“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Rick appeared at the bottom of the stairs wearing jeans, a plain white shirt and his wear-it-only-to-church jacket. “Is this better?”
“Much...come on, we don’t want to be late.”
“Carly says you’re always late.”
“You are never talking to her again.” Dan headed out the kitchen door, but Rick didn’t follow. Dan came back in. “Car’s this way.” But Rick didn’t hear him. As he switched off the kitchen light he caught his reflection in the window over the sink and he stared at himself.
At the scars.
“Rick?”
“What about these?” Rick asked. Since he didn’t appear to be looking at anything, Dan didn’t know what he meant.
“What?”
“These scars...”
This perplexed Dan - a hard problem with no easy solution. He’d known Rick long enough, Dan never even saw the scars anymore. They weren’t the worst scars in the world, but he knew that for Rick, they didn’t have to be.
“Have you ever thought of growing a beard?” Though he knew, fat lot of good that would do Rick now. “Maybe she won’t notice.” And that sounded stupid even before he finished saying it.
“I know you called this a blind date Dan but you didn’t tell me it meant-”
“All right, all right.” Dan cut him off. Dan never saw the scars anymore, still he warned people before they met Rick for the first time so that they wouldn’t stare or be caught off guard.
“Look, Carly undoubtedly told Lynne about them already, even before she agreed to come tonight.” Dan repeated as theory what he knew for fact. “Yes, she’ll see those scars. But if that’s all she sees, she’s not the person I thought she was.” But those scars bothered Rick, so Dan thought he’d offer up a scar of Lynne’s to Rick.
“Lynne got dumped - well, perhaps it’s a question of semantics who did the dumping. That’s why she hasn’t dated, why Carly ‘n me fixed you up. Lynne is sweet and pretty and she got her heart broke. I would no more fix you up with a lady who would make you feel awkward and uncomfortable than I would fix her up with someone who would hurt her again.” Dan spoke in a tone of voice that Rick knew was serious.
“Okay, all right. Let’s go.”
Carly and Lynne were already at the movie theater when Dan and Rick arrived. As
they walked through the lobby, Rick lagged behind. “What are you doing?” Dan asked.
“Wishing I was anywhere else.”
“Come on, there she is, next to Carly. Didn’t I tell you She’s pretty?” And Rick had to admit, as he stole a glance at her, that Lynne was exceedingly pretty.
When they got closer, Carly came toward them, Lynne lagging behind. “Well look who got here on time.” Carly said. Dan greeted her with a kiss and a hug. Then he kissed Lynne on the cheek before introducing her to Rick.
“Lynne, this is the guy I’m sure Carly has told you all about. Second only to myself in perfection. Rick, this is Lynne, second only to my Carly in perfection.”
“Hi.” Lynne said first. “Hi.” And they awkwardly shook hands, bumping fingers before they got it right.
Dan led the way to the ticket counter, linking arms with Carly. Rick politely motioned Lynne to start and he walked beside her. “Are we getting popcorn?” Lynne asked.
“That stuff’ll kill you.” Dan warned.
“Popcorn?”
“Movie theater popcorn.”
“Don’t be such a culinary elitist Dan.” Lynne told him. “What’s a movie without popcorn?”
Dan shrugged in a ‘don’t say I didn’t warn you’ motion. “Kiss your arteries goodbye.”
Carly elbowed him. “Don’t worry Babe, I won’t tell them about your Junior Mint craving.”
Dan laughed and kissed her. “I love you.”
After the movie, they decided there wasn’t enough time to stop for pop and still
wake up in time for morning milking, so they said their good-byes in the parking lot. Dan
and Carly stood next to Dan’s Chevy and shared quiet exchanges. Rick and Lynne stood
next to her Subaru and were uncomfortably hushed.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t go out for s- pop.” Rick said. The word came out stiffly. He rubbed the scars, realized he was doing it and dropped his hand.
“Believe me, I can get behind an early bed time for a God-awful wake up call. At least I get weekends off. You never get a break do you?”
