“Being that we went over the café/diner thing, it was just a thought.”
“But the name Clover will have to stay. Meryl won’t change that.”
“Okay. I actually like it; it’s different. What’s the significance?”
“Uh, it was my mother’s name.”
He slightly nodded. “Ah, I see.” He glanced at his watch and said, “Speaking of moms, I gotta head north. It’s my mom’s birthday and we’re having a party for her tonight.”
“Oh, that’s nice. How funny, though. My mom’s birthday is tomorrow.”
He studied me for a few seconds, and even though I had smiled when I said it, he looked like he felt sorry for me.
“Well, have a safe drive,” I said, standing up from the table. “I hope you have a good weekend.” He slowly stood, and as he did I said, “Do you want me to cash you out?” I went to pick up the check and his money, but he put a hand on mine to stop me.
“No, that’s fine,” he replied.
I looked at the twenty and chuckled. “She didn’t charge you for mine, you know.”
“I noticed that, but I always leave a tip.”
“Eleven bucks? That’s a very nice tip. Especially since she’s barely come over here, just to leave us alone.”
I was instantly embarrassed for saying that, and I could tell he knew that. But he just smiled and said, “I’ll see you next Friday, Nova.”
Chapter Five
I hated making decisions. Maybe most people did, but for me it was a tremendous challenge. I knew we had to make choices every day, but sometimes even the smallest ones made me anxious.
The morning after I saw Austin, I picked up my grandpa and we drove to the cemetery where my mom was buried. We put fresh flowers on her grave for her birthday and then sat on a bench and talked for quite a while. I told him all about my lunch with Austin the day before, particularly the business with the diner and the offer to work at his parents’ ranch. Gramps really didn’t have much to say opinion-wise, and he seemed to only ask questions.
Finally I asked him straight out what I should do and he replied, “How the hell should I know?” It made me laugh, but he did go on to explain that some decisions should be made on my own.
“You shove your opinions down my throat about silly stuff every day, and you can’t give me a tiny little thought about Bakersfield?”
“I think you know the answer, Nova.”
“That I want to go?”
“Yes. But I think what you’re struggling with is this young man that you seem to be throwing into the mix. Maybe you’re not sure how things are going to turn out with him, but I think you want them to turn out well. I think you’re actually measuring your desire to intern against your desire to have a relationship with Austin Gaines.”
I had to sigh because it was true, but I didn’t know if I was being stupid about it or not. My grandfather seemed to think that Austin was interested in me, and I had that feeling too, but I was afraid to let it go anywhere. What if I really did have a chance to move forward with my career goals? What if a relationship messed it all up?
I decided right then and there that college and a career were more important to me, and that Austin wasn’t going to be added to the mix. I couldn’t add him to the mix. I was grateful for meeting him, and I was thankful for the opportunity that I could possibly have to intern for a DVM, but I felt like there were only two doors I could open right now, and I was going for the door that led to my career. It had been my intent all along, and I was frustrated that I’d allowed myself to be distracted from my goal.
When the next Friday rolled around, I was almost a basket case. I pretty much threw myself into work and school (even more so if that was possible), just because I didn’t want to make a decision about Bakersfield. I wanted the answer to be easy, and I even made weird little bargains with myself like, “If Austin calls me, I’ll go to Bakersfield.” I knew it was a silly gamble because he didn’t even have my number, but I think I really wanted something to jump out at me and tell me to go.
Austin did arrive at the café just before two o’clock that Friday. I was just finishing up my shift when I saw him enter, and I was really ticked with myself because of how I felt when I saw him. Even Levi didn’t make my heart skip a beat like that and the guy had kissed me a few times. I liked kissing Levi, and he knew that, but he also knew that we weren’t a couple. We both spent time with other friends and other people, and didn’t expect any commitments from one another. It was more of a good friendship than anything, and I was happy just taking things slow with him.
But Austin was another story. I’d barely spent any time with him at all, but I felt like there was something weird going on between us. Something I couldn’t explain. Being that I’d decided on my career for now, those feelings really unnerved me.
I couldn’t help staring at him when he met Meryl at the counter and the two of them went to a booth to sit down. I was refilling water at table six as I watched Austin hand Meryl a piece of paper. She looked it over, said something to him, and he nodded his head. Then he handed her another sheet and—
“Hey, what the—?”
I was still pouring water, but it was no longer going into the glass.
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed. Mostly it just went on the table and the floor near me, but the guy looked pretty annoyed. “I’m sorry, let me grab a towel…”
Thankfully Robin handed me one on her way by, so while I quickly cleaned up the water mess, I continued to apologize to the guy and his wife.
“Nah, it’s okay,” he finally said. He’d used a pile of napkins to stop the water from running off the table into his lap, so I was thankful for that.
Once the incident was resolved, I headed to the register to cash out table eight, and by then I almost shouted for joy when Phoebe arrived to take my place.
I was in the back clocking out when Meryl approached me.
“Your lunch date is waiting for you,” she told me.
