“You’ve been there before?” Christopher asked as he opened the door and paused when she locked up behind them. Together they went down through the workshop, and she again locked up behind them. He escorted her to a mid-sized SUV, and she frowned when she saw the plates.
“New York?”
“Yes, this is my personal vehicle.” He helped her in, and got behind the wheel. He buckled up, then sighed. “I don’t do airports. I like to be in control, and there’s too much chaos in airports. Too many delays, too many cancellations, too much chaos.”
“What? You drove all the way from New York to here?” Wanda asked as she indicated for him to go. “Take a left out of the parking lot, go five miles, turn right, three miles down on the left.”
“Thank you.” He started the truck and began following her directions. “Yes,” he said as he picked up the conversation as they drove. “Actually, I drove to my parents’ house south of Chicago. Told them what I found out and then I went back to where we grew up in California. There I found your parents had moved to Oregon, so I went there and thanks to your niece, we were able to find you here in Arizona. And yes, I drove to all of those places. My partner called me earlier today, and I’m leaving Sunday to head back home to New York.”
“Partner? So, you’re gay?”
“What?! NO! I wouldn’t have kissed you the way I did if I was gay.” He actually jerked the wheel, causing them to swerve in the road, and when he got it under control, he looked at her and frowned. “Business partner. Work partner. I don’t know if you looked at the card I gave you, but I own my own business. Evans Investigations, Inc. I started it while a senior in college and Sean Brown joined me a year later. He called and said I needed to get back. Works piling up. I just wanted to make sure you were going to contact a lawyer.”
“I plan to. I have several calls out, waiting to hear back from them. But you have to admit it’s an unusual case.”
“It is. I’d like to apologize for my actions earlier. Since I found out about our marriage, I’ve been on the road. I’ve contacted my lawyer back home, and I’ll meet with him when I get home. I’ll leave you my cardand contact information so that when you get a lawyer, you can pass it along.”
“So what? You want me to file for divorce?”
“I was thinking along the lines of an annulment. Don’t worry, if you need help paying for it, I’ll talk to my lawyer and make that one of the conditions. That I pay all or half of your lawyer fees.”
“You don’t have to do that. But let me ask you this. What if we have to go to court?”
“Then have your lawyer contact mine as soon as possible, and hopefully they’ll give me enough time to come down. And yes, I’ll be driving, like I said, I don’t do airplanes or airports. And before you say anything, no bus, or train either.”
“Let me guess.” Wanda giggled as she pointed to the restaurant. “You like to be in control?”
“Absolutely.” He grinned as he pulled in and parked. He got out and helped her out, and they saw their parents outside the door waiting for them.
“Well, if it’ll help, you can always stay at my place if it comes to that. At least save you on a hotel room.”
“Deal. And if you ever come to New York, let me know in advance so I can plan on you being there. You’re more than welcome to stay with me. I don’t have as much room as you do, but I do have a spare room.”
“Thanks,” she said, and they exchanged a look and decided to table their talk until later, if that. They greeted their parents and went into the restaurant. Wanda grinned when Christopher stopped and stared.
“You weren’t kidding, were you?” Christopher stared at Wanda in shock, then looked out at all thebuffet tables loaded with food. He looked at the older adults, and asked, “Have you been here before?”
“No, I heard about it when we were exploring the town earlier today.” Randall grinned. “Sounded like fun.”
“Do you need to tour the tables, then make a list as to what you’re going to eat?” Wanda giggled as she followed the waitress to their table. Once they were seated, everyone placed their drink order, and the waitress questioned Wanda several times when she asked for ice water with five lemons. She was surprised when Christopher came to her defense.
“Is there a problem here?”
“Um, no. I was just making sure she actually wanted five lemons for the water.”
“Do you think if she didn’t want them, she would order them?”
“I’m sorry, Sir.” She hurried away, and Wanda looked at Christopher.
“That was uncalled for. I could have handled it.”
“I know, but I had a feeling she would continue to question you. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hungry.” He grinned and stood up and headed to the tables. Wanda sat there and watched as he walked around the fifteen tables and looked at everything before he picked up a plate to start filling it. She shook her head, and before she could rise to join them, the waitress returned with their drinks. Wanda saw her glass of water only had one lemon wedge floating. But before she could say anything, the waitress placed a small dish beside it.
“Here’s more lemons for you.”
“Thank you.” Wanda nodded and squeezed five lemons into her drink, stirred it and took a sip. “Perfect, thank you.” She stood and went and picked up a plate and began walking around. She wasn’t starving, so she decided to start with soup and salad. By the time she made it back to the table, everyone else was seated, and she was surprised when the men stood at her approach and what really surprised her was Christopher holding her chair out for her. She thanked him and sat down. It ended up that the men sat on one side of the table with the women on the other. Christopher and Wanda sat between the adults. They ended up spending three hours talking and eating, and it was discussed that the parents were going to leave the next day. But they were going to take their time and stop at the Grand Canyon on their way to their own homes in different states. Christopher ended up driving Wanda back to her place while the other adults decided to go further into town and go out for a drink.
After walking her up to her door, Christopher looked at her, and said, “Let me know if you need anything about the lawyer. I’m leaving here tomorrow to go back to New York. If you need anything, let me know, and if you’re ever in New York, if you contact me in advance, I can plan for it. I’ll show you around, and I have a spare room you can stay in.”
