Table for Two

by Brandy Bruce

  By the second time Leo excused himself to return a call to the restaurant, Mandy knew something was wrong. He slid back on the wooden bench seat next to her.

  “Leo, what’s up?” Mandy whispered.

  “It’s Monday night—usually our slowest night. Caitlyn, our seating hostess at the Franklin location tonight, called because we’ve had two large-party walk-ins. When I say large, I mean one of the parties has nearly forty people. So the cooks are scrambling...there aren’t enough people. They need help.”

  “Then let’s go,” Mandy said immediately.

  “I hate to do that to you,” Leo said, his forehead creased with anxiety. Mandy shrugged.

  “I’m the one suggesting it. You need to be there. We should go.”

  Leo sighed but Mandy knew he agreed. After a round of goodbyes, Leo walked Mandy out to her car.

  “So I’ll call you,” he told her.

  “I’ll meet you at the restaurant,” she insisted. Leo shook his head.

  “Mandy, you don’t need to go to the restaurant with me.”

  Mandy didn’t want to add to Leo’s angst, but she couldn’t stand the thought of just going home while he walked head-on into a stressful situation.

  “I want to help, Leo. I’ll wash dishes, wait tables, refill water glasses, whatever you want me to do.”

  He crossed his arms and looked at her quizzically. “Do you have any experience, Ms. Seymour?”

  Mandy chuckled. “Do two years as a waitress during college count?”

  The corners of Leo’s mouth tilted up. “You’re hired.”

  * * *

  By nine o’clock that night, the orders began to let up, allowing Leo, Adam and Crey to breathe easier. Leo had been informed that Mandy had bused tables, refilled drinks and bread trays, and cleaned the ladies’ room sink.

  He could have loved her just for that.

  Leo didn’t want to make comparisons, but it had crossed his mind more than once that Carol Ann had never offered to help out at the restaurant. Granted, he wasn’t the owner at the time. But he’d always been heavily involved and there were so many hectic nights working with his father.

  Thinking of Mandy going from table to table—even busing tables when the others were busy—made Leo want to drop everything, take her in his arms and tell her that she was exactly what he needed in his life.

  But he couldn’t.

  I couldn’t even make it through a Monday-night family dinner. How do I make room in my life for a relationship? Especially when I know that, for me, a relationship with Mandy could only be enough if I marry her. She’s not the kind of girl I just want to date. I know I would need more, want more.

  Once the doors were locked, Leo watched as Mandy laughed and joked with the staff. He recalled the way she pulled up a chair and sat down right next to his father at the family dinner, talking as if they were old friends.

  His chest tightened. After the disaster with Carol Ann, he’d sworn that he’d take his next relationship as slow as possible. So why did being around Mandy make him want to rush into things? He wanted fast and furious, not slow and steady.

  Annoyance rose in Leo. Why would God bring Mandy into his life right now when he felt pulled in every direction? It seemed that either God was throwing everything He could think of at Leo, or He wasn’t involved at all.

  Leo didn’t know which was worse: the thought that God was doing this to him, or that God didn’t care.

  As he walked Mandy to her car at nearly eleven o’clock, Leo sternly reminded himself of his list of obligations at the moment and his need to keep his head about him whenever he was alone with Mandy. The last thing he wanted was to lead her into thinking he could foster a serious relationship with her.

  Haven’t I already done that? Asking her to dinner? Introducing her to my family?

  The thought disheartened him.

  Starting right now I’m going to keep my distance. I’ll be her friend, but I can’t offer more than that until things calm down with the restaurants and my family.

  Mandy unlocked her car and tossed her purse into the passenger seat, then turned and faced Leo. Even exhaustion couldn’t take the shine out of her eyes.

  “Leo—” she began. His stern admonishment to himself vanished and Leo didn’t hesitate. He stopped her words with a kiss. It took only a second for Mandy’s restraint to melt away as she seemed to fold into his arms.

