since Hope officially became my girlfriend and I already want to see her again. Other than to see her, I don’t really have a reason to head down the mountain. But I know she’s at the cafe during the week, so I figure there’s a very good chance that she’s there right now. Maybe I could convince her to have lunch with me again.
Though I really should try to talk to Emelie about her and try to get some advice because if I’m honest, I have no idea what I’m doing, and I really don’t want to mess this up. Plus, I could really use one of her home-cooked meals.
On the drive down the mountain, I’m trying to come up with different things I could ask Hope to do with me, so that I can set a time and place to see her again. Since she seems really interested in the things I do up on the mountain to get ready for winter or to just be self-sufficient, maybe I could ask her to come out for the day. Would she even be interested in helping me do some canning tomorrow? Or we could go check my trap lines. Even though they’re not really ready yet, it couldn’t hurt to go for a little walk and check them out early, especially if it means spending time with her.
As I walk into the cafe, she’s right at the table that she’s always at working. When she sees me coming, a big smile lights up her face and her eyes dance. I take that as a good sign.
‘Cash, I didn’t know you’d be in town today!’ She sounds excited to see me as she stands and gives me a hug, one that I don’t want to end so soon. Keeping in mind though that we are in public.
‘I was hoping I could take you to lunch,’ I say. Then I smile brilliantly when she nods her head and packs up her things.
We walk to my truck and she sets her things inside, but this time I take her hand as we walk down the street to grab lunch. I really like holding her hand. While it’s such a little gesture, it’s really big because it reminds me I’m not alone,
‘So, how’s work going?’ I ask her just because I want to get her talking as we go in and grab our table.
That’s all she needs as she launches into telling me what the current book she’s editing is about. This one’s about two best friends who own inns on some beach island. When she relates the story, her eyes light up, and it appears that she’s enjoying the storyline.
‘Did you know I have satellite internet at my place? You could always come and spend the day and work there,’ I say hesitantly, not sure if she’d want to or maybe she just goes to the cafe so she can spend time with Jana.
‘I’d really like that. It would give me more time to spend with you.’
I don’t get a chance to reply because the waitress walks up and takes our orders. But I’m happy and thrilled because she wants to spend more time with me.
‘I can pick you up tomorrow morning. If you want to take a break and help me out at any point, I’ve got some chores I need to get done.’
On hearing my words, she gets really excited and we keep talking as we eat. When we’re done, she gets up to use the restroom and I’m thinking that maybe I should suggest we go for a walk and window shop at some of the stores, so I have a little bit more time with her today.
Hope
Walking into the bathroom, I can’t seem to take the smile off my face. I was just wondering today how I could get ahold of him because I was really wanting to spend some time with him. Then he shows up while I’m working, knowing that he wants to see me and he’s going to go out of his way like that means a lot. I know it’s not easy or convenient for him to come down the mountain just for lunch, so I don’t take the action lightly.
Taking a minute, I stop in front of the mirrors, trying to get myself under control. Not that I want to, but I still can’t seem to stop all the smiles and the happiness that lights up my face. While I know I need to be a more guarded to get to know the real him, everything that people have said about him has been positive. It’s the complete opposite of what people would say about the guys my mom would date. With her horrible history of picking the worst men, I certainly don’t want to follow in her footsteps. But the fact that Cash seems well-loved in town goes a long way to soothe my concern.
Finally, I go back out to see if he wants to spend a little more time together before he goes home. Maybe we could go back to my place and watch a movie. But when I spot Cash, there’s a woman talking to him at our table. It’s obvious from even way back here that she’s flirting and several buttons on her shirt are unbuttoned almost to the point of indecency. She has her hand on his arm and is leaning over him. But he isn’t pushing her away.
Now I’m second guessing myself. Maybe I misread all this. I have an instant flashback to the guys that my mom would date and they’d openly flirt with other people. She’d blow it off saying that’s just how they were, but I knew even back then that’s something I would never be all right with and I’m still not.
My light and easy mood from just moments ago is gone. When I march back to the table, the woman looks over at me and gives me an evil eye before smiling at Cash again and walking away. What was I thinking? Now that he’s in town more often, he has options and he’ll see that soon enough.
‘I’m ready to go home,’ I tell him, keeping my voice flat. Without sitting down, I just stare at the doorway.
