Love, Revenge and Zombies

by Travis Cotter

  “Thanks, it’s actually my boss’s car. He let me borrow it for the night,” Paul replied.

  “Well you have a very nice boss,” Abby said.

  “Yea he’s a great guy,” Paul said.

  The rest of the car ride on the way to the restaurant was pretty quiet. With only a little bit of small talk about some song that was on the radio or a random comment about the night ahead of them would break the silence.

  They pulled into the parking lot next to a small family owned Italian restaurant named Giovanni’s; it was a three story brick building in the middle of downtown. It shared a small twenty car parking lot with a bank located next to the restaurant; the bank was closed now so there were only a few cars still in the parking lot. Paul made sure to park the car in a spot with a few empty parking spots on either side of it, he didn’t want to take any chances of the car getting scratched or damaged.

  Paul turned off the car and stepped out; he walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for Abby. Paul took her hand and helped her out of the car; it put a smile on his face just feeling her hand in his. Abby noticed the smile on Paul’s face and smiled back at him as she stepped out of the car. Paul felt slightly embarrassed that Abby had noticed him smiling but he felt better once he realized she hadn’t let go of his hand after she got out of the car. They continued to hold hands as Paul closed the car door and then they turned around and headed towards the entrance of the restaurant at the front of the building. Paul held the entrance door open for Abby who let go of his hand and walked into the restaurant with Paul right behind her.

  They were greeted by an older gentleman when they entered the restaurant. He had snow white hair and a white mustache, he looked to be in his late sixties and when he spoke to them it was with a thick Italian accent, “table for two?”

  “Yes please.” Paul replied.

  The older gentleman led them to a small booth in the back corner of the restaurant. It was a booth built for two with red seats and a wooden table in the middle with a single candle burning in the middle of the table.

  The entire restaurant looked like something Paul had seen in old mob movies. The restaurant was dimly lit with most of the light coming from the candles burning on each table. There were booths on both sides of the restaurant and some tables spread out in the middle of the restaurant. All the booths and tables had seats with the same red material as the booth Paul and Abby were sitting in and they all had the same dark wood tables. The only differences in the tables were there size and how many people they sat.

  One wall was covered with signed photos of celebrities that had been to the restaurant, the photos ranged from actors and stars from the 1950s to modern day stars. The wall on the opposite side of the restaurant was covered with a hand painted map of Italy that looked to be about fifty years old or older.

  They looked over the menu while they waited for the waiter to bring them the glasses of wine they ordered. Neither one of them knew anything about wine. Abby couldn’t help but let out a little laugh when Paul tried to fake it when the waiter asked what wine they wanted to start with. After mispronouncing three different wines and being corrected by the waiter each time, Paul gave up and asked the waiter to bring whatever wine he thought was best. A few minutes later the waiter returned with a bottle of red wine with a name that Paul still couldn’t pronounce. Abby giggled again as Paul attempted to say the name and pretended to know what the waiter was talking about as he explained the wine to them. Eventually Paul gave up and smiled at Abby as a chuckle escaped his lips as well.

  They decided on what they wanted to order and after the waiter had finished his speech about the wine he took their order and headed to the kitchen.

  Paul decided to break the silence that was hanging over the table.

  “So how long have you lived here,” Paul asked.

  “I’ve lived here most of my life; my dad was in the Army and was stationed here when I was three. He wanted to be stationed here because it was where my mom had grown up and she wanted to be back near her family,” Abby said.

  “So are you still close to your family?” Paul asked. As soon as he asked the question he could see that Abby got uncomfortable and he wished he hadn’t asked it.

  “I’m sorry, it seems that I’ve upset you,” Paul said.

  Abby looked down at the table and Paul could tell she was thinking about something. It took her a few seconds before she looked back up at Paul and responded “it’s okay; I don’t talk about it much. My parents died in a car accident when I was 10. They were out for the evening celebrating their wedding anniversary. They had just finished dinner and left the restaurant to drive over to the amphitheatre to watch an opera my mom had wanted to see. My dad never really enjoyed the opera but he would have done anything to make my mom happy. After almost 20 years together they were still madly in love. I never saw them fight or argue, they always seemed happy and in love.”

  Abby paused and looked down at the table again. She took the napkin from the table and wiped a tear from her cheek. Paul felt like he should do or say something but all he could do was watch her, he thought about it but he couldn’t figure out the right thing to say or do to make her feel better. It was in that moment that Paul realized he was falling for Abby, he knew in his heart that he would take her pain away if he could and do whatever he could to prevent her from feeling anymore pain in the future.

  Abby looked back up at Paul after she had regained her composure.

  “While on their way to the opera another car ran a red light and hit my parents’ car. My mother died instantly but my dad had made it through and was rushed to the hospital. The doctors did everything they could but that night he slipped into a coma. My grandmother took me to see him the next day, I told him how much I loved him and I like to believe he could hear me even though he was still in his coma. He passed away that night after we had left. I sometimes think he held on long enough to hear me tell him I love him one more time and then couldn’t hold on anymore,” Abby said as another tear rolled down her cheek.

