“Jenna, I repeat, I-do-not-know-the-man-very-well,” she said slowly and succinctly.
“Can you ask Sam?”
“Yes. I’ll ask Sam.”
“Can you call him now?” This time she laughed heartily. Jenna was nothing if not tenacious.
“No. It’s barely after six o’clock. I’ll ask him later.”
“How much later?” Holly growled in feigned frustration.
“We’re going over to his place for supper tonight. I’ll ask him then.”
“Supper? All of you?” Holly nodded, and took a gulp of her too hot coffee. “Even your mother?”
“Even my mother.”
“Hmm.” Was all she said. Not at all like Jenna, who always had something to say about everything.
“Hmm, what?”
“Just hmm.”
“Not it’s not just hmm. You never say hmm for no reason. So what do you mean?” Jenna managed to look pleased and mysterious at once. “Jenna.“
“Well,” she relented with a grin, “it’s just an assumption on my part, but a guy doesn’t generally include the mother in a dinner invitation unless his intentions are pretty serious.” At that, Holly blushed hotly, and it was Jenna’s turn to be curious. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“What? Did something happen that I don’t know about?” she demanded, grabbing Holly’s left hand and looking at her ring finger.
“He didn’t ask me to marry him.”
“Then what? And don’t say nothing.” Turnabout was kind of fun. But her excitement wouldn’t allow her to play along anymore.
“He told me he loved me.” Jenna dropped her hand with a scowl.
“I knew that. I thought you had some important development to tell me about.”
“Well, I didn’t know. That makes it pretty important to me,” she protested.
“I suppose you have a point there,” Jenna said, then grinned again. Holly realized that she’d just been pulling her leg. “I’m so happy for you, sweetie. I hope you told him you loved him back.”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. I knew you did, but I figured when the time came, you’d find a million reasons to push him away. I’m glad you’re smarter than that.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“Hey, Holly, can you come out to the kitchen?” Anne, one of her morning waitresses whispered urgently. “Chuck and Erin are arguing, and I’m afraid one of them is about to blow their stack.”
“Oh for crying out loud,” Holly muttered irritably. She was going to have to play around with the schedule and keep those two safely apart. “Excuse me, Jenna.”
“I need to get going anyway. You won’t forget to talk to Sam, will you?”
“I won’t,” she promised, hurrying through the doorway.
One of these days she really was going to have to give serious thought to Lyle’s offer. The day-to-day hassles of running her own business were beginning to wear on her nerves.
~~~~~
After spending a couple of hours finishing up the plans on a house for a local couple, Sam put his things away and started giving some serious thought to dinner that night. Simplify, was the only word that came to mind. He remembered vividly the disaster he’d narrowly avoided the first time he’d had Holly and the boys out. Without the heaven sent help of Dan and Jess, their first sort of date might have been their last.
As he wandered the aisles of Meijer’s, he tried to figure out something appropriate to feed his future mother-in-law, as well as something that would make his future sons happy. Not coming up with anything that sounded right for everyone, he decided to compromise, a steak dinner, followed by banana splits.
Win/win as far as he was concerned. His kitchen wouldn’t be turned into a disaster area, the meal would hopefully be a success…and it would be far less work than the last one he’d tried to pull off. Not that Holly wasn’t worth any amount of work, but his lack of culinary skills was, if not legendary, then no big secret either.
Now if he could just make the clock move. It wasn’t quite noon, and his figured his guests wouldn’t be arriving until around six. If he remembered correctly, Holly got off work around four when she took the morning shift. It didn’t always work out that way, because sometimes she had to stay later. Hopefully not today. Regardless, she would want to shower and change. So he’d figure five-thirty at the earliest. But maybe he should have everything ready to go by five. Just in case.
He flopped down into one of the recliners in the living room, bored and impatient for the day to pass. He spent some time replaying the walk he and Holly had taken last night, knowing that the expression on his face would be termed ’sappy’ by his friends. Not that he would care if they teased him, because he wouldn’t. Holly loved him and, if that made him sappy, he could live with it.
He began to imagine the changes in this house once she married him. Feminine touches like flowers, candles, throw pillows. All things he’d left undone because he’d intended from the get-go for Holly to choose the things she would need to make their home. He closed his eyes and imagined bedrooms filled with toys, bikes cluttering up his immaculate garage, a wooden swing set in the backyard. Pantyhose hanging over their shower door. Perfumes and jewelry littering the top of the chest of drawers. Or a dressing table. Maybe she’d want one of those. He’d have to ask.
The ringing of the telephone interrupted his thoughts and he frowned as he vaulted up from the chair and crossed the room to answer it.
“Sam?” A grin replaced the scowl. It was Holly.
“Hey you,” he said softly, leaning against the wall, picturing her sitting at her desk. A glance at the clock told him that it was one-thirty. The lunch rush would be over so she was getting a few minutes to rest. “To what to I owe the pleasure of a mid-day telephone call from the woman I’m madly in love with?”
“Sam-” Holly murmured shyly.
“Well I do. Love you.”
“I love you, too. And I called for two reasons.”
