Love for Scale (30 page)

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Of course, I have ice.” She prayed Sheri had left some trays in the freezer.

She took a glass from the cupboard and handed it to Finn, who had thankfully found a few not-too shrunken cubes. “Thanks, Rach.”

Rachel’s stomach turned. Finn had never called her
Rach
before.

It seemed like such a lame thing to focus on, but it was a new milestone. A new level of familiarity between them.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Finn wiped at his mouth.

Rachel shook her head. “No, sorry.”

“So why were you staring at me?”

“It’s nothing.” Rachel turned and grabbed the kettle, putting it under the faucet to fill it for a tea she didn’t feel like.

“What is it, Rachel?”

“It’s stupid.” She turned off the tap.

“What? What are you talking about?”

She wasn’t getting away with it. She exhaled. “It’s just, I don’t know. You’ve never called me
‘Rach’
before.” She shrugged, feeling incredibly stupid.

Finn put his glass of soda on the counter and grabbed her hand. “Do you not want me to?”

“No, no, it’s a good thing.” Rachel shook her head. Tears came from nowhere and began to fall down her cheeks.

“So why are you crying?” Finn’s voice was laced with concern.

Rachel tried to smile, willing the sudden lump from her throat. “I’m…I don’t know why I’m crying. I’m really happy…” she wiped at her eyes. “Maybe they’re happy tears.”

Finn put his arms around her and pulled her close. “You’ve had a lot on your plate lately. With your dad, and moving out. And how great you’re doing at Weight Watchers. Tonight was just a bit of a slip. I think it would be weird if you weren’t feeling a bit emotional.”

She gently pushed away from him, looking into his eyes. “You’ve been at the center of everything, Finn. You’re why I’m so happy.”

“Thank you,” Finn said. “It’s nice to hear you say that.”

Rachel didn’t know what else to say. Well, there was one thing, but she wasn’t quite ready for that just yet. So instead of fumbling for words, she kissed him.

After a few minutes, he ended the kiss. He looked down at her and wiped at her tears with his thumb. “C’mon,” he said gently, “Let’s go watch TV.”

Rachel was almost hoping he would suggest something else, but at the same time was relieved he hadn’t. She nodded and followed him into the living room.

Chapter 41

New Year’s Eve was upon Rachel before she knew it. And by the time it arrived, she was an absolute bundle of nerves.

Finn was scheduled to pick her up at eight and here it was six and she hadn’t even decided what to wear. Although in her own defense, it would be easier to choose an outfit if she knew where she was going. All Finn would tell her was that it was somewhere nice but that she should dress comfortably and save up some food points because she’d be splurging a little.

To her, ‘comfortable’ meant sweat pants and a t-shirt. That just wouldn’t do for their first date, especially on New Year’s Eve. She had to look special.

So she had called Andrew on her lunch break and had begged him to slot her in for after she finished work at noon.

“Are you going out with that guy?” Andrew had asked before he agreed to give her an appointment.

“You mean Finn? Yes, it’s actually our first real date so it’s very important, Andrew.”

Andrew actually squealed. If Rachel didn’t know better (having met his wife), she would have sworn Andrew was gay. He was like a walking stereotype. “You get here as soon as you can and I’m going to do those highlights. You will look so hot he won’t be able to keep his hands off you.”

Rachel didn’t admit that she was actually afraid of that. Still, she wanted to do something different and look good for their first official date.

So now as she stood in her bedroom which used to be Sheri’s, surveying all her clothes, she was fraught with indecision.
Should I wear a skirt? Or are pants okay? What if he takes me to a fancy restaurant and when he said comfortable he meant
comfortable
black tie
?

She wanted to call him and ask but didn’t want him to know how anxious she was. She was twenty-seven, not twelve. It was embarrassing that, at her age, she was having first date neuroses.

There was one place she could go for advice.