  Paul knew he had to say something “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I couldn’t imagine going through something like that. Your parents seemed like amazing people and I'm grateful they made such an amazing daughter.”

  Paul reached across the table and placed his hand on Abby’s hand. He hoped he had helped comfort her some but he knew that his words could not undo what had happened to her so long ago.

  She smiled at him and took his hand in hers and said “thank you, they were amazing and thank you for the compliment.”

  Paul enjoyed the feel of her hand in his and didn’t want to let go but he was interrupted by the approach of the waiter. He walked to the table carrying a tray with the food they had ordered. Paul pulled his hand back across the table as the waiter placed his food in front of him and then placed Abby’s food in front of her. The waiter checked to make sure everything was in order and poured them each another glass of wine.

  “Enjoy your meal and if there is anything else you need just let me know,” the waiter said and then walked away.

  Paul had ordered the homemade lasagna and Abby had ordered the chicken Alfredo. They begin to eat and the silence had returned to the table as Paul kept thinking about the story Abby had told him and Abby sat in silence thinking about her parents. She was surprisingly happy that he had brought up her parents; it had been a while since she had talked about them and almost as long since she really thought about them.

  She broke the silence “thank you for listening to me share about my parents; it’s been a long time since I talked about them.”

  Paul smiled at her as he finished chewing a bite of lasagna so that he could respond “thank you for sharing your story with me; I want to know anything you want to tell me about yourself and your life.”

  Abby blushed and smiled after hearing him say that, “thank you and thank you for taking me out tonight, it’s been a while since I’ve been out with a
nice guy. The last guy I dated…,” she trailed off and paused.

  “Well you met the last guy I dated,” she finished her sentence and looked down at her plate and took another bite of her dinner.

  Paul smiled and said “Yea I met him a couple of times, I’m sorry I don’t mean to smile. I know he was a jerk and he was horrible to you. I was only smiling because I was thinking of the last time I ran into him.”

  Abby looked puzzled and responded “you guys knew each other?”

  She was beginning to get upset at the thoughts that were racing through her head. Had Paul known Jerry before that night? But if Paul had known Jerry before that night then why hadn’t Jerry just let him in when Paul knocked on the door? Maybe she was just being paranoid and just didn’t trust men anymore.

  Paul looked at her with a serious look on his face “I promise I didn’t know him before that night, I was referring to a night a few days later. Jerry and a couple of his friends decided to pay me a visit to talk about what had happened.”

  Paul smiled again and remained silent as he waited for a response from Abby but all she did was continue to stare at her plate.

  Paul felt guilty now about smiling and making light of the situation.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you, we can change the subject,” Paul said as he began to eat again.

  “It’s nothing you said, I was just thinking how stupid I was to be with a guy like that and the fact that I stayed with him for so long,” Abby said.

  “I also doubt that he came over just to talk to you,” Abby added.

  “Well, we did a little bit more than talk but after it was over we did come to an understanding about him staying away from you. I hope I was able to make him see the error of his ways,” Paul said as he smiled yet again but this time he noticed that Abby had smiled a little also.

  “I hope they didn’t hurt you, I’m sorry they came after you like that. You didn’t need to get involved with my drama but I do appreciate you helping me,” Abby said.

  “I don’t mind at all, nobody should be treated like that plus now I’m here with you having dinner. So it worked out great for me,” Paul said.

  “Well then I’m glad you got involved and I’m also happy to be here with you tonight,” Abby responded.

  She went back to eating her food because she was now feeling awkward. She was worried she might be falling for Paul but she barely knew him and she was still wary after ending it with Jerry.

  The waiter came back to the table and asked if they would like dessert. Abby was grateful he had come over because it would give her a chance to collect her thoughts.

  “Do you want dessert?” Paul asked Abby.

  “I’ll take something if you will split it with me, I don’t think I could finish one on my own,” Abby answered.

  “Sounds good to me, order whatever you want and we can share it,” Paul said.

  Abby noticed that he said they would share it instead of splitting it like she had said. She liked the sound of it the way he said it and she wondered if he had said it that way on purpose or if she was just reading into it too much. She decided to just enjoy it for what it was and not dwell on it.

  “We’ll have the brownie sundae,” she said.

  Paul looked at her and said “it’s like you read my mind, brownies are my favorite.”

  The waiter walked away to get their dessert and returned a few minutes later with a dish over flowing with vanilla ice cream and what looked to be fresh baked brownies. Paul and Abby ate their dessert and continued to talk but now the conversation was less serious and consisted of their likes, dislikes and the hobbies they enjoyed to do in their free time. They finished their dessert and continued to talk for another hour and enjoyed a few more glasses of wine.

  Abby looked at her watch and realized it was almost 10:00 and the restaurant would be closing soon. The waiter brought them the check and they got up from the table to pay the bill.

