“It was starting to rain, remember? I was in a hurry and I thought you had taken the card. I suppose it was caught in the wind and blew away.”
Drew nodded. “It was gusting rather strongly as I recall.”
They sat without talking for a moment, Drew looking down at the table, while Amy studied the clouds passing overhead.
“I was happy you suggested meeting here.” She looked around the café. “I’ve wanted to eat here since the restaurant opened. I saw a review in the Post and Courier a couple of years back. I don’t think the reviewer had a bad thing to say about it.”
“That’s uncommon.”
“Certainly is. Let me see, what did he write?” Amy thought for a couple of seconds. “Oh, yes. ‘Some of the best food in the low country.’ I think he was here for dinner and he especially mentioned the crab cakes topped with a shrimp-cheese sauce. ‘None better in the Holy City,’ he said.”
“I wouldn’t argue. The crab cakes are quite good. You’ll find the brunch menu is excellent too.”
Amy could think of nothing to say and she looked around, searching for the waitress, sighing with relief as she saw her coming their way.
“You know, Cathy was originally going to meet with Jody Watson, my colleague, but he had to be out of town.” Drew smiled. “I’m glad that he did.’
“So am I.”
Amy took the menu from the waitress, and Drew reached over, pointing halfway down it.
“I especially like the french toast,” he said. “They use sourdough bread, top it with strawberries and whipped cream.”
“Yum. I was hoping for something more than eggs and bacon.” Amy inspected the menu. “The crepes look really good too.”
“A friend of mine swears by the blackberry crepes.”
“Oh. I adore crepes. When I was in college, there was a restaurant in Atlanta that had an entire menu of crepes—appetizers, entrees, desserts. It had a really cute name…”
“Was it the Magic Pan? We ate there once when I attended a convention in Atlanta.”
“That’s it. I loved to eat there.”
Amy looked over the menu. “Everything looks so good. It’s hard to decide. I think I’ll take your friend’s suggestion.” She looked up at the waitress. “I’ll have the blackberry crepes, please.”
“I’ll have the french toast.”
The waitress left, and Drew sipped his tea. “You told me that you have three children. Catherine is your youngest as I recall.”
“That’s right. Elaine is my oldest. She just turned thirty. She and her husband, James, live in town with their two children. Rich is my son. He works for Bank of America in Charlotte. He and his wife, Heather, have a new baby. Well, she’s not really new. She was born in late July, just after I returned from Colorado.
“What does Elaine do?”
“She’s a mommy. No interest in anything else. Drives children around, keeps house, cooks, gives orders.” Amy laughed. “I always call Elaine our mother hen. She takes charge of any situation, tells everyone what to do.”
“And they fall into line?”
“Used to. She was much older than the others and they looked up to her. Now, of course, neither Rich nor Cathy is so cooperative, but she still likes to be in control. She even tells me what to do.”
“And you fall into line?” Drew was grinning.
She chuckled. “Sometimes. Unless it’s important. You know how with some people it’s just easier to go along with them than it is to argue? Elaine is one of those people.” She shook her head. “She’s been worse since Jack died. She doesn’t seem to think I have enough sense to manage on my own. Doesn’t want me working full-time. Was afraid I would get lost or something when I went to Colorado.”
“But you went back to work and you went to Colorado.”
“Like I said, if it’s important, I do it anyway.”
The waitress brought their plates and set them down on the table, then she smiled and said that she’d come back to check on them shortly.
Amy took a bite of a crepe. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste of blackberries mixed with sweet cream. “Oh. The crepes are divine. I love them. Is the french toast this good?”
“Have a bite.” Drew cut a small piece of toast and placed it on her plate.
“Oh. It is good. Does everything here taste like these?”
“Pretty much.” Drew nodded. “Pretty much.”
“This will have to become a tradition. Are you game?”
“Definitely.”
