Chapter 9
9
M arcus was bringing Dalton over to meet Kylen and Deenie. He was planning to take them to an area of the beach where bonfires were legal, and there was a crowd of fifteen- to twenty-year-olds almost every night in the summer. Marcus and Tabitha were having dinner together at a place on the waterfront.
Tabitha was still looking for her balance. She couldn’t throw caution to the wind and have a reckless summer because she was a mother. She also wanted to enjoy and nurture what she had going on with Marcus. She had to admit that her life was going to be chaotic regardless of geography.
Marcus originally suggested a double date with Deb and Nathaniel, but she was unavailable. There was an emergency she had to handle at her salon. Tabitha knew there wasn’t really an emergency, and Deb was just running from a good thing as she was known to do.
Tabitha heard the Porsche pull into the driveway.
“Hey.” Marcus and Dalton walked into the kitchen. April, Kylen, and Deenie were sitting in the nook playing Jenga.
Deenie took one look at Dalton and came centimeters from knocking over the tower. Kylen grabbed her arm at the last minute, making a well-timed save.
Marcus placed his hand on the small of Tabitha’s back and kissed her gently. He whispered in her ear. “I can’t wait to have you all to myself tonight.”
Tabitha nodded and smiled. She felt the same way.
“Deenie and Kylen, this is my nephew Dalton, and he’s going to show you around Melbourne Beach since I’m old and don’t know where all the cool spots are. He went to high school not far from here,” Marcus said.
“I’ve got it from here. Hey, no, Deenie, don’t go for that piece, or you’ll knock the whole thing over,” Dalton said.
“Why don’t you take my place,” Tabitha said to Dalton. “Your uncle and I are trying to make our reservation on time. Mel is out with Dale, Deb’s on Merritt, and your mom is upstairs, Kylen. I have my cell if you have to get in touch with me.”
“Have a good night. We won’t be too late,” Deenie said. “Cay will be here tomorrow, and I have to save myself for the Fourth,” Deenie said.
“The view is spectacular. Why is this the only restaurant directly on Melbourne Beach? People would pay to eat with this view even if the food was bad,” Tabitha said.
“This joint was here before there were strict beach regulations in place. They changed the zoning so nothing commercial can be built this close to the water. Some abandoned structures were once restaurants, but they hadn’t been continuously operating. This was a taco place without indoor seating for years, but since it never closed, they were able to gut it and rebuild. That’s a little history of Melbourne Beach,” Marcus said as their clams in white wine sauce hit the table.
“I didn’t know you were such a history buff,” Tabitha said.
“I like history, but I wouldn’t call myself a buff. It’s a realtor thing. When showing a house or a piece of property, people like to know about the history and if any famous people live here.”
“What famous people live here?” Tabitha asked.
“There’s a former reality TV star here and an ex-NFL player. That means a lot to some folks, believe it or not. Once, a guy put an offer in on a house because his favorite rapper used to live here. I guess there are tricks to every trade. I know a realtor who makes things up, which I don’t do because that’s fraudulent.”
The waiter brought Tabitha a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and Marcus had his usual beer. Here’s to getting to know each other better this summer and maybe beyond,” Tabitha said.
They clinked glasses, and Marcus looked down at the menu. He didn’t comment on what she said but swallowed hard. Tabitha saw the unease on his face, and she may have said too much too soon. Tabitha felt silly because she wasn’t sure or not if she should say something. She was a forty-nine-year-old woman and not sixteen. There wasn’t much Marcus could say that she hadn’t heard before.
“I’m going to have the Dover sole with a salad, please,” Tabitha said.
“Sounds good. Make it two, but I’d like the potato.”
“My post didn’t seem to sit well with you. Did I say something you didn’t agree with?” Tabitha asked.
Marcus sighed. “I knew you’d pick up on that. You know me, and that scares me. I’ve been able to get through life without marriage or anything close. I soured on matrimony after my parents’ divorce. I thought that if they got divorced, then no one was immune.”
“You’ve carried that with you for all these years?”
