Carolina

by Sara Mullins

  “Yeah, you look very . . . happy,” Becky added, laughing.

  Nicole blushed a little and turned her head as she smiled. “Is it that obvious?” she asked the girls.

  “Totally obvious,” Ashley answered.

  “Okay, okay. But it’s not a big deal, so please don’t say anything. I don’t even know him,” Nicole begged.

  “We won’t say anything,” Becky said in excitement. “So, who is he?”

  “He was in here yesterday,” Nicole started. “He was our first appointment – the guy with the German Shepherd.”

  “Ohhhhh, Mark Taylor!” Ashley spoke up, nudging Becky in the arm with her elbow. “He’s cute. Did he ask you out?”

  “No, he knocked me on the floor, actually. Well, he didn’t mean to knock me down, it was an accident. You know me, always a clumsy ass. I ran right into him and fell backward on the floor. I got a nice gash to show for it, too,” Nicole spoke, touching the wound.

  “Then what happened?” Becky asked.

  “Nothing really. He apologized and helped me up and I couldn’t say anything. I just went blank. Then he asked if I was okay. I said yes, then I went to the bathroom to wash off my arm. When I came back out, he was in with Dr. Smith and I sat here with you, waiting for him to come back out,” she said, looking at Ashley.

  “You should have said something,” Ashley insisted. “I would have said something to him for you, or got his number or something.”

  Nicole smiled and looked at the floor, thinking about what happened next. “Then he looked at me, on his way out. I swear he looked right at me – right through me, more like! I couldn’t look away, his eyes just hypnotized me.”

  “Awww,” the girls responded, as they placed their hands to their chests.

  “That’s so cute,” Becky said. “Tommy used to look at me like that, but now he doesn’t even notice me half the time.”

  “Hell, I just wish I had someone,” Ashley added, with a touch of bitterness.

  “Well, it’s no big deal,” Nicole said. “I didn’t even get to talk to him much. It’s probably nothing.”

  “You felt something. That’s gotta mean something, right?” Becky suggested.

  “I guess. We’ll see,” Nicole said. Dr. Smith walked in just then and the girls strolled away to find something to do.

  Nicole stayed quiet most of the morning and the girls didn’t ask her any more questions. She felt like the hours dragged along until lunch and most of the time she just had the urge to go up front and stare out the window. She resisted somehow, and it killed her not to. When lunchtime rolled around, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. Usually, she would bring her lunch from home, but today she needed an excuse to leave. She turned left on the sidewalk and glanced across the street more than once, moving at a snail’s pace toward the little café on the corner. She could see a few guys in the auto shop, working, but it was hard to make out who they were or what they looked like. The restaurant door was in front of her before she knew it.

  “Just one?” the hostess asked.

  “Yeah, just me,” Nicole answered.

  The hostess smiled and grabbed a menu and instructed Nicole to follow her. She took her to a booth by the window, which Nicole was pleased with, and asked her if that was okay.

  “This is perfect,” Nicole said.

  “Your waitress will be right with you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Nicole sat down and put her purse down next to her in the booth. She immediately placed both elbows on the table and plunged her face into her hands in frustration. With another glance outside, she shook her head and opened the menu. They served the typical stuff: burgers, fries, salads and desserts. She browsed for a few minutes until the waitress walked up. She was a middle-aged woman who made it clear on her face that she would rather be anywhere but at work.

  “Do you know what you want to drink?” she asked, with zero enthusiasm.

  “Yeah, I’ll take a sweet tea, please,” Nicole answered. The waitress started to walk away. “. . . and I am ready to order, if that’s okay.”

  The waitress huffed and strutted back with a look that could kill. “Go ahead,” she told Nicole, without glancing up from her notepad.

  “I’ll have the mushroom and swiss patty melt, with onion rings instead of fries, please.”

  “We’ll have that right out,” the waitress mumbled, as she walked away.

