Chapter 4

 

 

“Please tell me it’s not fast food fish,” he said. “I don’t want to throw up in your car.”

She laughed and shook her head. “It’s so much worse.”

“Do tell.”

They climbed into the car and she left the parking lot. “One of my early dates took me to a movie. Afterward I said I was hungry so he said we could get something at his work because he had a discount.”

“I’m getting a bad feeling about this,” he said. “Where did he work?”

“A gas station.”

He cringed. “He took you to dinner . . . at a gas station?”

“It’s as bad as it sounds,” she said. “It wasn’t a nice one. It was this dirty, hole-in-the wall place at the edge of Phoenix.”

“What did you eat?”

“Chips, crackers, and a hot dog that had probably been on the heater for months.” She shuddered. “It was terrible.”

“So I take it we’re going to a gas station for dessert?”

“We are,” she said. “But I won’t do you the disservice of taking you to a nasty gas station. We’re going to a nice one. There’s a 7-11 where we’ll have to figure out a nice treat.”

“You don’t already have a plan?”

“My date to the gas station walked in and asked me what I wanted. He said it like it was an all you can eat buffet.”

“So now we get to choose?”

“I hope you can surprise me,” she said.

“It’s what I live for,” he said.

As they drove to the gas station they took a break from the bad date game and talked about their fall semester. He marveled about how much he craved the mundane details of her life. The engineering building and the psychology building were on different sides of campus, so they rarely saw each other during the day. Two days a week they were able to meet for lunch and he looked forward to those moments, but they never seemed to satiate his desire for more time.

“I wish we had more time together,” he said, voicing his thoughts. “Over the summer our classes lined up pretty well, but this semester is the opposite.”

“I feel the same way,” she said. “But in a way I like it.”

“Getting tired of me already?” he asked, indignant.

“It’s just nice to be wanted,” she said.

He laughed and gestured to campus. “So it’s not just me that wants more time?”

“No,” she said, her eyes soft. “I wish we had more too.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “We only have a few months and then I’ll be done with school. We can have more time in the spring.”

“How’s it going with the internships?”

Her question was said casually, but a current of worry had appeared in her voice. “Dr. Caldin found two internships I can apply for. I’ll have to wait a few weeks but my chances are decent.”

“What if you don’t get in?” she asked.

She was obviously trying to keep it from showing, but the worry had deepened. He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, Kate.”

She smiled and glanced his way. “Are you sure this isn’t moving too fast? You really don’t have to come to my family’s Thanksgiving. It’s not even on the actual holiday.”

“Is it usually like that?” he asked.

“Holidays have always been flexible in my family,” she said. “First it was my dad, and then when Bake and Tyler joined the military it was even harder. Now my dad’s retired, so it isn’t as hard to line up a day when everyone is on leave.”

“I really would like to meet your family,” he said. “After talking so much with your mom to plan our other dates, I’d like to meet her so she doesn’t think I’m a stalker boyfriend.”

“That’s not how she sees you,” she said.

“Then how does she see me?”

She shook her head. “You’re dodging the question.”

“So are you.”

She laughed. “Seriously. Do you think we’re moving too fast?”

“All I know is that I crave time with you,” he said.

“Really?”

“Don’t sound so surprised,” he said. “Have I not made that clear with the abundance of calls and showing up every day? It’s a wonder you haven’t told me you needed a break.”

“We tried that,” she said. “I didn’t like it so much.”

He grinned. “I vastly prefer being together.”

She pulled into the gas station and parked. Then she turned to meet his gaze, an earnest smile on her face. “I feel the same way,” she said.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he said. “Because otherwise our gas station treat would be really awkward.”

She laughed and they got out of the car. Entering the mini-mart of the gas station, he scanned the interior of the structure, grateful it looked clean and orderly. It was not overly large but it wasn’t small either.

The counter was situated to the left while the bank of slushies and sodas sat on the back wall. Aisles extended to the right and the outside wall contained the refrigerated drinks. It carried that odd sense of familiarity that all gas stations possessed, as if he’d been in that exact one before but had forgotten because they all looked the same. The bored woman behind the counter did not look up from her magazine, so Reed walked down the first aisle.

“We have gourmet cookies by chef Nestle,” she said. “Or other sugar-injected confections.”

“So many options,” he said. “What will we choose?”

“My date tried to buy beer,” she said, gesturing to the coolers. “His boss just laughed at him.”

“That would be embarrassing,” he said.

“He was,” she replied, and then glanced his way. “You know, I assumed you didn’t drink because of your dad. But is it because of what happened to Aura?”

“Both,” he said with a nod. “My dad was a heavy drinker for my entire childhood. It wasn’t until after I left home that he got into AA. Then Tim nearly killed Aura, and I swore I’d never drink.”

“So you’ve never tasted alcohol?”

“To be honest I’m afraid to,” he said. “When I was in grade school a kid made fun of my dad and said drunks ran in the family. He claimed I would end up just like him. I learned that alcoholism can be hereditary so I vowed never to touch it.”

“I bet that took courage.”

Reed shrugged and recalled all the times he’d heard his dad stumble in the door after a night at his favorite bar. He’d never beaten Reed’s mom, as far as he knew, but he’d been a slovenly mess, sometimes just passing out on the floor because he couldn’t make it up the stairs.

“It’s easy to say no before you start,” he said.

“So the wine selection is not on the menu,” she said, waving to the refrigerated doors. “But that still leaves the carbon dioxide and glucose infused water.”

“You mean the sodas?”

“That’s what I said.”

He spotted a package of circus peanuts and picked it up. “Now this is a perfect dessert,” he said. “Sweet taste, delicious texture, and a nice aftertaste that lingers with you.”

“Very astute,” she said sagely. “But I prefer the more robust Take Five. Imported chocolate, hand drizzled over a pretzel baked over a wood fire. Perfect with a touch of caramel and sea salt.”

He couldn’t take it anymore and laughed, then she broke down as well. The woman at the counter looked up at them, her eyes registering curiosity before returning to the magazine. Unable to resist the description, he picked up the Take Five and used it to point at Kate.

“You should be in advertising,” he said.

“I just like them,” she said smugly, picking up one for herself. “Drink?”

“I don’t think I can take you describing the Gatorade as ‘pure volcanic spring water blended with melted glacial ice and organic flavors unique to the Amazon jungle’.”

“I was going to say let’s get Slurpees,” she said. “Blue raspberry, of course.”

“Deal,” he said.

They filled their drinks and Kate paid for their treat. The girl hardly looked up as she mechanically ran the register, accepting Kate’s credit card and then handing it back. When she was done the woman lapsed back into her previous stupor of magazine reading.

“Your dessert menu is excellent,” Reed said.

The girl looked up and stared, and Kate smothered a laugh. Reed merely grinned and walked out the door, where they both burst out laughing. Back in the car, they used their Styrofoam cups to toast the evening and opened the treats. As Reed savored the dessert, Kate gestured to him.

“You’ve had plenty of time to think about your worst dates,” she said. “But I’m leaving you in the dust. I hope you have some good ones left.”

“Don’t worry,” he said with a smile. “I’ve saved the best for last.”