SEAN: (man plus beer emoji.)
JASPER: (two beers clinking emoji.)
Sean put his phone back in his pocket and continued prepping. The rest of his staff would be here shortly, and he liked to have a good start on the day by the time they arrived. That meant Mable would be showing up in about an hour as well, and that didn’t give him much time to figure out what he was going to tell her about the date. He wasn’t sure how to explain it to himself, let alone answer all the questions he could expect from Mable.
The next hour passed in a moment; this was often the case when Sean got in the prep zone. One moment he was dicing, and the next Mable was banging into his workspace, the door whooshing shut behind her.
“So how did it go?”
“It was nice.” He continued slicing tomatoes.
“But?”
“I don’t know. It was all going very well. We hung out for hours and we were really connecting and then all of a sudden, she got quiet. Then we left, and she didn’t even want me to drive her home.” He finished with a sigh.
“You let her walk home?”
Sean’s brows lowered, and he leveled a look at Mable, “Of course not.”
“So, you drove her home. Good, then what happened?”
“She got out of the Jeep like her hair was on fire and I haven’t heard from her since.”
“Did you text her?”
Sean sighed. “Honestly, Mable, I don’t see what the point would be.”
Mable’s mouth dropped. “Wow, I’ve never seen defeatist Sean before.”
“It was one date. We had a nice time, but it seems clear she wasn’t into me like I was into her. If I’m wrong the ball is in her court. If I’m right, no good would come from bothering her with a text.”
“No, I get it. I think you are making the right call.” She patted his shoulder, "I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
“Hey, I’ve still got you, this place, and Hermie.”
“The best fish ever!” She laughed.
Chapter Nine
NICOLE
Nicole bustled around her house, changing the towels in the bathroom, making sure a fall candle was lit, and vacuuming for the second time that day. To put it mildly, she had some nervous energy to burn off. Maybe she should try going for a run like Zaina did to combat stress. “That’s crazy talk,” she said to herself, “You can’t stand running.” She should probably try to figure out why she was getting all wound up about her friends coming over to hear about the date, but she didn’t want to do that.
Her stomach growled. She’d been so flustered she’d never gotten around to eating dinner. Snacks with friends it is. She pulled out a large serving tray and began putting crackers, grapes, cheese and salami on it. She popped a chunk of aged cheddar cheese in her mouth as she worked and thought about the food Sean had brought to her at the school. Wouldcharcuterie boards make her sad now? “Stop it, Nicole!” she scolded.
She pulled out a bottle of red wine and then checked to make sure there was water ready in the coffeemaker in case anyone wanted decaf or tea. She checked the time via the clock on her stove; the girls would be here anytime now. She couldn’t wait to get this date postmortem over.
Devin took off her coat and threw it, along with her purse, on the recliner next to Nicole’s door. She took off her heels and plopped down on the loveseat. “It has been a day,” she said, exhausted.
“What’s going on, Devin?”
“No ma’am. We are not here to talk about me. We can talk about my mayoral headaches later. Right now, we need to discuss you. What happened? Was he ogling other women while you guys were on your date? Were there red flags? Do I need to sic the health department on him?”
“No, no,” she waved her hands urgently, “He’s sweet, like a big lovable puppy dog. No red flags! He is going to make some woman a fantastic husband. He’ll probably be a great dad too.”
“That someone could be you, Nicole,” Devin said.
The doorbell rang. “Saved by the bell,” Devin quipped, and Nicole opened the door for Zaina.
