Tempus (23 page)

My head snapped up and my mind went blank.  “What?”

“Penny for your thoughts.  You were thinking very hard about something, and I wondered what it was.”  Gabriel smiled an easy smile, but had a somewhat hopeful look on his face.

“You won’t believe me, but I have no idea.  My mind went totally blank when you asked me.”  I was completely serious.

“Oh.  Too bad, the looks that crossed your face were fascinating.  I was interested to hear what you were seeing.”

“Seeing?”  Why had he used
that
word?

“Yes.  Seeing in your mind.”  He tapped his forehead.

“The world may never know.”  It was the first thing that popped into my thoughts.

“While we wait, what type of food do you like?  I can cook anything, but some things require time, time I may not have for a quick lunch.”

“I guess Mexican food is my favorite, but I’m easy to please.  I like almost anything, except green peas or asparagus.”  I wrinkled my nose. 

“That leaves a lot open then.  Any suggestions?”

“I don’t know.  Surprise me.”  I said.

“I know!  A salad for starters, with baby spinach, romaine, arugula, cucumber, tomato, and mushroom, in a vinaigrette dressing.”  He watched my face as he ticked off ingredients.  I was rightly impressed, and he seemed to sense it.  “Main course, lemon chicken scaloppini with basil sauce, rice pilaf, and bacon wrapped green beans.”  My eyebrows raised and my mouth was watering.  “For dessert, ricotta cream with berries.”  My stomach growled, and he laughed.

“You can make all that?”  I asked, and he nodded.  “For
lunch
?”

“It would take some time, but not too much, if you can wait.  Or we could simply have cold-cut sandwiches.  That would be much faster, but not as impressive.” 

I was torn, but all that food talk had me starving.  “Honestly, I don’t think I can wait.  I
could
have, before you talked so much.”  My stomach growled again.  “See?”

He laughed.  “Then for dinner?  You’ll already be there.”

“Now
that
could be an issue.  My dad doesn’t leave the store until around six thirty, and I usually feed him when I’m not working—and even when I am.  I’m also expecting a phone call.”  I wanted to say yes.

“Ah, yes, the
boyfriend
.”

“He’s
not
my boyfriend!” 

“Methinks the Lady doth protest too much.”  I pushed his shoulder again.  He stopped and looked up, as if he were contemplating something.  “What if, hypothetically, my father invited your father, and
you
, for dinner?  If your Father accepted, you could ‘come early’ to help, as my ‘assistant.’  That would get the father fed, and the boyfr—the
friend
could not be upset.  What do you think?”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”  He looked hopeful again.

I heard a car slowing near the front.  Gabriel had heard it, too, and stood.  I peeked around the edge of the porch and saw the front end of a black car, a Cadillac—an
old
Cadillac, and it turned into the driveway.  The sun was glinting off the chrome, the tires were whitewalls, and the convertible top was down.  It was beautiful!

Gabriel stepped around the corner then, laughing at me.  He moved up beside me, leaned down, and whispered, “You should close your mouth, it’s unbecoming.”

My mouth snapped shut.  “That car is incredible!”  I whispered.

“My father’s pride and joy.  Admire it, ask him about it, listen attentively, and you’ve got a friend for life.”  He suggested.

“You don’t need to prompt me.  I know what it is—it’s a fifty-five series sixty two.”  He stepped back and looked at me in amazement, I just grinned.

Gabriel took me by the elbow and walked me down the stairs to the car.  As he escorted me to the driver’s side, his father opened the door and stepped out.  He was taller than my father by about two inches.  He was square-shouldered, and slightly heavy-set, but not the least bit over-weight.  He appeared to be in excellent health.  Though his hair was mostly black, it had silvered at the temples, and had a few scattered silver streaks, giving him a distinguished look.

Gabriel introduced us.  “Jessie, this is my father, Professor Ezekiel Thomas Knight the
third
.  Father, this is Miss Jessie McLeod, the
first
.”

