Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
At the end of the night, Andie stood in front of her door with her keys in hand. The night had been wonderful, a bit magical even, and she could admit to herself she didn’t want it to end.
Leo stood in front of her, bypassing his own unit to wish her good night. Or maybe his thoughts aligned with hers, that a wonderful night like this shouldn’t be wasted?
“Thank you for dinner. I had a good time,” Andie said.
“Thanks for allowing me to treat you.” He seemed to shift closer, though neither of them moved. Something about the long hall, the dim lighting, and the holiday season. It made the dull area come to life, filled it with a cheer it normally didn’t have—as though they were inside a snow globe, fake snow floating down around them.
A smile stretched her lips. “You won that dreidel game fair and square.”
Leo laughed, the soft sound tickling her ears, a sweet melody to their night. “You still could have said no.”
She shook her head, not breaking eye contact. “A deal is a deal.” She took a chance, inched closer to him. “Besides, I wanted to come.”
A connection solidified between them. They breathed as one, the location fading away, creating a special orb around them. The thing of movies and books, not a common experience for Andie. As though something much bigger than a holiday fling started here, in this building. She wanted to reach up, grab the lapels of his open jacket, and yank him in. Or, no, better yet, let the night continue to shift them closer, a slow uniting heightened by the moment.
Leo swallowed and Andie tracked the movement in his Adam’s apple. “I have to repeat myself and tell you how beautiful you are.”
The man knew how to talk or, at least, did so tonight. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
Leo chuckled.
“I might have described you as a darker-haired Ryan Reynolds.”
Leo’s eyebrows lowered. “Ryan Reynolds? Deadpool ?”
Andie shrugged. “You going to tell me he’s not good-looking?”
Leo’s head gave a slight shake. “I can honestly tell you I’ve never heard that one before. And no, that’s not a joke on my ears.”
Andie laughed. Curiosity swirled. She wanted to know more about his hearing loss, what had happened to turn him into the man who stood before her. But she knew now wasn’t the time. “Then take it as a compliment.”
Two spots of color appeared on his cheeks. “Thank you, Andie. Though I’ll never watch Deadpool the same way again.”
“He wears a mask and scar makeup, you’ll survive.”
Leo reached up, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I guess I will.” His head angled downward, and he held that position, a silent invitation extended, waiting on her response. Oh, how this man drew her to him. And how she wanted a taste. She stretched up, eager for the moment when they would touch. Would it continue the vibe, or be a call back to the first night of Chanukah?
A loud creak echoed from down the hall, followed by a door slam.
They jumped apart, like teenagers caught doing much more than an almost kiss. Their eyes held for another second, a shared look of remorse for the moment now lost. Then they turned to their interrupter.
“Hey, Leo, Andie, nice night, huh?” Thomas Landry waved, pocketing his keys in his pocket. He was around seventy, with white, thinning hair and a slight stoop. On a normal day Andie wouldn’t mind chatting with him. Tonight wasn’t normal.
“Hi, Tom,” Leo said, sending a wave down the hall. Andie prayed Tom would continue on to whatever adventure had him leaving his unit.
Her prayer was not answered. Tom headed in their direction, away from the elevator and stairs. “What are you two up to tonight?”
Andie and Leo shared a look. There wasn’t much to share, especially not to a random nosey neighbor.
“Oh, just got to talking in the elevator,” Andie said, catching Leo’s eyes to see if he agreed with her swerve tactic.
“The timing worked out, usually I have to ride the elevator alone.” Leo sent her a wink and she relaxed.
“I try to use the stairs, but my knees don’t like them like they used to.” Tom rubbed his lower back, and Andie didn’t know if that somehow related to his knees or not.
“I just get lazy and will take company any day of the week,” Leo said.
“I keep telling you to get out more.” Tom shook his head. “You work too much. You’ll never have a family.”
Andie swallowed her laughter.
“Noted. Thank you, Tom.”
“Well, you kids have a good night then.” He waved and walked off, taking his blunt conversation with him.
“That family topic is such a big concern for people our age,” Andie whispered, laughter in her voice. “Even after they call us ‘kids.’” Sure, she wanted a family, craved it, but her situation was a bit different than most people her age.
“Was he a Jewish mother in a past life?”
Tom waited at the closed elevator doors, foot tapping.
“Perhaps. Or maybe he had a good bubbe to show him what really matters in life.”
“More children and less business?”
Leo’s eyes watered with humor and Andie struggled to keep her laughter down.
“I think both are needed, after the marriage.”
