Chapter Thirteen

Deacon made his way to the shop the next day, work always eased any anxiety he had. To him, there was something about fixing cars that made him feel good for having fixed something. It was a tough day, nonetheless. His mind kept going back to Brook. Joey and Frank knew something was up but they let him be. They never told the boss what to do. Deacon took off early and took his bike out for a long ride. He went home that evening, had a beer and feel asleep, hoping he would see Brook in his dreams again.

***

Brook spent the next day mopping around the motel and pool. She had nothing to do but wait for her car and didn’t feel like going into town. Although, that evening, she decided to walk into town to get some dinner. She ran into Sheryl on the street just outside the diner. “Hi Sheryl.”

“Oh, hi, hon, you comin’ in?”

“Not tonight.” She didn’t want to risk running into Deacon and make things uncomfortable for him at his own little diner.

“You feelin’ okay? You seem kinda down.”

“I’m not great, but I’ll get over it.” Brook knew she could move on. Besides, she had to face the fact that, they were from two different worlds and lived in different cities.

“Oh, hon, I hate to see a gal like this. You sure you don’t want to come in and talk?”

“Are you sure you’re not mad at me or something?”

“Honey, what are you talking about? Why would I be mad at you?”

“Because Deacon and Chester got into a fight the other night and it was because of me.”

“Oh, ya!” Sheryl was surprised to hear this but not concerned.

“Yes.” Brook was surprised that Sheryl didn’t know about it.

“Well, those two have been at it for years. It’s not the first time they have fought.”

“Really?” Brook was surprised at their history.

“Uh-huh. Did you know they used to be friends?”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“Oh sure. Deacon used to date Chester’s little sister in high school. So, me and Chester and the two of them used to hang out all the time.”

“Oh!”

“Listen, they’ve got history together. Let them work it out on their own. Besides, if I have to hear about every single one of Chester’s fight, my whole head of hair would turn grey. I love Chester but I can’t control him. You sure you don’t want to come in for a bit?”

“I’m sure. I don’t want to see Deacon tonight.”

“Oh, I see. Well where are you headed?”

“Probably to that restaurant up there, the one with the tomato on the sign.”

“The Italian place! It’s got great pasta. And by the way, the owner is not bad lookin’ either.” She winked at Brook.

“Okay, thanks. I’ll keep it in mind. See you.”

“Bye hon.” Sheryl stopped her before she could walk away. “Oh, hey, some of the girls and I are getting together tonight. We’re going to The Bear Cave. It’s a club in the basement of this old factory. You feel like dancing?”

“I’m not sure I’ll be up for dancing but I will come for a few drinks.”

“Great! You want me to pick you up after my shift or will you be in town?”

“I’ll probably be at the motel. Not much for me to do around here.”

“Not a problem, hon, I’ll come by around ten.”

“Okay, thanks Sheryl!” Brook gave a sincere smile.

“You bet!” Have a good night.

“You too!”

Brook walked up the five blocks and opened the door to the restaurant. She was greeted by an older Italian woman who seem to be running the place. She was seated by the window and offered a glass of house wine to start, which she accepted. She enjoyed her quiet meal. I was the first time in years since she dined out by herself. At the end of her meal, the owner’s son, who had been working on the back office, saw her and immediately came up to her table. He introduced himself and asked if she needed anything.

“Hello Miss, how was your meal?”

“It was delicious. Thank you.” She looked up and splashed those big green eyes at him, and he nearly fell over.

“Well, I’m Nico, my family owns this restaurant. If you don’t mind me asking, it is the first time I’ve seen you here. Are you new in town?”

“Yes. Well, kinda.” Brook didn’t feel like getting into details about the car and her husband.

He kneeled down next to her and asked “May I treat you to some desert? You won’t regret it. I promise.” He smiled at her flirtatiously.

“How can I refuse.” This guy was coming onto her. He is cute, she thought.

Nico went to get the desert menu, which was leather bound into a small booklet. It listed, deserts and some aperitifs. “We have raspberry panna cotta with chocolate sauce, tartufo, tiramisu and cheese cake.”

Brook had dined at countless fancy restaurants before. She was all too familiar with these plain deserts and wasn’t as impressed or excited as Nico would have liked. “What do you recommend?”

“For you, I would say the panna cotta or the cheese cake.”

“Panna cotta it is.”

“Perfect. You will die!”

He came back with the desert and quickly refilled her wine glass. “May I ask, why is such a beautiful woman like yourself dinning alone this evening? Is your husband away on business?” He was looking for a ring on her finger.

“I just didn’t have anything to do so I took myself out.”

Nico laughed at the charming and honest response. “lovely!” No ring on her finger. “Then would you mind if I joined you?”

“No, actually, that would be nice.” She needed the company after spending two days by herself in the motel.

They chatted over a glass of wine but the conversation didn’t mean as much to Brook as it did to Nico. She didn’t tell him any details of her personal life and kept the conversation focused on him and in between, she filled those moments with small talk.

This guy was hot, she though. So, what am I doing still pinning over Deacon. I’m young, I should be dating multiple guys, she tried to talk herself into giving this guy a chance. But she was still wishing it was Deacon sitting with her. She left the place without giving him her number, she didn’t want to start up two relationships in one town.