A Table for Two (18 page)

AT LAST, SUNDAY rolled around, the day Ridley and Dana were going to have dinner at Ridley's mother's house. Dana had just made it up to her apartment from the restaurant kitchen a few minutes before Ridley got there, so she asked Ridley to wait while she took a quick shower and changed her clothes. Ridley took a seat on the sofa and allowed herself to settle down from the excitement that had been building inside of her for the past few days. As of late, everything in her life revolved around one crucial consideration. When would she see Dana again?

Ridley stood when Dana entered the living room. The sight of her was enough to blow Ridley away. Dana wore dark jeans that hugged her trim body and a ribbed turtleneck cotton sweater in a beautiful shade of steel blue. As Dana moved around the room, Ridley stole secret glimpses of her firm backside and perfectly proportioned breasts. Hands down, Dana had to be the cutest women on the face of the earth and knowing she'd have the rest of the day with her made Ridley dizzy with delight.

"I was worried about wearing jeans, but when I saw you were wearing them, I decided I would, too," Dana said. She sounded slightly breathless as she spoke and her cheeks were rosy.

"My mother will probably be wearing them, too. She's a classy lady but she's not formal. How was brunch today?"

"Busy and more crowded than usual," Dana answered.

"That's good. Were you able to finish and get cleaned up before I got here?"

"Not quite. As soon as the last customers were served, we all hustled to clean up and put everything away. The staff didn't even talk or fool around like they usually do. Everyone had plans and they all wanted to get out of there as fast as they could. They knew I had plans, so they told me to leave and they would do the rest."

"What's Tracy doing tonight?" Ridley asked.

"She's taking Erika out to dinner and then to a concert at the Kimmel Center. By the way, she said to say hello and she hopes we have a good time."

"The Kimmel Center? That's mostly classical music, isn't it?"

"Erika's a classical music fan," Dana said. "And Tracy isn't."

"The things we do for love." Ridley glanced at her watch. "Are you ready to leave? I told my mother we'd be there in an hour and we'll just make it if we leave now."

"I'm ready. I just have to get the wine." Dana hurried into the kitchen and returned with two bottles of wine. She held them up so Ridley could see the labels. "I chose a couple of my favorites. Do you think she'll like them?"

"She'll love them."

"Good. Let me grab a jacket and we'll be on our way." Dana opened the hall closet and took out a navy blue polar fleece. "What did your mother say when you told her I was coming?"

"She was thrilled. She's looking forward to meeting you."

THE DRIVE WAS as lovely as Ridley had promised it would be. The maple trees showed off their most dazzling reds and shouted out from among the spectrum of colors that painted the autumn landscape. As each leaf surrendered its fragile hold on life, it flitted to and fro in the air until it reached its final resting place where it would nourish the earth and allow the cycle of life to begin all over again. The autumn air was chilled by a gentle breeze and it smelled crisp and burnt around the edges.

As she drove, Ridley pointed out places of interest and threw in an anecdote from her childhood whenever a memory surfaced. In no time at all, they turned into a long driveway which led to an elegant, two-story stone house with white trim and black shutters."

"This is the kind of house you see on magazine covers," Dana said.

"It's nice, isn't it? My father had this house built for my mother. It was their dream home and she swears his heart and soul still live in it. She feels him in the house and that's why she won't sell it and get a smaller place."

"It would be like losing him all over again."

"I think that's true. She can't bear to part with it." Ridley pulled up in front of the garage door and turned to Dana. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready if you are." Dana opened her door.

Ridley reminded Dana to take the wine bottles and she and Dana walked to the front door. "Mom, we're here," Ridley called out as they entered the house.

Vicki's voice floated out to them. "I'm in the kitchen, sweetheart."

Ridley led Dana into the kitchen where they found her mother at the counter cutting green beans. "Hello, Mom." Ridley went over to her mother, gave her a side hug and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm just fine. How was the ride? Were the trees pretty?"