“Sheri? I need help,” Rachel moaned into the phone.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, I know you’re getting ready for that big party…”

Brian had bought tickets to a huge New Year’s Eve bash down at the convention center and had graciously offered to get a pair for Rachel and Finn, but Finn had declined, saying he had something special in mind for him and Rachel. Although she would have thought the party would have been fun, Rachel was intrigued at the evening Finn had planned for her.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m pretty much ready. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Rachel envied her friend’s ability to be calm. Then again, Sheri had plenty of experience with dating; Rachel not so much.

“Well Finn didn’t tell me where we’re going, but he said I should dress ‘comfortable.’ I assume we’re going out for dinner, but I have no idea where he’s taking me. So what am I supposed to wear?” Her voice got squeaky as her panic began to intensify.

“Okay Rach, first off, take a deep breath. No seriously, do it.” She paused. “Okay, now just relax. You’ve been out with him a ton of times. There’s no reason to get all nervous. Have you shaved your legs? Please tell me you have.” The amusement was clear in Sheri’s voice.

Rachel was close to tears. “Sheri, I swear to God…this isn’t funny.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. Listen. Really, just relax. He is your friend, and you’ve been out with him before. Just think of it that way and there’s nothing to be nervous about. Just take it as it comes. You have a good time with him, right?”

In spite of her nerves, Rachel smiled. “Yeah, always.”

“So it’s just another night with him. Don’t get yourself into a tizzy. Although I guess it’s a little bit too late for that.”

“I just wish I knew where we were going. It would make it easier to figure it out.”

“Just put on the black skirt and the red blouse. If he said go comfortable, you don’t need a gown or anything. The skirt looks good on you and the red is striking. It’s something a little special. And wear your black pumps. You’ll look great.”

Rachel smiled. Trust Sheri to diffuse a situation.

“Thanks. Oh and I went for highlights this afternoon.”

“Good,” Sheri said, the smile evident in her voice. “I can’t wait to see them. Listen, I’d better go, but don’t worry. You’ll have a great time. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Rachel laughed. “That’s a lot of latitude.”

“Yeah well, just don’t overthink it and you’ll have fun. He’s a good guy and he’s lucky to have you.”

It was times like this that reminded Rachel why Sheri was her best friend. “Thanks again, Sheri. See you next year.”

“Ha! I guess you’re right. See you next year!”

Rachel hung up the phone feeling significantly buoyed. And Sheri was right about the outfit, not to mention how great the highlights looked.

* * *

Finn was right on time, knocking on Rachel’s door at precisely two minutes to eight. He had insisted that Rachel not meet him downstairs. “A proper date picks you up at your door, not in the lobby,” he had said.

Rachel got up from the couch, clicking the TV off as she headed for the door. Even though what Sheri had said made sense, Rachel’s heart was pounding as she reached for the door handle.

She pasted a smile on her face and opened the door.

Finn had a weird grin on his face, but it disintegrated the second he saw her. She panicked for a half a second as he looked her up and down and shook his head before saying, “Wow, Rachel, you look…well, you look amazing!”

She blushed, but forced herself not to look down. “Thanks, you look very dapper too.” And he did: wearing black pants and a sport coat over a beige shirt and matching tie. His hair was freshly cut and she wondered if they had just missed each other at Andrew’s salon.

“Thanks. We’ve got some time, do you mind if I come in for a few minutes?”

Rachel wondered why Finn wanted to linger at her apartment but shrugged and turned to lead him to the living room.

“Hold on,” Finn said, stopping her in her tracks.

She turned.

He was frowning. “There’s something missing here.” He was looking straight at her. She looked down to make sure all of her blouse buttons were done up. They were. She had no idea what he was talking about.

“What do you mean?”

He seemed very perplexed. “Your neck seems very bare.”

Rachel’s hand rose to touch her neck. The blouse was a bit open, but she didn’t think it was too revealing. She wore the same blouse to the library to read to kids and she’d always thought it was appropriate. She began doing up another button.

Finn’s lips turned up into a lopsided smile as he stilled her hands with his own. “That’s not what I meant.”

Rachel blinked at him, waiting for him to explain. He let her hands go and reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a long velvety jewelry box.

Rachel gasped.

He opened the box toward her and inside was the most beautiful diamond pendant necklace she had ever seen. She looked from the necklace back up to his face. His smile was as stunning as the stone before her. “I can’t.”

