Chapter 3 #3
“Good. Then you won’t mind so much when I want your advice on things around here.
I know that they said that the electrical is fine, but I do worry about the outside outlets.
Sometime when you have time, you can have a look at them and tell me what you think.
” Gilman was an electrical engineer and had been working on his own for the past few years.
He also had his house decorated the best when it came to the holidays.
That was why he needed his own home so that he could really go all out.
“Once you get that looked at, I’ll feel better about plugging things in on the outside of the house. ”
“I can do that for you, no problem.” As the two of them toured the house for about the fifth time, they started making notes on rooms that were going to need attention.
Furniture for the living room was going to have to be the number one priority.
At least in his condo, he had a place for people to sit down.
It wasn’t much, but it was good enough to have some of his family over when he wanted.
“You’re going to need to have the yard maintained.
I’m betting they had a service do it all the time, and that’s why it looks so good.
I’d stick with the same service if I were you.
Or perhaps Mac can recommend something for you. ”
“I’ll ask Mac. Wouldn’t it be funny if they used her for the service?
It’s quite a showcase of a yard. It had me when we first saw it.
” He said, then he saw the house. “Yes. Then the house. I love that I’m going to be able to move in soon.
I just have to get myself a mattress for my bed, and I should be fine.
Other than the few things that I have on my list, that is.
I’m going to order them tonight and have them shipped here so that I won’t have to cart them back and forth.
I’ll just toss out the other coffee pot, and I’ll be fine.
It would have burnt the house down anyway if I were to use it here. ”
“That’s a good point. I really should get rid of mine too.
You’d think that I would understand that, wouldn’t you?
” They both laughed, and he pulled out his phone to take some pictures of the kitchen.
“I’m so happy that my house is ready to move in.
I remember the nightmare that Mac and Axel went through to get their own house in order. ”
“I have a question for you. Totally off topic. But what do you think of the waitress that we had waiting on us last night? I mean, she’s a real looker.
” He said she seemed really nice and did a good job waiting on them.
“I’m going to ask her out. I’m sick of the dating pool around town, and it might be time for me to branch out.
I know her name is Lori, it’s on her name tag, but that’s all I know about her.
I’m going to head there today to see if I can get any more information about her. ”
“She doesn’t wear a ring. That might mean that she just doesn’t wear it at work, but she didn’t have any marks there either.” Gilman thanked his brother for noticing. “It’s literally my job to notice things like that.”
They talked about dating again, and Penrod said that he wasn’t going to be dating anytime soon.
However, if he wanted to go to the restaurant and talk to her, he could use a good meal.
They both thought that was a wonderful idea and headed there after locking up the house.
Penrod had a house, and he couldn’t have been happier.
He noticed the tension in the air as soon as he walked through the door.
Gilman, who normally didn’t notice anything, even said how he could feel something was wrong.
Telling his brother to be on the lookout for anything, they were seated in her section like normal, and it took her a few minutes to bring them their waters.
She was about as tense as the room felt, and he looked around the place.
Nothing seemed to be out of order. He thought that they were being robbed, but the woman at the counter didn’t look like she was stressed out or anything.
When she took their orders, Penrod put his hand on her wrist and asked her what was wrong.
He would swear that she looked like she’d been crying.
“We had a meeting yesterday, and this will be my last two weeks working here.” He asked her what had happened. “Just restaurant stuff. I’m going to be all right. I just have to find myself another job so that I can live day to day.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. We didn’t have anything to do with it, did we? I mean, if we caused you any trouble, I’m profoundly sorry.” She said that it had nothing to do with them; they were good customers, and that she really enjoyed waiting on them. “Then it has to be something. You’re upset.”
“We have to share our tips with each other. That’s a lot of money that I’m depending on.” She looked ready to cry again and told him she’d be right back. As she walked away, Penrod looked at his brother.
“It does have something to do with us, I’m betting.
We usually leave her a couple of hundred dollars’ worth of tips when we leave here.
Someone must have gotten their panties in a twist and decided that she was making too much on the nights we show up.
I guess that’s as good a reason not to come back here as any. ”
“Ask her out.” He said that he was going to do it. “Nah, you’ve been talking to her. You ask her out, and if it doesn’t work out, I will. At least you’ll have her information when I need it.”
“You said you were sick of the dating pool. That’s the only reason we came this far to have dinner.” He nodded, and he realized that she was coming back. “I’m going to ask her out, but I hope to hell that it works out for both of us and she belongs to Stamos.”
After she took their orders, being in a better mood, he joked around with her when she came to bring them parts of their dinner.
Gilman did as well, but she seemed to pay more attention to them both than he thought was necessary.
Perhaps this tip thing was making him see things that weren’t there. She had been really upset.
“What are you doing for dinner some night? I’d love to take you to dinner that wasn’t here.” She laughed, and so did he. “But seriously. I’d love to take you out sometime. My name is Penrod, and this is my brother Gilman. We’re with the Hathaway family.”
“I know your brother Axel. He’s my attorney.” He didn’t know that, but was glad that she wanted the best when she needed it. “I’d love to go out with you, but I’m only off on Mondays until my two weeks are up. Then who knows?”
He couldn’t believe how easy it was to get a date. He had a feeling that she was feeling down, and that’s the only reason that she said yes, but he was going to take it. He’d enjoyed the banter between the three of them and was glad that Gilman didn’t mind him asking her out instead of him.
“I’ll pick you up on Monday evening, and we’ll have dinner someplace that requires a suit and tie for me.
” She said that sounded lovely and was looking forward to it.
Taking a slip of paper off her order pad, she not only gave him her phone number but her address as well.
Yes, he was going to look forward to having dinner with a beautiful woman.