  “I bet you will,” Nicole said under her breath.

  Nicole folded the menu up and placed it in the stand near the window, then grabbed the dessert menu and opened it up. She admired the photographs of scrumptious chocolate cream pie and peach cobbler, fighting the urge to look across the street. The restaurant was surprisingly empty considering the time of day, but she was okay with that; she didn’t care to be around a lot of people, anyway.

  She heard the sound of the door open behind her and then shut.

  The hostess asked, “Just one, sir?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” a male voice answered.

  “Right this way.” She paused for a few moments. “How’s this for you?” she asked nicely.

  “Perfect, thanks,” he said.

  “Your waitress will be right with you,” the hostess informed him, before walking away.

  Nicole looked up at the man as he started to open his menu and there he was. Mark Taylor was in the booth in front of her. Her heart began to race, and her stomach performed gymnastics inside her gut. She quickly pulled away her gaze and looked out the window, trying to find something remotely interesting on the empty street. But her eyes peered back at him to watch him look at the menu. She found herself drawn to the way he sat there. He slouched a little but still looked poised. His eyes moved back and forth, examining the different options.

  Mark must have felt her eyes on him, for he lifted his head just enough to look at her over the top of the menu. Not knowing what else to do, Nicole gazed down at her hands on the table, habitually picking at imaginary hangnails.

  “How’s your elbow?” he asked.

  “What? Oh, hi,” she said, as if she had no idea he was sitting there. “It’s great.”

  “That’s good. I really am sorry about that. I need to watch where I’m going,” Mark said.

  “No, it was my fault. I get in such a hurry and I’m so clumsy. Trust me, anyone would agree.”

  “That’s okay. I am, too.”

  A moment of awkward silence passed, then Mark asked, “What’s your name, anyway? I didn’t get a chance to ask yesterday.”

  “Nicole, what’s yours?”

  “Mark.”

  Right on cue, the moody waitress walked up to his booth. “What would you like to drink?”

  “Mountain Dew, please.”

  She strolled away without another word. He watched her disappear with a look of confusion on his face.

  “Yeah, she wasn’t very nice to me, either,” Nicole warned. “Whatever you do, don’t ask to order your food until she is ready, it’s not pleasant,” she added.

  “Thanks for the tip,” Mark said, laughing. “She must be new, because I come here all the time and I’ve never seen her before. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you in here, either.”

  “That would be because I’ve never been here, or at least not since I moved back.”

  “Oh? You’re from Carolina?”

  “Born and raised,” she answered. “Where are you from, because I don’t remember you, either?”

  “I’m from Kentucky originally, but I’ve moved a couple of times over the years.”

  She raised her eyebrows in interest. “So . . . how on God’s green Earth did you end up in Carolina, Indiana?”

  “I have an uncle that lives up the road. He owns the shop across the street. A few years ago, I needed a job and the rest is history,” he added, clapping his hands together above the table.

  “I see,” Nicole replied. The waitress set his drink on the table, quickly took his order then walked away.

&nb
sp; “So, where were you?” he asked. He noticed the look of confusion on her face then reiterated, “You said ‘since you moved back’ so, where were you?”

  “College. I graduated in December and moved back home.” Nicole anticipated the next question and proceeded to answer before he could ask. “I just didn’t enjoy being away from home a whole lot and I wasn’t having much luck finding a job, anyway, so I came back.”

  “What I don’t understand is, how you have been back for six months and I’ve never met you before now?”

  “Honestly, I don’t get out much. I just go to work and go home to my cat. That’s pretty much the extent of my boring life,” Nicole said.

  “Oh, come on, you gotta have friends to hang out with. This is your hometown.”

  “Not really, they all moved away and started families,” she said.

  “What about your folks? Any siblings?”

  “My sister is in school still, over in Ohio. And my parents passed away two years ago in a car crash,” she said, moving her gaze out the window. “A drunk driver crossed the middle line and hit them head-on.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Mark said, glancing down in regret.

