“You have to give me some details. I need to know what to wear,” I insist.
His eyes drop from my face down my body, half-hidden by the water. I splash a little water at his face.
“Hey, eyes up here, mister.”
“But there are so many other good places to look,” he says, his hands landing on my hips. I lean in and give him one chaste kiss on the lips, then disentangle myself and start heading back to our towels.
*
On Saturday, I follow Luke’s instructions to dress up and meet him at Nyeman’s at closing time. I expect the shop to be quiet, since it’s almost five thirty, but it’s a hive of activity. Paula is at her desk in the corner with a young couple, the woman bouncing a fussy baby in her arms. They must be interior design clients. There’s a line at the register five people deep, and another ten people milling about. I wave hi to Paula but don’t interrupt her, instead moving through the store to the back, looking for Luke. I find him helping a couple with a chest of drawers. He looks tired, but when he spots me, he grins and his eyes brighten, like I’ve turned on a light above him just by showing up. The feeling lights me up in return.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hi,” he replies, strapping the chest to a dolly. “Give me like ten?”
“Take whatever time you need. I’m early.”
The couple follows Luke out of the antiques section, and I trail them, looking around at the furniture and tchotchkes. Luke heads out the door to load the chest into the couple’s car, and when he comes back in, he’s called over to the register. He helps the new cashier, Sam, replace the receipt paper, then gift wraps the item and hands it off. An older woman comes over asking about carpentry work. He nods and digs under the register for a clipboard. As he’s writing down what she needs and looking through his notes, Sam struggles with the next person in line. Luke notices and quickly puts the clipboard down, asking the woman to write down her address and phone number. He gently asks Sam to step aside and rings up the next few people, talking through what he’s doing while she watches.
Paula comes up next to me as I’m fiddling with the tassels of an embroidered pillow.
“He’s good, isn’t he?” she says, turning to look back at Luke. “I don’t know what we’d do without him.” I agree, but a part of me wonders if she can’t see how stressed he is, how unhappy. “Have fun on your date.”
“Thanks.” I smile, feeling suddenly shy.
She grins and turns toward the back stairs. “I’ve got to get the boys home.”
When the last customers leave and Sam clocks out, Luke locks the door and closes the blinds. I make my way over to him.
“I have to change,” he says, “and book that house call, then we can go.”
“Okay, but first…” I catch his hand to stop him from rushing by and pull him into the kitchenware corner. He almost fights me, but I put a finger on his lips and he stops, that smile from before easing out of him. He backs me up against a shelf of copper pots, careful not to knock anything over. I lace my hands around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. I feel his shoulders relax as his arms loop around my waist.
“Keep that thought,” he says, playing with the straps at the back of my dress.
I put my arms down. “I’ll be sitting right here when you’re ready.” I point to one of the chairs in front of Paula’s desk. “No rushing.”
I take a seat, flipping through one of the old magazines while I wait. Luke comes back in tan slacks and a short-sleeved light blue button-down that perfectly cuffs his biceps. I stand up and smooth out my dress, hoping I didn’t wrinkle it.
“Ooh, fancy,” I say. “So where are we going?”
“I made a reservation out in Brewster.” He’s excited and keeps messing up the tie he’s trying to put on. I reach out and stop his anxious hands.
“You don’t need the tie, Luke.”
He looks at me nervously. “It’s a nice place, and you look…” He casts his eyes down the dress, something Maddy helped me find yesterday since the yellow dress is cute but not right for a nice dinner. It’s a silky dark brown slip dress with spaghetti straps. I couldn’t wear a bra with it because it’s backless. I was nervous about wearing it, but Maddy convinced me. As Luke’scheeks go red, I’m glad I listened to her. I step back and do a little twirl, the asymmetrical hem making a small circle. “Amazing,” he finishes.
“Thank you,” I reply, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Time to go?”
He nods and we head out back to his truck. He clears a few things off the bench seat and tells me to toss Oliver’s skateboard in the back. As I do, I catch sight of a few graphic design books on the seat with sticky notes lining their edges.
At the restaurant, there’s no parking, and we have to let the valet take the truck. The first indication that when Luke saidnice, he meant it. I’m immediately self-conscious of the itchy red patch of skin on my chest from the monitor that I mailed back to Dr.Lee this afternoon. I haven’t had any more arrhythmias or dizzy spells. Maybe I won’t take a bad turn soon. Maybe I can still have a great summer here and next summer in Paris. I try not to think too hard about it so I don’t jinx myself.
Luke rubs his hands on the sides of his slacks, nervous, as he gives the host his name. She tells us it’ll just be a few minutes.
“If you’d like to look at today’s specials, we have a menu over in the courtyard.” She gestures to a small outdoor seating area where there’s a little stand with the menus behind glass. We step over and I lean against Luke while we read the menu.
“There are no prices,” I say, a little confused.
