A Bridge of Her Own

by Heywood, Carey

  “Jane, you should have waited for me. I would have taken care of this."

  She sweetly replied. “No worries. I can take care of myself."

  Wyatt nodded and went to place his order as Jane found a table flanked with two cozy armchairs outside of the draft range of the entrance.

  When he came to sit down, he began, “Jane, it is so good to see you again. We must do this more often.”

  “Mmm,” was all Jane could manage in response. After a few moments of awkward silence, Jane said “So, tell me about your internship."

  That was all Wyatt needed to launch into a detailed monologue of the absolute honor of receiving such a sought-after position with a prominent local engineering firm.

  “That is very impressive, Wyatt” Jane said, trying her best to seem interested.

  “I know it’s impressive,” Wyatt sniffed.

  Jane thought to herself that he was humble as ever. She did her best not to giggle but looked forward to telling Lacey. Just then, she heard, “Is that you Jane?”

  She turned to see Gabe’s friend Matt behind her.

  “Oh hey, Matt. How are you?” Jane replied.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Wyatt huffed.

  “Of course,” Jane said flustered. “Matt this is Wyatt. Wyatt, Matt."

  “So Matt, how do you know my girlfriend?” Wyatt asked, puffing up his chest.

  “Your girlfriend?” Matt repeated, looking at Jane.

  Jane, meanwhile, felt frozen in place except for her jaw, which dropped as she looked at Wyatt in disbelief.

  She composed herself and pointedly said, “We used to date. We do not currently date."

  That managed to deflate Wyatt only slightly until he looked directly at Matt and replied, “For now."

  Matt laughed and returned, “Huh. That’s really interesting seeing as how Jane—”

  But Jane cut him off and said, “It was nice seeing you, Matt." He gave her an “are you sure?” look and shrugged when she nodded.

  Taking that is a hint, he said, “Jane, it was nice seeing you.” Then, he turned to Wyatt. “I’d say the same for you, but, well, you know I just can’t. Bye, Jane.” He left.

  Jane cringed, imagining what he would say to Gabe. She turned to Wyatt. “Why would you say that?” she exclaimed.

  “Jane, dear, I assumed that you understood that that is where this is going,” he returned, gesturing around them.

  “No. I did not assume a coffee to catch up with an old friend would constitute a rekindling of our relationship,” Jane groaned. She picked up her purse and coffee then took a purposely large final bite of her croissant and headed for the door.

  “Jane, don’t over react,” Wyatt called after her.

  Jane struggled to get the key into the ignition of her sedan. Once the car was started, she took five deep, cleansing breaths before shifting into reverse and heading home.

  She muttered to herself the whole way home. She alternated between “what a jerk” and “holy crap” and “oh my God.” By the time she got home, she may have been more ticked off than she was when she had left the café.

  “Lacey!” She called out when she entered the apartment. “You will not even believe what just friggin’ happened."

  She slammed her keys and purse down.

  Lacey calmly looked up from a fashion magazine. “Must be bad. You broke out a friggin."

  Jane relayed the café drama while pacing back and forth from the kitchen to the living room.

  “No he did not!” Lacey gasped.

  “I know, right?” Jane replied miserably. “Matt is going to totally tell Gabe. How awkward. Oh my God, what if Gabe cancels?”

  Lacey looked pensive and returned. “Well, this could actually work in your favor. If Gabe knows other guys are into you, maybe he’ll up his game."

  Jane replied, “I don’t even want to think about games,” and dramatically lay down across the sofa, pulling a pillow over her head.

  “Alrighty missy. It is not time to turn into a pumpkin ‘cause you have a prince coming to cook for you so let’s get you all dolled up."

  Lacey changed the TV channel from what she was watching to one of the top 40 music stations and blasted it. Singing and dancing around the coffee table, she pulled Jane up and followed her with her hands on Jane’s hips, shimmying her to her room. Lacey’s happiness was very contagious, and Jane was able shake off her anxiety.

