“Hi,” I answer, no doubt with a stupid smile on my face.
“Come in.” I turn to the side so she can enter.
“Smells delicious in here.” She walks in and looks around.
“Thank you. I hope you like Italian food.”
“It’s one of my favorites.”
“Mine too.” I brush her hand with mine as I walk by her toward the kitchen.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“You have wine?” She sits on one of the stools at the high-top counter bar.
“I do. You ordered Pinot the other night. Does that work?”
She nods. “That’s great. Thanks.”
I pour us both some wine and set her glass down in front of her. When she lifts it, I touch my glass with hers.
“Cheers,” I say, smiling.
“Cheers,” she replies.
We sip, and then I walk back to the stove to finish cooking our food.
“So, Aliette Grant, what do you and Sera do when you’re not at work?” I glance at her over my shoulder.
Her spine straightens. “Uh … I don’t know. Just the usual life stuff, I guess.”
“Are you an outdoorsy type? I know you played hockey, and you like to ice skate, but what do Alie and Sera like to do in the spring and summer?”
“Hmm … we love anything on the water. My family has a sailboat, so we use it a lot in the summer. The beach is always fun. Sera loves making sandcastles and making a mess with the sand. She used to try to eat it, but has thankfully stopped that. Those diapers were no fun.”
“Nice. I love being on the water too. Do you golf?”
“I mean, I can golf, but I’m not very good at it.”
“Really? That surprises me since you played hockey. With the similar swinging and all.”
She laughs. “Yeah, I’m not sure what it is, but I can’t seem to master it.”
“I’m a terrible golfer, but I love to play. Archie’s wife was a golfer in college, and she’s given me some lessons. Of course, she smokes me every time we play, but it’s always a good time regardless.”
“A humble loser, huh?”
“If I’m playing with her, yes.” I chuckle.
“I think you told me about them a little bit when we met.”
“Probably. I spend a lot of time with them in the offseason, usually, but not likely this summer with the move here and getting settled. They have a lot going on too. She’s getting ready to have their third baby.” I start plating our food, look up at her, and smile.
Her expression confuses me, and it almost seems like a wall is coming up.
Not gonna happen.
She clears her throat, seeming to shake off whatever was happening a few minutes ago.