His Father put out his hand, and I placed mine in it, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Knight.”  I hoped I sounded okay.  I felt as if I were meeting royalty.

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss McLeod.”  He replied, and gently kissed the back of my hand.  “And you may call me
Thomas
.”

His eyes were the same shade of blue as Gabriel’s' eyes.  I imagined he had been an extremely handsome young man.  Even now, he was still a handsome man.  I couldn’t help but smile.

“I found her first, Father.”  Gabriel said in a joking manner.

“Indeed you did, son.”  He released my hand and smiled.

  Gabriel turned to me.  “Jessie, before we get in, would you please tell my father what you told me about his car as he was driving up?  You said you knew what it was.”  He was grinning wildly.

“I said it was a fifty-five series sixty-two.”

His father’s mouth dropped open for a split second before breaking into a wide smile.  “Did you know there were only eight thousand, one hundred, and fifty produced?”

“I did not,” his Father looked a bit smug for a second, until I said, “but I do know there were six different body styles of the sixty-two that year, and the convertible coup was the rarest.”  Score!

He turned to Gabriel, “Son, may we keep her?”

“I think her father might not agree to that, but perhaps we can borrow her for a while.”  He winked at me and my tummy fluttered.

“Where are my manners?  Gabriel said neither of you had lunch, and he planned to prepare something at the house.  Please get in, and I will have us there right away.”  He opened the door and slid in behind the wheel.  As we walked around the back, Gabriel whispered, “Sit anywhere you’d like.  We can all sit in front, or you and I can sit in back.”

“Front is fine.”  I wanted to sit in the front so I could look at everything.

Gabriel opened the door and I slid into the center of the front seat.  He followed after, sliding in beside me and closed the door.  All I could do was grin like an idiot and look around at the immaculate interior.

We backed out of the driveway and pulled into the street.  Gabriel’s right arm rested on the door, and his left rested on his lap.  He had his shoulder hiked up, trying to give me room.  He squirmed a little, as if he were uncomfortable, and then leaned over to my ear.  “Would you mind terribly if I placed my arm on the seat behind you, there’s not nearly as much room up here as I thought.”

“No, I don’t mind.”  My voice sounded squeaky.

His arm slid around behind me, resting on the top of the seat, but even
that
seemed a little uncomfortable.  The seat back was high and made his shoulder appear disjointed.  His father, on the other hand, seemed quite comfortable.  His left arm rested on the driver’s door, and he drove easily with his right.  I would swear I saw him laugh under his breath at his sons’ apparent discomfort.

“So, Miss McLeod.  Do you have an interest in cars?”  Mr. Knight asked.

“Please, call me Jessie, and I have an interest in
some
cars.  I just got lucky that this was one of them.  My dad always wanted a car exactly like this.  He tracked one down at an auction several years ago, but let’s just say even with the work it needed, it was still too expensive in the end.”  I smiled a little sadly.  It would have been nice to drive around in something like this instead of that station wagon.

“I have to be honest, I don’t drive it often.  I have an around-town car for common errands.  From the sound of Gabriel’s request, I gathered this was an
uncommon
errand.”  He winked at me, and I could almost picture him as a young man.  Gabriel swatted at his shoulder behind my back. 

“What he means is,” Gabriel chimed in, “that
he
wanted to make an impression on a beautiful young lady.”

“It will be
that
way, will it?”  His father leaned around me slightly and glanced at Gabriel.  “Let me see if I have this correct.  When you said ‘Drive
the
car to pick her up’ that was entirely for
my
benefit.  Would I have that correct?”

I turned to look at Gabriel, and I’d swear he had some color to his cheeks.  He looked at me, hiding his head behind mine, and gave me a look that could only mean ‘don’t listen to him, he’s crazy,’ or something along those lines.  I just laughed.  They were very funny.

