Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (26 page)

One last look around and a quick check to make sure the bathroom window
was
locked tight.
She
guessed
she
would
have to follow Mike around to close and lock all windows. Being a cop and
his
massive stature allowed him to have the freedom of security. Being a woman and not a cop,
she
tended to be a little more cautious.

She
walked into the living room and he
was
relaxed in the recliner watching the weather. "Wow, you look pretty. Are you ready to eat? I'm starved."

"I'm starved too." If he thought
her
wardrobe looked worn or tattered he never said anything.

He got up and helped
her
with
her
coat and then blew a fart on
her
neck.

"Mike!"

"Come on homeless woman."

She
giggled.

*****

"I'm so hungry I could eat you," he said as he started eating
her
fingers. "I hope you like the place I picked out
, a
nd by the way, they have chicken just for you." He played
with
the radio pushing buttons and not finding what he wanted.
She
thought maybe he wanted 70's music so
she
dug out
her
ipod and connected it to the stereo. The ipod happened to be set on rock-n-roll from the 60's and 70's music. Mike nodded and said. "I like
that
, if you don't mind just leave it on
that
section. You have quite a variety of music on your Ipod. I'm impressed."

"Thank you kind sir,"
she
answered.

"So what are you hungry for, o
r should I guess, chicken?"

Her
mind wondered over the many alternatives available. "Well, we are going to have steak tonight, so I guess someplace
with
seafood. Or even some place
with
soup. It's so cold, soup sounds really good after our walk t
his
morning, but definitely a light lunch."

"Today milady I'll be taking you to a restaurant called the Fireplace Inn. I've never been there, but I hear they have great food."

"
That
sounds good to me, and maybe they'll have potato soup."

They pulled up to the restaurant, and not many cars were in the parking lot. Where they happen to park had an incredible view of the Atlantic Ocean. The restaurant
was
nonconforming, and it had two smoke stacks
that
looked like a miniature Titanic. There were decks you could walk out on and look at the ocean. If they served food out there, it
was
n't evident, or at least not t
his
time of the year.

They walked from the car holding hands
with
such
excitement in the air. The old rickety gang plank wobbled and squeaked as they walked up
, and s
he
realized the restaurant
was
a ship. "Mike I love t
his
place, it's a boat, did you know
that
?"

"Yes, I thought you might like a romantic lunch."

"Oh honey you are so thoughtful, and t
his
is a wonderful surprise, just like you promised."
She
pulled on
his
coat so he could bend down to get a kiss."So tell me about t
his
place."
She
wanted to hear everything about it.

"T
his
place
was
built around the turn of the century and it
was
dry docked in the sixty's and someone bought it in the eighty's and opened it as a restaurant. I imagine there have been many proposals here since then."

"Are you trying to tell me something? Or should I say ask me something?"

"Actually I read
that
in the newspaper. It said t
his
is the number one place where proposals take place in t
his
area." He knew he
wanted to
propose to
her
soon. How he
would
propose
was
the question. Since t
his
would
be
his
last marriage he wanted it to be special. Thoughts ran through
his
mind on how he wanted to ask
her
to marry him; airplane banner, hot air balloon, TV, skydiving. The
possibilities were endless, and
he
would
make it special.
His
heart raced just thinking about being married to
Lana
. At
that
moment, he decided he
would
bring
her
to t
his
place every October fifteenth, the day they met.

When they walked in the entrance, it looked just like a boat from the turn of the century, and they did a great job restoring it. The entrance had wooden benches curving around the front of the boat. Above the archway and along the walls where all kinds of nets, life preservers, captain's wheel, pictures, and huge sea shells. There
was
a majestic staircase shaped just like the staircase on the Titanic. It
was
n't quite as luxurious as the Titanic but beautiful nonetheless.

When the hostess sat them down at a booth
Lana
noticed all the tables
and booths were bolted to the floor
. The table clothes were made of nice white linen and matching napkins. Right across from the tables
stood
a
huge
stone fireplace
decorated in the nautical theme. All around the walls were many old pictures of sailors, ships, and captains
with
their crews and families. After looking at the incredible massive fireplace,
she
could certainly see where they got the name
Fireplace Inn
.

