Leaving Normal, Stef Holm [ebook reader screen .TXT] 📗

over her shoulder. "What are you working on?"

"A wedding for tomorrow. My bells of Ireland didn't come in until four this afternoon. They should have been here at eight this morning."

"That's too bad."

"Oh, I've had worse happen. This isn't anything I can't handle."

"I'm sure you can."

Natalie stuck a gnarled twig in the basket, glanced at it for symmetry, and put another in at a different angle. She worked on the arrangement a little more, then paused to gaze at her dad once again, feeling unnerved by his hovering.

"What?" she asked, turning toward him.

"I need something," he blurted.

"What-something?"

"Something…like flowers."

"What do you mean—like flowers?"

"I mean…1 don't want flowers. I only get flowers for your mother's grave."

She nodded, understanding. "You'd like a gift for someone, but you don't want flowers."

"Right."

"Well, what's the occasion?"

"No occasion."

"Oh." She had a feeling he was buying something for that woman he was seeing but wouldn't admit to seeing. She opted to test the waters a bit and gauge his reaction. "Then you want something for 'I Love You'?"

"Way too soon! I mean, not that I couldn't ever love anyone again, but no. No love stuff."

"How about a 'Thinking of You' theme?"

"That works. What do you have?"

"No flowers?"

"No flowers."

"A teddy bear?"

"No."

"Balloons?"

"Um…yeah. Okay. I like the idea of balloons."

She pointed out the selection of balloons she had. "What colors? I have everything."

"I don't know."

"I think pastels would be nice. Pinks, maybe a little purple."

"Okay."

She began gathering the colors. "Can I ask who these are for, Dad?"

"No." He gazed at his shoes, then at her, then stuffed his hand into his coat pockets.

"Why not? I can tell you're involved with someone you like. I don't mind. Honestly. I'm glad for you, Dad. So who is she?" Her eyebrows lifted, a smile touching her lips as she blew up a small bunch of balloons and tied ribbon on them.

Almost sheepishly, he confessed, "You wouldn't know her."

"No, I doubt I would, but I'm curious."

"Well, it's someone I'm getting to know, and I like her. Nothing you need to be worried about. I won't marry her or anything."

"Dad, I don't care if you get married again. I think you should if that's the direction your heart takes you."

With that, he pondered the balloon bunch, then said, "Put one of those in there, too."

She followed his gaze. "A red heart balloon?"

He flustered, a stain of red working up his neck. "You're right, that would be too much. Never mind."

"No, no…" She blew up the balloon. "I didn't say it would be too much. In fact, I think that's a very cute idea."

She added the red heart to the pastel bunch and handed them to her father. "I think it's perfect."

"You do?"

Kissing his cheek, she said, "I do."

"All right. Thanks, Natalie. I'll pay you for them."

"Don't you dare."

"I'll put the money in the cash register."

There was no point in arguing.

After he left, she wondered who the woman was that had captured her father's attention. She must be very special indeed.

Tony questioned his mom's lack of appetite. "Mom, aren't you going to order anything more than a salad?"

"No, I'm not that hungry." She curled the edges of her napkin, then confessed. "I'm meeting someone for dinner at eight."

"Then why'd you say you'd have dinner with me?"

"You asked."

"You could have told me. I would have eaten by myself."

"Oh, no. I didn't want you to do that."

He'd wondered why she begged off him picking her up, agreeing instead, to meet at the Macaroni Grill. The Italian restaurant was one of his favorites; he'd wanted to bring Natalie tonight, but she'd had to work.

He had a feeling it was more than that, but he didn't push the issue. He'd talk to her about it, though. He took away something from his failed marriage and he realized that communication was key.

He wasn't one of those gamma-phi-beta males—or whatever the hell they were called—a guy who reflected on shit in the shower or anything else overly profound for any length of time. Things happened, he dealt with them. He wasn't a person to dwell. His job cinched that trait for him. He saw things, he processed them, and he moved on. If he didn't, he'd go nuts.

But there was something about Natalie that kept her right at the edges of his mind. He thought about her. A lot. He thought about that kiss he'd given her, the way she'd kissed him back. He knew she'd be a passionate woman. Knew it by the way she wore that black cocktail dress at the Valentine's Day auction. She might come across as refined, a little closed off sometimes but, underneath, there was a woman who possessed a strong inner will and confident sexuality. She may not recognize that about herself, but he did.

"So who was this woman you wanted to have dinner with?" his mom asked him, drawing Tony out of his thoughts.

"My neighbor. She lives across the street."

"That makes things interesting. You don't have to go far to see her."

Tony shrugged. "I would have driven across town to see her if that's the way it worked out."

His mom grew thoughtful, quiet. He could tell something was on her mind and she was working on how to phrase it tactfully.

He helped her along and offered, "Just say it, Mom."

Her brown eyes filled with worry when she spoke. "You've only been divorced for a short time. Don't rush, Tony. I know you weren't happily married with Kim for a while, but you don't want to do anything too soon."

While her words were well intended, he felt slightly put off by her caution, as if he weren't capable of a good decision. "I'm not rushing."

"Good."

"I enjoy her company, though. She's smart, funny, and I like her."

"I can see that." She absently aligned her silverware. "You deserve to be happy."

He got an intuitive thought. "So do you. Who're you having dinner with?"

"Did all the kittens go to good homes?" she asked, disregarding his question for one of her own.

"Yeah, we made sure of that." With a