  Jane tried on different looks for her dinner date, and with Lacey’s blessing, settled on a sassy blue jersey dress. The front was a bit low cut for Jane, but after the day, she felt a little daring. She re-showered and mentally allowed the stress and drama from earlier to melt away from her in the hot water. Lacey did her eye makeup for her, and earning brownie points, curled her hair too.

  When Jane looked in the mirror, she giggled

  “I feel like I’m going to prom." Lacey grabbed her cell phone and returned, “That must be why I feel like taking your picture.” She snapped a couple of shots, including one with her arm around Jane and their faces smushed together.

  “If we had a fireplace mantle, this picture would be hung above it." Lacey said, admiring her photographic skills then turning the TV off. “Babe, you look amazing. I’m going to beat feet and head to the mall to do some serious damage to my credit card." She blew kisses to her on the way out the door.

  Chapter 24

  Jane put on some simple strappy sandals and lit a candle. She took one last look around the apartment before there was a knock at the door. She took a deep breath, walked over, and checked the peephole. Gabe was standing there with flowers (another mental shriek) and a brown paper grocery bag. She opened the door smiling.

  “Any ex-boyfriends hiding in there?” he asked, peeking his head into the doorway.

  Jane flushed bright red “How embarrassing. I take it Matt told you we ran into each other today."

  Sensing her discomfort, Gabe grinned. “No worries. If I was ever dumb enough to lose a girl like you, I guess I would be trying to get you back as well."

  Jane beamed.

  “So,” he continued. “Now that that’s behind us, there is nothing stopping us from having a great night. These are for you.” Gabe handed her a beautiful bouquet of lilies.

  “Thank you. They are gorgeous,” Jane gushed. “Let me put them in a vase."

  She closed the door behind Gabe, and he followed her to the kitchen. She pointed out the bathroom on the way. As she set about filling a vase with water, he placed the grocery bag on the counter and unloaded its contents.

  “This is a nice place,” he remarked.

  “We like it,” Jane returned. “We’ve lived here just over a year."

  Jane carried the flowers over to a small bistro table the girls had off the side of their living room. It was small and meant for a patio but worked well as a dinning space in their quaint apartment. Ronald came to investigate him, coiling himself through his legs and smelling Gabe's shoes.

  “He must smell my dog,” Gabe said as Ronald slowly sniffed his shoes.

  “Come on, Ronald,” Jane said, scooping him up. “Try to be polite to our guest."

  She set him on his favorite perch on the back of the couch. He turned around three times than laid down, keeping his eyes on Gabe.

  "I’ll move the flowers when we eat, but for now, they look pretty here,” Jane surmised as she played with their arrangement.

  “They are not the only pretty things over there,” Gabe said. “You look really beautiful."

  Jane blushed and looked down, feeling very shy. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Gabe grinned and said “I hope you like chicken cacciatore because if you don’t I’m in trouble."

  “I love it,” Jane replied. “Can I help?”

  “All I need is a quick tour of where your pots, pans, and other cooking type gear is, and of course, your company while I cook."

  Jane pointed out where they stored their cooking gear. It was limited, but thankfully,
they had what Gabe needed for the meal.

  “Should I put on some music?” Jane asked.

  “Sure,” Gabe replied as he filled a pot with water.

  They both jumped when Jane turned on the TV since the volume had not been turned back down from earlier. Jane quickly turned it down and smiled sheepishly at Gabe.

  “I thought we were back in the club,” he joked.

  “Err, sorry. Getting ready music,” Jane grimaced.

  “No apologies. I do the same thing at home, just more rock than pop."

  Jane went with a channel that mainly played hits from the ‘60s and set it at a comfortable background noise level.

  “I wasn’t sure if you like wine or not. I brought a bottle of white and red in case you had a preference. Would you like a glass?” Gabe asked.

  “I’d love a glass of red,” she replied, moving behind him to take down a couple of wine glasses from a cabinet.

  The kitchen area was pretty tight for two. As she set the glasses on the counter, he turned to face her. She motioned to the drawer he was leaning against, and he stepped towards her closing the negative space between them. They locked eyes as she reached behind him to open the drawer and take out a bottle opener. She could feel heat radiating off of him as her hand fumbled around in the drawer.