“Yes. Folks say divorce is best while the children are young because they’re resilient and won’t even remember the split. Others say to wait until the children leave the house. That would mean the kids would see a loveless marriage until they leave the house. I was thirteen, and it turned out that I wasn’t so resilient. I thought my parents were in love, so it had to have something to do with me.” Greg buttered a piece of bread and put it in his mouth.
“I didn’t mean to change the mood of the whole evening by mentioning a possible future for us. We’re just dating, and I get that.” Tabitha gulped her wine.
Marcus reached for her hand across the table. “We both knew we had a connection when we first met in person. I felt like you were holding a spot for me in your life. I’m reacting this way because there is something between us, and it scares me. I think we need to focus on the moment and see where that takes us instead of putting a schedule on things. Who knows what tomorrow brings?”
“I can do that. I have been married for so long and have had only one relationship since my divorce. I feel like I’m a newbie, and you will have to forgive my relationship missteps,” Tabitha said.
“Of course, I’ll forgive you. I have to compliment you for picking up that something bothered me. Was it my failure to make eye contact or the swallowing hard?”
“It was both, actually. I’m good at reading people. I took a human behavior class way back in college, and I learned a lot. Not much gets by me,” she said.
“We’ll see about that because I’ve been told I’m very hard to read,” Marcus said. “How’s your fish?”
“It’s okay.”
“Fish should never be just okay. Share mine. It tastes fine. Maybe they’re from different fish,” Marcus said. He picked up Tabitha’s plate and smelled it before demanding to see the manager.
The chef and owner showed up at the table and apologized profusely after smelling the fish himself. He and Marcus were still discussing the fish when Tabitha fled to the bathroom. Marcus wanted to bring her to the closest emergency room, but she refused. April was a doctor, and she would take care of her.
Marcus placed her inside his Porsche, and Tabitha got sick all over the seats and center console. “I guess this means our dating relationship is beyond the honeymoon phase. If I hear from you tomorrow, I’ll be surprised,” she said before getting sick again.
He carried her inside and called for April, who was nearby watching television. He laid her down on the couch, and she was asleep in minutes.
“It happened soon after eating the tainted food, which is good. I’m pretty sure it will work through her system by tomorrow afternoon. It was an old piece of fish, I suspect. Tabitha is a little warm, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t go up. Sorry, your evening was ruined. I’m glad you notified the chef, so no one else will get sick,” April said.
“They’re closing early and promised to self-report to the health department,” Marcus said. “It saves them a fine from the health department if they do it that way.”
“I’ll take her from here and promise not to leave her side,” April assured him.
“No, you will not. That’s my job, and I insist on staying until Tabitha has color back in those cheeks. I’m never going to forgive myself for taking my sweet Tabitha to a place that made her sick.”
April stepped back, folded her arms, and smiled approvingly. “Do you happen to have a brother?”
Marcus laughed. “I care about Tabitha and want to make sure she’s better by the Fourth.”
“She will be. She’ll be exhausted tomorrow but by Wednesday, she’ll be as good as new. Be sure to feel her forehead now and then,” April said. She filled a bowl with ice water and gave him a clean cloth to keep her forehead cool.
When April left, Marcus put her head on his lap, and soon they were both asleep. His hand remained on her forehead all night. He didn’t even hear Deenie and Kylen come home, but he saw their shoes by the door, so he knew they made it home safely.
“Marcus. I’m thirsty, and what time is it?” Tabitha asked. She was confused. She remembered April taking her temperature and not much else.
“You remember you were sick last night, right?” he asked.
“I do, and you took me home and then—” Tabitha threw her hand over her mouth. “I got sick in your car. Did you wait here so you could get reimbursed for me getting sick on your leather seats?”
“No, Tabitha. I stayed to make sure you’re okay because I care about you, and I wanted to make sure you were going to be healthy for the Fourth of July. The day wouldn’t be worth celebrating without you. You scared me.”
Tabitha fell into his arms, and they didn’t move much for the rest of the day except to go to the bathroom. Her makeup was worn off, and her hair was a mess, but Marcus didn’t seem to care.
The other girls handled preparations for their celebration. Mel jokingly accused her of planning her bout with food poisoning to get out of preparations. Tabitha laughed, but she would have barbecued the burgers herself if it meant she wouldn’t have had food poisoning.