  “It’s alright, you didn’t know. It’s funny, I haven’t talked to anyone about that in a while.”

  “Yes, and I’m sure you really wanted to do it on your lunch break today, thanks to me.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up. It’s okay, I swear,” Nicole insisted.

  They sat in silence until the waitress walked up with Nicole’s sandwich. She thanked her for the food which, of course, she seemed to ignore. “I thought about getting that,” Mark said, admiring her plate. “I love their patty melts, but I went for the club today, which I’m now regretting after seeing yours,” he chuckled.

  “Do you want some of it? I can cut it. I probably won’t be able to eat it all, anyway,” Nicole insisted.

  “No, that’s okay, you eat it. I will have plenty to eat. Thank you, though,” Mark answered.

  “Alright. Well, let me know if you change your mind,” she said, her words being followed by a big bite of her sandwich. “It’s really good,” she mumbled, as gracefully as possible.

  The waitress then walked out with his plate. Nicole hesitated for a minute then decided to ask him what she had wanted to ask him the whole time. “Would you like to sit here? I mean, you are by yourself and I have an open seat so . . .” She faded off a little and started to blush.

  He looked into her eyes again and nodded. “I’d love to.” He grabbed his sweaty glass and plate and slid out of the booth. “I’m sorry about the grease,” he said, looking down at his pants.

  “It doesn’t bother me at all,” Nicole said. “It’s gotta be better than what I have on my pants right now,” she said. She pointed at her left thigh. “I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think this is poodle drool.”

  He chuckled. “I didn’t know, or I would have prepared for this.”

  The pride he took in himself caught her off guard. “Seriously, it’s okay,” Nicole said. “It looks like you’re a hard worker to me.”

  “Ha, well, I don’t know about that, but thanks. It’s a dirty job, but I love it and it pays the bills.”

  “I hear ya. I like working at the veterinary clinic and all, but I may go back to school one day and get my master’s. I don’t know,” Nicole said.

  “You should, if that’s what you want to do.”

  “We’ll see. I don’t know if I can handle college again. It wasn’t much fun for me,” she said.

  “That sucks,” he said. “Why not?”

  “Oh, I just . . . well, it’s a long story.”

  “I see,” he responded slowly. He didn’t ask any more about her college experience and she didn’t elaborate. They conversed in small talk while they ate, then the waitress showed up with their checks; a reminder to them that lunch was over. He quickly grabbed both and handed the waitress his card. “I got ‘em,” he said. “It’s my treat today,” he said, looking at Nicole’s wide eyes, “. . . as long as you are okay with that,” he continued.

  “Okay, but just this once,” she said. “Next time it’s on me.”

  “How’s tomorrow sound?” he asked, without hesitation.

  Nicole was shocked by his response. She hadn’t thought about whether or not there would be a next time, but her answer was an easy one. “Count me in.”

  They sat and waited for the waitress to return with his receipt. He thanked her and told her to have a good day. The woman responded with a soft “Thank you” and walked away. Nicole and Mark each left a few bucks on the table.

  “Well, I guess it’s back to work,” he said, and started to get up.

  “Yeah, me too,” she replied. “Thank you for lunch, by the way.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  Her cheeks turned pink again and she struggled to look him in the eye. They walked out the door. She turned right to head back to the clinic, and he checked to make sure he could cross the street.

  “Same time tomorrow?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.

  She turned around and answered, “That’s perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “See ya.”

  He headed across the street and she walked down the sidewalk, smiling ear to ear. She reached the clinic and hurried through the door. She continued past Sherrie to the back and plopped down on a stool. Her heart was still pounding out of her chest from the excitement and nervousness that he made her feel. Torn inside, Nicole felt extreme happiness, but she was scared to death. She didn’t think she could handle another horrible monster. No, he’s not like that, she told herself. She stared at the floor and daydreamed, not realizing how much time had passed, until Becky finally spoke up.

