the way he planned. What he meant to be fun and flirtatious came out entirely wrong. The timing of her mom’s death certainly wasn’t good timing.

“I— I’m sorry,” David stammered. He tried to backtrack. “I think that came out wrong given the circumstances of your mom’s passing.”

With misty eyes, Claire swiped at them. “I do believe that, most of life is in the timing. I even believe God has a hand in everything.” She ran a hand over the top of her hair then swept it to the side. “It’s hard though. I still don’t understand the injustice of it. Mom dying…”

David reached out and grabbed her hand, letting his fingers intertwine with hers. “I’m sure it’s difficult. I wish I had anything better to say.”

Claire glanced out across the restaurant. “This was Mom’s favorite place. We came here a lot before Alexis was born, when my dad was still in our lives. After he left, Mom didn’t like coming anymore, at least not until the memory of my dad was so far gone…” Her voice faded away. “It was like he never even existed.”

Giving her hand another squeeze before letting go, David said, “Maybe we can make new memories here. Ones which remind you of the good times not the bad.” Shifting, David glanced out the window, watching the people on the sidewalk walk on by. He exhaled. “I used to come here with my ex-wife too.” He swung his gaze back to Claire, gauging her reaction.

Pausing, Claire bit her bottom lip. “Divorced?”

David gave a slight nod.

“How long?” asked Claire.

David took a sip of his water before he answered. “Three years.”

Rearranging her silverware, Claire asked, “Do you have any kids?”

“No,” David shook his head. “No kids. She didn’t want them, but I did. I hold out hope someday to have them. How about you?”

Claire paused, her hand lingering over her fork. “Am I divorced?”

David shook his head. “No, do you want kids?”

Smiling, Claire replied, “Yeah, I want kids. I want a whole minivan of them.” With a wave of her hand, she added, “I’m not divorced by the way. I’ve never been married.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the delivery of the food. The steaming hot bucket of crab, shrimp, mussels, and corn on the cob was dumped onto the middle of the table. A server gave them their crab cracking kits, complete with a bib, wood mallet, and metal shell cracker tool.

Claire’s hands flew to her cheeks as she took in the sight of the table. “This is a ton of food.” She laughed, loosening a knot he didn’t know he had in his stomach. “But it looks delicious. My mouth is watering already.” She tied the bib around her neck.

David mirrored her movements, doing the same. He grabbed a crab and pounded it with the wooden mallet until it cracked. Digging out the meat, he popped a piece into his mouth. “I find this part highly satisfying.”

Her eyes sparkled back at him. “The aggressively hitting something with a mallet part?” Claire raised an eyebrow, picking up her mallet.

“Yes, precisely.” David continued to prod the crab, digging out the loosened meat. “Give it a try. Hitting things almost always makes anyone feel better, promise.”

Claire replied with mallet in hand, “Here goes nothing.” Whack. Whack. Whack. Claire pounded the shell of the crab. Then she burst out laughing. A sound more beautiful than anything he’d heard before. “I feel better already.” Then she tugged out a piece of the exposed meat. “I need to come here more often. Just to use this mallet.” Shoving the piece of crab meat into her mouth, she sighed, “It’s delicious too.”

“We could make it a weekly thing.” David picked up his mallet again, pounding on another crab shell. “Come here and pound out all our pent-up stress.”

Next, Claire picked up corn on the cob. “I like the way you think, David. I need to keep you around.” Holding his gaze, she took a bite of her corn.

His heart thundered. Sweat poured down his back. Fiddling with a crab leg, he set it down and wiped his messy fingers on his napkin. David gulped. “I’d like you to keep me around too.”

Claire paused mid-bite. Nodding slightly, she replied, “Then we agree, neither of us is going anywhere.” After chewing and swallowing, she wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Well, at least not for another two months.”

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