by Nella Tyler
“Again, very thoughtful of you,” he said when he returned, setting his coffee down. He also had a plate with two chocolate chip cookies. “I brought you one,” he said, removing one cookie and placing it on a napkin for himself and sliding the remaining cookie on its plate toward her. “I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Steve Johnson.”
“And I’m Mackenzie Harper,” she offered, taking his hand in her own. “This place can get a little hectic sometimes. It’s not uncommon for people to share a table.”
“I still appreciate it. My car is over at the shop. I broke down on the expressway and they just towed me in. I told him I’d wait over here while they looked it over to see what was wrong. So, you see, I really have nowhere else to go just yet.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. That’s one of the hazards of traveling, isn’t it? It’s also why I seldom go anywhere alone. I tend to stick locally.
“But, Steve, should you find that you are stuck here overnight, I can recommend Murphy’s Boarding House. I know it’s kind of a hokey name, but it’s a moderately priced, regular bed and breakfast. I know the couple who runs it, and they’re immaculate. They also have free Wi-Fi and each room has its own bath. It’s just two blocks down the street in that direction,” she said, pointing her finger.
“Great, Mackenzie. I’m hoping the car will be a quick fix, some little thing, but you never know. I’ll take your recommendation if I’m stuck here overnight.”
She nodded, picked up the cookie and munched it as she returned to looking out the window. She didn’t want him to feel as though he had entertain her. After all, he had a newspaper to read. It seemed, however, he was rather be conversational.
“So, Mackenzie, I take it you live around here?”
“Yes, I do. In fact, I’ve lived here most of my life. My parents ran a television and appliance store here in town. In fact, if you look right over there,” she pointed down the street to a building than now sat empty, “you see that building with the red sign over the top? The one that’s empty with a for sale sign in the front window?”
He nodded. “Was that where it was?”
“That’s where it was, for 50 long years,” she echoed. “That was quite a year. It was their 50th wedding anniversary, the 50th anniversary of the day my dad opened the store, and it was the day that my dad died. My mother followed, just a week behind him.”
She wondered why she had told this to a perfect stranger. People in town knew the story, but she never made it a point to bring it up to anyone who might not. It struck her then, she had become much more open about herself. She wondered whether this was a sign of growing more comfortable with herself or a need to bring more people close.
“I’m sorry, Mackenzie. That must have been a very traumatic time for you.”
“Oh, yes, it was. And then, I lost my husband just about a year later. I know I don’t know you at all, Steve, but when you’re young and everyone that you love is alive and nearby, sometimes you let yourself think about what you would do if you were to lose one of them. You never go so far as to think what you would do if you lost all of them at once. They say you’re never given more than you can bear, but I have to admit, my band was stretched pretty tightly.”
“I get where you’re coming from, although I didn’t go through as much as you did. My wife left me for my best friend. I don’t mean to diminish your grief in any way, but I wonder which is worse. Losing your spouse while you’re still both in love and clinging to one another, or losing your spouse simply because they don’t want to be with you anymore?”
“You know, I never thought about it that way. You bring up a very valid point. I suppose it has a lot to do with how long you’ve been together. David and I had only been married a few years. We didn’t have any children and hadn’t begun thinking about growing old together yet. We had so much of our life ahead of us.
“My dad and mom, on the other hand, had been together for fifty years. They didn’t know how to live without one another. I think that’s why my mother died; it’s what they always mean when they say that someone died of a broken heart. I really do think there’s something to that.”
Steve nodded, sipped his coffee and spoke again. “Do you work?”
“Yes, it’s a small company. I review spreadsheets. It’s nothing glamorous, but sometimes that what that’s what makes it wonderful. It’s very low stress, I have a few friends there, and it pretty much comprises my entire social life.”
“You mean, you are dating?”
Mackenzie laughed aloud at this, almost choking on her coffee. She held up her hand when he began to stand, as though to help her. “No, no, I’m all right. It’s just funny that you should bring that up. I just signed up for my first dating site a few weeks ago. It took me a long time to work up to it, I will tell you that. My best friend Lucy was on me to begin dating, and apparently, that’s how people meet one another now.”
“So, I hear.” Steve was nodding his head as though he knew all about it.
“Have you done the online dating thing?” she wanted to know.
“Oh, yes. I have. Where shall I begin with the stories?” He took another sip of his coffee and was contemplative. “I thought I felt alone before, but I don’t think it compared to the loneliness I felt when I realized the unlikelihood that I would ever meet someone again, particularly if I had to meet them on a dating site. It was a horrendous experience.”
“Yes, I’ve had a couple of those. Well, to be fair, one of them was a horrendous person, while the other one was actually my fault. I asked the guy if I could do a background check on him, and he didn’t take a very well,” she told him, pursing her lips in embarrassment. “It wasn’t until after that I realized I wouldn’t have taken a very well, either.”
“Oh, I don’t agree. I think women have to be careful these days. A dating site is the perfect place to find someone who is vulnerable and take advantage of them.”
