After a moment of silence, Guillaume wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist. “Mon amour, I think maybe these two have a lot to catch up on,non? They don’t want to stand around with us old folks all night.”
Her mother blinked then opened the door for them. “Oui, of course. Have a lovely evening, you two. It was wonderful to meet you, Corporal Bailey.”
Outside, they paused, and Adele saw her own shyness reflected briefly on Jerry’s face. Then he tilted his head toward his car. “I have a reservation at Abars. Have you been?”
“I’ve only heard of it, but it sounds very nice.”
“I hope you like it.” He opened the passenger door for her and offered his hand as she stepped onto the running board.
Once she was settled, she watched him walk around the car then get into the driver’s seat, and she found herself unable to look away. He glanced over as he started up the car, and he smiled self-consciously.
“What?”
Her cheeks flared, and she turned away. “Oh, nothing. I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to stare. It’s just… I still can’t believe this is happening.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
For a couple of minutes, they chugged along in silence, and Adele’s anxiety began to get the best of her. They had so much to talk about,didn’t they? How terrible this might be if they couldn’t find a topic of interest.
“It was a lovely day today,” she tried. The weather was always a good starting point.
“It was,” he agreed.
She watched the fully leafed-out trees swishing past. “I just love summer, don’t you? Everything’s so… green.”
“Yeah,” he said politely. “It’ll be a warm night, I imagine.”
“I hope so.”
“Me too.”
And that was that. With a sinking heart, she started spiralling into thoughts she’d never wanted to have. Maybe she’d been wrong all along. Maybe it had just been the right circumstances in Belgium, but at home, they didn’t have anything in common. Maybe he was sorry he’d invited her along. Wondering if he might be thinking the same awful thoughts, she glanced covertly at him, and she was struck by the relaxed slope of his shoulder, the easy stillness of him as he drove. His face was calm, the corner of his mouth curled into a gentle smile. He wasn’t anxious. He was at peace. It all came back to her then, the fact that, unlike Ernie, Jerry simply didn’t feel the need to constantly fill the silence. Not unless there was something to say. She’d valued their conversations for their simple honesty. The quality of their words, not the quantity.
Relief washed over her, and she relaxed in her seat. If there was something to talk about, they’d talk about it. There were so many things she wanted to learn about him, but she didn’t need to rush in with all her questions. They had time.
About a half hour later, they were headed down Riverside Drive in Windsor, and she spotted Abars. The big, redbrick building wasn’t particularly pretty, but it was in a beautiful spot: right on the Detroit River, across from Belle Isle. At the door, the maître d’ personally welcomed Jerry, then he showed them to a table with a beautiful view of the waterfront and the island beyond.
A waiter appeared a few moments later with menus and asked what he could get them to drink.
Jerry turned to Adele. “Would you like to share a bottle of wine?”
“I’d love to.”
He passed her the wine list. “You choose.”
That made her laugh. “Oh no. I don’t know any of these. I know I like white wine, but that’s all. You pick, please. Otherwise, who knows what we’ll be drinking?”
The waiter took his order then returned to pour the wine, and Jerry raised his crystal glass. “A toast. To you.”
“To us both,” she said, touching her glass to his.
She brought the glass to her lips and took a sip, and he did the same. A beat of silence stretched between them, and she could see him thinking the same thing. They’d spent nearly every day of his convalescence talking late into the evening, and now it was as if neither knew quite where to begin.
“You changed your bandage,” Adele said, defaulting to her nursing out of habit.
He touched the dressing lightly. “John helped me out. His hands are rougher than yours, but he got the job done.”
Adele smiled fondly. “I remember him being very protective of you.”