“The first?” She hesitated for a moment, and he felt just a bit uneasy. “Holly?”
“I missed you,” she finally admitted, and he let out a sigh of relief.
‘So you just wanted to hear the sound of my voice?” he teased.
“Yes.”
“Good. Because I’ve just been sitting here thinking about you, and wishing you were here. Since you’re not, this is the next best thing.”
“I’ve been thinking about you all day, too.”
“Have you been very busy today?” he asked, after another brief moment of silence.
“Yes,” she sighed, sounding tired.
“Really busy, hmm?”
“You have no idea.” She paused, then said, “Lyle wants to buy the restaurant.” Sam stood away from the wall. That sounded good to him.
“And do you want to sell it?”
“On days like today I seriously consider it.”
“So the offer has been on the table for a while?”
“A few months. I don’t know why I brought it up just now.”
“Maybe you need a sounding board?” he suggested gently, hoping sincerely that he could help her make the decision that would be best for her, not push her into what he wanted most.
“Maybe.” Another gusty sigh. “It’s your fault.”
“My fault?” Sam quickly tried to figure out what he might have done that would cause her to consider selling her restaurant.
“I couldn’t sleep last night.” He smiled then.
“That makes two of us.” Holly laughed softly.
“Yeah, but only one of us had to get up at four-thirty.”
“That’s true. Selling the restaurant would certainly eliminate the need for crawling out of bed at that appalling hour of the day.”
“I know. And believe me, I think about that every time the alarm rings. Then sometimes I think it would be nice to sit up and watch the news every night i
nstead of trying to be in bed before nine. Like a grown up. I mean, what am I going to do when the boys get older and stay up later than me?”
That time wasn’t very far away, Sam knew. Zack was nine. It wouldn’t be much longer and he’d be balking at an eight-thirty bedtime.
“Have you considered what you might do if you were to decide to sell?” he prompted.
“Well, I did think that maybe I could get a job in the school cafeteria, but they serve breakfast so I’d basically be in the same boat I’m in now. I’m sure they have to be there bright and early to get that started. So I decided that if I do, I’d see if they wouldn’t hire me as a para-pro.”
“What’s a para-pro?”
“A teacher’s aide. I guess para-pro makes it sound more glamorous. But something like that would be perfect.”
“Because you’d get summers and holidays off with the boys?”
“Yes.” She sounded a bit surprised that he’d know her reason for considering that line of work.
“Smart move. But is it really something you want to do?”
“It’s a job,” was her only answer.
“So are you actually going to sell the restaurant?” He hoped so.
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t even be bothering you about it.”
“It’s no bother. Holly, you can talk to me about anything. I might not have any answers, or even know what to say, but I’m a good listener.” She laughed again.
“That you are. Maybe I’ll prevail upon you to listen some more one of these days.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Sam, hang on a second.” In the background he heard someone talking to her. She told them she’d be there in a minute. “I’m going to have to go in a second,” she said, sounding reluctant to hang up.
“Holly, was that the second reason you called? To talk about selling the restaurant?”
“What?”
“You said you called for two reasons.”
“Oh.” She laughed self-consciously. “No. The second reason is Jenna.”
“Jenna?”
“She seems to be rather attracted to Ed.”
“Really?”
“She wondered if you knew whether or not he’d be offended if she called to invite him to supper sometime.”
“Wow. Hmm. I honestly don’t know, Holly.” And he didn’t. While Ed wasn’t an old man by any means, he was still from a generation that might take exception to a woman taking the lead.
“Oh well, I told her I’d ask. After she pestered me to ask you about fifty times first thing this morning.”
“Hmm. Do you want me to try and feel him out about her? I can be discreet.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” he assured her. And he didn’t. Jenna seemed like a nice woman. And he loved the coach like an older brother, a brother who had been alone too long. It would be pretty cool if they could hook them up.
“That would be great,” Holly said, sounding pleased that he offered. “One way or another, it will get her off my case.” Sam chuckled, knowing that wasn’t the only reason. She wanted to see her friend happy, too.
“I’ll stop by tomorrow after he gets off work on a little reconnaissance mission.” Tomorrow Holly worked until closing. He could see Ed, and then maybe take him to supper at McGinty’s.
“Thank you.” He heard someone call her again. “I know you’ve got to go. See you in a few hours. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
~~~~~
For the first time in his life Sam realized that he was not only happy, but content. Life was better than he’d ever imagined it could be. Eileen’s acceptance of him helped greatly because, though he couldn’t help it, he’d worried about what she’d think of him, and how Holly might react if she didn‘t like him. Though she’d sworn that it didn’t matter, she loved her mother, so he knew that it would.
As he sped along I-69, he thought about the night before, when Eileen had pulled him aside while Holly was in the pool with the boys. He’d been more than a little surprised at what she had to say.
“I think you’re a really wonderful man, Sam,” she’d said with a smile, keeping an eye peeled on the pool.
“Thank you,” he’d stammered, feeling his face turn red.
“I hope you understand, but I have to say something before I go home. And now seems like a good time to do it.”