“I suppose you’re right, and maybe the guy had a reason for getting upset. After all, I was asking him to turn over the secrets of his life. Few of us have had an unblemished past.
“For example, if you were to do a background check on me, you would find out that I probably have a couple of unpaid parking tickets and a book overdue at the library. While that might not be a huge deal, if you are someone, let’s say an accountant, this might make you think twice about whether I can manage my money or not.”
Steve nodded, considering what she was saying. “That’s true. But then, think about the guy has something truly bad in his past. He doesn’t want that to turn up.”
Mackenzie nodded and there was a musical sound coming from the vicinity of Steve’s pocket.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I need to take this. It’s the garage.”
She nodded again and pulled her own phone out of her purse to check for emails. There was a quick one from Dell, the man she had agreed to meet for dinner on Friday. It was brief and to the point, telling her that he was thinking of her and looking forward to meeting her.
The others were messages from the dating site, but she didn’t want to get into that here and now. That would give her something to do that evening. She slipped her phone back into her purse and looked up just as Steve had finished.
“Well, it would appear that I’m on my way. It was a minor issue, and they’ve already fixed it. So, Mackenzie,” he said, scooting his chair back and standing up. He held out his hand to order. “Our conversation has been brief, but I have very much enjoyed it. If I were to give you my business card, would you consider calling me some time? I really only live about thirty miles from here. I wouldn’t mind having dinner with you sometime.”
“You know, I think I would enjoy that. And anyway, we’re both veterans of the online war, but we’ve already met face-to-face so we could probably be on the same side,” she laughed.
He wrote his personal number on the back of his business card and handed it to her. “Would you mind if I had your phone number?�
�
Mackenzie smiled broadly and wrote it on the back of another one of his cards. “It’s best to try and reach me in the evening,” she told him. “I work during the day, and you probably do, too.”
“Then, I’ll leave you to it. Thank you again. I hope to hear from you soon.” Steve gave her a bit of a salute and headed out of the café and around the corner toward the garage. Mackenzie sighed deeply, amazed at how easy it was to meet people when you are open to the idea.
She left the café and headed home, stopping on her way at the library to pick out a few books on home interior design. Now that she’d gotten herself on the path of letting go, she felt like she wanted to change everything about herself.
The next morning was Friday, and she could feel the flutters in her tummy as she watched the clock ticking slowly throughout the day. She knew Lucy suspected something, but didn’t say anything ,and she did not want to bring up the topic. She felt better doing this dating without having an audience.
It wasn’t long before it was time to go home when Lucy came by her desk. “You know, it really would be a good idea if someone knew who you are going out with and where you were going to meet. What if something happened to you? No one would miss you until next week.”
Mackenzie had to admit that she had a very good point. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. When I plan to go out and meet someone, I will leave all the contact information of who I am meeting and where we’re meeting on my computer desktop. I’ll text you after my date to let you know that I’m home safely and if I don’t, you just need to run over to my house and see who I’m out with. You know where I keep the extra key. How’s that?”
“Okay, that works for me. I would just feel better knowing a little bit about who you’re with and that everything’s okay. Just tolerate me, it’s the mother in me.”
“The mother in you?”
Lucy grinned. “I thought you might notice. I feel like I’m already four sizes bigger.”
“You mean to tell me you’re going to have a baby?” Mackenzie squealed, throwing her arms around Lucy. “You mean I’m going to be Aunt Mackenzie?”
“That would probably be best,” Lucy answered. “Calling you Aunt Mac makes you sound like a fast food sandwich,” she laughed, beaming ear to ear.
“When are you due?”
“Well, I’m not entirely sure yet, but it should be sometime in late July.”
“I can’t wait! I’m going to have your first baby shower, so don’t let anyone get the jump on me. Just think about the theme you would like and how many people you’d like to come who I don’t already know. Let’s see, July…maybe a shower in May?”
“A shower in May. That sounds absolutely poetic. Leave it up to you to have such style. Okay, now I can go home with a peaceful mind that my baby will have an Aunt Mackenzie.” She hugged Mackenzie, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and went back to her desk for the remaining few minutes of the day.
Mackenzie positively flew home, shot into the shower, and was dressed with makeup by six o’clock. That still gave her an hour before she had to be at the restaurant.
She took that time to fire up the computer and check her messages. There was the normal assortment of spammers, men who were hopeful, but clearly inappropriate, and a few possibilities. It buoyed her spirit to feel popular, no matter who it was who wrote to her. She was just about to log off when a message box popped up. It was Harry.
HarryM: Well, pretty lady. What are your plans for this Friday evening?
AliceWonderland: Actually, I have plans tonight.
HarryM: Oh? Someone you met here online?
AliceWonderland: That's right. He doesn't live too far from here, and we’re supposed to have dinner tonight.
HarryM: I hope we’re not going to have a repeat of the last guy.
AliceWonderland: You and I both. I swear if I have another ringer, I'm going to give up on this entirely.
HarryM: Oh, don't be so hard on yourself. Everyone goes through this. Where you meeting him?
