Chapter 20 #2
He was surprised by how much he enjoyed having her next door.
Claire was easy to talk to, and it was nice to pop in and visit for a few minutes if it was slow for both of them.
It was a welcome change after working by himself for so long.
He always chatted with customers of course, but it wasn’t the same as having a coworker to talk to now and then.
Claire had just flipped her Closed sign to Open when he walked in. She smiled when she saw him set the coffee by her register. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that,” she said as she always did.
“I know. I was going there anyway, so I was happy to.”
“I brought something in that might go well with your coffee. Do you like brownies?”
He laughed. “Is there anyone who doesn’t?”
Claire smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “Hold on, I’ll grab them.” She went to her back room and returned with a tin of brownies with a brown swirl through them. “That’s peanut butter,” she said as he picked one up and took a bite.
“So good. I really like the peanut butter. Thank you.”
Claire settled on her chair behind the counter and reached for a brownie too. “So tonight’s the big night?”
He wasn’t sure what she was referring to at first, then it hit him and he chuckled. “Yeah. Though I’m having second thoughts. I’m still going but am not sure it was a good idea to start things up again. I mean I was going to stop seeing her if she hadn’t let it fizzle out.”
Claire picked up her coffee. “It’s just a night out. Don’t put so much pressure on it. Go have fun. Drink your favorite wine, and see how you feel at the end of the evening. It can still be a fun night, even if it doesn’t go any further.”
“You’re right. I’m overanalyzing it. I’ll just go and have a good time.”
“I’ll be looking forward to a report tomorrow,” Claire said.
He laughed. “You got it.” His door chimed, and he reluctantly stepped away. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Cody went home a bit earlier than usual to take a quick shower and change before picking up Sally at her downtown condo.
The event they were going to was on the opposite side of the island, in Siasconset.
Cody lived closer to downtown in an old antique house off Orange Street.
It had been in his family for years, and when his grandfather passed, he left the house to Cody and his siblings.
Stephanie and his brother were both married and had their own homes, so Cody took out a mortgage and bought them out.
That was years ago, and the house was almost paid off now.
He hadn’t changed it much since he moved in.
The house was in good shape, with lots of dark polished wood and ten-foot ceilings.
The building dated back to the late 1800s and had fireplaces in three rooms and slightly slanting floors on the second level.
He didn’t mind that though. He felt that it gave the house character.
His only big change was to add a deck out back where he could put his grill and some outside furniture. He didn’t have an ocean view, but he was close enough to walk to the beach and go fishing whenever he wanted, which suited him just fine.
He showered and dressed in his favorite dark jeans, a crisp white shirt, and a deep teal tweed blazer. He’d had it forever and always wore it for anything remotely formal and usually received compliments on the color.
He splashed on a bit of Azzaro, a cologne his sister had given him for Christmas. It had a woodsy, bourbon vanilla scent that he liked.
He arrived at six thirty sharp to pick up Sally. The event started at seven, so that should have given them plenty of time. Assuming that Sally was ready to go. And she was not. When she opened the door, she was still struggling to zip up her dress.
“Do you mind getting this for me?”
She turned around, and he slid the zipper up its track. The dress was a deep red fabric that made her hair look darker and her skin glow. She had added a swipe of glossy lipstick that matched her dress.
“Okay, ready. You look nice by the way,” she said with an appreciative smile.
“Thank you. And you look gorgeous in that dress.”
Her eyes lit up. “Thank you.”
They headed out to his car and arrived twenty minutes later at the huge waterfront mansion where the event was being held.
It was a private home, and the food and wine were brought in for the event.
There were at least fifty people at the dinner, and a heated tent was set up to accommodate everyone.
They checked in and looked for their place cards among the five tables.
Black-clad servers strolled by holding silver platters with sparkling wine. They each took a glass and settled into their seats. Their table filled up quickly with several other couples who were Sally’s friends. Cody knew one of the guys from the local men’s ice hockey league.
