Chapter 25 – Jordie
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Motivation and masturbation
Jordie
We walk down to the restaurant in the strip mall and stop outside the door, my eyes fixed on the sign in the window.
“Still want to try it?” Phoenix asks, amusement in his voice.
“Italian-Asian Fusion?” I shrug. “Let’s give it a go.”
He chuckles. “That’s the spirit. But I’m just warning you, do not, under any circumstances, try the lo mein noodles with marinara.”
Once we’re seated at a small table in the corner, we hit the buffet. Of course I put some of the lo mein with marinara on my plate, and Phoenix shakes his head.
“You were that kid that always took on any dare someone issued, weren’t you?”
“Only if it was a double-dog dare,” I say, adding a few more things to my plate. “My brain simply wouldn’t have allowed me to decline the double-dog. And telling me not to do something is essentially the same thing.”
“Same,” he replies as we survey the odd selection of food. “I could usually talk Helix into doing pretty much anything with me, but Remi would analyze every dare like he was being asked to sever a limb.”
We sit, and I take a bite of the lo mein. It’s foul, the texture of the noodles all wrong for the sauce. I grimace and swallow a big drink of water as Phoenix smirks. “Told ya.”
“I know, but I had to try it. Which is your favorite?”
He pokes at a lasagna-looking thing on my plate. “This is actually great. It’s garlic chicken lasagna.”
I take a bite and hum with approval. “Okay, I like this.” After another mouthful, I ask, “What made you start ballroom dancing?”
Phoenix’s lips twist wryly. “It’s kind of a dumb story.
It started because my mom kept getting on me about doing something for myself.
” He stirs some rice around on his plate.
“For the first couple years of Reece’s life, I didn’t do anything except work and go home, and my mother thought I needed more balance in my life. ”
“That makes sense,” I say.
“So one night, I was watching this movie; I don’t even remember what it was, but there was a wedding at the end.
The bride and her father were dancing together and…
” He dips his chin to look down at his plate for a few seconds before lifting his eyes and looking at me through the fringe of his dark lashes.
The vulnerability was practically oozing out of him.
“I thought I’d like to dance like that with my daughter one day at her wedding. ”
Oh. My. Heart. This man is so beautiful, inside and out.
“I don’t think that’s a dumb story at all, Phoenix.” I reach across the table and rest my hand on his. “I think that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
One dimple peeks out when his mouth lifts on one side. “Of course, she won’t be getting married for another forty or so years, but I figured it would take me that long to learn to dance.”
I laugh lightly, and Phoenix turns his hand over to wrap his fingers between mine. “I think you’re a good dancer, Mr. Hale. You’ll definitely be ready for Reece’s wedding in forty years.”
“You did really well tonight,” he tells me. “Much better than my first time. You have great rhythm in your hips.”
“So do you,” I say, my voice slightly husky, and I’m pretty sure neither of us are talking about dancing anymore.
“Hellooooo!” a voice chirps beside us, and we both yank our hands apart, blushing like we just got caught naked in church. “Would you like to try our potstickers? New recipe from the chef.”
“What’s in them?” Phoenix asks suspiciously.
The lovely Asian woman is wearing a silky kimono-type dress, but it’s decorated in green, white, and red Italian flags. They’re really going all in with the fusion thing here.
“Italian sausage,” the woman replies, setting two on each of our plates, along with two small dishes of sauce. “This is traditional potsticker sauce with a dash of Italian marinara.”
She stands there with her hands folded, presumably waiting on us to try the new offering.
Phoenix’s eyes hitch with mine, and we do some kind of silent communication that consists of why the hell not?
We simultaneously pick up a sausage filled bundle with our chopsticks and dip it in the sauce before each taking a bite.
The texture of the filling is different from what I’m used to with potstickers, but the flavor is rich and savory, and the sauce is surprisingly good.
“I like it,” I tell her, and Phoenix agrees.
“Definitely tell your husband to add that to the rotation.”
The woman offers a smile and single nod of her head before turning to go back to the kitchen. “Her husband is the chef?” I ask.
Phoenix polishes off his dumpling before answering. “Yes, he’s this full-blood Italian man with the bushiest mustache I’ve ever seen.” He leans closer. “Apparently, they wanted to open a restaurant, but they argued on whether to do Asian or Italian cuisine. And this is what they came up with.”