Then he quickly stands and walks back to his truck.
He keeps looking at me. ‘Why are you mad?’
Not wanting to start an argument nor do I want him to say that he wasn’t flirting, or stop being so controlling and that I must be imagining things and it’s all in my head. It’s one of the things my mom’s boyfriend would say to her when she brought it up, is she needed to stop being so controlling. Would he say that to me? Like mother like daughter, right?
‘Just take me home, please,’ I say as we walk into the parking lot where his truck is.
‘Okay, but will you please tell me why?’ Though he steps up like he’s going to open my door, but instead he stands there without opening it.
‘She was very openly flirting with you, and you just let her.’
‘But she was asking for directions,’ he says with a confused look on his face, and I almost laugh out loud. I could have called that one. It’s a classic.
‘Cash, she’s a local, and she doesn’t need directions anywhere.’
Something crosses his face, but at least this time he opens my door. When I reach inside to grab my stuff because I’m going to walk, he places his hand on my arm.
‘At least let me take you home, so I know you got home safely.’
Hesitating for a moment, but then I climb in. I don’t say a word all the way to my place and this time I don’t even wait for him to open the door for me as I climb out.
When I get to my front door, I turn around and he’s walking up onto the porch behind me.
‘You know,” I say. “I think I’m going to be busy tomorrow. But I’ll see you sometime next week.
Not waiting for his reaction, I turn around, walk into the house and close the door behind me. I stand there and wait until I hear him get back into his truck and he drives away before I collapse onto my couch.
After I’m sure he’s long gone, I grab a bottle of wine, two glasses, and go over to see Mrs. Tipton.
‘I was wondering how long before you got here. Though I tried not to eavesdrop, but you two were just too loud,’ she says. Then she lets me in and takes the wine glasses and sets them down on the coffee table. After coming back from the kitchen with a corkscrew, she opens the wine and pours the two glasses. Sitting down beside me, she gives me the look. It’s the one that says start from the beginning.
Since it’s been awhile that I’ve told her what’s going on, I begin with telling her about lunch the other day. How he asked me to be his girlfriend and how happy I was. Then I tell her how he came into town today just to take me to lunch. Even though her eyes go wide, she doesn’t say anything. As I tell her about the lunch and the woman flirting, she simply listens.
Finally, she says, ‘Maybe I’m just a bit old-fashioned, but I’m not sure what the big deal is here. You tell him that you won’t put up with it and let it be. You’ve got to talk to him. Keep in mind he’s a very sheltered young man, and he doesn’t quite understand the rules of normal society and dating.” Then she pours me another glass of wine.
“That’s the thing my mom would always do-make excuses for the guys that she dated. They’d flirt openly around her and then say she was just being too sensitive or old-fashioned. Then they’d blow it off just like he blew it off today when I brought it up to him. I don’t want to be my mother and I certainly don’t want to fall for the same type of guys as she did. I don’t want that life and I’d rather be alone than be sucked into those kinds of men like she has been.’
When she sits there for so long without saying anything, I wonder if she even heard me or if she’ll say anything at all.
‘None of us want to grow up to be our parents and we learn a lot from them. You know the warning signs and what to look for and you’re the only one that knows your limits. But you have to learn to trust your gut. So what does your gut say?’
‘My gut says she was asking for directions and maybe using the fact that he doesn’t know who she is to her benefit.’
‘Exactly. And you’re going to have people all over town doing that because he doesn’t know any of them. With the rumors going around about how much money he has, it’s going to continue to happen.’
‘That’s true, but he didn’t stop it. Nor did he push her away or even apologize. But what bothered me the most was he didn’t know how upset I was. Instead, he asked why I was so mad and then blew it off saying she was just asking for directions like the guys my mom dated did.’
‘Well, I can’t tell you what to do here. That’s a decision that you have to make because you’re the one that has to live with it. All I can say is make sure you really think about this and whatever decision you decide to make. Because in this town, it’s not just between you and him. You need to be okay with that decision because everyone will bring it up to you. There’s going to be people that agree with you and people that are going to adamantly tell you how wrong you are because they’re going to protect him. Give it time no die down and then move on to someone else.’
Great. Now the whole town gets to be involved in my relationship, or lack thereof.