Drew poured a splash of strawberry syrup onto his plate, and Amy sprinkled powdered sugar across her crepes. They didn’t talk for a couple of minutes while they savored their meals.
Amy sighed. “Delicious.”
The waitress returned and poured more tea, and Amy sipped hers. “You told me that you have two children. What are their names again?”
“Matthew and Jennifer. Jennifer and her family live in Columbia. Matthew is in medical school at Duke, in Durham.”
“Grandchildren?”
Drew chuckled. “I often tell people that I’m too young to be a grandfather, but Jennifer has two children. Lucas, who is five, is Andrew Lucas, named for me. Sarah Diana is six months.”
“She’s named for your wife?”
Drew nodded.
“That’s nice.” Amy took the last bite of her crepe. “Elaine wanted nothing to do with family names. Rich and Heather named their daughter Elizabeth, though. My name is Amy Elizabeth. They call her Eliza.” She smiled as she thought of her granddaughter, and then she grew serious. “Your wife never knew her granddaughter?”
“No.” Drew gazed down at the table before returning his eyes to Amy. “She knew that Jennifer was having a daughter, though, knew what they would name her.” He looked away again.
Amy put her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry. I should not have asked. Sometimes I speak before I think.”
“It’s all right.” Drew gave a small smile. “Di would have loved a granddaughter. She spoiled Lucas terribly. Her Visa would have been an absolute disaster with a granddaughter.”
“Di was short for Diana, you told me.”
“That’s right. Her family was from Greece, and Di was born just after they arrived in the United States—three months after they arrived. When she was a child, she would tease her brothers and sisters—she had four siblings—telling them that she was a real American and that her country was doing them a favor by allowing them to stay. I understand that her brothers, in particular, would become irate, but she would just smile, point, and say that way to the boat.” He laughed. “It would generally pop out when they were arguing about something. Whenever Di was excited or tired, she had a slight accent, likely adopted from listening to her parents speak, but she would loudly proclaim that the United States was her native land.”
“Lots of good memories,” Amy said quietly. “It’s not my business, I know, but how did she die?”
Drew looked into her eyes, as if deciding what to say. “Di had a brain tumor. Its location made it inoperable. The symptoms appeared last summer, while we were in the mountains.” He toyed with the remains of his french toast, idly pushing the small pieces around the plate, chasing random dollops of syrup. “She entered the nursing home after Christmas and passed away a month later, January twenty-seventh.”
Amy’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “The same day as Jack.”
“What happened to Jack?”
“He died in an airplane crash. He and some friends owned a six-seat Cesena. He went down, crashing into the median of the interstate, north of Columbia. No one was with him. No one knew where he was going.”
She fingered her necklace as she looked up at Drew. “I feel certain that he killed himself.”
“Was he depressed?”
Amy shook her head. “Not as far as I know, although I’m not sure he would have told me if he had been.” She took a deep breath. “You remember I said I had always wanted to eat here? Well, Jack looked a
t the menu once and made fun of it. ‘Food for women and snobs,’ he said. I asked several times, but he always refused to bring me.”
She paused, looked down, absently arranging her silverware on the plate. “About two weeks before he died, I found a receipt from the café stuffed in one of his coat pockets—I was taking the coat to the cleaners. It was from the day before, six thirty at night. He had told me he needed to work late that night and he’d arrived home after ten.” She looked up at Drew. “Jack had been having an affair for almost ten years. I had him served with divorce papers the morning he died.”
He put his hand on her arm and squeezed it gently. “You blame yourself.”
She nodded. “Intellectually, I know it was not my fault, but I feel as if it were. I could have…”
“Done nothing? You may have provided the occasion for what he did, but he made the decision.”
Her eyes were filling with tears. “I know.”
“It must have been hard on your family.”
“It was. Totally unexpected, of course. None of the children knew about the divorce.” She took a deep breath. “Quite a conversation for a first date.”
“Is this a date? Or two friends having lunch?”