"The ride was nice and the trees were as pretty as I've ever seen them." Ridley went back to Dana's side, took her by the arm and brought her closer. "Mom, I'd like you to meet my new friend, Dana De Marco."

"Nice to meet you, Dana. I'm pleased you could join us for dinner."

"So am I. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Kelsen," Dana said.

"I'd prefer it if you'd call me Vicki."

"Okay, Vicki. Thank you for inviting me."

"Ridley told me a little about you. She said you're a chef and you have your own restaurant in the city, on South Street. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's all true," Dana said.

"Ridley also told me you're a talented cook. I hope my amateur cooking skills will meet with your approval. I'm just an ordinary housewife, or at least I used to be."

"I enjoy it when someone else cooks for me." Dana handed Vicki the bottles. "I brought you some wine, but I didn't know what you were making."

"How nice of you, Dana," Vicki said as she read the labels. "This white will go well with what we're having for dinner and I'll save the red for another time, unless you girls want me to open both of them."

"No, the white is fine with us, right Dana?" Ridley asked.

"That's fine with me. It's one of my favorites."

Ridley's mother put the red wine on the counter and handed her the bottle of white. "Would you put this in the refrigerator to chill, sweetheart? Dinner won't be ready for another hour and I can't think of anything you can help me with. While I finish up here, why don't you show Dana around the house and take her outside to see the flowers. They're pretty this time of year."

"Okay, Mom."

Ridley gave Dana a quick tour of the house and then took her outside to see the garden. Stone pathways like spokes in a wheel ran through the flower beds and led to a central gazebo. Ridley stepped up into it and sat on the bench that lined the interior. "Sit here with me." She patted the empty stretch of bench beside her.

"Your mother's a good-looking woman. Now I see where you get your looks," Dana said as sat next to Ridley. "And she's nice like you or should I say you're nice like her?"

"Either way is okay and thank you. I'm lucky to have a mother like her."

"I feel the same about my mother," Dana said. "Maybe you'll meet her someday."

"I'd like that very much." Ridley inched a little closer to Dana.

"This is a lovely garden. Does your mother do this all by herself?"

"She putters around when she's at home, but no, she pays someone to maintain it and to do the heavy work. I like it in the fall when she puts in the mums and ornamental kale."

"What are those blue flowers, next to the sage?"

"Those are blue asters. You should see this in the spring when the azaleas are in bloom and the pink and white dogwoods are out."

"I'll bet it's pretty. Does your mother spend the entire summer at the shore?"

Ridley shook her head. "No, she goes back and forth. She has friends here and her sister and she comes up to see them and to check on the house. Her friends also visit her down there and my aunt comes down a couple of times for a week or so."

"What about you? Do you spend the summers there?"

"I'm down there a lot, since I'm off. I come home if my mother's friends are coming and if Karen and Laurie are coming for a weekend, she goes home and lets us have the place to ourselves. She's thoughtful like that."

"She must trust you," Dana remarked.

"I've never given her any reason not to. Besides, she raised me to be independent and she knows she doesn't need to run my life. She doesn't want to either." "You seem like the independent type. I thought that right away." Ridley met Dana's eyes. "That doesn't mean I don't want to be with someone." "I just meant that you seemed strong and self-reliant."

"I guess you could say that about me. The funny thing is, I love to spend time with my mother even more because she doesn't demand my time and attention."

"It kind of works that way, doesn't it?"

"Yeah and I think my mother knows that."

"Has she gone out with anyone since your father died?" Dana asked.

"She says she's not interested in dating but that could change. She's attractive and she's only fifty-four, so she might want someone in her life someday and if she does, I think that's great. If not, I'll respect her choice either way." Ridley paused for a moment and then she said, "Tell me a little about your family."

"My mother used to be an elementary school teacher until she had my younger brother, Danny, and then she decided to stay home until we all left the nest. She's still at home but she keeps busy being a homemaker and a grandmother. My father owns his own financial consulting firm. My older sister Donna and her husband Wayne have three children and they live in the Chicago suburbs, not far from my parents. My brother Danny's in grad school in California."