Rick considered it. The last stretch of ‘time off’ was when Aunt Marie swore he had pneumonia and threatened to import his mother to take him to the hospital if he didn’t not work nearly four days. “Ohh - every once in a while. Every other Sunday I get a day or half day.”
At the Chevy, Dan asked Carly: “What’s that mean ‘Culinary elitist’?”
“It means you are a junk food bigot Danny. So, do you think he likes her?” They both looked over to the experimental pair.
“I’m sure he already worships the ground she walks on. What about th’other way around? What do you think she thinks about Rick?” “I’ll quiz her on the way home and call you with the results, okay?”
“Sure thing Babe.” He gave her a kiss and a long solid hug. “I love you.”
Rick and Lynne put a little more effort into their discussion once they saw they
weren’t being watched. “I had a very nice time.” Lynne said. “It’s been a long time since
I’ve dated. I’m glad I came tonight.”
“I’m glad too.” And Rick wondered how his heart could pound so hard against his ribs when it was so far up his throat as he asked: “Maybe we could do it again...without The Watchers?”
“Yes, I think that would be a definite improvement.” She smiled at him and for the first time - and he’d been watching all night - her eyes went to his scars and he wanted to disappear.
“Does it hurt?” Her eyes went back up to his.
“No.” Not on the outside.
“The laceration must have been excruciating.”
“I was mugged.” There was no hesitation in telling Lynne this. “The guy hit me across the face with a bottle.”
“That’s terrible. Did they catch him?”
“He got himself smeared in a car accident not too longer after, trying to get-away from holding up a stereo store.”
“Serves him right.”
Rick shrugged and hoped to turn the conversation. “I’d like to do this again.” Not as hard to say it this time, hoping for a more definite answer.
“You can call me. I’m in the book.”
Rick sensed a wariness in her broken heart. “Are you kidding? Dan’s all but tattooed it on my hand.” They laughed and were silent and Lynne fiddled with her key.
“I had a good time tonight.” She said, hoping for a more definite answer.
“So did I...” Rick ran his finger along the rubber strip of the window and crunched a dead leaf under his wear-only-to-church-at-Christmas shoes. Beyond them Dan and Carly were winding down. “Would it be allright if I kissed you goodnight? On the cheek?” He hadn’t kissed any woman goodnight in years and the nearness of this opportunity took his breath away.
“...sure...” She turned her face and Rick kissed her very softly. He blushed and her heart raced. Dan and Carly were coming up behind them and to overcome the moment, Lynne unlocked the car and Rick held the door for her. She got in and turned to look up into his eyes.
“Good night Rick.”
“Good night.” and he repeated that to Carly without giving her much of glance. Dan got Carly safely inside the car and they watched as the car pulled out of the lot. Without prompting, Rick told Dan: “Bea is no longer the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.” Even so, as they got into Dan’s car, Dan asked him:
“You like her?”
“I like her.”
“You kissed her.” Dan said as though Rick might not have noticed.
“I asked her if I could.” Rick admitted.
“You what? I can’t believe it. So much for romance. But you like her?”
“Yes Dan, I just told you I do. She’s pretty and She’s quiet and direct... I’d like to see her again.”
“That’s a relief. They’re coming over for dinner tomorrow night.”
Coming home at the end of an exceptionally tiring day, Rick hesitated when he saw
Carly’s car in the driveway. “What’s wrong?” Dan asked, wondering what now?
“What’s wrong is that I’ve been on the ground all afternoon working on the truck. I’m all dirty and sweaty -”
“That never bothers you when it’s just us.” Dan observed.
“Well Bunches, you just aren’t as pretty as Lynne.”
“Come on Rick. Just excuse yourself and take a quick shower. You’ve got spare clean clothes up there. I know - I washed them. Come on.”
When Rick came out of the bathroom, clean if a little intimidated, Dan went in to take his own shower.
“Build a fire in the woodstove will you Rick?”
“Umm - sure.” Rick watched his one security disappear behind the bathroom door. He glanced to the kitchen; Lynne and Carly were involved in something going on in the oven. So he went to the woodpile and split a chunk of log into thin strips with the hatchet.
