NIC: Zaina no!
DEV: LOL, I gotta get back to work. I’ve got the condo board meeting for that building next to Hop’s Heaven. There was a fist fight in their parking lot Sat. night.
NIC: Ugh!
Z: Boo!
DEV: Nic I’ll call you after the twins are asleep to go over your outfit for the big date.
NIC: Thanks Dev.
Nicole set the phone down and began eating the meal Sean had made for her. She had to admit that no guy had ever done anything like this for her before. She preferred these prosciutto roses to the kind that sat in a vase and died. She’d like to get used to this. She picked up her phone again ready to respond to Sean. She carefully typed in Sean’s number and then she triple checked it before typing in her reply:
Thanks for the delicious lunch. Tomorrow at four sounds great.
She read it over, deleted it, and retyped.
Hi Sean! Thank you for a delish lunch! Tomorrow at four works for me!
She read that over, started to delete it, and then she stopped. "Don’t overthink," she said to herself and hit send. Then she over thought and added a second text.
Sorry this is Nicole, in case you didn’t know who it was.
Nancy cleared her throat and rolled her chair over, so she was next to Nicole. “I haven’t seen you smile that wide in I don’t know how long! Spill the beans, Nicole! I'm dying to know. Who sent you lunch?” Nancy slid her reading glasses down so she could see Nicole’s face better. “You know, I live vicariously through you single people. I’ve been married for thirty-five years now. I need to hear about young love.” Nancy propped her hand on her chin and waited for Nicole to speak. “We’ve got some time before the afternoon kindergarten rush. Now is the perfect time to chat.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “There isn’t much to tell.”
“So you say, but your eyes are all twinkly and you are still smiling. What’s his name?”
“Okay, fine. It’s Sean.”
“Go on.”
“He is the owner of Jesse’s Pub.”
“That’s nice. Bud and I have gotten carry-out from there a few times. Yummy stuff. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the owner. What does he look like?”
Nicole tilted her head, “Let’s see; he’s at least six feet tall. He has dark brown hair that he wears longish on top and shorter on the sides, his face has stubble from not shaving for a few days. Also, he has dimples and a great smile.”
“Oh!” Nancy snapped her fingers. "Your Sean is the one who brought the food! Aww, he brought you lunch. How long have you two been dating?”
“We aren’t,” she said quickly.
“Okay, what’s the scoop then?”
“We’re going to meet for tea tomorrow after work. He asked if I wanted to go for coffee, but I can’t do caffeine late in the day, so I’ll be ordering herbal tea. I wonder what he will order? Do you know if Common Grounds still has a daily scone? I haven’t had a scone in forever. I usually don’t get them. They are filled with gobs of butter but they’re always dry. I think I’d rather have a cookie or a donut, like a nice cake donut, or even a Danish.”
Nancy clapped her hands, “Nicole, you’re babbling.”
Nicole’s cheeks flushed, “Sorry about that.”
“Hon, don’t apologize. I hope the date goes well. He seems like a decent guy, and you deserve a good guy, especially after…” she paused.
“Ugh, don’t even utter his name!”
Nancy pantomimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key, and then the bell rang.
Nicole checked her phone, but no reply from Sean. “Back to work” she said.
