Page 16 of Grateful in Watch Hill
The server returned with the check, and Seth signed it. For the first time in forever, I felt genuinely hopeful and lighter. It had been a hard period for everyone, and no one was unaffected by the many changes, but the stress and strife had brought good things too. It strengthened my relationship with my dad, made me realize the value of a hard day’s work, and allowed me the chance to reconnect with people I wanted more of in my life, Seth being paramount among them. And in two days, I had a chance to start my career in a new way. I might be bruised and battered, but I wasn’t dead.
Not at all.
“Shall we?” Seth asked after he closed the bill.
“We shall.”
We exited the restaurant and strode out into the parking lot that united Sam’s Deli with the rest of downtown Watch Hill. I buttoned my blazer and hunched my shoulders against the nighttime breeze.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“Not really. It feels kind of nice. I always enjoy this time of year, because soon it will be shorts and T-shirt weather. I like the transitions.”
“I do too.” Seth gestured at the arched pathway between the parking lot and the street. If we walked through, we’d pass The Pink Box, Already Perked coffee shop, and a few other stores lining the main route to the town square. “Want to take a walk?”
“I wish I could, but I need to get back.” I hesitated. “I don’t want to be gone too long with my dad’s health the way that it is.”
“Understandable.” Seth’s expression fell a little; my refusal had disappointed him. “Well, let me at least walk you to your car.”
“Thanks.” I hooked my thumb over my shoulder. “It’s that way.”
It was only a few hundred yards to the car, but I moved as slowly as I could, conscious that I was drawing it out, making it last as long as possible. I wanted to savor every moment, wanted to memorize every second. Being with Seth was refreshing, but also a mix of old and new I hadn’t expected to get back.
And here it was, right in front of me.
“This is my car,” I said when we arrived at the SUV. I sighed. The evening had to end sometime. “I guess this is goodnight.”
“I suppose it is.” He turned to me. “This was really fun. More than that. It was—”
“Special,” I said, adding in the word on the tip of my tongue.
He nodded. “Special.”
“The beer cheese was just as good as I remembered.”
“That’s what I was the most worried about.” He laughed. “Could have been a major disappointment.”
I laughed too. “Thank you for this. Thank you for just letting things... be.”
“You’re welcome.”
Seth stared at me for a long moment, and I felt something change between us, an invisible shift that told me this wasn’t just a friendly dinner, this wasn’t just a moment between two people who had known each other before the pandemic and wanted to catch up after. This was something more.
Much more.
“Well, I guess I need to go.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t want to keep my father waiting.”
But I do. I do want to keep my father waiting so I can spend more time with you.
“Goodnight, Seth.”
He stepped forward. “Goodnight, Kendra.”
My lungs hitched. Is he going to kiss me? The thought scrolled through my mind, overtaking everything else. I wanted him to; I’d wanted him to kiss me for a long time, probably since the first time I’d worked for him, when he’d slipped me a devasting smile and made me feel like there was no one else around. I liked Seth. A lot. He was more than just a friend.
And then he stepped away. “I should let you go.”
“Okay.”