  “It’s in here somewhere,” she mumbled as their eyes met.

  It probably would have helped if she was actually looking in the drawer and not into his eyes. She felt her mouth water. She could really use that glass of wine. Chuckling, he reached his hand into the drawer as well and their hands closed over it at the same time. They stood there frozen, and Gabe began to lean his face towards hers when BEEP! They both jumped at the notification ding that the oven was preheated.

  “I’ll open the wine,” Jane breathed heavily and stepped away. Gabe nodded and put the chicken in the oven and the noodles in the pan. Jane inwardly cursed the creator of the preheat notification. He set the timer on the stove, and Jane handed him a glass of wine

  “We have thirty-five minutes for the chicken to be done. Want to sit and talk while we wait?” Gabe asked.

  “Sounds good,” Jane said, stepping into the living room.

  “So tell me about yourself,” Gabe said, sitting down.

  “Well, I was born not far from here, and my parents still live in the house I grew up in. In high school, I was very shy, got good grades but was not into afterschool clubs. I went to VCU for their Art History program. I met Lace our freshman year. After graduation, I found out very quickly that I couldn’t move out of my parents’ house unless I found a paying job. One of my dad’s golf buddies set me up with my current job. It pays the bills, and I don’t have to work weekends so I’m pretty content."

  Jane took a deep gulp of her wine and said, “Your turn."

  Gabe stood as he spoke and moved the flowers from the table to the kitchen counter and began to set the table. “My dad was in the Air Force so we moved around a lot. We lived in Germany for a bit. He’s retired now. My folks live in New Hampshire now and spend their winters in Florida. We were living near D.C. when I was in high school so I ended up going to George Mason.”

  “I always wanted to be a teacher,” he continued. “I think it may have come from experiencing so many different ones over the years. I had some awesome teachers but some really rotten ones too. I played soccer through school and still follow the Barclay’s league today. I have an older brother, Jake, who is in the Air Force and stationed with his family out in Las Vegas now. I have a niece and nephew; they are a lot of fun when I get to see them. I have a house not far from the bar where we met. It needs a lot of work. I’ve been tackling one room at a time. So far, I have the main level almost done. I’m working on the kitchen right now, which is why I asked to borrow yours. It’s slow moving because I’m doing the work in my spare time. I have a bulldog, Baby. Babe for short. She is a lazy bum but a sweetheart.”

  At that, the oven buzzed, and Gabe got up to take the chicken out of the oven and prep the plates. He set the plates on the table and went back to also bring a couple of plates of salad with dressing. They both sat down to eat.

  After her first bite, Jane gushed. “Oh my God. this is really good. Where did you learn to cook?”

  Gabe smiled. “My mom is an awesome cook. I’ve got nothing on her, but she did teach me a few things."

  Once they were both finished, Gabe took both of their plates to the sink then rinsed and placed them in the dishwasher. Jane silently thanked Lacey for unloading the dishwasher while she was gone. She went and sat on the sofa and regarded Gabe as he dried his hands on a dish towel. He looked so cute and big in her tiny kitchen.

  Gabe refilled their glasses and asked Jane if she would like some chocolate.

  “Twist my arm,” Jane replied, grinning.

  He brought a package of really nice dark chocolate from the kitchen.

  “Fancy,” Jane remarked, looking at the package.

  “I told you I lived in Germany,” he laughed. “They don’t mess around with chocolate over there."

  She selected a chocolate in the shape of a shell, closed her eyes, and let it melt on her tongue. Gabe could not take his eyes off of her. She opened her eyes and caught him staring. She raised a brow at him in question.

  He cleared his throat and chuckled. “You look very sexy eating chocolate."

  Wow, it got hot in there; she had to resist the urge to fan herself. He selected a piece and plopped it in his mouth. She had to admit he looked pretty good eating it as well. Not sure what to do next, Jane took a big swig of her wine. There was a jingling at the door then a booming.

  “Honey, I’m home!” Lacey entered the apartment. “Ya’ll decent?” she called out.

  Jane choked out a “Yes.”

