Read Online Love From the Ashes by Cheryl Persons - Free Book Online Page B

She was barely making her words understandable.  “I mean; supper would be nice.”
    “Great; so how about 6:00?  I could pick you up.”
    “6:00 would be fine, but I’ll just meet you there.”
    “Okay; if you would rather.”
    She quickly gave him directions on how to get there and then she hung up.  She couldn’t believe the evening was turning out the way it was.  She thought she would be spending an uneventful night at home, yet she now had a lot to look forward to.  Friday night couldn’t come soon enough

Chapter 6
     
    Thomas looked at his watch; he told himself not to worry, she was going to show up.  The week had gone by faster than he could have expected.  He had multiple times considered calling Rebecca and telling her that he couldn’t make it.  Once the evening was upon him, he was sure that he should have cancelled.  He didn’t know what possessed him to make that phone call; he was in no condition to go out with another woman; friend, or otherwise.  When he glanced at his watch again, he noticed that she was 15 minutes late and he wondered if she was standing him up.  Part of him would have been relieved, but part of him was disappointed.  When he thought for sure she wasn’t coming, he noticed her entering the restaurant.  He watched as she made her way towards him; her expression was of the same ones he was experiencing.  “Hi; I’m sorry I’m late.”
    “I didn’t think you were coming.”
    She chuckled.  “I considered not, but I’m here.”
    He smiled.  “I’m glad that you are.”
    She looked down at the menu; he watched her as she flipped through the pages.  She seemed nervous and he knew that they would have plenty to talk about.  “Do you know what you want?”  The waitress, of about 20, asked as she approached their table.
    “Rebecca, do you know what you want?”
    “I’ll take the Beef Manhattan.”
    “I’ll take the same.”  They handed their menus to the waitress and she looked at him.  “What?  That’s what I wanted.”
    “Sure it was;” she mumbled under her breath.  He tried to ignore the fact that she was irritable.  “So, where were we?”
    “You were about to tell me why you almost didn’t come.”
    She laughed.  “I don’t think I was going to tell you that.”
    “Come on Rebecca; you can tell me.”
    Her face got red and he considered dropping it; however, something kept pushing him to keep at it.  “Truthfully?”
    He smiled.  “That would be nice.”  He took a drink, and braced himself for what she was going to say.
    “I suppose I was a little taken aback by you calling this a date.”
    He nodded.  He figured it was something like that.  “That’s my fault.  As long as we’re having a confession…I almost didn’t show up either.”
    Her eyes got big.  “Really?  Why?”
    “It’s been awhile since I have gone out with someone.  I suppose I was nervous, and once I called it a date I couldn’t go back.”
    A polite smile crossed her face.  “Frankly, I am glad you invited me out.  Mainly because it stinks always staying home alone, but I’m not expecting anything other than a nice evening out with adult conversation.”
    “So, you’re saying just a friendly night out.”
    “Right; nothing more and nothing less.”
    It was perfect; he could enjoy a nice evening out with adult company.  There was definitely nothing against that.  “I would like that; we don’t have to make it awkward.”
    She let out a slow breath and smiled.  “Exactly; so, let’s just enjoy the food and leave it at that.  It will give us a chance to get to know each other.  Tell me about you and your kids.”
    He smiled; he could talk about them all night.  “First off, I have to say, that I am thrilled to announce that I have 3 girls that absolutely love the school.  I think it’s actually going better than I could have ever hoped for.”
    “That’s great news; I absolutely adore Kari, in class.  She’s a very bright