Chapter 20
Noel figured that she and Cavin must have walked for nearly an hour.
Not once did they discuss which direction to go while wandering through the maze of downtown streets—decorated festively for the Christmas season—ultimately ending up back at the waterfront.
The two of them simply went with the flow letting the cold breeze guide them wherever it might as the welcoming glow of nighttime in Swansboro surrounded them.
Noel felt much better now than when they left Beaufort, better than she had in a while, in fact.
She never realized quite how heavy all the details of the accident weighed on her even after a year passed.
So many questions still loomed in her mind; some similar to the ones Cavin posed.
If only Keaton would reveal what happened out there on the water, maybe then she could close another chapter of the horror story.
During dinner Cavin and Noel barely spoke another word about the accident.
The fluffy Christmas tree in the corner of the room twinkled with white lights, and candles on the windowsills and tables created a warm, flickering luminosity throughout the restaurant—a welcome distraction from the chilly November weather awaiting them outside.
The conversation felt much lighter as Cavin and Noel learned more details about each other.
Cavin told Noel about the prestigious private school he attended in Atlanta, and Noel shared stories about the three typical public school levels she climbed.
She described how she met Chelsea, Rainey, and Lexi at a young age and mentioned other elementary school playmates; some of whom they hung out with as they grew up wandering the waterfront district and exploring the waterways in boats during their teenage years.
Not many families moved in and out of Beaufort which usually proved to be a perk because friends stuck around for the long haul.
The student population at Cavin’s school often changed due to parents moving in or away for better opportunities which made having close friends a challenge.
Noel felt bad for him, especially when he revealed he didn’t even have a best friend now.
“I have always only had acquaintances,” he explained. “Nowadays I travel so much that it is hard to have close friends. I am rarely around long enough to get together with anyone on a regular basis.”
“My closest friends these days are Chelsea, whom you just met, and Mrs. Madelyn.”
“Chelsea seems friendly, and I love Mrs. Madelyn’s personality. She appears to be a lot of fun.”
“They are both great women,” Noel guaranteed. “Where did you meet Rainey?” she inquired curiously.
Cavin chuckled and then told her the story, all of it, knowing if he didn’t, her brother or Rainey certainly would.
He still felt bad about judging Keaton so harshly.
Noel took the opportunity to fill Cavin in on the history between Keaton and Rainey by explaining that they became adversaries soon after the accident.
Cavin wondered what it would be like to settle somewhere and make real friends, and the thought brought a tentative smile to his face. “What are your hobbies?” he asked ready to start a new topic.
“Does taking care of Levi, Laney, and the candy shop count?” Noel asked. “That’s about all I do these days.”
“Those sound more like fun responsibilities than hobbies,” Cavin appealed.
“Fair enough. How about you? What are your hobbies?” Noel inquired. “You said you played golf this morning; is that one of them?”
Cavin described growing up playing golf at the country club and playing in college before eventually earning the opportunity to play professionally.
“Wow, I have never met a professional golfer . . . however, I have drunk an Arnold Palmer,” she teased.
Cavin laughed louder than intended and nearly spat out his beverage, interrupting the conversation at a few nearby tables as people glanced over at the commotion.
“Well, I am not really a professional golfer,” he admitted, unaware of the random stares from nearby strangers as his eyes returned directly to Noel’s which sparkled in the dim romantic glow of the restaurant. “However, I must say I am impressed that you know the name of a former great.”
“I know more than one name,” Noel declared confidently. “I know Tiger Woods, Nancy Lopez, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorenstam, Lee Trevino, Rory McIlroy—” she trailed off trying to think of others but couldn’t recall anyone further on the fly.
With each name mentioned, Cavin’s eyebrows climbed a little higher on his forehead. “Impressive. How do you know of all those golfers?”
“My dad watched golf, and when I was little, I liked to sit in his lap—so I watched golf, too,” she clarified with a smile brought on by a flash of delightful memories.
“Did he play?” Cavin asked, unable to recall a time when he ever sat in his mom’s or dad’s lap.
“A little.”
“How about you?” Cavin checked.
“I played piano,” Noel replied, suddenly remembering one of her hobbies.
Cavin instantly glanced at her fingers. “Did you know long fingers can be an advantage for piano players and golfers?”
Noel glanced at her thin spaghetti noodle fingers and then at Cavin’s which looked more like fettuccine compared to hers. Both appeared longer than average, but neither was abnormal. “Of course I knew that about piano players but not golfers.”
“It is certainly not as much of a factor for golfers, but some studies have shown it can be helpful.”
Noel nodded her head. “Makes sense.”
“Do you still play piano?” Cavin asked.
“I used to play at church and sing, but it’s been a while.”
“You should play,” Cavin encouraged. “If you still love it, that is.”
“I do love both.”
“I want to hear you sing and play,” Cavin insisted.
“You do?” Noel questioned not expecting him to show interest.
“Of course.”
“Maybe one day,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders noncommittally.
“I will let you watch me play golf if you let me watch you play the piano,” Cavin teased, although somewhat seriously.
“That doesn’t sound like a fair trade,” Noel contested.
“Why not?”
“Golf takes a long time, so I would be doing a lot of watching,” she pointed out with a wink, her head tilted ever so slightly. “I would want to play, too.”