  When he finally found the willpower to release her, Leo felt more overwhelmed than before.

  He’d just fallen hard and fast for Mandy Seymour. So much for restraint.

  * * *

  Mandy drove home, her heart racing.

  It was just a kiss, after all, she told herself again and again. It’s not as though the world has stopped.

  But it had, and Mandy knew it. Her world stopped when Leonardo Romano invaded her personal space and kissed her, leaving her breathless. She touched her lips. A smile that started deep inside her made its way to the surface as she recalled that he smelled like marinara sauce.

  The text at 7:00 a.m. came as a surprise. Mandy could sense the urgency in the short message from Leo, asking her to meet him for coffee. She got ready in a flash and left for Starbucks by seven forty-five. When she walked in, he was standing by the door.

  The circles under his eyes caused Mandy to wonder whether he’d slept at all.

  “Leo?” She approached him. Unfortunately, Starbucks in the morning was a constant revolving door of people. “Let’s step outside,” Mandy offered. Leo’s glossy eyes worried her.

  “It’s cold,” he said, his voice thick with fatigue. Mandy took his hand.

  “We can talk in my car, then. Come on.”

  Once they were in her car, the heater warming them both, Mandy spoke up.

  “You might as well tell me, Leo. Something is obviously wrong.”

  He looked rugged and tired and unshaven, but Mandy couldn’t help feeling attracted to him. Still, she wasn’t the kind of girl to let her feelings run away with her. She swallowed her impulse to reach over and lace their fingers together.

  “Talk to me, Leo.”

  He groaned. “I feel like I can’t breathe, Mandy. The restaurants. My dad. God. My family. You.”

  The words stung. He’d added her to the list like another obligation.

  “I know you’re going through a lot right now,” she said as calmly as she could manage. “I told you that before. Are you saying you don’t want to pursue a relationship right now?” Mandy forced herself to ask the question.

  “I want that more than anything,” Leo said, almost angrily. “I just don’t see how it can work. It seems like God’s decided to give me more than I can take right now.”

  Mandy was quiet for a moment. “God doesn’t give us more than we can take, Leo.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Tell me that when your dad has Parkinson’s, when you’re trying to juggle two restaurants, when you’re constantly getting phone calls to either drop everything and run to the hospital, or drop everything and run to your restaurant. When your family is counting on you but you have nothing left.”

  Mandy felt the fight leave her.

  “Leo, all those things you just said—you didn’t mention God once. He’s not doing those things to you. You could sell the restaurants tomorrow and decide to do something totally different with your life, and He’d still be right there, walking with you on your journey. I definitely don’t believe He brought on your father’s illness. He loves your Dad even more than you do.”

  “Maybe He’s not causing it—but He’s letting it all happen. He’s just standing by while my father struggles with a debilitating disease that will continue to cripple him.” Pain saturated Leo’s words.

  Mandy reached over and squeezed his arm. “I’m so sorry. The
truth is that I can only imagine the hurt you feel about your dad right now. But I do know what it’s like to wonder where God is in your life, to wonder why He doesn’t seem to show up when you need rescuing.”

  Leo lost his pained expression and looked at her with interest. “It sounds like you have personal experience. Want to tell me about it, Mandy?”

  Mandy looked out the car window as snow began to drift down. Years of self-doubt, dismissal and heartache influenced her next words. “It wasn’t one thing that happened. It was moments piled on top of moments, starting way back in junior high—maybe even earlier than that. There were times when I was bullied in school, made fun of, laughed at. I learned to mask the hurt with humor, but that was only a mask. I was a senior in college before anyone ever asked me on a date. For a really long time I felt rejected and worthless. Even at home, I...well, I never felt good enough. Never accepted for who I was. So believe me when I tell you I’ve wondered why God lets bad things happen.”

  “How did you get past it?”

