“I will admit that tonight has been more enjoyable than any of my dates so far.”
“Yikes,” Rita replied, then downed the rest of her drink. “I guess if that’s true, we should get back to dancin’. You and me are gonna have some fun tonight, and we don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. Right?”
“Right.” Cathy grinned and leaped to her feet. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next Saturday, Jessica was feeling more like herself again. The intense fatigue of the first few weeks of school had abated, and she had a little more energy than on previous weekends. For the past few Saturdays, she’d wanted nothing more than to collapse in bed and binge TV shows all day after five days of wrangling teenagers, lesson planning, worrying over every little incident that happened in the classroom, and trying to locate all of the resources she needed. But today, she wanted to go out, and Tyler had invited her to a picnic in the park. He’d purchased a new truck and wanted to take her out in it.
Summer was over, and fall had just begun. The weather was perfect with a sparkling sun in a clear blue sky. Piedmont Park was close to the city but quite a drive away from Covington. When they arrived there, Jessica saw rollerbladers, skateboarders, dozens of people walking various-sized dogs, someone else throwing a Frisbee back and forth, and others dotted all over the park, sitting on the grass to eat, read, or talk with friends.
It was a busy park, but big enough that it didn’t seem crowded. A sidewalk curved and curled around rolling greens and by clumps of trees. They followed it until they found a clearing with a small tree at the back of it. Tyler set up a picnic blanket under the tree, and together they unpacked a bag of food he’d purchased from Publix with fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, rolls, and stuffing.
“This looks delicious,” Jessica said as she searched the bag and found plates, forks, and cups.
“There’s also wine,” he said, producing a bottle from another paper bag.
“Yum.”
As he poured the wine, Jessica scanned the park. It felt good to be outside instead of in the classroom. And to have no one she was responsible for, no one to discipline, nothing to grade. The tension in her shoulders had given her a headache for days, but now it was beginning to fade. She’d been looking forward to spending time with Tyler. She wanted to get to know him. He was handsome—that wasn’t the issue. She needed to know what kind of man he was. So far, Tyler seemed nothing like her ex, which was a huge relief.
They ate and chatted pleasantly. He was sweet, thoughtful, and funny. There was no sign of possessiveness, irritation, or the moping that her ex had consistently engaged in although she hadn’t recognised it at first — she’d simply thought he was mysterious and brooding. It was attractive initially because she’d never known anyone like him. Until it wasn’t.
“There are so many dogs in this park,” she commented. “It seems like everyone has a dog.”
“Everyone but us.” Tyler smiled as he poured her more wine.
“Thank you. True, everyone but us. And now that I have an accidental cat, I don’t think I’ll be getting a dog. I don’t have the time or energy to look after one.”
“I’ve thought about getting a dog,” Tyler said.
“How would your mom feel about that?”
“She has a dog already, a very old one, so I’m not sure. But I think I should probably get a job and a place of my own before the dog. I’m old-fashioned that way.”
She laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”
“I’ve started working out a recipe for corn whiskey. I want it to have my own unique flavour.”
“Really? How is it going?”
“Awful so far.” He grunted.
She shook her head. “It sounds hard. I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“Wait until I make butter pecan whiskey — I’ll get it right before long. You’ll love it.”
“Now that sounds more my style.”
She rolled onto her stomach, setting her elbows beneath her on the picnic blanket. He did the same so he was lying directly beside her. She turned her head toward him.
“Butter pecan is my favourite ice cream,” he said.
“It’s mine too. My parents always say I must be old in spirit to love that flavour.”
He leaned closer, his nose close to her and his lips slightly parted. “Old in spirit. I like that.”
“We’re so different, you and I,” she said.