More servers roamed the room with appetizers—tuna tartare and a potato pastry topped with caviar and sour cream. They were both excellent. Bite-size crab cakes came by next, followed by teriyaki beef skewers.
Once everyone was seated, the host introduced the winemaker and told them what they’d be eating and drinking.
It all sounded good to Cody. Though he preferred red wine—usually cabernet—he didn’t mind whites if they were good, and these were very good.
The sparkling wine reminded him of a quality champagne, and the first wine that was poured, to go with the sautéed scallops in brown butter and lightly dressed mixed greens, was a chardonnay.
It was oaky and buttery and went well with the sweet scallops.
Sally chatted with her friends while Cody mostly sat back and observed, sipped his wine, and enjoyed the food.
Grilled salmon came next, with a honey mustard sauce and served with a silky merlot. He’d only had the cabernet before and was impressed with the merlot, which was a wine he didn’t drink as often.
The main course was a perfectly cooked veal chop with a rich reduction sauce, whipped potatoes, and creamed spinach. Cabernet was served, and it was as good as expected.
“What do you think of the cab?” he asked Sally when she stopped talking for a moment.
She took a sip and smiled. “So good. They all are. Are you having fun?”
Was he? “Yes. Of course. This is great.”
“I thought you’d like it.” She turned to the woman next to her, who was telling them all about a new restaurant in Boston she’d discovered.
As they ate, Cody noticed that Sally kept turning to look at a table behind them. He didn’t know anyone at the table. It was all couples as well.
As dessert was served, he overheard the woman next to Sally say, “I can’t believe Nick is already out in public with her. That didn’t take long.”
“I had a feeling he’d be here. I didn’t think he’d bring her though. Maybe he just didn’t want to come alone?”
He wasn’t sure which couple Sally was referring to.
It became clear during dessert though. As he took his last bite of a tasty caramel-drenched cheesecake, Sally turned and stared at a tall dark-haired guy and a petite blond woman who got up from the table behind them and walked by.
The man glanced briefly at Sally and nodded but didn’t stop to say hello.
Cody noticed that her smile quickly faded as she pressed her lips together tightly.
She’d wanted that man to stop and talk to her.
Cody felt oddly sympathetic instead of annoyed that her attention was elsewhere.
She was clearly just trying to make her ex jealous.
Which confirmed his earlier decision that Sally wasn’t the one for him.
If she was, he would have felt bothered by it all.
The couple never returned to their table, and as he took his last sip of coffee, Cody noticed that others were beginning to leave as well. Sally had barely touched her dessert.
“Do you want to hang out for a while, or are you ready to go?” he asked gently.
“I’m totally done. Let’s go.” She said goodbye to her friends, and they joined the stream of people leaving.
Cody wasn’t sure what to say to her as they drove along, so he just commented on the food. “Thanks for inviting me. That was a great dinner. Did you like the wine?”
She nodded. “The wine was the best part. Food was good.” She sighed, then, after a long moment, spoke again.
“My ex was there. With his new girlfriend. He cheated on me, and I wasn’t ready to take him back when he said he was sorry and he didn’t mean it.
We’d been going through a rough patch, but I didn’t think he’d cheat.
He said it was just a fling and didn’t mean anything.
But when I wasn’t prepared to immediately forgive him, he went right back to her.
I actually thought he might be here alone and we’d have a chance to talk.
” Her voice broke, and she sniffled. “I thought him seeing me with you might make him jealous. But he didn’t seem to notice because he had her with him.
I’m sorry, Cody. I should have told you this up front. ”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you, Sally.”
“Thanks. How are you doing, Cody? Are you dating anyone?”
“Not at the moment. Work keeps me busy.”
He pulled up to her condo and got out to walk her to her door. When they reached the door, Sally pulled him in for a tight hug. “Thank you for understanding. You’re a good guy, Cody. We should hang out sometime.”
He hesitated. But he didn’t think she meant anything by it, and it didn’t seem like the right time to clarify. “Sure, that might be fun. Take care, Sally.”