  “Nicole, are you alright?” She paused, waiting on a response, then tried again. “Nicole?”

  A little startled, Nicole lifted her head and looked at Becky. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired.” This was her programmed response at this point.

  “Okay, just wanted to be sure. I saw you went out for lunch. Did you see anyone interesting?” Becky asked, in a desperate attempt to pry for details.

  “Yes . . .” Nicole said, smiling, “Mark walked in the diner and sat down in the booth next to me. I couldn’t believe it. We ate together and talked the whole time. No offense, but I hated to come back.”

  “None taken. I never want to come back, either,” she joked. “That’s really awesome, Nikki,” Becky told her.

  “And, get this, he asked me if I want to eat lunch with him again tomorrow. I’m so excited, so nervous. I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

  “You’re worrying about it too much. If it’s meant to be something, then it will be. And if it’s not, you’ll know.”

  “Yeah, I know,” said Nicole. “I just . . . I just don’t want to get hurt.”

  “None of us do, hon, but if you don’t trust at all, then you will never know. And I think that’s worse,” Becky suggested.

  “You’re right,” Nicole grinned.

  Nicole finished out her day at work, which to her felt more like a week. She clocked out and walked out the front door, immediately looking across the street for any sight of Mark. Apparently, her luck for that day had already run out, so she turned and strolled to her car and drove home. She talked Salem’s little ears off about her day and all that had happened at lunch. The cat sat in silence and listened as he always did.

  Feeling restless and energetic, Nicole almost cleaned the entire house then struggled to fall asleep. It was like Christmas Eve at eight years old all over again. She smiled and imagined what lunch was going to be like tomorrow.

  What will he be wearing? What will I wear? What should I talk to him about?

  Chapter 4

  Nicole sat up quickly to the sound of the alarm blaring. She leaped out of bed with childlike energy and rushed around to get dressed. She took the time to fix her hair and throw on some eye shadow, then hurried out the door. The do
or flew back open when she came back in to feed Salem. “Sorry, buddy, I almost forgot.” Back out the door she went and headed to work. She cranked up the radio and belted out the lyrics that she barely knew. Unlike her usual drive to work, she felt happy.

  Of course, by this time word of her lunchtime date had spread around the office. So it was no surprise that Sherrie was even more cheery than usual when Nicole walked through the door.

  “Good morning, Nicole! How are you on this lovely day?” Sherrie called out.

  “Okay, okay,” Nicole responded with a smile. “Get it all out. Just get it out of your system now.”

  “Aww, it’s just so cute,” Sherrie cooed with a sigh.

  “Hon, I don’t even know him yet. I’ve only talked to him one time. I wouldn’t get too excited.”

  “I know, I know, but you never know. I love romance stories.”

  “So do I,” Nicole insisted, “but I’m never in any of them.”

  “Well, maybe your luck will change. Just give it a chance.”

  Nicole nodded and joined the others in the back. She got more of the same encouraging comments. Even Carol, who didn’t often join in gossip, wished her luck. Of course, that was probably because she struggled to get a word in edgewise, thanks to the other girls’ chatter. As much as Nicole enjoyed the encouragement, she insisted that everyone did not get too worked up about it.

  She didn’t waste any time getting straight to work, hoping that staying busy would make the time go faster. Her theory, however, seemed incorrect. The clock was most certainly moving at half speed. As lunch break grew closer, her appetite began to disappear. A little bit of nausea set in as her nervousness got worse.

  Oh my God, what am I doing? Just relax, Nicole, you got this. Yesterday was great. Just be yourself. There’s no reason to make a big deal out of it.

  Becky walked up and interrupted Nicole’s thoughts. “Are you gonna be alright?” Becky asked, noticing Nicole staring at the wall.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m a little nervous, that’s all.”

  “Hey, just go eat lunch like you are eating with an old friend. No biggie.”