“You were right. It is a weird combo, but it’s a fun place.” We resume eating, and I ask, “Who’s been your dance partner during class?” For some reason, the thought of Phoenix dancing with another woman makes me irrationally jealous.
“Oh, let’s see,” he says, tapping his chopsticks against his lips.
“First there was Maria.” I suddenly hate Maria.
She’s probably short and sexy with big boobs and long, raven hair.
Then Phoenix continues, dulling the sharpness of my stupid jealousy.
“She was almost seventy and wanted to learn the foxtrot for her fiftieth wedding anniversary. Her husband was a professional dancer back in the day, so she wanted to surprise him.”
“That’s so sweet.” I mindlessly take a bite of ramen with some kind of garlic butter wine sauce. It’s not horrible. “Who did you dance with after that?”
“That would be Annie. She was in her nineties and about to get married to Rodney, who was her high school sweetheart.”
My eyes pop wide in confusion. “Why did they wait so long to get married?”
“It’s a long story but a beautiful one. See, they were planning to get married when Rodney got home from the Korean War. Only he didn’t come home.”
“Oh my god, what happened?”
“He was declared missing in action, but he’d been captured and held for a couple years as a prisoner of war.
” Phoenix takes a sip of his water and shakes his head.
“Rodney suffered a head injury while in captivity, and after he was eventually released, he suffered from amnesia for many years. He didn’t have his dog tags on, so no one in the U.S.
government even knew who he was, just that he was most likely an American soldier.
He was hospitalized and treated, and when he finally regained his memories, he went to look for the love of his life, Annie. ”
My heart sinks. “But he didn’t find her?”
Phoenix lets out a humorless chuckle. “This was way before the internet so he couldn’t simply do a Google search or look her up on Facebook.
But he did ask around their hometown, which is just east of Houston.
He was told Annie and her family moved away a couple years prior, though no one knew where. ”
“Oh no. Poor Rodney.”
Phoenix nods and eats his other potsticker.
“Apparently, Annie’s dad got a job in Houston, so they moved there, and after waiting for Rodney for almost ten years, she finally married another man.
Rodney eventually got married too.” He leans over the table.
“And get this. Rodney and his wife moved to Houston.”
I gape at him. “So they were living in the same city and had no idea?”
“None. Houston is a big place, so it’s not unfathomable that they would never cross paths.”
“So how did they meet up again in their nineties?”
Phoenix’s smile turns soft and pensive. “This is where it gets weird. Annie’s husband and Rodney’s wife died on the exact same day. And they ended up at the same funeral home.” He lifts his eyebrows. “That’s where Rodney and Annie met again after seventy years.”
I make a little explosion gesture beside my temple. “This story is blowing my mind. What happened next?”
He shrugs. “They went out for coffee to catch up, and while they were both heartbroken from their recent losses, they found that being together brought them comfort. So they saw each other again and again. After two months, they decided to get married.”
“Two months? Holy cow. That’s crazy.”
Phoenix chuckles. “Annie likes to say that at her age, she doesn’t even buy ripe bananas, so they didn’t feel like wasting time piddle-farting around. Her words, not mine.”
My hand goes to my heart, trying to keep it from bursting out of my chest. “This is the sweetest and most tragic story I’ve ever heard. What did their families think about their fast-track wedding?”
He winces a little. “They were concerned, of course, but after seeing how much Annie and Rodney adored each other, they finally shut their mouths and went along with it. Well, one of Annie’s sons threatened to not come to the wedding, but he ended up showing up after his granddaughter read him the riot act. ”
“So they already had the wedding?”
Phoenix’s head bobs up and down. “They did, and I was an usher.”
I hold up one hand. “Wait, so why did you partner with Annie for the dance lessons instead of Rodney?”
“He’d just had hip replacement surgery a few months prior and was still in physical therapy.
But he drove her to every lesson and watched every move so he would know what to do.
” He rolls his lips between his teeth. “Their very first dance together in decades was at their wedding reception. It was a slow waltz, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the whole place. ”
Tears leap to my eyes at the profound beauty of this story, and I dab at them with a paper napkin. “Okay, we have to change the subject before I lose my shit right here at the table.” I clear my throat. “Tell me more about you not letting Reece date until she’s in her forties.”