She hardly cracked a smile so I wasn’t sure what to think. I never did go over the whole story with her like I had with Robin and Phoebe because I was afraid she’d get upset with the teenaged drama.
I tossed my apron to be washed, and faced my aunt. “Uh…”
“He says he needs an answer, whatever that means.”
“Oh.”
She remained standing there, and I could tell she wanted an explanation from me. So I told her about Austin’s offer to visit his family’s ranch. We discussed it for a minute, and she asked some of the same questions that my grandpa did, but I didn’t get into the whole other half of the saga.
“So what about this business plan?” I asked her to change the subject. “Oh,” I added, realizing that she might not be happy that I knew about it. “I, uh, know about it, by the way. I’m sorry if that’s not okay…”
“No, it’s fine. He told me that you knew.”
“So? What, uh…what do you think of it all?”
She paused for several seconds before she said, “I think I’m going to do it. Scott and I talked about it and… It just sounds good. There are a few more things to work out first, and I’m going to have a couple of business friends I know look the entire thing over for me, but I feel pretty good about it.”
She actually looked excited, and for Meryl that was a surprise. She was usually pretty serious most of the time and hardly let her emotions go uncontrolled.
When I made it to Austin’s table a few minutes later I said, “You didn’t order anything yet, did you?”
“Uh, no I didn’t,” he smiled. “Why?”
“Because I’m dying for pizza right now. Wanna go a couple of doors down with me?”
He agreed and followed me outside.
“I’m not taking you away from your weekly Clover’s experience, am I?”
He grinned and said, “I’m with my weekly Clover’s experience.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, yeah?”
He slightl
y nodded as he opened the door to Cici’s for me. “Yep.”
I considered making him clarify, maybe ask him what exactly he got out of coming to Clover’s each Friday, but I was kind of scared to. Maybe I didn’t want to hear him say that he liked coming to see me. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of my goals, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to stand my ground. I’d basically let Levi talk me into casually dating him. I didn’t want things to go any further with Austin either because my mind was set on getting a job.
“You seem a little…spacey today,” he said as we sat down at a table.
“Oh? Sorry, just have some stuff on my mind, I guess.”
“Like what?”
I didn’t reply at first and I was thankful for the distraction of the waitress taking our drink orders. But when she left, Austin was still waiting for my answer.
“Just school and work,” I replied. “The usual. I, uh, talked to Meryl about your business plan,” I said, grateful for something to talk about. Surely business talk would keep him occupied.
“She told me she was ready to make some changes,” he nodded his agreement. “Is that what she told you, or was she leading me on?” he added with a smile.
I laughed. “Uh, that’s what she told me. She said there are a few things to figure out first.”
He nodded again. “Yeah, she’s a pretty smart lady, which is why this will be very successful.”
It was my turn to nod as the waitress returned with our drinks. We both thanked her, and I took a sip of mine right away.
“So what else is on your mind?” Austin asked. He leaned forward and placed his forearms on the table, seeming content with waiting for an answer for as long as it took.
“Uh, nothing special,” I replied. “How’d your mom’s birthday party go?”
He continued to watch me carefully until a smile slowly appeared. “It was fine. Did you do your taxes?”
“What?” I chuckled.
“It’s tax day. You get your taxes done?”
“Uh, yes I did.”
“Good for you. You do ‘em yourself?”
“Uh, yes,” I smiled.
He nodded. “I’m sure you do them just fine, but if you ever need help, let me know.”
“Okay, you’re more than welcome to do them for me next year.”
“Sweet, you take a hint really well.”
I had to laugh, but I was also considering what it meant to be discussing the fact that we’d still be associating with one another in a year.
“So are you coming to Bakersfield or not?” he asked directly.
It kind of took me off guard, especially because we’d jumped from birthdays to taxes to Bakersfield in a matter of seconds. “Uh…”
“It’s not a hard question, Nova. You’ve either decided to come or you haven’t. I just need to know one way or the other so I can plan accordingly.”
“I’ll come up tomorrow if that works out okay.”
He paused for a few seconds and then nodded his head. “All right.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. After a couple of seconds he found a business card and slid it across the table to me. “Here’s the information for the ranch, and directions are on the back.”
I looked over the card for Harmony Acres and nodded my head. “Okay. Uh, does Dr. Stevens know about me? I mean is there really the possibility that I could work with him?”
Austin barely smiled and said, “Yes I talked to him about you, and yes he’s happy to sign off your hours.”
“Really? Wow, that’s…that’s really great. Thank you so much. You don’t even know how much this means to me.”
“Well, I think I probably do. I’ll have him give you a call tonight if you want. Or if you’d rather me not have your phone number, I’ll give you his,” he smiled.
I took a moment to discern any hidden meaning to it. My first instinct was that he wanted me to say it was okay for him to have my number, and even though I wanted to say that, I was also mad at myself for still feeling that way.
Instead I grabbed a napkin and wrote my number on it. But as I slid it across to him, my senses returned and I yanked it back just as fast. “Oh, gosh! I don’t want you to hand him that.” I could just picture Austin handing Dr. Stevens a phone number on a white napkin.
