“You have the arrangement in your room?”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “Sounds silly doesn’t it? A grown man putting a floral arrangement of orchids and daisies on his bedside table so it’s the first thing he sees when he wakes up and the last thing he sees when he goes to sleep.”
“Because of the woman?”
He laughed. “Because of a woman, but not the woman who it was made for, though she liked it. It’s because of the woman who convinced me to get it instead of boring red roses, the same woman I assume who made it.”
She nodded.
“So, what happened to the woman you had me make it for?” She didn’t really want to know, but she felt she had to ask, had to know if there was a competition for his affections, not that there had been any affections. She didn’t want to start anything if there was competition.
What was the saying? There were plenty of fish in the sea?
“I’ve never run in a marathon,” He changed the subject quickly. “Can I still sign up for this one?” His question took her by surprise, first he wanted to train her, now he wants to run with her? She guessed the dinner wasn’t a success.
“Yeah. I think so.” Sarai shrugged. “I can get you the information, if you really want to sign up.”
“Great, send me the information. I might just do that.” He flashed her a smile as they turned onto her street, “So, what else do you do besides work at the flower shop and run marathons?”
“That’s not enough?” she teased. “Those things keep me pretty busy.”
“I bet they do.”
“What about you? Other than the gym, what do you do?”
“I travel a bit.”
“You travel? Where have you been?”
“All over, I’ve gone to Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceana, even the arctic once.”
‘The arctic? Why did you go to the arctic?”
“I had a friend who went for an exploration trip. I was bored, so I tagged along. This was years ago. It was pretty fascinating.”
“Wow, I’ve never been anywhere.”
“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”
“Paris!”
“They always say Paris,” he laughed. “You know, Scotland has richer history and is just as romantic. True, it doesn’t have an Eiffel tower, but there are hills and castles.”
“Is that where your family is originally from?”
“Yes. What is your last name, Sarai? Also, what kind of name is Sarai? It’s beautiful, but what is its origin?”
“My last name is Michelson, and I don’t know what my name means. Also, I’m adopted, Michelson is my mom’s name.”
“You’re adopted? That’s pretty cool.”
“My moms adopted me when I was a baby. I don’t remember my real parents.”
“Are you curious about them?”
“I don’t have time to be curious about them. I work hard and I help with my sick mother. My other mom can’t handle it all. It’s depressing watching her deteriorate, so we take shifts. There’s no cure, just medication to manage it. She’s been in a wheelchair my whole life.” A tear escaped her eye.
Alistair reached over to put his hand on hers in comfort. She turns hers over and they held hands for a few minutes while he maneuvered the car through the darkened silent streets.
