Fourteen
Claire
“Okay, so here’s the booster seat in case you go anywhere,” I said, thrusting the thing to my sister Dana.
“And here’s a bag of her stuff. There’s a change of clothes in there and pajamas. I don’t expect to be late, but just in case. Also, her favorite bubble bath is in here—”
“Claire—”
“And I know she’ll probably give you grief about eating her vegetables, but there’s no dessert unless she does. And I mean that. Don’t be the cool aunt that lets her break the rules, please—”
“Claire—”
“And here’s the number for her doctor, though I’m going to be with a doctor, so if anything happens you should probably just call me right away—”
“Claire.”
Dana’s hand shot out to take me by the shoulder and she gave me a little shake.
“What?”
She grinned, taking everything from my hands and patting me on the arm. “You’re going for a date, not a trek into the arctic for six months. She’s going to be fine. I think I can handle it for one night.”
“Okay, but don’t let her trick you. She isn’t allowed to use grown-up scissors or stay up past nine.”
“But drinking and smoking’s cool, right?”
I gave my sister a hard look, but she just smirked at me. “Come on, really? I can handle this. We’re just going to paint our nails and watch movies. It’ll be fine. Enjoy yourself.”
I sighed, slumping forward. “Promise?”
She nodded, pulling me into an awkward hug with the bag and booster seat and everything else between us. “Of course.”
“Thanks Dana.”
“What are sisters for?”
I grinned and shrugged, feeling a little silly about my manic need to control everything.
“You look super hot, by the way.”
“It’s not too much?” I asked, plucking at the dress I hadn’t worn in years. The deep red shade played nicely off my pale skin and blonde hair, but I bought the clingy, revealing number before I’d had Ella and I wasn’t sure my post-pregnancy body was pulling it off.
“Well,” Dana said, looking at my ensemble thoughtfully, “you do want to sleep with him right?”
I nodded.
She shook her head. “Then no, it’s not too much at all.”
“Dana!”
She grinned and held up her hands. “You’re the one that picked the ‘fuck me’ dress.”
“Watch your language,” I hissed, eyes darting past her to find Ella. But Ella was already engrossed in cartoons and not paying us any attention.
“Just have fun, would you? You deserve it.”
“I’ll try,” I sighed, hugging myself self-consciously now. I wondered if I could dart back home to change, but then I saw the time and realized I was already running late.
“Shit, I’ve gotta go.” I gave her one last hug and started sprinting to the car, but Dana stopped me.
“Uh… Claire?”
I turned and she just nodded her head, her eyes going to my hands. Where I was still holding on to Tubby. I guess he offered comfort to more than just Ella. I laughed and chucked the stuffed elephant towards the front door and Dana caught him with two free fingers, waving at me with her fist closed around Ella’s bevy of supplies and possessions.
I got in the car and blew out a few deep breaths before I started it and headed down the mountain. I’d been looking forward to this date all week, looking forward to seeing Luke again and actually talking to him. Actually exploring this chemistry between us and seeing where it could go. But of course, now that the time had arrived, I was a nervous wreck. What if he didn’t show? What if he did show and immediately regretted it? What if everything went well and I blew it right at the end? There were too many things that could go wrong. So many things, that it almost seemed inevitable that something would go wrong. But I couldn’t think like that. Thinking like that was just inviting the bad things in. I had to focus on the positive.
Like how Chuck’s incompetence led me to meet Ella’s sexy new doctor. And how that sexy doctor seemed interested enough in me to invent a family gathering to invite me to. And that my foot remained far enough out of my mouth that we were going on a real date.
Those were the things I needed to focus on. Because for all the things that could go wrong, so far, had been skewing the other direction. And maybe that was why I was so suspicious, because things had been going too well, but I couldn’t just live my life looking around every corner waiting for failure to spring out at me.
By the time I got down the mountain to the diner, I’d done a pretty good job of giving myself a pep talk. Then I pulled into the parking lot and cursed under my breath. The place was packed. I mean, of course it was. It was the only decent place to eat in town and it was Friday night. Where else was everyone going to go? Hopefully the wait wouldn’t be too long. And at least it would give Luke and I ample time to talk before I inevitably embarrassed myself by getting ketchup on my dress or something.
“Look at that, Claire Andrews finding the bright side,” I said, laughing at myself in the rear view mirror. Maybe Luke was a good influence on me. Or maybe I was just done with sabotaging my own happiness. We could make this work, packed diner or no.
So I headed to the front door and started scanning the crowd for Luke’s dark hair and broad shoulders. The diner was crammed full with people squished into booths, crowded in the walkways, and even loitering around the door waiting to be seated. I didn’t spot Luke anywhere, so I figured it would be better to wait for him outside in the fresh air where I’d be easy to spot.
The cool night breeze helped me breathe a little easier, helped me clear my thoughts and tamp down the last of my anxiety. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted someone moving toward me and turned with a smile, expecting Luke, but the smile melted instantly. Chuck.
“Fancy seeing you down here,” he said, looming closer. Too close, his breath smelling like whiskey. I took a step back and braced myself for an unpleasant encounter, I hoped he’d lose interest soon so I could get on with my night with Luke.