  Mandy exhaled. “It’s amazing, you know. We can rant at God, and in the same breath, beg Him for comfort. We can feel angry with God, and at the same time, desperate for Him. Even in those times when I felt as though God was nowhere near me, I’d find myself turning to Him, calling out to Him. Sometimes that’s all we can do. As far as I can tell, it’s not about ‘getting past it—’ it’s just a matter of trusting through it. Reaching out when it hurts. At least, that’s been my experience. In moments when I’ve felt alone, like I’m a total failure, and disappointed with my circumstances, I know I can pour out all those emotions before God. He’s big enough to handle it.”

  “Sometimes I feel so guilty for doubting, for being angry,” Leo confessed.

  “I know that feeling, too. It’s okay, Leo,” Mandy said. After a moment of silence, Leo started talking.

  “I care about you, Mandy. But right now, I just don’t think I can manage a relationship. I’m sorry.”

  It sounded as though his words carried the heaviness of regret, but he’d said them nonetheless. Only the gentle whirring of the heater broke the silence. Mandy reminded herself to breathe. She’d had a feeling something along those lines was coming, but she hadn’t expected to feel so hollow when Leo said the words. She hadn’t realized she was already so invested. She heard herself tell Leo that she understood and then heard him say something about how much he cared about her and that this wasn’t goodbye forever.

  Mandy concentrated on holding it together until he’d left the car. She drove to work, willing herself not to cry. But along with Leo’s insistence that he couldn’t pursue a relationship with her now, came a flood of old feelings that Mandy could hardly stand—disappointment, hurt and most of all, rejection.

  Chapter 11

  Mandy yelped and drew her hand away from the boiling pot.

  “Mandy? What happened?” Ashley dashed into the kitchen. Mandy sucked on the tip of her throbbing finger and shook her head.

  “Me! I’m such a klutz. I just burned my finger.” At that moment, boiling water bubbled over the pot and water began sizzling on the stove. Mandy jumped and as she reached for the handle to lift the pot away from the burner, her elbow knocked the cookbook from the counter to the floor, along with a saltshaker. White grains of salt shot out across the tiled floor.

  At that, Mandy broke down. She covered her face with her hands and cried. Silently, Ashley turned down the burner and moved the pot of boiling water. She picked up the recipe book and draped one arm around Mandy’s shoulders.

  “There, there, sweetie. Let’s go sit down. Forget dinner. I’ll order takeout from that Thai place you like. Though heaven knows what I’ll order. I hope everything’s not drenched in curry.”

  Mandy allowed Ashley to direct her to the sofa and wrap a fleece blanket around her. She tried to stop crying as Ashley disappeared into the kitchen to call for takeout, but stubborn tears were still escaping when Ashley rejoined her on the sofa.

  “Honey, you can cry all you want.”

  “I don’t want to cry at all.”

  “Well, you’ve got the Niagara Falls look goin’ at the moment that begs to differ,” Ashley replied.

  “This is silly. It’s not like we were in a serious relationship. I’ve only known him for a few weeks, really. We had a few dates, he cooked for me, he invited me to dinner with his family and he kissed me once.”

  “It’s not silly. You care about him. He’s putting the brakes on this thing and you have every right to be disappointed about that. Good grief, I’m disappointed.”

  Mandy sighed loudly and rested her head on the sofa. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. First of all, I have the worst luck of anyone I know. Second, he’s out of my league.”

  Ashley shook her head furiously. “Say that again and I’ll pinch you. Have a little faith, girlfriend. Okay, your luck might be questionable—it’s hard to argue that point—but it’s ridiculous to think he’s out of your league because he’s not and you know it. He’s got a lot on his plate right now, Mandy. Let’s wait and see what happens. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think we’ve heard the last from Leonardo Romano.”

  Mandy reached for the tissue box on the end table and one thought went through her mind.

  Oh, I sincerely hope not.

  * * *

  Leo sat at the wooden table in his parents’ home, sipping a cappuccino and poring over his father’s Italian recipe books. Most were older than Leo was. His father had brought them home from Italy when he was a young man, just starting out in the restaurant business.