             
Even the music coming through the speakers
was
soft and romantic. The music
was
from the nineteen thirties and forties, the big band era. They threw in some blues along
with
the big band. One familiar voice
was
Billie Holiday. It sounded so authentic
with
the static from the speakers. If
Lana
closed
her
eyes
she
could visualize
her
singing on t
his
ship."Oh Mike I love it, and I'll like it better if they have potato soup."

"You know, I think you talked me into soup as well, but I think I'll add a sandwich." He winked at
her
and added. "It's a guy thing."

"And I can vouch you are truly a wonderful man." He leaned down and gave
her
a quick kiss.
She
held
his
hand and it
was
nice
his
hands were warming
her
iceberg fingers. Men always seemed to have warmer hands than women, and
she
wondered if there's a scientific reason for
that
.

"Excuse me, here are some menus and water," said the perky waitress giggling. "I didn't mean to interrupt," then
she
giggled again.
Lana
thought,
what an adorable little girl
.
Her
hair
was
tied back
with
a clasp, but a few hairs were straggling along
her
back.
Her
eyes were big and bright hazel, and they squint when
she
giggled. The make-up
applied
just perfect, not too much of anything.
Her
fair complexion
looked
like a china doll, but many people were like
that
in the north.
She
was
a little overweight, but
her
five-foot-seven height helped hide it along
with
her
clean white apron. But what
Lana
noticed most
was
the soft pink lip gloss
she
had on
,
just enough to brighten
her
smile.

Mike asked. "What do you recommend today?"

Giggle, giggle. "I like the smoked salmon, and the soup of the day is oyster stew." Giggle, giggle.

They couldn't help smiling at
her
. "Do you, by any chance, have potato soup?"
Lana
asked.

Giggle. "Umm, I don't know, but I can ask."

"Please do, I'm in the mood for
that
today. In the meantime I'll look at the menu,"
Lana
said.

Giggle. "Okay." Giggle.

Mike squeezed
her
leg under the table trying not to
giggle
. He snickered when
she
went back to the kitchen.

Lana
w
his
pered. "Mike I forgot to tell
her
to bring us some sweet tea, and it
was
because you were playing
with
my leg under the table."

He nibbled on
her
ear. "Babe I have just started playing."

"You are so bad,"
she
said as
she
raised
her
sleeve so Mike could see the goose bumps he caused.

Then he sang
Bad
to the Bone
.

"You know babe you sing pretty good,"
she
said as the snuggled close to him.
She
took a deep breath remembering him serenading
her
last night.

While they waited, they looked out across the ocean. Several boats leisurely floated by and Mike knew the make and model of all of them and how much they cost. "Honey, see
that
first yacht
with
the pointed bow, it is a seventy-two footer called Grand Banks Aleutian RP and it cost well over two million dollars."

"How do you know t
his
?"
She
asked.

"I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express."

Lana
rolled
her
head back
with
laughter.

He raised
his
left eyebrow as if to say.
Don't interrupt me I'm on a roll
, then he continued. "I've always wanted a yacht to sail when I retire, but t
his
one is out of my league." Another yacht drove in and it
was
so smooth. "T
his
next beauty is a seventy-eight footer called
Ferretti
780 and it's probably valued at about three million dollars."

"Well Mike, I think we should go buy one today."

"I wish I could, but
there are some beautiful boats
owned by some rich families out of Boston. Maybe one day I can afford the row boat
that
goes
with
these yachts."

"Well there should be one you could afford, one a little bigger than a row boat."

"I'll keep looking and I will find one I want one day," he said while he daydreamed about owning a yacht.

"Do
you
want to
live on one?"
Lana
asked taking a drink of
her
water. It tasted fishy to
her
.

"Not literally, but I
'd
like to sail for months at a time.
Would
you go
with
me?"