  Abby begin to look through her purse and pulled out her wallet but Paul stopped her and said “dinner is on me.”

  She smiled and thanked him. Paul pulled out his wallet and paid the check and then led Abby out of the restaurant.

  “Thanks again for dinner, I had a great time and I hate to end the night but I have to work the morning shift at the diner tomorrow,” she said. As soon as she said it she was regretting it because she didn’t want the evening to end.

  “I understand, I have to work in the morning too. I guess I’ll take you home and hope you’ll let me take you out again soon,” he said back with a smile and hoped she would accept his request.

  “I would love to go out with you again,” she said and returned the smile.

  They walked to the car hand in hand and Paul unlocked the car and let her get into the passenger side seat. He closed the door behind her and walked around to get into the car with her. He started the car up and headed out of the parking lot and drove her back to her house.

  They were both still smiling and laughing about a story Paul had told her as they pulled up in front of her house. Paul helped her out of the car and walked her to the front door.

  “Well thank you again for a wonderful night, I had a great time,” Abby said as she fished her keys out of her purse to unlock the door.

  “The pleasure was all mine, I had a great time. Can I call you tomorrow?” Paul said.

  Abby leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and then unlocked the door. As she opened the door and stepped in she answered him “I can’t wait for your call, have a good night and thanks again.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said as she closed the door.

  He turned and walked back to the car, he felt like he was walking on air as he approached the car. He felt like he was on top of the world, he got in the car and headed back to the motel. The whole drive back and even after he had got back to his room he was reliving every moment of the night and grinning ear to ear.

  He saw his nearly full bottle of Jack from a few nights before sitting on the table. He poured himself a drink and raised the cup to his lips; he downed the drink in one gulp and poured himself another. He raised the cup to his lips again but this time he hesitated and thought about his night, he placed the cup back on the table with the whiskey still in it. He smiled again and headed to bed; he would work tomorrow and call Abby to plan their next date.

  Nine

  Paul woke up that next morning with a feeling of relief. For some reason he had slept through the night and hadn’t had a single nightmare. The only explanation he could come up with was that he had gone to bed with only Abby on his mind. Not only had she made his waking life better, she apparently had also made his sleeping life better. That thought had put a smile across his face; he felt the best he had in a very long time.

  He thought about calling her right then just so he could tell her how happy he was and just to hear her voice. Again he hesitated because he was worried he was getting ahead of himself and falling for her much too fast. He can’t help but worry that he was falling to fast and that in the end he will be hurt again but even that fear seemed small when he thought of how amazing he was feeling and how happy he was.

  He decided to hold off on calling her right then, partly because he was nervous he would scare her off if he came on to strong. Also because it was only 5:30 in the morning and that didn’t seem like the best time to call someone.

  Now that he had decided he wasn’t going to call he got out of bed and made a pot of coffee. While the coffee was brewing he headed off to take a quick shower before he had to head to the yard to drop off Nate’s car and pick up his truck to start working that day.

  With his shower done and the coffee done brewing, Paul got dressed and poured himself a cup of coffee. He sat down at the table and drank his cup of coffee and spent the whole time thinking of Abby and what they would go do for their next date. He finished his cup of coffee and looked at his watch; it was now 6:00 am. He got up from the table, poured himself another cup of coffee in his tra
vel mug he had bought a couple days earlier.

  He drove Nate’s car back to the yard and once or twice on the way there he opened it up to feel the speed of it again before he had to give it back. He parked the car back in the garage and put the cover back over it and walked into the office to drop off the keys and get the keys to his truck. He wanted to give the keys to Nate personally so he could thank him again for letting him use it, but the office was empty except for the night dispatcher who was on the phone taking down information for a tow.

  Paul waited for her to hang up the phone before he walked over to talk to her. She hung up the phone and turned to see who had walked in the office, “morning Paul,” she said.

  Paul smiled at her and said “Good morning Debbie, how was your night?”

  Debbie was a young girl in her early twenties with long brown hair that hung down to almost her waist; it seemed to completely over take her small petite frame.

  “My night was pretty slow, not many calls so mostly I sat her and worked on my English homework,” Debbie responded as she held up her book to show Paul.

  “I guess this is a good job to have if you’re trying to get through college,” Paul said trying to make conversation. Really all he wanted to do was ask if Nate was coming in and then go to work.

  “Yea this job definitely helps, I can get school work done and get paid to sit here and answer phones,” she said as she smiled at Paul.

  “Speaking of phone calls, this call just came in for a tow if you want it,” she said as she held out the paper she had written the information down on.

  “Sure, I was going to wait around to give Nate back his keys but I guess I can leave them with you if you don’t mind,” Paul said as he traded her the keys for the work order.

  “No prob, I’ll make sure he gets them,” she said as she set the keys down on the desk in front of her.

  “Thanks,” Paul said.

  “Have a good day,” Paul heard her say as he turned to get the keys to his truck out of the lock box hanging on the wall behind him.