  “What’s happening with that lovely young woman we met, Leo?”

  He shrugged as his mother walked through the kitchen and joined him at the table.

  “Not much. You know I don’t have time for that kind of thing right now, Mom.”

  His mom looked amused. “What kind of thing are we talking about?”

  “A relationship. Romance. Commitment. I don’t have room for those things right now. I wish I did, okay? But I don’t,” Leo said tersely.

  “Ah,” his mother said, unperturbed. “Yes, I see. And believe me, I understand. Your father has owned two restaurants for more than a decade, and it hasn’t been easy. Now you own two restaurants. The responsibility is enormous. The pressure is great.” His mother folded her hands on the table and looked Leo straight in the eyes. “But, Leo, if you let them become your whole life, you’ll hate the restaurants, rather than appreciate them. There were times when your father had more of a love-hate relationship with his businesses. And I had those times, too. But in the end, he loved Romano’s. He still does. It’s part of him. It’s the source that supported his family.”

  Leo pushed aside his cappuccino and rested his head in his hands. “Mom,” he moaned, “it’s more stress than I ever expected. I’ve always known I’d take over Romano’s when the time came. I didn’t expect to have this second restaurant, but that’s all right. But trying to keep everything afloat while Dad... While he—” Leo lost his words. His mother took both of Leo’s hands in hers.

  “Your father is here with us. I thank God every day for that, for every moment I have him in my life. And I feel honored and blessed to serve my husband, to help him through this. We are not the only family with illness, Leo. But how many families do you know that have the kind of love we have for each other? It’s a gift. Our family is a gift from God.”

  Leo tried to swallow but the well of emotion in his throat choked him.

  “Why isn’t God helping us? Why isn’t God healing Dad?”

  His mother straightened her shoulders and spoke with conviction. “I don’t know why he hasn’t healed Gabriel. But I can say with certainty that he’s been helping us. When my heart has been broken, I’ve felt God’s comfort. When I’m unsure about your father’s treatments or confused by his disea
se, my daughter has been there to patiently explain, to help me understand. God’s helped me through Isabella. And God gave me a son who was able to step in and take over when his father couldn’t work anymore. God helps me every day through you, Leo.”

  Leo sat motionless, humbled by his mother’s admission.

  “God might be trying to help you now, Leo, by bringing someone into your life who can offer support and even love.”

  Leo shook his head. “I care about Mandy too much to burden her with all the stress of my life right now.”

  Leo recognized the exasperation in his mother’s countenance. “It’s your decision, of course, Leonardo. But right now, I think you’re making the wrong one.”

  * * *

  Leo spent the following week consumed by his work, and by the week’s end he was completely drained of both energy and emotion.

  And he missed Mandy more than he thought he would.

  Saturday morning, his father requested that Leo and Isa come to the house for brunch. After sleeping in and taking a hot shower, Leo felt rested enough to join his family. As he walked through the door, the smell of fried potatoes filled his nostrils. He walked into the kitchen and his mouth fell open. His father stood at the island, kneading dough, as Isa seasoned a pan of diced potatoes. It had been so long since Leo had seen his father even attempt to cook that the sight of his dad up to his elbows in flour made Leo’s heart fill to capacity.

  “Dad?” Leo said in shock. His father smiled.

  “It’s a good day, son.”

  A good day—Leo had grown to appreciate every good day Gabriel Romano had. He slipped his jacket off and moved to the sink to wash his hands.

  Isa nodded toward the carton of eggs on the counter. “Mom wants scrambled eggs, Leo. Get started.”

  Leo grinned. Every family member had the tendency to be bossy in the kitchen, himself included.

  “Has Isa told you about her boyfriend, Leo?” his dad teased.

  “He’s not my boyfriend, Dad!” She turned to Leo to explain. “One of the physical therapists we refer patients to asked me out to dinner.”