“Arranged marriages made this so much simpler.”
She covered her mouth, laughter threatening to overflow. Tom still waited for the elevator and glanced back at them.
Leo cleared his throat and Andie turned to him. “I guess we’ll need a rain check here,” Leo spoke softly, and then, in a louder voice “Good night, Andie. Thank you for a wonderful elevator ride.”
Andie opened her mouth to say something, but Leo walked off, back to his apartment. She wanted to reach out and continue their conversation long enough for Tom to disappear. To keep the sizzling chemistry or the joyful laughter flowing, but the mood had been broken, and Leo slipped inside just as the elevator dinged. Andie had a moment, thinking she could go after Leo after Tom left, but Tom waved and Andie slinked into her apartment.
Alone.
She switched on the lights, the loneliness making the space seem empty and sparse. Not the nightcap she wanted. There hadn’t been any plans for after, no concrete thoughts or wants in her head. But standing there, alone, torn between prepped for a kiss and more laughter, had her all sorts of off kilter.
“Damn you, Leo, why do you have to be so darn adorable?”
Andie deposited her purse and jacket on their hooks, then unzipped her boots and stepped out of them. Her feet stretched without the confinement, and even that good feeling did not make up for the loss.
“Let it go, Andie.” With a shake of her head, she made her way to her kitchen, grabbing items and prepping her lunch for the following day. Normal evening rituals, even if this particular evening did not feel normal.
On her counter, her bag of potatoes called to her. She’d hoped to bake latkes this Chanukah but hadn’t known if she’d have the energy and desire. Next to them were two packages of latke mix, the instant potatoes of the latke options. She planned to make them with her students tomorrow, and she would, but nothing beat the real potato version. Thanks to Leo, she wanted to bake the real ones. A bit of the night’s magic came back as an idea formed, so strong and sure she had her phone in her hands before she could finish thinking it through.
Andie: I’m thinking of making latkes tomorrow night, want to join me?
Andie bit her lip, staring at the message she had typed. One click and it would be waiting for Leo. One click and she’d find out if the interruption had changed things on his end.
Andie clicked send.
Leo: What kind of latkes are you thinking of?
She took a picture of the box waiting for her students.
Andie: Not this one. These will be made with my students tomorrow.
Leo: LOL. Good start. I’m going to need more.
Andie: Oh, are you a latke snob now?
Leo: Maybe a little bit.
She leaned against her counter, grinning at her phone wider than she’d grinned at her dinner date minutes earlier.
Andie: Your recipe can’t top mine.
Leo: Oh really?
Andie: Really.
It was one of the few things she got from her mother. She might never have witnessed her mother make it, but thanks to her dad she at least got to enjoy it.
Leo: Then how do we settle this?
Andie: You get your ingredients. I’ll get mine. Bring them over. We’ll have a cook-off.
Leo: A cook-off? With one stove?
Andie: You could cook at home, but then how will I know if it’s not store-bought?
Leo: I’m laughing, just so you know. I’d rather spend more time with you anyways.
Warmth filled Andie as though the latkes already sizzled in front of her. She nearly suggested they get back to where they were before Tom’s untimely hall meeting.
No. Let the anticipation build. She only had one week with this man, one last Chanukah before her move.
Andie: Then I’ll see you tomorrow night. Don’t light your candles, we’ll light mine.
Leo: Wouldn’t miss it for the world.
When Leo pulled into the parking lot behind Dentz Antiques the next morning, he nearly hit the curb at the sight before him: Dean Dentz, never early for anything in his life, including his own birth, sat on the back of the company pickup, feet swinging like he’d done since childhood.
Leo very carefully parked a few empty spaces over. By the time he exited his car, Dean had already crossed half the distance, hands in his back pockets, with a casual stroll that meant the man felt far from casual.
Leo’s pulse spiked. He stopped walking. Dean raised his hands in a peace gesture.
“Yeah, I’m not buying that,” Leo said.
Dean stopped a few feet in front of him, hands back in his pockets. “I found something.”
“I gathered. But I think you mean ‘I bought something.’”
Dean cringed, no doubt because the last time he bought something it had been at a huge loss. Both in the financial sense and in their relationship with their father, as all steps toward peace had been eliminated. “Curbside freebie.”
Leo groaned. Better than another financial blow, but the last “curbside freebie” came with roaches, and that unpleasant discovery didn’t occur until after it had been brought into the shop.
“I inspected it, but thanks for your vote of confidence. I don’t have your skills; I’m not made to take over this business without you. Partner? Sure. Sole owner? I’d tank the place.”
