17
Elvira
AFTER THE MOVIE ENDED, Levi suggested dinner.
I was hungry, and the popcorn seemed to have sharpened my appetite.
We strolled down the little town until we happened upon a cute-looking restaurant that seemed almost empty.
When we got inside, I realized it was empty, in fact, and we were the only customers in the building.
"Are you sure this is a nice place to dine in," I said to Levi as we were being directed to a corner table, pulling his arm back.
He tapped my hand. "It was the best restaurant in town according to online reviews.
" We took our seats, and when the waiter was gone, I added, "You shouldn't trust everything you read on the internet.
" I leaned over the table. "They could have made fake reviews," I whispered.
Levi chuckled. "What do you want to eat?"
I browsed the menu. The offerings looked good, as much as I didn't trust them. "Whatever you are ordering." If I were going to be sick from their food, it better be with Levi as well. He was the one who dragged us to a failing restaurant.
"I don't eat shellfish, so you might not like my taste."
"Is that why you chose this place? I noticed they have no seafood on their menu."
"I told you, it's the best restaurant in the town."
"Is their food super expensive? Is that why it's empty?"
He chuckled.
I perused the menu, then put it down. "Why no shellfish?"
"I'm allergic." Interesting. He did have kryptonite. Levi always seemed so invincible, it was hard to imagine him having a negative reaction to a type of food.
"You better hope they don't accidentally put it in salt," I said, looking around the empty building. Levi laughed again. At least he was finding this entertaining.
But after the drinks came, I relaxed somewhat.
Levi was a picky eater, and there was no way he would eat at a shitty restaurant.
And the service was excellent. The waiter was attentive, and our food came in record time.
The dishes were interesting and varied. And dare I say, delicious. Very delicious.
Levi and I spoke to each other about nothing and everything. Keeping the topics to safe areas and avoiding the giant elephant in the room. Then, when we exhausted nonsense subjects, we settled into a comfortable silence.
"Levi?" We were on our fourth course when I thought to confront it.
"Huh?" He glanced up from his plate. Freezing mid steak-cutting.
"Thank you for taking me out."
"It's nothing. I knew you wouldn't like hanging out with Thompson and his crew."
"I wouldn't have minded, honestly. But you might have. After the private jet trip, I don't know if you noticed, but they've been looking at you like you drip money from your eyeballs. Which you kinda do, but I don't know how you could have handled ten people pitching their research projects."
He scoffed. "You'd think most of them have only recently found out I come from money.I gather you've heard a taste?"
I took a sip of my drink. "Tell me about it. Patty wanted me to put in a good word for her."
"Oh."
"She wants to do some work at Gobekli Tepe, and is looking for some funding."
"What do you think?"
"You want my input?" Surprised that he even cared about it.
He nodded.
"It sounds like a fine project. If the university becomes the first to make a discovery at the new site, it would be an achievement for the school. Plus, I think it would turn Patty into a rockstar. But the little about the project I know, I know from Jess. They've worked together before."
Levi nodded. "I'll think about it."
"Don't take my word for it! I'm just, you know. She came to me asking to talk to you."
"She has your seal of approval."
I rolled my eyes. "If you end up paying for her expensive holiday, don't come blaming me. What about your project? Anything new."
He shook his head. "We're still trying to scan and upload all the coded letters so we can decipher them without ruining the documents."
"And you haven't found a key?" Most coded letters of that time period came with a key in at least one of the letters. It was usually more of a clue than a key. But that they had found no key meant the information was probably very important. My pulse raced. "This could be it. Maybe Beth was right."
He smirked. "I would hold off on that one. That woman is a bit cuckoo."
"What! I like her."
"That's because you haven't heard her go on about those letters. She thinks there's a smoking gun hidden in the code."
I shrugged. "Who knows?"
We went to a wine tasting event after leaving the restaurant.
It was then that I knew he had planned this out.
The wine shop just so happened to be open even though they close at seven.
And they just so happened to admit two more people before they closed their doors.
A kind-looking middle-aged woman showed us to a shiny wooden table for two.
The wooden chairs weren't as uncomfortable as I thought they would be.
The middle-aged woman came in with a bottle of white wine, told us a brief history of where the grapes were grown, poured it into two glasses, and left us again.
"Are you going to tell me you just happened upon this place as we were walking?
" I said as my gaze darted around the place, noting the exposed brick wall.
The wine barrels lined the edge of the walls, and a bar in the corner with a bartender wiping glasses.
"They put a closed sign after we entered. "
"We're lucky, I guess." His gaze averted mine.
"Very lucky. So lucky that the theater just so happened to be showing my favorite movie even though they had planned on showing a western. So lucky we keep stumbling upon good restaurants and wineries that coincidentally don't have any customers on a busy night?"
"Fine, you got me. I just wanted a night where we are alone."
My eyes narrowed. "Levi? What are we doing?"
"Drinking wine." He raised his glass.
"You know what I mean."
He put down his glass. "Is it so bad for a man to take his wife on a date?"
"Right?" My hackles rose. "Is that what this is?"
"It's whatever you want it to be."
I dropped the subject, and we tasted a few more wines.
They all danced on the palate, and when I showed interest in one, Levi offered to buy it.
I thought it was going to cost maybe an amount in the tens of dollars.
Hundreds if it was expensive. So imagine my surprise when the nice-looking lady mentioned an amount in the thousands.
I was too stunned to say anything when Levi swiped his card like he was buying a pair of socks.
We reentered the busy town streets, the chill wind hitting my cheeks as soon as I stepped on the pavement. The warm light of streetlights paired with stars in the cloudless sky made for a romantic mood. Something I least expected from this town of civil war reenactments and paranormal tours.
"You didn't have to buy it," I said, holding up my bottle of wine.
I tried to ignore the light touch of his hand on the small of my back, which I should have gotten used to by now.
But my body was fully aware of every point his fingers touched, even when it was the barest of touches.
The soft fabric of my white dress was a flimsy barrier.
Warmth spread through my body that had nothing to do with the wine we drank earlier.
"You wanted it." Levi spoke with his head facing straight ahead. So nonchalantly, as though it were a fact of life.
"So I got it?"
He nodded.
"It could be fake? What if you bought a fake bottle of wine?"
"Then we will drink fake great tasting wine from George Washington's winery."
"Is that even real? Did George Washington have a winery?"
"We might have to ask Thompson about that one."
We strolled silently for a few blocks.
"You're a funny man."I thought of the theater and what that man said. "And all the coincidences?"
Levi stiffened. "What about them?"
"Did they have anything to do with…'' I didn't know what to say. That he made them happen? That's what I wanted to ask, but it felt too narcissistic. So I plunged in anyway. "Did you plan this evening, yes or no?"
We stopped at a corner. The traffic light was green, but we made no move to cross the road. "Did I make reservations at restaurants and buy movie tickets? And then the answer is yes."
"Oh, my God. You did all of that? You paid them to change the movie. Did you pay the restaurant for a private meal as well?"Levi gritted his teeth. His jaw clenching. Betraying him. "Of course you did! How much did it cost?"
He sighed. "Does it matter?"
I turned to face him; he wrapped his arm around my waist, partially encircling me. "Why are you doing this?"
"Today is your birthday, isn't it?"
The sound of my heartbeat grew until I could barely hear anything above it. "How did you know?"
"We work together. Of course I knew. But I also know," His other arm went around my waist. "That you don't celebrate it. I wanted to do something special without you catching up to it, but you're too smart for…"
He never finished his sentence. I kissed him right in the middle of that busy street.