AliceWonderland: Why? Are you going to check up on me?
HarryM: I just might if you're going to be a smarty-pants about this. But, to be very honest, it's never a good idea for you to meet someone you don't know and not have someone keeping track of you. It's just not a good idea.
AliceWonderland: Well, how would you know if something happened to me? And, what would you do about it? You don't even know my real name or where I live.
HarryM: You let me worry about that. I want you to drop me a quick message when you're home safely. Promise?
AliceWonderland: Okay, if you're gonna be like that about it.
HarryM: So, like I asked, where are you going to meet him?
AliceWonderland: Sam’s Joint.
HarryM: Okay, remember what you promised.
AliceWonderland: I promise. I've got to go now. I need to stop for gasoline on the way.
HarryM: Okay, be safe.
Mackenzie quickly brought up Dell’s profile and added all the contact information she had on him, leaving it all clearly visible on her desktop. Checking her lipstick, she pulled the front door behind her and was off to her Friday night date.
Chapter Sixteen
Dell, or FreeToAGoodHome as he had been known on the website, was waiting for her in the entryway of Sam’s Joint when she arrived. Mackenzie was pleasantly surprised to see that he was even better looking in person, and when he smiled, his entire face lit up. They shared a quick hug and then he opened the door for her as they entered the restaurant.
Sam’s Joint was located in a house that dated back to the Civil War. There had been additions added over the years, but the original part of the house and its rather slipshod brickwork still stood. You could tell as you entered from addition to addition and the floor creaked and buckled in places and some entryways were either lower or higher than where you had previously been walking. Its walls were covered with antiques, primarily photographs dating back to the Civil War, Union and Rebel paraphernalia, and old farm tools dating back to the turn of the 20th century. It was a fascinating place to eat is everywhere you looked there was something interesting to study.
Mackenzie had to be careful of her footing, as her attention was constantly drawn to the archival quality antiques that cluttered each of the dining rooms. They were ushered to the largest, newest room of the complex. The hostess seated them and said she would send a waiter over immediately to take her drink order. Mackenzie settled in, laying her handbag on the chair next to her.
“So, at last we meet,” Dell began, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand quickly, thereby personalizing their conversation and removing some of the anxiety they both were feeling. She squeezed his fingers, giggled a bit and pulled her hand back to her own lap. The waiter came then and Dell ordered them each a glass of the house wine with Mackenzie’s nod as permission.
Mackenzie finally spoke up. “It seemed like we spoke for a long time online, but I have to confess, I don’t think that we really exchanged very much personal information. It seemed to be more about the weather and landmarks that we both had visited. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know your last name.”
“Griffith, Dell Griffith,” he supplied, smiling widely as the waiter brought the wine. Dell wasted no time, lifting his glass to hers to toast and then downing roughly half of it. The waiter was still standing by, waiting to see if they wanted a second drink or the dinner menu.
“Why don’t you bring us two more glasses of wine and the dinner menu?” Dell suggested to the waiter, who nodded, promptly turned and left them alone.
“Mackenzie, thank you for sharing your real name, at least your first name, with me.”
“Mackenzie Harper,” she told him. “It seems odd that you’re willing to discuss your preferences of an intimate nature with someone online, but you don’t want to exchange your full name. It’s a strange world.”
“It certainly is.”
The waiter brought the menus then,
handing one to Mackenzie first and then one to Dell. Mackenzie leisurely laid hers to the side, but Dell pulled a pair of eyeglasses from his pocket, put them on, regarded the menu briefly, and was ready to order. “Bring me the salmon filet, steamed vegetables on the side, and I want some lemon juice on the side, as well.” His order was prompt, businesslike and he snapped his glasses off his head and deposited them in his pocket with an air of complete authority.
Mackenzie was impressed with the way he took command and assumed this was probably due to his many years in the military. He looked at her for a similar response and she blushed a bit before picking up the menu and looking at it with a bit more sincerity. After a moment, she told the waiter, “I’d like your dinner salad, ranch dressing, and may I have a glass of iced water please?”
“I’m paying for dinner, Mackenzie. You may order anything you like,” Dell said in his voice sounded a bit perturbed, as though she were suggesting that he might be on the cheap side.
“Oh, well, I thank you for that, but I really only wanted a dinner salad. I’ve stepped up my desire to improve my health and am trying to eat more greens. I hope you don’t mind.”
Dell shook his head, saying, “I guess so, if that’s all you want.”
Mackenzie felt a bit awkward at this, but figured she would get used to it. Everyone had their individual eccentricities, even David had had his.
She tried to make up for the awkward silence by introducing a topic of conversation. “I seem to remember you telling me that you have a degree in economics. What prompted you to choose that field? Did it have anything to do with your military career?”
“Everyone should be aware of economics,” he said crisply. “It’s really a matter of personal responsibility. If individuals don’t keep track of their money, how can they blame the government for the very same thing? As for my military career, I served above aboard the USS Enterprise. There’s very little that I can share with you. Most of what I witnessed was considered classified, so let’s not go there this evening.”