"Donna, Dana and Danny. How cute," Ridley said with a smile.

"It's cute all right, but I'm afraid it gets worse. My father's name is Dino."

"What's your mother's name? Don't tell me...."

Dana laughed when she saw Ridley's expression.

"Don't worry, her name is Maureen. You were expecting another name beginning with a D weren't you?"

"I have to admit I braced myself, just in case." Ridley laughed along.

"My mother always messed up our names when we were kids, especially when she was mad or in a hurry. She'd get tongue-tied and yell all the names out. Of course, we laughed like hyenas when she did that and then she'd get even madder."

"Kids are horrible. How did you like living in Chicago?"

"I loved it. It's an interesting city with lots of culture and wonderful places to eat."

"Did you enjoy living there?" Ridley asked. She would have loved to sit here forever just talking to Dana, getting to know her and just being with her. For the life of her, she couldn't think of anything else she'd rather do.

"Yes, but I always felt I was like a tourist. It's awfully big and it never felt like home. I'd much rather be in this area where I grew up."

"Karen said you moved there after high school."

"Two months after I graduated. My mother and father wanted to live closer to my sister and her children. My mother had a friend who owned a catering business there and she offered me a job. That's what made me decide once and for all that I wanted to be a chef. After I worked for her for a year she suggested I work for a chef she knew who owned a well-established restaurant in the city. He hired me as a prep chef. It's a good idea to work your way up from the bottom and learn all the different jobs in a restaurant before you become a chef. Culinary school teaches you theory and the basics, but it can't prepare you to function in a busy restaurant and take the heat, so to speak."

"What did you do after college?" Ridley asked.

"I worked in another restaurant in downtown Chicago. I started as a line chef and then worked my way up to garde manger."

"What on earth is that?"

"That's the person who creates the salads, appetizers, garnishes and any sandwiches if the place serves them, and believe it or not, the table decorations."

"How long did you work there?"

"About three years and then I took a job as an assistant chef in a popular restaurant on Lake Michigan. That's where I learned about running a small upscale restaurant like the one I opened here." Dana studied Ridley's eyes as if searching for something. "Are you sure you're interested in all this? I feel like I'm reciting my résumé."

"I'm interested in everything about you." Ridley had become completely beguiled by Dana's dark eyes. Arousal gripped her insides and made her feel lightheaded, a sensation that seemed to have become her norm whenever she was near Dana. For a few wobbly moments she thought she might pass out even though she was sitting down. She forced herself to continue. "Thanks for coming with me today. I like being with you."

"I like being with you, too," Dana said.

"I feel the need to say something about kissing you. I still..."

"Don't." Dana held her hand up. "Don't. It's sweet of you to be so concerned about how I feel, but I'm not that delicate and I'm not upset about you kissing me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe you sort of asked me and I do believe I sort of said yes."

"I hardly remember anything except that kiss."

"You do understand I don't want to get involved, don't you? It's not about you."

"That's what you told me." Ridley stared straight ahead at the garden and they said nothing for a minute or two. "I remember telling you that I'd never been in love. I've had a lot of dates and short-term relationships, but I never met anyone I wanted to be with for a long time--anyone I felt deeply about." Fortunately, Ridley was spared from pouring out the contents of her heart by her mother's voice calling them in for dinner. She realized that she'd been offered a reprieve and took advantage of it by springing to her feet. "We have to go in now. It's time to eat."

"Good." Dana stood up. "I'm hungry."

"So am I." Ridley was relieved to end their conversation. She'd been heading in the wrong direction and she wasn't sure it was wise to reveal her innermost feelings to Dana at this point. It would be a mistake and she'd made enough of them already.

AFTER DINNER, VICKI served homemade apple pie and coffee and as soon as they were finished with dessert, Ridley got up from the table and told her mother that she would clear the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Dana offered to help, but Ridley insisted on doing it alone. "You stay here and visit with my mother."