  So Lacey returned, “Pity. Do you want me to go back out so ya’ll can get to business?”

  “I’m going to kill you,” Jane sweetly replied.

  Lacey came into the living room carrying a few shopping bags from the mall.

  “Hey, Gabe. Man, it smells good in here. Any chance there are any left overs?” she asked hopefully

  Gabe nodded and got up to make her a plate. Their eyes met, and Jane shrugged. Lacey went to her room to drop her bags off. Jane went to meet Gabe in the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry,” she began.

  “Don’t apologize. I needed to take off soon anyways. As you know, it is a school night."

  “Don’t rush off on my account,” Lacey replied, coming back into the living room.

  “No worries,” Gabe said as he handed Lacey a plate of food. “I have to get back to my dog before she thinks I’ve abandoned her."

  He picked up in the kitchen, leaving Jane the rest of the chocolates.

  “I’ll walk you out,” Jane said, getting up.

  As they walked out of the room, she mimed strangling Lacey. While Lacey, mouth full of food, mouthed, “Sorry.” Jane grabbed a sweater as she and Gabe walked out together. The cool fall air gave her goose bumps. They walked in silence to Gabe’s car. He reached for her hand, and his hand felt warm when she placed her hand into it.

  “I had a really great time,” Gabe said as they approached his car.

  “Me too,” Jane replied, looking at her feet.

  “I’m up here, Jane,” Gabe said, placing a finger under her chin and slowly lifting it until their eyes met.

  They held each other’s gaze for a beat, and then he said, “Jane, I’d really like to kiss you right now. That okay?”

  He held his breath as she sighed, “Yes."

  He brought his lips almost to hers, and just before she closed her eyes, she saw him smile. His lips were soft on hers. They stood like that for a few seconds with his hand under her chin. They pulled back a bit, and he dropped his hand to her waist and pulled her back to him for a deeper kiss.

  When they both straightened, he said, “See you Wednesday. I’ll pick you up at 7."

  “I can’t wait,” Jane replied, feeli
ng light-headed from the kiss or the wine or some sort of combination of the two.

  She cringed inwardly afterward, thinking to herself, “Way to play it cool, Jane.” He smiled and got into his car. As she began to walk away, he started his car and pulled alongside her.

  He rolled down his window and said, “Goodnight, Jane”

  She turned and waved, and he waited until he had seen her reenter her apartment and then was gone. She floated in the living room where Lacey was just finishing her plate.

  Lacey regarded Jane for a moment before declaring, “Ya’ll totally kissed."

  Jane bobbed her head excitedly then twirled in place and squealed.

  “We did!” She went on to tell Lacey about her evening.

  Lacey was pleased to hear how he had played off the whole Wyatt hubbub and thought the flowers he brought were perfect. She then declared she was willing to let her bestie date him on the condition that he cook frequently.

  When Jane offered Lacey one of the chocolates he had brought, she inhaled it then very seriously said, “Marry him.” Jane knew Lacey was only joking, but she had to admit Gabe was total boyfriend material. After the girls each enjoyed another chocolate, Lacey went to her room to retrieve her goodies from the mall.

  “I got a dress I’m just not sure about. I’m going to put it on, and you tell me what you think."

  While Lacey went to change, Jane checked her cell phone. She had set it on silent for her date. There were three new voice messages and a text. The text was from Lacey. It was a picture of Lacey in the dress she was about to see. The most recent voicemail was from Wyatt and said, “Jane, do not be immature. To not return my message is very unbecoming.” Jane felt her blood boil. Delete. He had the nerve to tell people she was his girlfriend, and she was the immature one. The next message was again from Wyatt that said, “Jane, don’t be silly about this afternoon. Please give me a call.”

  The nerve. In two back-to-back messages, he had called her silly and immature. Delete. Then there was a message from her mother. It said “I want to hear all about your coffee with Wyatt. Call me. Love, Mom.” That was odd, she thought. Had she even told her mother that she was going to meet Wyatt? Her phone chirped in her hands to notify her of a new text. It was from her father and said, “Jane, please call your mother back to safeguard the sanity of an old man.”