“Cathy said it’s a date. She and her boyfriend left for the zoo this morning, and as she left she called out, ‘Behave yourself on your date.’” Amy chuckled. “She was standing by Bob’s car and she shouted. Some of the neighbors were in their front yards and they all turned to look. I could feel myself blushing.”
Drew laughed. “Cathy seems to be very bright. I’ll defer to her opinion.” He took her hand. “I’ve enjoyed our first date very much.”
“I have too.”
He cocked his head to one side. “If we say it’s our first date, does that not imply that there will be others?”
Amy smiled. “We’ve already agreed that lunch here will be a tradition.”
***
Drew glanced at his watch as they left the café. One thirty? Two and a half hours? It had seemed like thirty minutes.
They stood on the sidewalk, neither speaking. Amy was studying her shoes, as if unsure what to do next, and Drew was watching the cars passing by.
“Drew. How are you?” Jody Watson came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Good to see you.”
“Hi, Jody. Where is Lee?” Drew looked around for Jody’s wife.
“Over there.” He pointed to the patio where Drew and Amy had been sitting. They had walked right past Lee as they’d finished lunch. She waved and smiled.
“She badgered me into taking her out for lunch. Said that I’m becoming set in my ways and that I need to be more adventurous.” Jody laughed. “Pretty sad when lunch out on Saturday is adventurous.”
Jody made no move to join Lee. A big smile covered his face.
Drew looked at Jody, then at Amy. He felt awkward having run into his friend unexpectedly like this. “Ah, Amy, this is Jody Watson. We work together.” He looked down at the walk as he shuffled his feet. “Jody, this is Amy Barrett. She is Catherine’s mother.”
“Hello, Jody.”
“Amy! It’s nice to meet you. Drew talks about you—”
“Jody.” Drew put his hand on Amy’s arm and took a half step away, hoping Jody would take the hint. “We were just leaving.”
Jody ignored him and continued. “So, Amy, I understand that you were able to distract him on your flight from Denver a couple of months ago. Quite a feat.” He glanced at Drew from the corner of his eye. “We were on a flight to Seattle last year and Drew buried his face in a neurology journal—exciting reading, I assure you—and I think I heard two words from him the entire time. He grunted at the flight attendant to indicate he wanted lunch. You’ll have to tell me how you did it.”
“Watch out for Jody.” Drew put his hand on Amy’s shoulder. “He’s a psychiatrist and he loves to play mind games. He’ll ask how your day has gone, and you’ll find yourself talking about your childhood.”
“Speaking of your childhood, Amy,” Jody began.
She laughed. “My childhood was wonderful, Dr. Watson.”
“Call me Jody. Dr. Watson makes me sound like a character in a Sherlock Holmes story.” He paused, a wicked smile on his face. “And your day, how has it been?”
All three laughed, and Amy squeezed Drew’s arm. “My day has been quite pleasant.”
“Pleasant?”
“Enough detective work, Dr. Watson, Lee is waiting,” Drew interrupted. “You don’t want her to eat without you. The food is too good to miss. Be adventurous.”
Jody chuckled. “You two have a good day.”
They watched as Jody sauntered into the restaurant, joining his wife. He whispered in her ear and both turned to watch Drew and Amy.
Drew sighed. “For a psychiatrist, Jody loves to talk.”
“Isn’t that what he does for a living?”
“I suppose.” He shook his head. “But by the time I reach school on Monday, his report will be posted on Facebook.” He looked back. Jody was busy with his iPhone. “It may be already, in fact.”
“Will that be bad?”
“Not at all.” He shook his head again. “Heading home?”
“Not right away. Have you ever been in Words Words Words?” She gestured across the street to a store, whose front window was filled with books.
“Surely. I used to practically live there before Di gave me an eReader. I didn’t like it at first, but now I use it as I would a real book.”
“Elaine’s birthday is next week and I want to buy her a book. Come help me. Or do you have plans?”
“Nothing at all. I’ll enjoy it.”
