Chapter 62
Midnight by Moonlight
Celia kept looking at her watch as she and Roger sat in her room playing cards. “Do you have somewhere you need to be?”
“Oh, shut up and don’t ask.”
“You’re the one looking at your watch. When I was showing Mike the websites, he said he would ‘ask you later’. That sorta insinuated that he planned on speaking to you again.”
“When did you become so nosy?” Celia asked, laying down two aces and three fours. “And, this is my last hand.”
“So you do have a date, and that beats anything I had.” Roger started putting the cards away and moved off the bed as Celia scooted to the edge of the bed.
“I don’t think I’d call it a date. I’m just supposed to have a late dessert with Mike out by the pool.”
“Good. That means things are moving in the right direction. We’ll both be dating new people.”
“Who are you dating? You’ve only been here a few days.”
“It’s a blind date. I spoke with one of the ladies in bookkeeping at the dealership. She’s going to be showing me the other dealerships. I’ll be getting some images of each shop tomorrow and she’ll be driving.”
“You don’t waste anytime.”
“I thought it would be nice to take her to lunch. She said, ‘why not?’ and who knows, maybe we’ll hit it off. Her name’s Irene.”
“Good luck, and while you’re out, see if you can find some crutches. I’m tired of this chair and having to depend on others for everything.”
“Will do, Sis, but take your time. Things are coming together. Some people say everything happens for a reason. I don’t know if I believe that or not, but I do know we only get one chance at life and we need the make the most of it. So be patient. Your time is coming.”
Celia wasn’t sure when her little brother became so wise but she hoped he was right. Once he’d helped her into her wheelchair, she touched up her make-up, added cologne and changed shirts. The cake she asked her mother to leave out was on the table and she was just out the front door when Mike came down the stairs.
“Let me help you, pretty lady.”
“Please do but I was hoping to be by the pool. This chair slows me down. Roger is going to look for crutches tomorrow.”
“I think you’ll find them about as tiresome as the wheelchair but you can trade back and forth between the two and break up the monotony.”
Celia set the brakes on the wheelchair when Mike rolled her up to the table. She set the cake on the table and took out two forks. “I thought we could share. I wasn’t sure I could carry two slices so I had Mom cut a big piece.”
“If we need more, I can get more. We need to work on that chair. You need some pockets. Maybe a place for a bottle of water and a place for your phone.”
“That would be nice, but I lost my phone in the crash.”
“That’s right. Well, maybe this will work until you can get a new one.” Celia smiled as Mike placed a new phone with a red bow around it on the table.
“What is this? I told you not to spend more money on me.”
“I can’t have my new girlfriend without a phone.”
“Have we graduated to that?” she asked, with a huge grin on her face.
“I think so. In a world where most people have sex on the first date, I don’t think we’re speeding along at warp speed or anything. We’ve been having lunch for a couple of weeks now and all of the guys working on the house say they saw it coming.”
“Great. Gossiping behind my back,” she said with a sneer, but she was smiling. “And was that a hint for sex, because—”
“No, ma’am, it was not. Just an observation. I’m not a prude but I don’t move that fast either. I’m happy with learning more than a lady’s last name before moving to the bedroom. My mother taught me how to be a gentleman.”
“Well someone needs to tell her that she did a good job because a patient, kind man like you is not a common find these days.”
“If things go as I hope, you might be able to tell her that yourself in a few weeks. I’m tired of her trying to set me up and I told her today that I was capable of finding my own woman. She wanted proof and I told her I was seeing a lovely young woman.”
“What did she say?”
“She wanted to know everything. I didn’t tell her much, just that if, in a few weeks, we were still an item I’d bring you by.”
“Mothers do try to be helpful but I know in the end they only want what’s best for us.”
“You’re right. With mine, it’s every few weeks she has this new pretty young lady she wants me to meet. It does get tiring.”
“My mother never did that but I think it was only because she didn’t live in the same town. But now that she’s met you, and I’m single, she’s started offering advice.”
“I like your mom. She’s a lot like my mother. She’s always busy, great in the kitchen and there is nothing she won’t do for her children.”
“Thanks. I think we both did pretty well in the ‘Mother department’. It’s just the dating area we could use help in.”
“Maybe we need to take classes.” Mike leaned in to steal a kiss. When Celia pulled back, she was grinning.
“I don’t think you need any lessons in the kissing department. You’ve got that down. And I don’t know about you but I’ve learned a lot over the last few months on what not to do.”
“Thanks, and you’re right. So, do you want to be friends that kiss, or friends that date and kiss?”
Celia laughed, feeling like a teenager once again. “I don’t really see a big difference.”
“Well there may not be, but if I have anything to say in the matter, those are your choices.” Mike leaned in again and this time the kiss lasted longer.
Celia didn’t mind. It had been a while since she’d enjoyed kissing and she kept him close by sinking her fingers into his hair. When they separated she sighed. “I’ll take friends that date and kiss.”
“Good choice. Do we tell your mother and Roger or just let them figure it out on their own?”
“Let’s keep them guessing. It’s more fun.”
“Fine with me but I think they’ll figure it out if they catch us like this.” Mike leaned in to steal another kiss. “We could not kiss as often and it would take them longer to figure it out.”
Celia shook her head ‘no’ and after enjoying another wonderful kiss she spoke, “If that’s my only option, I’ll tell them first thing in the morning.”