Cavin’s ears perked up. “Really? You would play golf with me?”
“Sure, why not?” Noel offered before realizing what that meant. A second date was what that meant, she quickly understood if this was a first date although an official label didn’t exist. It did and didn’t seem like a date even though that made no sense.
As Cavin peered into Noel Puckett’s emerald green eyes, he wondered what thoughts traveled through her mind.
Of all the women he dated over the years, not one ever offered to play golf with him.
They didn’t even play when invited. One did drive the golf cart once and drank a lot of booze, but the country club nearly kicked him out for that incident.
“I am going to hold you to it,” Cavin declared.
Noel thought through the idea a bit more and decided to add a disclaimer. “If I play golf with you, you have to sing with me while I play piano,” she insisted, and then a voice in her head reminded her: that's three dates.
“Wait a minute, you should have made that arrangement before agreeing to golf,” Cavin pointed out grinning.
Noel chuckled. “I won’t hold you to it, but if you are the gentleman I think you might be, I imagine you will oblige.”
“What makes you think I am a gentleman?” he asked curiously.
“Let’s see. You opened every door for me this evening, you rubbed my back when I was crying, and I noticed some other things that will remain unsaid.”
“Like what?” he queried.
Like you not turning to check out Georgia’s strut as she walked away this morning. “There are some things a lady doesn’t share,” she contended, batting her eyelashes.
“Fair enough, but I will warn you that I may be a terrible singer.”
“I might be a terrible golfer,” she countered.
Cavin encountered his fair share of those over the years, and many athletes claimed the sport to be the most difficult.
“Once we are out there, if you grow tired of chasing balls, you can always just drive the cart. Most people enjoy that aspect of golf,” he inserted.
“However, you aren’t allowed to get drunk. ”
“Oh yeah, how come?” she asked, playing along.
Cavin communicated the PG-13 version of the story that popped into his mind earlier, and as their conversation shifted amongst other topics, it didn’t take Noel long to decipher that Cavin’s family was relatively wealthy although she didn’t ask or comment about it specifically.
Within the stories he told, Cavin randomly mentioned limousines, maids, butlers, and even a helicopter his dad once wanted to buy.
On the other hand, Noel grew up having all her needs met, but looking back she realized Cavin had a lot of opportunities she didn’t.
At the same time she could tell his parents focused far more on success than spending time together as a family.
The dinner table discussion never ceased nor did their dialogue during the entire ride home.
Cavin talked more than she did, but Noel held her own and surprised herself with some of the details she opened up about, like how sales had been lower than she hoped these last two days.
For some reason, being in Cavin’s presence felt easy which came as somewhat of a surprise since Noel initially labeled him as an arrogant businessman.
Somehow they didn’t talk in depth about what Cavin did for work, and Noel was admittedly relieved that job-related conversations didn’t dominate their business meeting—she laughed privately every time she recalled her description to Chelsea and Rainey.
Once inside her house in the dark, Noel chuckled again at the thought of those two words.
The night never seemed like a business meeting at all, she considered as her back slid down the same door at the top of the steps.
“Thanks, God,” she whispered. She thought about saying thanks to Fletcher, too, but for some reason that didn’t feel quite right as a few tears of gratitude trickled down her face reaching the corners of her lips—somewhat forming a smile.
Noel felt a twinge of guilt for having such a nice time with Cavin.
Honestly the whole experience surprised her.
She anticipated coming home much earlier and wishing she never agreed, or let Mrs. Madelyn agree on her behalf, to have dinner with a man who felt like a stranger a handful of hours before.
She imagined it would be one big mistake that she might beat herself up about for days or possibly weeks or months.
However, Cavin proved to be a gentleman and true to his word.
Other than consoling her with a few gentle, harmless back rubs, he never attempted to touch her although he assisted her with her coat after dinner and escorted her to the door at the end of the night.
Even though the evening went well, when they said goodbye, it came as somewhat of a surprise to her when she found herself wondering when she would see him again.
During the ride home from Swansboro, she called Mrs. Madelyn to let her know their evening ran later than expected, and she could hear Mrs. Madelyn’s smile through the phone.
“You deserved a night where you lost track of time,” her dear friend said quietly knowing Cavin sat on the other side of the vehicle.
A smile spread onto Noel’s face, and out of the corner of her eye, she looked over at Cavin as he stared straight ahead at the road. Mrs. Madelyn was right—he was handsome.
“The kids are fast asleep on a makeshift cot on the living room floor,” Mrs. Madelyn revealed. “Why don’t you let them stay the night here with me and Mr. Jack? He said he will sleep in the recliner in case they wake up wondering where they are.”
Noel nearly cried, but she already cried enough for one evening. Having a night alone of completely uninterrupted sleep would be a blessing, especially this night she decided.
However, after climbing into bed, Noel spent the next hour with her eyes wide open in the dark reliving the new memories she made with Cavin Dawson that evening.
No one could or would ever take the place of Fletcher Puckett, but with her entire body relaxed and enveloped in the soft covers, Noel closed her eyes realizing that one day at a time she could move forward.
She believed she took the first step today although not alone as the piano-playing fingers on her right hand stretched wide over Fletcher’s spot on the bed.
“Thank you, Fletcher,” Noel whispered, remembering how they often fell asleep holding hands. “I love you.”