Page 28 of Finding Romance
“I did. But I’ve been traveling so much that it didn’t make sense to keep it dry docked year-round. So, I sold it last year,” he says, his voice tinged with a little sadness.
“Sorry. Maybe you could buy another one,” I suggest.
“Maybe, someday.”
“So…” I look around. “What should I be practicing?”
“We are practicing. This is just the part where we get to know each other,” he explains as he reaches for the bottle of wine he ordered and pours himself some. He offers me his glass and I take a sip. It’s surprisingly good for a red wine. I’m more of a white wine drinker.
“It’s good,” I declare.
He smiles again and takes a sip. Setting down his glass, he pours some for me.
“You said you were staying with your grandmother for a while. Do you speak to her often?” I ask.
I can see a flash of something cross his face. I can’t quite tell what he’s thinking. Did I overstep? Does he not want to talk about his family? He hasn’t said much about them.
“I do,” he finally says after a beat.
“So, Scotland, huh?” I ask.
He nods. I wait for him to continue.
“Isle of Barra,” he states. “It’s a small island in the…”
“Outer Hebrides,” I finish.
His eyebrows twitch a little as if he’s trying to not react to my knowledge.
“Yes,” he says. “My grandfather was a fisherman. Both of my grandparents grew up there. We had to take her to Stornaway to get her treated when I was there. She needed some treatment for her lungs because she had bronchitis and her foot needed X-rays. She couldn’t do much around the house after we got back home, so I stayed and helped. I didn’t want to leave until I knew she was strong enough to be on her own, aside from when a young woman comes in to help her out during the week.”
“I bet it’s hard to live out there alone,” I say as I remember visiting the islands in middle school with my mom after she had run a race in Scotland.
“It is. So, when did you go there?”
Our food arrives and I spend dinner telling the story of my travels, wondering if I met his grandmother when we spent two nights on the island.
“Where to now?” I ask as we finish eating dessert. Kasen didn’t order any but he keeps stealing bites of my gelato.
“Not far,” he says.
He pays despite my protest that I should pay, and we walk back to the car.
We drive back toward Hearts Lane and stop at an old theater close to the apartment building. He finds a street spot and we walk a block. It’s showing two old movies. I pick one and we get tickets. He asks if I want popcorn and soda and I shake my head. I’m still full from dinner. So we find seats in the theater and settle in to watch the film.
There are only one or two other people in the theater and none near us. I shiver, realizing I’m under an air-conditioning vent.
“Cold?” he asks.
I nod and he leans over, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I curl up against him as best I can with the armrest blocking me, but he’s warm enough that after a few moments, I feel less chilled. The film is a thriller and I think we’ve both seen it, but we sit and watch in silence. At some point, I feel his thumb making small circles on my upper arm. I don’t push away, instead, I snuggle up more against his hard warmth, breathing in his cologne as I watch the ending of the film.
The drive back to one-eleven Hearts Lane doesn’t take long. He finds a spot on the street in front of the café and walks me to my aunt’s door.
“Did you have fun?” he asks.
“I did. Thank you,” I say as I look down at my feet unsure of what to do on this practice date. I steal a glance up at him from beneath my lashes. “Did I do OK?”
He nods. “Yes. When you find a topic to discuss, you are very good at talking to people.”
