Chapter twenty-two
I parked the car in front of her building and checked the time on my wristwatch. It was still a few minutes before the time I had agreed on in the note, but it wasn't enough to stop me from feeling uneasy. My driver had assured me that he had delivered the box, but that wasn't enough for me to be sure that she would accept my invitation.
For a moment, I thought I was an idiot, and it was much easier to pay for women because I didn't have to subject myself to situations like that: waiting without knowing whether she would come or not. The fact that my daughters adored her might not be enough for me to lower the defenses I had built up over the last few years to avoid my suffering.
Dating again...
Wow!
My thoughts were interrupted when I saw her coming down the steps of the building. I had chosen the gift because I thought the pieces were beautiful. I admit that a saleswoman had helped me put it together, but it was unforeseeable that she would look so stunning.
The dress had a circular collar at the front and came down, hugging her body as if it had been designed for those curves. Her loose, wavy hair covered a little of her bare back. She looked delicate and even naive in the midst of so much seduction.
“Hi,” he stopped next to me, and I couldn't look away. “Thanks for the present.”
“It looks stunning.”
She lowered her face, and her cheeks flushed.
I gently touched his chin and lifted his head. We stared at each other deeply, and I realized that we could stay like this forever. I hadn't felt like this for a long time.
Her lips were painted with pink lipstick that made them look striking. I wanted to cover them with my own. I hadn't yet kissed her, and I really wanted to, but I stopped myself. The entrance to the building was only a few meters away and she might run off and give up on our date.
“The girls...”
“With the nanny.”
“What did you say to them?”
“That he had an appointment and would be back late.”
“Ah...” she stammered, looking a little disappointed.
“Would you rather I had told them I was with Professor Helena?”
He nodded.
“They will know when the time is right.”
“If that moment ever comes.” Apparently, I wasn't the only one afraid.
“Shall we?” I approached the car and opened the car door.
She nodded and settled into the seat. Then I turned around and took the wheel.
“Shall we have dinner in Manhattan?”
“Yes.”
“Look...”
“Hey!” I reached out and touched his hand, which was resting on his thigh. “Relax. Unless the only thing you eat is fries and hamburgers.”
“No.”
“Then everything will be fine.”
“Okay.”
“What kind of music do you like?” I turned up the radio to relax her a bit.
“Pop, Latin... I think I'm quite eclectic at times.”
“Hip hop?”
“Also.”
“There's always a style we don't like as much.”
“When I show up, I'll tell you.” He chuckled, and I realized I was achieving my goal.
“The girls love it.” I turned up the volume and let the dancing sound fill the vehicle.
“Oh, so that's what Anne keeps humming?”
“I admit that she's not an excellent singer at the moment, but when she can pronounce all the words correctly, who knows?”
“She's very cute...”
“The two are.”
“Yes.” Helena's smile widened. “Do you often talk about your daughters with the women you go out with?”
“They're not usually that interested in girls.”
“That's a shame.”
I nodded but didn't make any other comments. Helena was the only woman outside my family that I was talking to so openly after Daphne's death. I thought that shutting myself away from them was the best thing for me, but I was very wrong.
We arrived in front of the restaurant, and I was the first to get out of the car, handed the key to the valet, and went around to open the door for her.
I noticed that Helena looked a little uncomfortable as she looked from side to side.
“What's wrong?”
“I think I prefer my hamburger.”
“It's just a restaurant.”
“It's not just a restaurant, Thomas.” He tilted his head from side to side. “Look at all those people.”
“What about them?”
“They are...”
“Like you and me?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Not like me.”
“How do they differ for you?”
“Apart from the bank account?”
“That's just a detail.”
“I ate French fries for you.”
“It's different.”
“Why?”
I got a laugh out of her.
“You sound like the girls.”
“I learn from them every day, but there's no point in answering just because.”
“Even they don't fall for it anymore.”
“That's right.” I put my hand on her shoulder by reflex, and she moistened her lips, drawing my attention to them. “If you hate the food, I swear I'll find somewhere else.”
“How could I hate food?”
“Exactly.”
“Is that why they call you the devil's advocate?”
“I'm holding back on that part.”
“He said he wanted us to get to know each other better.”
“I'm good at arguing, but it seems you are too.”
“You acquire one talent or another by dealing with ten very clever children every day.”
“I'll remember that when I need to study for a case.”
“You have a good display at home.”
“I have.”
“Mr. Lennox?” The restaurant receptionist approached us. “Are you going in now?”
I looked at Helena, who nodded.
“Please come with me.”
We crossed the large, well-decorated, and refined hall until we reached the table reserved for us. The hostess removed the sign and pulled out one of the chairs for Helena to sit on.
“A waiter will be right with you.” He hands each of us a menu.
“Thank you.” Helena opened the leather folder and then closed it. “Thomas...”
“Ask for what you want.”
“An orange juice?” Her expression made me laugh.
Helena was a different woman from my late wife, who had also come from a wealthy family, and despite the luxury I was offering her, she refused, which attracted my attention even more. Dealing with processes, agreements, and courts for so long, I had to learn to read people, and she was very honest and transparent with me.
“That may be, but do you like wine?”
“A sweeter one... I'm the type who prefers children's drinks.”
“That makes sense, teacher.” Laughs.
“How nice!”
“An orange juice for you, then.”
“Thank you.”
When the waiter approached, I ordered an orange juice for her and another for myself to go with the starter.
“That lady I saw at your house, your grandmother... Is that right?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Your parents...” In the middle of my sentence, I tried to analyze his reaction for fear of touching on a subject that might be too delicate.
“My mother is somewhere. She keeps disappearing, it's been like this since I can remember. It was my grandmother who brought me up and always looked after me. My father, well... My mother doesn't know who he is.”
“But you never wanted to know?”
“If he never cared about me, I thought it best not to care either. Life was hard enough without suffering from it.”
“I can imagine.”
“You have living parents who moved to the suburbs after he retired and passed the business on to you.”
“Wow! You've done your homework.”
“It's easy to find information about you on the internet.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The waiter brought their orders, and she sipped her juice.
“I'm sorry about the accident.”
“Everyone feels it, but it's something no one imagines when they get married. They talk about it until death do them part , and you never think it can happen so quickly.
I noticed that she swallowed, and I hurried to change the subject because I didn't want to talk about something that hurt me so much. I'd had enough time to suffer because of my wife, but I'd learned to stand up for my daughters. I had to keep living for them.
“Why teacher?”
“I've always loved children, and I thought that helping them learn and develop was the best thing I could do.”
“But you don't have children?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Since my grandmother became ill, there was less and less time left, and I admit that I wasn't making an effort to date either. Going home from work was much calmer and kept me from having to worry about other problems.
“So it seems I wasn't the only one hiding.”
“I never went around asking how much a guy wanted to...” He gritted his teeth and didn't even finish his sentence.
“I apologize for that.”
She stepped back, softening her expression.
“If it weren't for them, we might never be having this conversation.”
“But we are.”
He nodded and drank some more of the juice.
However big the difference between the two of us, I was increasingly interested in her company, and it seemed worth taking a risk to see how far we would go.