In what seemed like not nearly enough time, we were turning through a large arched gateway and onto a long, white-graveled driveway, lined with fifteen-foot skyrocket junipers.  It was winding and narrow, but through the trees, I could see a mansard roof above several large oaks.  The grounds were scattered with ornamental trees, some in bloom. 

We pulled to the front around a circle drive and to the front steps.  The house was towering, a three-story Second Empire Victorian, painted in various greens, and accented with salmon.  The beautifully carved front doors had leaded glass in an ornate design.  To the left and right of the entry were large bay windows.  The façade was breathtaking!

Gabriel exited the car, and extended a hand.  I had been careful not to touch anything as I entered, and took the same care now.  I didn’t want to have any glimpses that I either couldn’t explain, or couldn’t enjoy.  I used my elbows to scoot across the seat and took the offered hand.

“My father will park the car and meet us inside.”  He said as I stood.  “What do you think?”  He glanced up at the stately home.

“Beautiful!  I have always wondered what it looked like.” He gave me a questioning look.  “You can see just the top of the roof from the highest point in the road.”  I was gazing up, taking it all in.

“Wait until you see inside.  Excuse the boxes, as we’ve just moved in.  The kitchen, dining, library, and bedrooms, ours at least, have been mostly unpacked.  The third floor is mine.  It was once a playroom, but I like the views, and the privacy.” 

“That’s funny.  I have the top floor of my house, too.”  I commented.

“Interesting coincidence.”  He smiled.

We were facing the front doors, and he swung them open.  The vestibule and hallway was open up to the second floor, and to the left was a sweeping, yet narrow staircase.  Two arched doorways led off either side of the stairs.  The mahogany doors appeared to be hand carved.  To the right, and straight ahead, was another doorway.  It had a pocket door that was open, and this was the room to which he led me.

The focal point of the large living space was the grand fireplace.  The cast iron insert had an inset copper decoration.  The surround was made entirely of intricately carved mahogany.  Scattered around the room were large packing boxes, still full.  Furniture sat together under sheets for protection, but I could guess by their shapes what pieces they were.

I continued to follow Gabriel through the house, room after room, as he pointed out specific features or furnishings.  He took me through to the updated gourmet kitchen.  The counter tops were solid granite with richly carved oak cabinets above and below, and the latest stainless steel appliances completed the room. 

The dining room was only partially furnished.  The heavy carved oak tabletop sat on two chunky, ornately carved pedestals with a wrought iron stretcher connecting them.  The six seventeenth century high-back Carolean chairs had exquisitely carved crested backs and splats, and spiral turned legs supported the deep upholstered seats.

After next viewing the unfurnished formal dining room we returned to the vestibule, exiting through one of the arched doorways I had seen, and crossed to the other doorway.  The parlor, like most of the other yet-to-be-arranged rooms, had various boxes stacked here and there among more sheet-covered furniture.  On the farthest wall, another fireplace stood, smaller than the first.

As Gabriel made a sudden about-face, I was following so closely that we came inches from colliding.  My first reaction was to stop and lean back, losing my balance.  His hands shot out and grabbed my arms, near my shoulders.

“I’m sorry, I nearly ran you down.”  He smiled sheepishly, still holding my shoulders.

My heart thudded, and I felt a rush of heat in my cheeks.  Staring into his blue eyes, I realized it would be so easy to get completely lost in them.  It was one of those rare moments where time seemed to stand still. 

A cough from the doorway behind broke the spell, and we immediately stepped apart.  I didn’t turn around because I knew my color would give me away, so I pretended to examine the fretwork above the nearest door.  It was completely quiet, except for my heartbeat whooshing in my ears.

After what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Knight’s voice broke through the somewhat awkward silence.  “Gabriel, I believe lunch is in order.  I would be pleased to provide Miss Jessie with a tour of the second floor.” 

“Certainly.”  Gabriel turned to me.  “I may be found in the kitchen, if needed.  Enjoy yourself.”  He gave me a quick wink before he left.