Every piece of clothing Elizabeth owned was strewn in a chaotic cyclone around her living room. It was almost six, and she still had no idea what she was going to wear. She glanced around frantically. This was a special occasion. She needed something that would make a good impression. Her eyes landed on a slip of pink fabric peeking out from under a pile of blouses. Bingo. She grabbed the fabric and pulled it out. It was a light pink dress trimmed with lace, the perfect mix of classy and fun. Elizabeth pulled the dress on and adjusted herself. She glanced in the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her in excited anxiety. She felt like a school girl again.
The walk to Derrick’s house seemed longer due to her anticipation. She wondered what the inside of his house looked like. Fighting back another excited squeal, she pressed the doorbell. After a minute, the door opened. Derrick had a wooden spoon in one hand and a dishtowel tossed over one shoulder. The smell of rich tomato sauce wafted out to greet her.
“Come in! You look beautiful.”
“Thanks, so do you. Handsome, I mean.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She was already making a fool of herself.
“Dinner is cooking. I’ll bring some wine to the living room. Have a seat.” He showed her to a room filled with slivers and blacks. It was clear that most of his business buildings had been styled after his own personal taste.
The alluring smell of garlic and cheese drew her attention. “It smells great.”
“Thank you. I hope you like Italian.” He handed her a glass of wine and sat down next to her.
“Love it.” She took a sip to fill the silence. She wasn’t sure what to talk about. Her whole body felt like a ball of nerves.
Derrick smiled at her timid nature. “I have a question.”
“I have an answer.” Her eyes sparkled as she repeated back the line he had used on her earlier.
“Why do you want to be a concierge so badly? Of all the things you could do, why is that your dream job?”
Elizabeth cupped her wine glass in her hands. “Do you remember the story I told you about getting lost in the woods during a storm when I was little?”
“Yes. I remember.”
“After I was found and my parents were looked over at the hospital, they needed a few days to recover before they could travel back home. We ended up staying in a hotel during that time. I was young, and my parents needed rest, so the concierge would set up board games and play cards with me behind the front desk. She helped me make the best of a tough situation, and that really stuck with me. I want to be a concierge so that maybe someday I can repay that same kindness to someone else. When you work in a hotel, you meet people from all over the world who are dealing with so many different things. I want to help them.” A small smile pulled her lips into a bow as she remembered it fondly.
“You’re beautiful.” His words surprised her, and her face tinted to match her dress. She tried to look away, but his hand caught her chin and pulled it up. Their eyes met. He could see her bosom rising and falling faster. “I mean that. You are a beautiful person. Inside and out.” He leaned in to kiss her. One hand cupped her face while the other found the small of her back to secure her in place. Just as their lips were about to touch, a buzzer sounded from the kitchen. Derrick’s head dropped. “Hold that thought.” He got up to check on the food.
Elizabeth took a swig of her wine to calm her nerves. The doorbell rang. She pulled her glass away from her face, “I’ll get it.”
Her feet carried her to the door while Derrick was in the kitchen. She pulled the door open. On the front porch was a blonde woman and a little boy with very familiar dark curls. The boy brushed past her without a second glance. His backpack bounced as he walked. The woman glared at her and looked her over with disdain.
“Can I help you?” Elizabeth checked over her shoulder to see where the little boy had gone and then looked at the woman in front of her again.
“Daddy!” The little boy’s voice carried back to Elizabeth. Daddy? She didn’t know he had a kid! She wasn’t prepared for this at all.
Derrick’s voice answered, a little confused, “Hey, buddy! Is your mom here?” He came back out of the kitchen and saw the woman standing in front of Elizabeth. The kid went off to amuse himself in the living room. “Catherine, what are you doing here?”
Catherine put her hands on her hips, “Last night was your night, and you canceled. I had to miss a date with Mason, so if you can change up the arrangement whenever you please, then so can I.”
“I told you, the weather was too bad. I wouldn’t have been back in time to pick him up from school. I didn’t want him to have to wait there when I didn’t even know if I could make it home.”