“Well then let me help you,” Finn said, taking the necklace out of the box.

“No, I mean…”

He wasn’t listening. “Turn around.”

Rachel did and as she fought tears, Finn put the necklace over her head and clasped it at the back of her neck. “Okay, let’s see.”

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Rachel turned around and looked at him.

He was smiling. “It looks great. Go have a look.”

Rachel proceeded to the bathroom and flicked on the light. It did look good. The chain was just the right length and although she was no jeweler, the diamond definitely wasn’t a tiny chip.

Her mother was going to
plotz
.

Leaving the bathroom, she walked right up to Finn and gave him a kiss. “Thank you so much. It’s beautiful.”

Finn beamed. “I was going to give it to you later, but I’d rather see it on you than have it sit in my pocket all night.”

“Good call.” Rachel nodded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get you anything.”

“You’ve given me a lot already. But come on, let’s go.”

He helped her into her coat and led her downstairs.

As she got into his car, Rachel wondered what other surprises Finn had in store for her.

Chapter 42

Once they got to the restaurant, Rachel and Finn were seated right away, thanks to his reservation and the restaurant’s adherence to their two seating times. It was a nice enough place, understated in its placement in a suburban strip mall. Rachel had probably driven by it a hundred times and had never noticed it. It wasn’t quite like the hundreds of roadhouse type places that seemed to be cropping up in malls and big box complexes; this seemed to be more like a family-run restaurant where every meal was prepared on the premises with care.

“Can I get you a drink while you decide?” the waitress asked as she handed Rachel and Finn their special ‘New Year’s Eve’ menus.

Rachel looked to Finn for guidance.

“Have whatever you like,” he said, all smiles.

Rachel thought back to their Weight Watchers meeting last week, the one right before the Christmas when the topic had been ‘Surviving the Holidays.’ It had been quite an eye-opening experience when the Christmas dinner confessionals had begun. “I’ll have a white wine spritzer, please.”

Finn looked up at the waitress. “Sounds good. Same for me.”

Once the waitress was dispatched, Rachel looked down at the menu. It was set for the evening, so she had her choice of several starters, entrees, and desserts. She decided on a salad (dressing on the side), cedar plank salmon and fruit sorbet for dessert. Once she had chosen, she placed her menu down on the table and looked around at the restaurant.

“I’ve never been here before. It’s nice.”

“I hope you weren’t expecting anything too fancy. I hate so much of the hype around New Year’s. They make good food here and I figured it would be okay.” Finn shrugged.

Rachel smiled. “It’s perfect. I’m not really comfortable in fancy places.”

“Me neither. I’m very low maintenance.”

The waitress returned with their drinks and they ordered dinner.

“So do you really like the necklace?” Finn asked once the waitress left the table.

Rachel exhaled. “You know, flowers would have been just fine. Actually just bringing yourself would have been just fine. This is quite a first date gift; you’ve set quite a precedent, Finnegan.”

“It was my mother’s.”

What?
Rachel felt her jaw go slack as her fingers rose to touch the necklace. “I can’t take this from you.”

“Why not?” Finn looked hurt.

“It’s too much. It was your mother’s, it’s too special.”

“It
is
special. That’s why I want
you
to have it.”

Rachel took a sip of her drink, conscious that she needed to nurse it so it wouldn’t go to her head. Although she was feeling a bit drunk already, but not because of the booze. “But it was your mother’s.”

“Rachel?”

She looked into his eyes. “Yes?”

“I know what it’s like. I know that it’s hard to finally believe that someone could like you. I lived it, remember. We’ve been friends…I guess more than friends though we haven’t really talked about it…for a little while now. I really wish you’d let me in; I think we really could have something special.”

Rachel took another gulp of her drink, unable to formulate words yet.

“Do you think you could do that?”

Rachel looked down at the cloth napkin on her plate and picked it up, unfolding it and draping it over her lap, buying a couple of moments. “I really want to. But this is foreign territory for me.” She looked up at him again. “No one has ever given me a gift like this. It’s really meaningful.”