“Now who’s downvoting his own confidence?”
“Bite me. You want my help or not? Because it took both of us to create this mess in the first place.”
Leo sighed. He took the burden of the blame because he’d been the oldest, and in charge, and he damn well knew better than to wrestle his twelve-year-old brother for a football while in the shop. But he’d been sixteen and missing the biggest party of the season. The chip on his shoulder had been too large for rational thought to exist.
It was still his fault and his problem, but Dean had stepped up to take his share of the blame even then. He didn’t deserve to be stuck in that shadow any more than Leo did.
“All right. Show me what you got.”
Dean’s eyes lit up with excitement, sparking memories of him as a little kid, even if the stubble proved he hadn’t been a kid for a while. No other displays of excitement filtered out, Dean resumed his casual walk over to the truck and hopped up.
Leo joined.
On the truck, a hall bench was still strapped in. Leo circled it, trying to remain neutral, studying the item from different angles.
“What do you think?” Dean asked, bouncing on his feet.
“It’s worn, there are tears in the wood, scratches, a few filaments missing …”
“I can see that. I think it has potential, but I’m not the one fixing it.”
Leo rubbed his jaw, contemplating the condition and the work needed to restore it. Some of the wood might need to be reinforced, but nothing outside of his abilities. “It has potential.”
Dean stood taller.
“I’ll have to examine it more, but I get why you picked it up.” He didn’t know if he would have stopped to get it like Dean had, but he didn’t mind having it to work with now.
Dean grinned.
“Come on, let’s get this into the shop.”
They undid the hold-downs and maneuvered it to the edge and onto the ground. Not too difficult with the two of them, but it had surely given Dean a sweat to get it in.
“Millie wants to know why you aren’t answering her texts. Not a good uncle move, dear brother.”
“I meant to text her back after my date last night. I guess I forgot.” He’d been too preoccupied with the almost kiss, and the promise of another night with Andie. The hallway distraction was enough to mess with more than one brain cell. He had nearly waited for the elevator to leave and go back to Andie’s unit but had talked himself out of it.
Dean dropped his end and Leo plowed into it, the wood digging into his stomach. “Date?”
“Yes. A date. Pick up your end and I’ll explain.”
Dean did as he was told and got the bench away from trying to dig a hole in Leo’s jacket.
“I had a date with Andie. Millie thinks the menorah is magic. I’m going to tell her I wished for a date, as she suggested, and am going out with Andie tonight.”
“But your date was last night.”
Dean propped open the door and they got the new item inside. Leo picked up his end but Dean crossed his arms.
“I’m seeing Andie again tonight. We’re baking latkes.”
“Nice Jewish girl. Millie won’t be the only one excited.”
“We can make latkes if she isn’t Jewish.”
Dean raised his eyebrows.
“But, yes, she is.”
Dean laughed. “Oh man, don’t tell mom, you know she’s got wooden menorahs just waiting to add a family member name to them.” Their mother had made and engraved one for each of them and threatened she could create another at a moment’s notice. Leo wasn’t the only family member with a thing for woodwork.
He groaned. “You going to be a pest and make me leave this here or are you going to be a nice guy who doesn’t leave large items to block traffic?”
“Can’t I be both?”
They worked together, getting the bench to the back of the workroom, over to the side where other repair items were kept. Some were for customers, while others were items Leo had purchased to be resold. All had potential beyond keeping him busy.
“She’s moving soon. So it’s just a short-term thing. No engraved menorahs necessary.”
“You sure about that?”
“She’s moving to Ohio, not south of Boston. I think that’s too far for both of us.”
Dean dusted off his hands. “Well, that sucks. Don’t tell Millie.”
Leo wasn’t born yesterday. He ignored his brother and pulled out his phone.
Leo: Sorry, bad uncle. I made a wish. Guess who has a date planned for tonight?
He went to put his phone away and it dinged.
Millie: I KNEW IT! IT IS MAGIC!
“Why is Millie responding? It’s schooltime.”
Dean chuckled. “You underestimate our niece.”
Leo: Aren’t you supposed to be in school?
Millie: I am.
Leo: Then put your phone away!
Millie: I’m doing research, give me a break.
Leo: I’m not research.
Millie: No, but the minerals page you keep pulling me away from is.
She sent an emoji sticking its tongue out.
“See. Smart kid,” Dean said from over Leo’s shoulder.
Leo laughed and put his phone away. He didn’t know if Millie truly was allowed to have her phone with her, but he figured he’d let his sister worry about that one.