Chapter 8 Easton
Easton
I got to work early, like I always did. I always showed up well before anyone else.
It was a habit from my construction years. Work crews always got started early. The benefit was getting to clock out while everyone else was still toiling through their days. I liked being home and changed into sweatpants before five p.m.
As I approached Violet’s desk I thought about the last gift I’d given her.
I’d gone a little crazy with it. Down pillows were pricey.
But I was happy to have done it. There was no one else I wanted to spend my money on than Violet.
I only wished I could have seen her face when she opened the gift.
I knew she wanted a down pillow because I’d seen her browsing a selection online recently.
Then I thought back to the other gifts I’d given her. The whole thing was a little nuts.
I wonder if she understood the part about the onion rings?
But I was certain she had. Violet was clever. Probably smarter than me. She was the one with the fancy office job after all. And I was just the guy who built things.
A tiny glimmer of unease shot through me as I put the next gift down on her desk.
What if she thinks this is all too much?
I could see myself getting hauled into a meeting with HR.
But it was too late to back out now. I’d already bought all the gifts for her. And that night when I’d given her a tour of the Bear Creek Lodge, I’d felt something peeking through that might have been interest on her part.
I just needed to figure out how to take the next step. I’d contemplated and discarded a dozen different first date ideas. None of them felt right.
Once I figured out how I wanted to razzle-dazzle her, then I’d ask her out.
I wasn’t deflecting. I swear I wasn’t.
Dating Leann had been easy. We’d been friends for years first, then accidentally fell into a kiss one night while we were stargazing for a class assignment.
Our faces had collided as we’d both tried to look through the telescope at the same time.
And that had been all it took. We’d been inseparable after that moment.
Maybe I should invite her stargazing.
Nope. That thought got tossed aside as soon as it entered my mind. Maybe I’d stargaze with Violet someday, but it couldn’t be the thing that brought us together.
Then I thought about the song she’d been dancing to when I spotted her the other night, Brand new key. It had been about a couple going roller skating. There was still an old-fashioned skating rink in Fernwood, the big town an hour north of here.
Hm, maybe I could take her roller skating.
Now that was a possibility! Although I couldn’t imagine Violet on wheels. She was a little bit clumsy on the best of days.
That’s when I grinned. It was perfect. I’d be there to catch her when she started to fall.
Now I just had to find the right words. That was sometimes harder to do. I couldn’t grunt my way through a first date invitation. I’d have to practice what I’d say.
With a little extra pep in my step, I grabbed my list for the day and headed back out, locking the office door behind me.