He did, then said slowly, “I asked if you would go out with me.”
Shocked, Willow could only stare at him.
“It’s not to some tuxedo and sequined gown affair, just to a local bar that has bands on the weekends.”
“Oh damn, and I was wondering if my red with gold sequins or black with silver would work better.”
Gary laughed and relaxed. “A sapphire blue to match your eyes would work.”
Willow snapped her fingers. “Damn, I just took it to the cleaners this morning.”
“What how about jeans and a nice top?”
“I think I could handle that. When were you thinking?”
Gary was so shocked she agreed that he didn’t have a quick answer. “Ah, Saturday?”
“Sure. I worked this past weekend, so I should be able to take a break.”
“Cool. Do you want me to pick you up?”
“How about I meet you there?”
“Sure, ever hear of ‘The Pit’?”
“I’ve driven by it, so eight?”
“Perfect,” Gary said, and quickly left. Willow noticed he had a bounce in his step and if she was honest, she felt better too. She promptly returned to work, and after closing her shop late Saturday afternoon, she grabbed a quick sandwich and took not only a hot bath, but a hot shower. She had a lot of clay to wash off her skin and out of her hair.
For the last three years she’d set up her shop, and she loved it. She did pottery, and she had an assistant that did everything so that Willow didn’t have to interact with anyone except for the pottery wheel and Gary once a week. Her designs had been such a hit that she spent all her time in her shop. She chuckled as she dressed for her date with Gary. Six months ago, her assistant had to hire an assistant. As long as they left her alone to do her thing, she was okay with the way her business operated. After putting her makeup on and fixing her hair, she stepped back and looked at herself with a critical eye. “Not bad.” She grinned at her reflection.
Out in her living room, her computer beeped an incoming call, and she rushed over and saw it was her sister.
“Hey, Fern,” Wanda laughed as she sat down and grinned at his sister’s expression.
“Holy shit, who are you and what have you done with my sister?” Fern stared in shock at the beautiful woman staring back at her.
“Stop, I have a date tonight, so I decided to clean up.”
“Well, you clean up well. I have to say I have a million questions going through my head as to what you do, but I’ll respect your wishes and let you tell me when you’re ready. But you have to promise to tell me first.” Fern grinned at Willow’s laugh.
“Why, so you can tell Doug you found out first?”
“Absolutely. How have you been? Haven’t heard from you all week.”
“Good, because I knew I had a date tonight, I worked longer every night, but I’m caught up and ready to go out and have some fun. It’s been a while.”
“So, who’s the guy? Not that you’ve dated a lot, not from what I’ve gathered from our previous conversations, but he must be nice if you agreed to go out on a date with him.”
“He is and his name is Gary, I don’t know much about him, but he makes deliveries to where I work, and has been the deliveryman for the last two years. I’m meeting him there at the bar/restaurant. I like my privacy too much to have him pick me up. In case you’re worried, he’s only seen me at my business, I don’t think he knows where I live.” Her sister didn’t either, but she wasn’t about to tell her that the place of business was below where she lived.
“I should say so, you won’t even let us know your address.”
“I know, I will soon, so how was your Easter dinner last weekend?”
“Good.” Fern said, then she giggled. “Doug broke up with his girlfriend at the dinner table before we even finished eating. He even called an Uber to come and pick her up.”
“What the hell?”