Carly nudged Lynne and silently motioned to the woodstove. A brief exchange of glances and Lynne rolled her eyes and went to kneel in the vicinity of Rick. She took a newspaper to roll and tie into a knot. Rick was so taken with her coming over to him that he never knew how close he came to losing that thumb. He smiled a smile he hadn’t intended at her. He didn’t even remember that he had that smile in his repertoire. She smiled back, a shy, glanceful gesture, and she blushed.
“Did this little dinner party come as much a surprise to you as it did to me?” She asked the floor.
“You mean did Dan tell me about it as we were driving out of the parking lot last night? Yes.”
“Oh - you got that much warning? I first became aware of it when Carly came to my door this morning determined to go through every bit of clothing I own till she found something she liked for me to wear.”
“Yeah, I guess you could say Dan picked out my clothes for me. He washed them for me anyway, left them on the end of my bed where I would not miss them.”
They started the fire and Rick stood up and automatically offered his hand to Lynne. He didn’t realize what he’d done till she took his hand and got to her feet. Her hand was soft and warm and strong, and after she smiled her thanks, Rick had to mentally nudge himself to keep from staring at the hand that had touched hers. He hadn’t touched a woman in years.
“I’m glad you came tonight.” He wondered if he’d realize before or after he said that once too often. Then, knowing a little of her history he offered a little more of his own. “I haven’t dated - or anything resembling it - it a long time.”
“To be honest, neither have I. But it seems Dan has a great need to patch up broken hearts.” She was referring to herself, but realized Rick might apply to himself. “Lord knows he’s been trying to patch mine as long as he’s known me...” But Rick was quiet. It was the first time he’d thought of himself as having a broken heart.
“Well, I guess I’ll go see how Carly is coming with dinner.” She moved away, sorry if she’d hurt him.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Rick asked, wanting an excuse to stand near Lynne a while longer. But Carly shot him down without knowing.
“No Rick, thanks. I know you must be tired after working all day. You just sit and rest your feet.”
“Okay - but let me know if I can help...” Feeling awkward in his own house, Rick sat on the couch and picked the newspaper off the coffee table. He opened it and read it and glanced out to the kitchen every now and again. After a minute, he thought of something. He went to the kitchen. “I just wanted to get some orange juice...umm...” he’d have to reach past Lynne to get a glass. “Would you like some?
“Sure...” She gathered from his hesitation that she had to move. She backed out of the way. Carly became deeply involved in the tomato sauce. Rick didn’t even think to offer her any juice. He got two glasses down and took the juice out of the refrigerator. He wondered if his hand was really shaking or if it was just the effect of a full carton of orange juice sloshing uncooperatively.
Dan came out of the bathroom, clean and dressed in clean casual clothes. He stood behind Carly and kissed her neck. “Isn’t it a little crowded in here?”
“I was just thinking that.”
Rick and Lynne looked and looked away as orange juice was offered and accepted. Dan and Carly twinkled at each other. “Why don’t you guys go sit down?” Carly said. “Danny wants to help me finish this.”
So, awkwardly, hesitantly, not looking and definitely not touching, Rick and Lynne went to the couch. They sat at opposite ends, each wondering at almost the exact moment if they should’ve taken the chair instead and let the other one have the couch. They sipped the orange juice.
“Dinner smells good.” Rick began.
“I hope you like it. Vegetarian lasagna. Carly said it’s Dan’s favorite.”
“Oh Lord, health food...not one bit of processed food ever makes it into this house anymore.”
Pause.
“Carly told me you read a lot.”
“When I can. You teach English?”
“At St. Michael’s. 6th, 7th and 8th grade English. Things being what they are, I also teach some Social Studies.”
“Do you like teaching? You like being inside all the time?”
“I never thought of it like that. I like teaching, I like the kids. Most of the kids. Every once in a while you get one kid who is brilliant, eager to learn, and not a smart ass. That makes up for a lot. You certainly must love dairy farming.”
“Well, there’s never much excitement, unless you let a bull get on the wrong side of you. You get a cow who puts out the most milk, the most manure, it doesn’t change much.”
In the kitchen, Dan and Carly nudged each other
Home
Chapter Seven
Chapter Nine
