Page 55 of Reformation

“Do I have a choice right now?” she teases.

“You do. Where we’re going doesn’t have reservations. So if you don’t like it, we can find somewhere else.”

She doesn’t answer me, so I risk a glance over to her. She’s looking at me, almost as if she was shocked by my words.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Dr. Garrett Dixon. Renowned orthopedic surgeon. Benefactor to numerous charities in Virginia. The man who doesn’t own a piece of clothing from a discount store, is taking me on a date to a restaurant without a reservation?”

“You can say I’m trying something new.”

This earns me a bigger smile. “I like new. And I love seafood.”

* * *

“Wow. When you said you were taking me somewhere and it would be just the two of us, you weren’t lying.”

“This place may be small, but you’re about to have your socks knocked off. Make sure you get the lobster bisque.”

I lead Paige into Larry’s, a hole-in-the-wall seafood place that has the best lobster and crab cakes you can get in Virginia Beach. If you blink, you’ll miss it. It’s in a four-store plaza between a T-shirt shop and a discount cigarette store. It doesn’t even have a sign above the door.

It’s the best hidden gem in town.

“How did you find this place?” Paige asks, taking a seat in the booth we are directed to.

“Mark actually brought me here. Right when I moved to town. I was in a bad way because… well, I’m not going to bore you with all of that. He brought me here, stuffed me with lobster, and helped me formulate a game plan to get back on my feet. He even had the roommate he found for me meet us here so we could make sure we hit it off.”

“Roommate? I didn’t know you ever had a roommate,” Paige says as the waitress puts down our waters.

I order us an appetizer and ask for a few minutes before ordering. “Yeah. Erik. I lived with him for a few years. It helped to split expenses as I was getting my new practice off the ground.”

“Do you two still talk?” Paige asks before taking a sip of water.

“No. He shot himself after trying to kill Charlie and Mark.”

Water. Spit. In. My. Face.

I knew that comment would get a reaction from Paige. I just didn’t realize that the reaction would be her water all over me.

“Garrett! What the heck! You can’t drop a line like that when I’m mid-sip! That’s just plain ol’ not nice!”

I laugh, wiping away the last bit as I give her the brief explanation of what happened with my former roommate before we place our food orders.

“I love it when you get all Southern when you’re mad. Also, right now. You have to tell me. Why don’t you use cuss words? Because if anything earns me a ‘you son of a bitch’ it’s right now. Spill it, Angel.”

She takes another sip of water and swallows it before starting.

“It’s because of the kids.”

“Kids? As in your students?”

She nods. “I used to cuss, but I’d only do it when I was really mad, or like right now when someone does something not nice that takes me by surprise.”

She gives me a fake glare before continuing. God, she’s so cute.

“Anyway. I was doing my student teaching. I was in a first-grade class where every day the kids tested my patience. You know the saying ‘Jesus, take the wheel’? I said it about every day, and I gave up going to church when I was ten.

“One day, the kids were trying me, and the regular teacher was out sick. They had a substitute, but she was seventy-five years old and just a warm body to fill up space, so I was in charge of the class. I still to this day don’t know what happened. Before I knew what was happening, a mini mutiny was on my hands. Kids were pulling hair, someone dumped a bottle of glue onto someone’s head, and I’m pretty sure two kids were running around the room without their pants on. And I… I lost it. I swore. I used all the curse words. I said curse words I didn’t know you could string together. I completely lost it.”

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