An Evening at the Diner
I t was almost eight o’clock on Saturday night. Doc should be there any minute to pick Grace up for their date. What in the world should she wear?
Jeans and a T-shirt seemed too casual. Her teaching clothes, mostly blouses and pencil skirts, didn’t seem to fit in Fraser’s Mill. Her favorite yellow flowered dress was in the wash. She had worn it all day Sunday to make herself feel more cheerful and then neglected to do her laundry before leaving California. Her only other summer dress was the red dress that had seemed too Valentiney to wear on a date with Lucas.
The red dress was perfect.
“Grace?” Mom’s voice called up the stairs. “Doc’s been waiting on the porch for five minutes.”
Of course he would be early when she was running late. Grace hurried into the red dress. No time to do anything to her hair. She’d have to leave it down. She tied her Converse, grabbed her purse, and raced downstairs.
Doc was standing on the porch, arms crossed, looking out across the street. Grace opened the door, and Doc turned.
“I wondered what you looked like with your hair down,” Doc said.
“Absolutely wild.” Grace laughed. “My hair never behaves.”
Doc grinned. “Well, I like it that way,” he said. “Wanna go in the car, or would you rather walk?”
Grace had had enough of cars lately. “Let’s walk.”
They started down the street together. Grace had walked down Main Street countless times this summer, but this time felt different from all the others. This was her street, and she was here to stay.
And Doc walked alongside her, moderating his long stride to suit her shorter one. Without warning, he reached out and took her hand.
Grace looked up. Doc had a questioning look on his face, as if to ask, “Is this okay?”
It was more than okay. His large hand was warm around hers, solid, trustworthy. Grace smiled at him, and he smiled back, clasping her hand more firmly.
Her mind went back to the time Doc bandaged her hand, his touch gentle but capable. She should’ve realized, back then, the subtle spark of attraction she had towards him.
The diner was nearly empty so late in the evening. Charlie wasn’t there—maybe he was out somewhere with Alex. Grace and Doc sat down at the end of the bar. Grace had had her fill of sitting in booths with Lucas, and the bar felt more cool and grown-up.
They talked about anything and everything. Doc wanted to hear about Grace’s time in California and her decision to come back to Fraser’s Mill.
“There’s something I want to ask you,” Grace asked, when she was almost done with her burger. “When did you realize you liked me?”
Doc raised an eyebrow. “You really wanna know?”
“Mm-hmm. Alex told me you liked me a few weeks ago, and I didn’t believe her.”
Doc chuckled. “Alex was right,” he said. “I knew I liked you when you yelled at me because you thought I was stealing your mom’s car. I said to myself, ‘Now, that’s the kind of woman you’ve been looking for.’”
Grace groaned. “I might have known. I’m not really sure when I started liking you. I didn’t realize it when it happened. I kept telling Alex you and I would be terrible together.”
Doc’s eyes twinkled. “Probably in denial.”
“I thought I didn’t want anything to do with you. You kept coming around right when I was in the middle of a disaster.”
“I specialize in disasters. Isn’t that what doctors are for?” Doc wiped his mouth on his napkin. “Speaking of disasters, what’s your plan for saving the grocery store? Need any help?”
“I’m not trying to get you involved in a whole lot of work. It’s my job to try to keep the store afloat. You’ve got your whole medical practice to run.”
He nodded. “I know. But I want to help.”
“Well, then, you can tell me more about that idea you had for a town meeting,” Grace said. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I think you were right. We need to get the community invested in the idea of saving the store.”
Doc leaned his elbows on the bar. “Maybe you can get the town council to schedule a special meeting about the grocery store. You could go to one of the council meetings and speak up during the time for public comment, but it might be better to talk to one of the council members privately and get them to suggest it to the others.”
“What would the meeting be like?”
“It would be like a regular town council meeting, but with only one item on the agenda. You and your parents could prepare a presentation about how the dollar store is affecting the grocery store. Then you’d have an opportunity to hear what the townspeople think about the whole thing. They might have suggestions to help your business, too.”
“Do you think the town will think the store’s just trying to mooch off of them to get higher profits?”
“Some people might. But if the store closes, they’re the ones who will have to drive all the way into Cadillac for fruit and vegetables and meat,” Doc said. “Keeping the store open will help the whole community.”
He was right. “Well, then, let’s do it,” Grace said. “Who’s on the town council, anyway?”
“Walt Daniels is,” Doc said. “Aren’t he and Dorothy friends with your parents?”
“Yeah, they are,” Grace said. “I’ll talk to Dorothy about it. She’s good at talking people into stuff. She’ll talk Walt into bringing it up at the town meeting, and she’ll get the council members to listen, even if she has to march in there and give a speech herself.”
“I believe it.” Doc chuckled. “You think you could use some help with your presentation? I could say a few things from a doctor’s perspective.”
“Thanks, Doc. That would be great.”
It was late, and the man working behind the counter had finished wiping down every possible surface except where Grace and Doc were sitting. When the man got out a broom and started sweeping around them, Doc got up from his bar stool with a sheepish expression.
“Sorry, you’ve probably been waiting to close for a while,” he told the man. “How much do I owe you?” He turned to Grace. “Mind if I pick up the tab?”
“You’re sure?”
Doc grinned. “Absolutely.”
Grace smiled. “Then thank you.”
They walked back in the dark, fireflies lighting up all around them, the smell of pine in the air. Grace drew a deep breath. “It’s good to be home.”
They stopped in front of Grace’s house, where her parents had left the porch light on for her.
“Thank you, Doc,” Grace said. “I had a wonderful evening. And thanks for all the advice.”
His face crinkled in a smile. “Do you want to go out with me again?”
“Absolutely.”
“Tomorrow night? At the tavern? We’re gonna run out of restaurants pretty quickly.”
Grace laughed. “Then we can switch over to picnics,” she said. “I hear there’s a grocery store around here that has everything you could possibly want for a picnic.”
Doc crossed his arms. “Well now, what a coincidence,” he said. “We may just have to make use of that, Miss Murray.”
“Sounds good to me, Dr. Johnson.”
“You can call me Jim,” he said.
Grace had heard him called Doc so many times she had almost forgotten it wasn’t his first name. “All right, I will,” she said. “Do you mind being called Doc?”
He shook his head. “I’m used to it. My friends started calling me that in pre-med, and it stuck. It’s better than ‘the young doc.’”
Grace laughed and held out her hand. “Well, Jim, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Grace Murray.”
Doc shook her hand heartily, his mouth amused. “Glad to meet you, Grace.”
“So, tomorrow evening at the tavern? How about six P.M.?”
“Six is great,” Doc said. “Are you singing in the choir tomorrow?”
“I’d better not—I don’t know the motets. I don’t think Mary Jane would appreciate it.”
“You could sit up in the loft with me,” Doc said.
“Aren’t you next to the soprano section?”
“You don’t want to be a soprano for a day?”
She made a face at him. “And hit all those Fs and Gs? No thanks.”
“All right, I’ll see you after Mass,” he said. “I should let you get some sleep.”
Grace nodded. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
Doc pulled her into a hug, and she rested her head against his shoulder. He smelled clean, like soap and the piney Michigan air.
“Goodnight, Grace,” he said. “I’m glad you came back.”
“Me too,” Grace said. “Goodnight, Jim.”