“What is it, Eileen?”
“Don’t hurt her.”
“Holly?”
“Yes.”
“Ma’am, I would cut my throat before I ever hurt your daughter.”
“That’s the impression I got, but it relieves me to hear you say it.” She squeezed his arm. “She’s had enough pain in her life, from Mike, and her father and I. And I just want her to be happy now.”
“That’s all I want, too,” he promised. “I love your daughter, I love your grandsons. And I have no intention of hurting any of them.”
“So you’ll be around awhile?” He’d known what she was asking and sought to reassure her.
“I’m hoping for the next fifty or sixty years.”
He smiled when he recalled the pleasure on her face. Not only would there be no problem in that direction, but he knew he had a strong supporter in his corner. He hoped he would never have to prevail upon her for help.
Turning his blinker on, he made a right turn into the parking lot of Ed’s apartment building, pleased to see his car sitting in its usual space. Sam parked in the visitors’ area, locked his car and strode over to the door, pushing the intercom.
“Yes?” Ed’s voice came over the speaker.
“It’s Sam,” he said, identifying himself, then opened the door when he heard the lock release.
Taking the stairs, two at a time, he reached the second floor in no time. Ed had opened the door a crack so he went in, closing it behind him.
“I’ll be right out,” Ed called from the back of the apartment. “Make yourself at home.”
Sam sat down on the worn sofa and waited. Soon Ed sauntered out in blue jeans, a black tee shirt, his feet bare.
“Sorry. Had to change out of that suit, ya know.” He sank down beside Sam, laid his head back, closed his eyes and sighed. “Only eight more years.”
“Until?”
“Retirement. What else?”
“You’ll never retire. You’d be bored stiff inside a month.”
“Maybe. But I’ll tell you what, I’d be willing to work hard at getting used to it.”
“Bad day?” Sam asked, knowing that in Ed’s line of work, bad days happened with dismaying regularity.
“No worse than any other. A lot better than some. Always a lot of paperwork, though. I swear if I’d wanted to spend half my life at a computer, I’d have been a secretary.” Sam laughed heartily at the thought.
“You’d need to learn shorthand,” he chuckled.
“I’d need to learn to type.” They both laughed at that. After a moment Ed asked, “So what brings you by today?”
“Holly’s working the evening shift, and I’m bored. Thought I might take you to dinner, if you don’t have any other plans.” He watched as Ed, barely moving his head, glanced down at his bare feet.
“Dinner. Where?”
“McDonald’s.” Ed’s snickered and turned his head to look at Sam. With one eye, anyway. The other remained closed.
“Yeah, right.”
“You know where.”
“I do. Let’s see now. A frozen dinner, or Holly’s meatloaf. Tough choice.”
“Is that a yes?”
“It is. But give me a few, okay? I just want to sit here and relax for a while.”
“Works for me.” He laid his head back, too. “Thanks for coming to Holly’s birthday party Saturday.”
“Glad to do it. It was fun.”
“We had a good crowd.”
“Sure did.”
“Too bad y
ou and Jon couldn’t find dates.”
“With Holly’s mother and friend there, it evened out.” That was probably as good an opening as he was ever going to get.
“What did you think of Holly’s mom?”
“Nice enough, I suppose.”
“What about Jenna.”
“Nice enough, I suppose,” Ed said hesitantly. This time he actually opened both eyes a little. “Why do you ask?”
“She’s an attractive woman.”
“Okay.”
“You didn’t think so?”
“Yes, she’s attractive.”
“Personable, too, don’t you think?”
“Are you matchmaking, Sam?”
“Me?” Sam asked, sounding as offended as he could manage.
“You.”
“No.”
“Is Jenna going to be at McGinty’s tonight?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“So why all the questions about her?”
“Holly mentioned that Jenna kind of liked you. So I figured I’d find out if you liked her at all.”
“And if I did?”
“Then I’d ask you if you would mind if Jenna called and invited you to supper.”
“I could probably live with that,” Ed said, after thinking it over for a moment.
“So I can pass along your phone number?”
“Sure, why not.” He heaved himself up from the sofa. “I’d better take a shower and change if we’re going to eat before midnight. What time is Jenna supposed to show up?”
“Ed, I swear, as far as I know she’s not going to be there. Holly doesn’t even know I’m planning on coming.” He laughed because it was obvious that the coach didn’t believe him.
“Whatever you say. I’ll be about fifteen minutes. Wanna watch the news?”
“Sure.”
He turned the television on on his way to the bathroom, and Sam tried to get interested in the local happenings, but couldn’t. He was too excited about seeing Holly, and got up to pace instead. Too bad he hadn’t arrived a few minutes earlier. Ed might have still had his suit on. But then he’d probably have wanted a shower anyway.
Sam walked out to the kitchen to raid the fridge. Coach usually kept a good supply of Coke’s, and he was thirsty. Opening the door he saw that that’s about all there was on the shelves, so he grabbed one and popped the top. One long drink and he emptied about half of it. Another and it was gone.
A Hero For Holly Page 9