As they entered the store, Amy sighed. “Elaine is so difficult to buy for. A book is all I can think of, but I have no idea which one to buy.”
“What does she like?”
“Witches, demons, vampires, and werewolves, if you can believe it.” So out of character. She loved Twilight. She camped out to see the movie.”
“Has she read Discovery of Witches? It’s all about witches and werewolves. Provides an interesting perspective.”
“What do you mean?”
“Since witches and werewolves are not real, you can explain them any way that you want, have them do anything that you want. The author has an interesting view.”
“Sounds good.”
***
They’d poked through the store for over an hour until Drew suggested a coffee and they then strolled the two blocks to Starbucks.
“These mochas are so good.” Amy sighed. “Sometimes I have one after dinner and let it be my dessert.” She looked across the table at Drew. He had taken the top off his latte to let it cool. “I still blush when I think about spilling my coffee on you.”
He smiled. “It was rather hot.” He sipped his drink. “I was angry at first, but when I turned toward you, you looked so pitiful.” He shook his head. “I wanted to laugh.”
“I remember that you went to the restroom.”
“I held it together until I closed the door. I’m sure the passengers in the first row heard me laughing.”
“Cathy told me that the stain came out.”
“It did. I’m wearing the pants today. You didn’t recognize them?”
“Mom!”
Amy looked up to find Barb standing beside the table.
“You’re here. Having coffee. With a—” Her eyes drifted to Drew. “With a man.” Barb grinned. “I mean, how are you?”
“I’m fine, Barb. I’ve never seen you here before.”
“No, no, I live across town, but I’m here and…gosh.” Her eyes remained glued to Drew.
“Barb, this is Drew Nelson. Dr. Andrew Nelson. Drew, this is Barb Jones. She works in my office.”
Barb pulled a chair to the table and plopped into it.
“Barb is one of our lead programmers, Drew.”
She waved the compliment away. “Nothing like Amy. She’s our chief troubleshooter. You have a problem
, you go to Amy. If it can be fixed, she can do it.”
Amy studied Barb’s face. She seemed to be sincere, but she had never complimented Amy before.
“What kind of doctor are you?”
“I’m a psychologist. I’m in the Department of Neuropsychology, at the medical school.”
“Wow. Can you interpret dreams?”
“Barb, come on.” Amy rolled her eyes.
“I mean it. Ask Amy about the dream she had last week.” She turned to Amy. “How did it go? Oh yeah, you were in the mountains and you were being chased by a snake.” She looked at Drew. “A big, long snake. Isn’t that how it went?” She looked at Amy, then back to Drew. “Finally, she saw a cave, ran into it, and the snake followed her, and—”
“Then I awoke.”
Barb smiled impishly. “What would a dream like that mean, Dr. Nelson—Drew?”
“I wouldn’t touch that dream.” He laughed. “Certainly not in mixed company.”
Amy shifted uncomfortably in the chair while Barb giggled.
“Well, I need to go.” Barb stood, a look of satisfaction on her face as she picked up her cup. “Hot chocolate. I don’t drink coffee. You two have a good date—I mean day, have a good day,” she called over her shoulder.
Amy watched Barb as she left the store. The door closed behind her, and she whipped out her cell phone.
“She’s texting,” Amy told Drew. “And you think Dr. Watson will post a report.”
“I had thought of posting our lunch myself, but Jody and Barb will make it unnecessary.” He looked into Amy’s eyes and they both started to laugh.
She reached across the table and took his hand.
His eyes went from the window back to Amy. “Your friend just took a photograph.”
“She needs proof, I suppose.” Amy was still laughing.
“Barb calls you Mom? I thought she was Elaine at first.”
“It’s a reference to my age. I’m both the oldest, and the newest, programmer in the office. Barb resents the fact that I have a private office. She had placed dibs on it when Billy Roberts retired, had already planned how to rearrange the furniture.”
To Fall in Love Again Page 7
