He held out the lilies to her. “Trade?”
“You brought me flowers?” She put the brownies on the counter and grabbed the bouquet. “What’s the occasion?”
His mother’s shock and joy was enough to make him feel a little guilty for not thinking to do this sooner.
“No occasion. Just saw them and thought of you.”
Claire buried her face in them. “They’re beautiful, Luke!”
He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
“Do you want to stay for lunch?” Claire offered.
“Can’t.” Luke checked his watch. “I’m picking Dad up in 15 for lunch, but I’ll take two brownies.”
“As long as one of them is for Harper.”
Luke smiled. “We’ll see if she hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet after getting a look at the last six months of unfiled paperwork.”
“In that case, I’m packing four brownies and Harper gets to decide if you get any. She’s a lovely girl, Luke. I really like her.”
“I do, too.”
And he meant it.
***
Charlie Garrison was a broad-shouldered man who had worn his silver hair in the same style since the ’60s. In homage to the brisk spring temperatures, he had traded his heavy Carhartt for a lighter flannel jacket. He slid into the booth across from Luke and pushed the menu to the edge of the table. He always ordered the same thing. They both did.
Luke accepted the unordered cup of coffee from the waitress and smiled as she slid a Coke into his dad’s hands. Claire had for her pre-diabetic husband a strict no-soda rule that was only broken at the diner.
“The usual, boys?” Sandra asked, not bothering to pull out her notepad.
“Yes, ma’am.” Charlie handed her the menus and she winked as she walked away. A retired elementary school music teacher, Sandra owned the diner and worked the lunch shift four days a week.
Luke leaned back, resting his arm on the back of the booth. “I wonder what she’d do if we ever ordered something different.”
“Probably bring us the usual anyway.” He plucked the straw out of the glass and put it on the table before taking a deep drink. “So what’s the occasion?”
“For lunch?”
“It’s been awhile.”
Luke nodded, toying with his mug. “Yeah.” It had been. What years ago had been a standing weekly tradition had slowly morphed into a sporadic occasion.
Sandra mercifully arrived with their food. A tuna melt and fries for Charlie and a bacon cheeseburger for Luke.
“Can I get you boys anything else?”
Charlie shook his head and reached for the ketchup. “No, ma’am.”
“Thanks, Sandra,” Luke said, hefting the burger.
“All right, try not to cause too much trouble,” she said before bustling off to the next booth.
Luke took a big bite of burger and watched his father dig in to his sandwich. “How’s the basement reno coming?” While technically retired, his father still liked to oversee a handful of projects every year. His neighbors, the Nicklebees, had hired them to finish their walkout basement.
Charlie took a swig of Coke and reached for a fry. “It’s coming along. The wiring’s finished and the plumbing’s almost done.”