“Well, tonight you get to make up for it. And just so you know, I don’t want your flavor of the week around my son.” Catherine shot a hateful glare at Elizabeth.
“Hey, Charlie is my son, too. You know I wouldn’t bring him around something like that. If you had let me know you were bringing him over tonight, I would have rescheduled.”
“Whatever. Make sure he eats dinner.” Catherine turned, brushing him off and got in her car.
Derrick closed the door silently and whispered to Elizabeth. “I am so sorry about this. I had no idea she was bringing him over. I know this is a lot to take in.”
“You have a son.”
“Yes.”
“You have a son, and his name is Charlie.”
“Yes.”
“You have a son, and his name is Charlie, and you didn’t tell me.”
“Yes. Elizabeth, I’m sorry. I haven’t dated in four years. He has never met any of the girls I’m typically with because I don’t want to parade women around in front of him. I want him to grow up to respect women. I would have told you about him when I was ready. I just don’t want him to get attached to someone if it turns out they won’t be around very long.”
She took a deep breath, still trying to adjust. “I understand. It’s just a bit of a shock. What do you want to do now? He’s already seen me.”
Derrick nodded, “Would it be okay with you if I just introduced you as my friend? I don’t want to hurt your feelings. That is not my intention. I’m just trying to protect my kid.”
The selfish part of her was hurt by the suggestion. He could ask her out in a room full of her colleagues, but he couldn’t introduce her properly to his son? In her head, she understood his reasoning. It was just their first date after all, and introducing someone to his child really seemed to be an important thing for Derrick. She needed to respect his decision on how to raise his child. “Of course.”
They walked into the living room where Charlie was playing with a car on the floor. Derrick’s phone was beside him. “Hey, buddy. This is my friend Elizabeth. Would it be okay if she stayed with us for dinner?”
Charlie looked up at her and cocked his head to the side as if he were analyzing her, “Do you like cars?”
“Yes.” Elizabeth looked down at him.
He reached inside his backpack and pulled out another car and held it up to her. Elizabeth took the toy and sat down beside him on the floor. Charlie nodded as if she had passed some sort of test. “She can stay.”
“Thanks, buddy. I’ll have dinner ready soon.”
“How old are you, Charlie?”
“Seven.” Charlie ramped the toy car over his shoe and onto the coffee table. His fingers landed it safely next to Elizabeth’s forgotten glass of wine.
Derrick’s phone rang loudly next to them. Elizabeth let out a little scream and jumped as it startled her. Charlie laughed and pointed as she realized what had scared her. “Charlie, did you turn my phone up again?” Derrick came out of the kitchen and scooped up his phone shaking his head at his son. He stepped out of the room to take the call.
The little boy leaned in and whispered to Elizabeth, “I like the song, so I turn it up whenever I’m over here.” He giggled mischievously.
Derrick stepped back in the room, tapping his phone on the palm of his hand. He looked worriedly from Charlie to Elizabeth. “Lizzie, could I see you for a second?”
“Uh, sure.” She stood up and straightened her dress. “What’s up?”
“That was work. I need to go in for a little bit. There is a special client that showed up last second.” He took her hands in his, “Look, I know this is last second, but I won’t be gone long. Could you watch Charlie for me? Just fix him a plate for dinner, and I should be back before you guys finish eating.”
“Yeah, sure. No problem.” She had never babysat anyone in her life before, but sure. No problem.
“I promise to hurry. We can have a one-on-one date next time.” Derrick gave her hands a squeeze and then went to tell Charlie what was going on.
“You’ll be back?” He looked up at his dad with big, brown eyes.
“Yes, as soon as I can. Be good for Elizabeth, okay? She may not know all the rules, but you do. I expect you to be the perfect gentleman while I’m gone.”
“Yes, sir.” Charlie nodded as if he had just accepted a very important mission.
Derrick turned to Elizabeth, “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Come give me a hug,” he knelt so that Charlie could hug him better before he left. The little boy planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek. “I love you. Be good.”
“Love you, too!” Charlie called out after his dad and waved goodbye.
A long pause hung in the air. Elizabeth put on a smile, “So, who’s hungry?”