Chapter 4 #2
“Yeah. But hey, you’re no slouch, yourself,” Petula countered. “You were ten years in.”
And he would have served more if it hadn’t been for her. But that was water under the bridge. Stat didn’t hold his change of career against her at all, and often even lauded his separation from the Army as leading him toward doing something he loved.
“Yeah. But I’m only one person. There’s seven of them.”
“Actually, eight,” Petula corrected.
“Eight?” Stat’s mouth dropped open comically.
Petula giggled. “Uh, huh. I just learned today that there’s a younger one, Seifer, who’s still in school or something. Julian was kind of vague about it.”
“I’ve never heard of Seifer, and… Julian again, huh? It sounds like you had an actual conversation with this guy.”
Petula drew in a deep breath. “I did. And… This is going to sound strange, but I…kind of like him.”
Statler, in the middle of lifting another forkful of mashed potatoes to his mouth, slowly lowered his utensil, his look growing cautious.
“You like him, or you…like him, like him?” he questioned deliberately.
“I…” Petula blew out a gust of air. “I’m not sure, exactly.
I notice him, Stat. Like, actually notice him.
I mean, it’s not like I haven’t thought that all the Sothard men are good looking.
I’d be blind not to. But that’s just a fact that can’t be ignored.
There’s something about Julian that, well, draws me in.
In a different kind of way than what I’m used to. ”
Stat would know how conflicted she was when he heard the rest.
“I…actually shook his hand, and…liked it.”
Statler sat up straight, his food now completely forgotten. “You…touched him?” He shook his handsome, blond head. “This is big, Petti. I mean, it could be. Because you’re not actually freaked right now. How are you really seeing this?”
It said a lot that Stat, knowing what he knew, hadn’t simply shut her down and told her to walk away. God bless him, he always analyzed every fact before he made up his mind as to whether something was good or bad, or even gave his opinion.
“A little skeeved.” Petula had to be honest. “I’ve been…
curious about him, however, for the last couple weeks; since the first time I saw him.
” She explained why this was the first time she was mentioning things.
“You know about Diver Downeast’s office since you helped them with the reno there a few months back.
It’s always busy; full of Julian’s brothers and sisters-in-law, so I couldn’t exactly have a one-on-one conversation with him before he was alone. ”
“And he was today? Alone?” Stat questioned. “And you had an actual discussion?”
“Uh, huh.” Petula nodded, her face screwing up in consternation. “I, uh, even told him he was handsome. Well, him and his brothers because I didn’t want him to think I was hitting on him.”
She might as well have smacked her brother in the head for how shocked he looked.
“Geeze, Petti. I’m…at a loss for words, here.” Statler’s jaw tightened. “What did he do when you said he was good looking? How did he react?”
She felt herself blush.
“He asked me out for coffee. Sort of. He actually phrased it by questioning whether or not I ever did coffee or lunch with a customer.”
“And you told him…?” Stat trailed off.
“I told him no. I don’t. And he didn’t press the issue.” Petula scowled. “But I think… Maybe I want to try the coffee thing.” she rushed out.
Statler regarded her seriously, and his words emerged in a careful, modulated cadence.
“I think that if you’re going to take a chance on dating, you couldn’t find a guy from a nicer family.
The Sothards are all good, salt-of-the-earth people, and I have no doubt that Julian is cut from the same cloth as the ones I know.
But Petti, how would you move forward with it? What will you tell him?”
Now that she basically had her brother’s stamp of approval, Petula finally spit out a strategy that had been dancing around in her head all day.
“I won’t tell him anything right off the bat.
If I get a coffee with him, or lunch, it’ll be an easy way to get to know him.
I want to see if my interest is just a flash-in-the-pan, or something…
more. If we go out a few times during the day, and I start to trust him, I might then consider going on a real date. ”
That thought sent shivers down her spine, but despite her trepidation, the tremors weren’t all bad. Some of them were a little…thrilling, if she were honest.
“Wow. I mean…wow,” Stat replied, a little less stressed, as evidenced by the fact that he’d started in on his food again.
Petula’s meal had been pretty much forgotten, but now that she’d shared her worries with Stat, she managed to eat a few bites.
“I know. Right?” she pondered. “This was not on my Bingo card for today.” She chuckled uncomfortably. “What if…?” Petula swallowed and started again. “What if I decide I like him, but then I can’t…you know, do anything about it.”
Petula wasn’t a virgin. She’d ended up trusting two guys she’d known in college, enough to at least find out what sex was all about.
Those two, one in junior year, and one as a senior, had gotten her over what had once seemed an insurmountable hump.
For that, she was thankful. Neither short relationship had lasted, so unfortunately she’d never been able to overcome her other… difficulties.
Statler closed his eyes, then opened them with new resolve. “If you decide you want him as more than a coffee buddy, Petti, you’ll have to start by telling him about your past.”
Her heart fell. That’s exactly what she’d thought Stat would say.
He continued. “It wouldn’t be fair to let the guy fall for you if you can’t, you know, commit to everything a full relationship entails.
He has to know what he’s up against so that, one, he doesn’t scare you and hate himself for it, and two, he has information with which to form and execute a game-plan. ”
He chuckled to lighten the moment. “There’s nothing a military guy appreciates more than full intel before heading into an op.”
Petula snickered, because Statler, per usual, had found a way to amuse her. “Is that what I’ll be, Stat? An op? And Julian will be heading into enemy territory?”
As quickly as his humor had emerged, it dissipated.
“You’re not the enemy, Pet, but your past could be. And I’d hate for that to ruin what might be a very good thing, which could happen if you don’t give Julian the information he needs to deal with it.”
Of course, no surprise, it was exactly what her inner voice had been telling her.
The question was, did she dare? Did she have that kind of pluck? Was she ready to put everything about herself out there to see if Julian could accept her and move forward accordingly?
Stat was a guy. Maybe…
“If it were you?” she rasped to her brother.
He tipped his head to one side, avidly listening.
“If a woman you were interested in laid that kind of heavy stuff on you, could you handle it?”
There was no hesitation. Stat reached out and covered Petula’s hand with his own.
“If I thought she was someone I could love?” he speculated, getting a far-off look in his eyes. “If she were someone I wanted for more than just a casual relationship?”
His gaze snapped back to Petula’s with resolve. “Then, yes. I’d not only handle it, I’d make sure the woman got everything she needed from me to thrive and flourish; to become the person she was always meant to be, whether she ended up sticking with me or not.”
A single tear traced down Petula’s cheek as she turned her hand up into her brother’s grasp.
“Thank you, Stat. You’re the best. I… I think I’m going to give it a try.”