“He wouldn’t even care,” Austin chuckled.
“Well I do, I guess. It’s not very professional.”
I was glad that I actually caught myself before I handed it over. What was even more embarrassing was that I wasn’t even thinking about Dr. Stevens when I was writing my phone number down. I’d been in some weird trance because I actually wanted Austin to have my number and I just handed it over to him.
I was looking through my purse to find something better to write it on, but I was coming up empty. Finally Austin said, “Just tell me your number, Nova.” He had his phone out and was going to punch it in. “I’ll make you a nice business card to put it on before I actually give it to him,” he teased.
I rolled my eyes but just told him the number.
“I’ll delete it as soon as your stationary is complete, too.”
“Lemme see one of your business cards,” I countered.
He looked a bit surprised but shrugged a shoulder as he shuffled through his wallet. “Job number one,” he said, setting one on the table, “…uh, I don’t have ‘my own’ for the ranch so…job number three,” he concluded, setting another one down.
I looked them both over but I didn’t pick them up or anything. I was waiting for him to take them back and put them in his wallet I guess, but he just smiled and took a drink as the waitress arrived to take our order. When she left, it was back to the awkwardness of the two business cards sitting between us on the table. The ball was in my court, I knew it, and he was waiting for my choice. I could either take the two cards to show that I wanted his number, or I could leave them there to inform him that I did not. I hate making decisions, remember?
Those two cards remained on the table during our entire lunch. Even though we talked about quite an array of things—the schools we went to, and different things about our jobs—there was not a single word about the cards.
The most impressive thing I learned about Austin was that he had his MBA. He was only twenty-three and had earned his masters in business a year prior. I was pretty impressed, and I even told him so. It didn’t really seem like a big deal to him though, like it was just a fundamental achievement. I even asked him why he took it so lightly.
“Lightly? Nah, I worked hard for that certificate.”
“How in the world did you get it already? In four years?”
“No, I went through six years of college. I just completed two of it while I was still in high school.”
“Really? Wow, I wish I could have done that. I guess I’ve heard of high schools that were allowed to do that, but mine didn’t. You’re a brainiac, aren’t you?” I teased.
He slightly smiled. “I do okay with the right motivation.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what does that mean?”
“My parents pretty much held everything over my head,” he chuckled. “Whether or not I got to do anything was based on my grades. But high school was easy for me so it wasn’t a big deal. Getting my masters was a little tougher, but by then it was something that I wanted to do.”
“Where’d you end up interning for that?”
“The Speedway.”
“Oh, I see. Well that’s cool that you were able to get on with them permanently.”
He shrugged as the waitress brought our check. Before I could even pay for my share, Austin was already handing her a fifty. I tossed some money his way and he practically laughed at me. He picked up the cash, and the two business cards, and set them in front of me.
“Save it for a rainy day.”
I wasn’t sure which he was referring to—the money or the cards—but I just shrugged and stuffed them in my purse.
“Well thank you
for lunch,” I told him.
“Anytime. And if you’d rather not eat at the diner next time either, just let me know. I’ll take you anywhere you want.”
“Next time, huh?”
“If I’m so lucky to have a next time,” he shrugged with a smile.
We got up to leave and I couldn’t help but glance at the table when he left a tip in the middle of it. It was a ten-dollar bill, and I almost made a comment about how poorly the waitress had served us, but I decided to leave it alone. He walked me to my car after that, said he’d see me up in Bakersfield, and left with a wave.
I sat there for a moment, feeling a little unsettled for some reason. I guess it was because my time with him was over, and I was already wishing I’d decided to go up with him for the weekend. But I told myself my choice was good. I didn’t even know much about Austin, so why would I put myself in his car to be left at his mercy?
I glanced at the road when I heard an engine rev by. The car that roared up to the stop sign was a brand-new Camaro, and after it barely stopped, it took off on a right turn to race to the freeway. For some reason that made me think of Bakersfield and Dr. Stevens, and I couldn’t remember if I was supposed to make the call or Dr. Stevens was going to. I guess I should have asked Austin a few more questions, but it was too late now since I couldn’t see where he was parked. I decided I would wait until seven o’clock for a call, and then I would take the initiative myself.
Dr. Stevens did call me and it was way sooner than I expected. It couldn’t have been more than an hour later, and I’d just lain across my bed to do some homework. We talked for almost twenty minutes, and I answered all of his questions quickly and efficiently. We discussed several options for how I could get some hours in, and he even gave me some pointers about my letters of recommendation when it came time to apply for veterinary schools. Austin was right. I liked Dr. Stevens and I hadn’t even met him yet. With all of his advice and suggestions, I really felt like he wanted me to succeed.
Then we began discussing the equestrian aspect of his career. I admitted that I hadn’t planned on heading that direction—I was mainly shooting for small companion pets—but he assured me it didn’t even matter. Apparently there were other animals on the ranch that he doctored—cats and dogs—and he claimed there was plenty of work for the both of us. He also added that schools like to see that you’ve had a variety of training, not just in one field.
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