Thirteen
Bart
Something about the mention of Keith’s past made him flinch before going quiet. His eyes were pinched and tight, and while I wanted to know why, I didn’t want to push. “This is so good. Great suggestion. How’s the tri-tip?”
“Beautiful, here.” He cut off a good-sized bite and offered it to me.
I looked him deep in the eyes as I leaned forward and took the offered bite directly off the fork.
Then the flavor hit me and I groaned. “That is so good.” His eyes hadn’t left my lips since I took the bite, and I couldn’t hold back a grin any longer.
Pulling a napkin out of the holder, I wiped my mouth. “Sorry.”
“For what? I enjoyed watching you eat it more than I enjoyed eating it myself.” After sharing a bite of my meatloaf, we both relaxed and talked about anything we could think of. Where we went to school and what we wanted to be when we were little.
“I went to school to be a heat and air tech because that’s what everyone in my family had done. I really had no clue what I wanted to do, but I guess I didn’t realize how much I didn’t like it until I got here.”
“I really thought I’d be welding the rest of my life but not being in the helmet when it’s over a hundred is something I really appreciate.”
“Do you still weld?”
“Sometimes if I need to. I do like it, but not as a job. I recently started doing some fun metal art,” he said, and it was immediately clear he had not meant to share that.
“What are you making?”
“Oh, nothing too exciting,” he said. But then leaned back in his chair and shared how he had a little shed where he and his neighbor liked to go and pound metal. “Sometimes it looks like something and a lot of times it doesn’t. But it’s fun.”
“You’ll have to show me sometime. I don’t even know where you live? Are you in town?”
“Yes, on the south edge. Not too far from here actually. And I’m more than happy to show you my creations, just don’t expect too much,” he said with a chuckle.
“I watched a few episodes of that series where they have a competition making different blades. They always looked so hot and miserable, but it’s amazing seeing what they create. Have you done anything like that?”
“No, but my neighbor Hank suggested a knife. So, I guess I’ll eventually try it. It might end up bent and dull.”
“You have a neighbor named Hank?”
“Yes, he was a truck driver for years. Just recently retired so he shows up anytime I wander out to the shed.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It is. Well, sometimes it is. Not so much when it’s hot.”
“I really want you to show me something you’ve made.
” I couldn’t imagine creating something out of metal.
It was a very intimidating and also a little sexy.
Visions of him wearing a leather apron while swinging a hammer onto an anvil filled my head.
Sparks flew from whatever it was he was making before—
“Bart?”
“Sorry, I was—” He didn’t need to know exactly what I was imagining, so I decided to tuck that little fantasy away until later.
“Anything else for you?” Andrew asked.
“No, we’re ready for the bill,” Keith said, and then snatched it from my fingers as soon as he could. “This is on me. You can pay next time.” He dug his wallet out and handed his card to Andrew who hurried over to the register.
“Next time? You’re sounding pretty confident.” We stood and pushed our chairs back in just as Andrew returned with his card.
“Thank you, come again,” he said before immediately clearing the table. Stacking plates and glasses like a pro.
“See ya, Andrew,” Keith said and I followed him to the door. We walked down the sidewalk to the bar since it was so close, and I noticed how many people were out.
“This town is busier than I thought it would be.”
“It’s Friday afternoon, they’re trying to get anything they need so they avoid leaving their houses until Monday,” Keith said.
He looked both ways before crossing the street, and since there was only one truck that was at least a block away, I thought it must be a habit and not a necessity here.
Unlike in Sacramento where you risked your life crossing a street without looking.
“Do you ever think about how different it is here compared to Woodland?”
He grinned before squeezing my finger but not taking my hand. “I think about it every day and I can’t say there’s anything I really miss about living there. Maybe the fast-food chains.”
“This is the first time I’ve eaten out in over a month. I forced Asa to get a pizza last month. He cooks every day.”
“Even after working?”
“Yep, and breakfast too. Nothing fancy but he seems to really enjoy it. I also made him start letting me make lunch, which is usually a sandwich. I’m really not much of a cook.”
“I sometimes worry about some of the older farmers around here. It’s not like they can’t drive into town and get a quick meal, but so many of them are stubborn and would never admit they need help.
Then there’s the coffee crowd that hang out in one place or another drinking coffee and talking shit all day.
” He glanced at an older woman who was standing with her arms crossed and a look on her face that said she was watching us to see if she could see anything.
I reached out and took his hand. He turned to me startled before laughing and pulling me along to the door of the bar. “Just wanted to make sure they had something to talk about,” I said.