Mike leaned over close to Jamie.“How about tomorrow night, I take you to dinner?”
Jamie blinked hard, not listening to a thing that Joesph was saying.“Where to?”He turned towards Mike.
“How about I take you to the same place I took Joesph?You can see what is considered upscale here.”Mike breathed heavily into Jamie’s ear.“Kill two birds with one stone?You can see what Joesph was talking about.”
Jamie couldn’t help but shiver, and his mouth went dry.“Okay.”
“Isn’t that right, Jamie?”Joesph said slyly.
“What?”Jamie blinked hard before he could focus on Joesph.“Sorry.I missed that.”
“I was telling this delightful young lady that you may take over the town of Columbus.The cuisine part of it anyway.”Joesph had a way of lowering his eyelids, making him look like a cat about to devour a mouse, as he looked at Jamie.
“Do what?”Jamie shook his head.“Uh, no, I’m not.”
“Oh really?”Joesph lowered his head.“Never say never, and I, Joesph Collins, say that you will.It may take some time, but I have no doubt in my mind that you will.Just remember that I’ve known you for averylong time.”
“That would be fantastic,” Terry said.“I know that compared to the rest of you, I’m just a country bumpkin, but I would really like to experience a nice place to go to.You know, not just the Copper Kettle.It’s like...only old people go there or for some kind of special occasion, and...it’s just sooo old.”
“You hit the nail on the head,girl,” Joesph said as he lifted his martini glass.“The food was okay, but it was so old fashioned.Oldandtired—two things you never want to be said aboutoneself.”
“That place hasn’t changed one bit since I was a little girl, and the only time I ever went there was for someone’s birthday or my high school graduation.”
“You can tell those dessertsweren’thomemade.That chocolate cake was...almosttastelessand dry.”Joesph’s face scrunched up.“Now, if you’ve not hadJamie’schocolate cake, you are in for a treat.Girl, it’s better than sex.Well...almost.”
Jamie took the martini glass from Joesph’s hand.“And on that note, I think that Joesph may need to go to bed.”
Joesph looked at Jamie.“You’re no fun.”
“Nope.I’m not.”Jamie stood up.“Come on, I’ll get you tucked in.”
“Lord help me,” Joesph looked skyward.“I’m not even thirty and I’m going to bed before ten o’clock.”
“I need to go too,” Terry said as she stood up.“Thank you so much for a wonderful evening.It’s been a long time since I was able to just let my hair down.Living with my parents is such a drag.”
“Why don’t you move out on your own then?”Mike asked.His look was genuine.
Terry sighed.“My parents are really old fashioned.They think that a girl should live at home until she’s married.And really, it’s just easier to go along with them than try and fight them, and there are advantages of living at home.”
“Like?”Salzy asked, having been mostly silent the entire night.
“I don’t have to pay rent, so I can save up my money.I never have to do laundry.My mother keeps telling me I don’t do it right.The downside is that I eat dinner with them most nights, and as I said, my mother cannot cook to save her own life.I don’t know how my father has stayed sane all these years.”
“Good night then,” Jamie said as he pushed a very tipsy Joesph towards the stairs.“We can do it again sometime.”
“I’d really like that.”Terry smiled at the pair.“It was nice to see you, Mike, away from the store.”
“I agree.It’s been fun,” Mike said.
Terry turned to Salzy and kissed him on the cheek and gave him a brief hug.“Thank you for inviting me.”
“Uh, yeah.Of course.”Salzy stood there stiffly.“I hope...we, uh...can do it again.Soon.”
“I hope it’s very soon,” Terry said, smiling up at Salzy.
Their eyes locked for a long minute.
“Very,” Salzy finally muttered.
