Leo had work that night. He and Reece left a few hours after breakfast. Leo and Scarlett kissed and said they’d see each other later. Reece and Elise hugged and exchanged numbers. Elise offered another apology. It was silenced by Reece with a kiss to the forehead and an offer for dinner tonight, his treat.Later that night they agreed on a bar nearby called McKee’s, a quaint place that also served some really good burgers.
Makeup applied and dressed in her favorite skirt with her blue top, (To match his eyes, she thought), with her cutest jacket, Elise bid her flat mate farewell and promised to fill her in on what the night unfolded.
Curled up on the couch with Leo’s free copy of Thought Process Scarlett looked up to her with wide and oblivious eyes, “Oh, okay.” She gave a little smile as the door closed.
There was a buzzing of internal questions on the way to the bar. He said there were good burgers, how does he know I’m not a vegetarian? He knows because he saw you eat bacon that morning. Drinking two nights in a row, does that make him-or me for that matter-an alcoholic? No, it doesn’t. Drinking in the afternoon and/or as soon as you wake up does. What if he does have a drinking problem? What if he’s got some kind of problem from what he’s seen on the Frontlines? Shell-shocked or whatever… I guess you’ll find out now won’t you? You shouldn’t worry about it, if he did have some sort of problem he would’ve been ordered to see a therapist. He hasn’t mentioned going to a therapist, what if he is going to one? He wouldn’t be allowed to rejoin the general public without being OK’ed by someone. How long until he goes back to the Frontlines? Not long probably…All the more reason to see him tonight and get some.
The last thought made Elise’s face turn red. She arrived at the bar. Her eyes scanned the building and focused on the door as a middle aged couple walked out in each other’s arms. She pulled out a mirror from her purse and checked if she was blushing. She wasn’t. She took a deep breath and went inside.
It was busy tonight. The bar didn’t have any empty stools, most of the booths were occupied, and same went for the meter and a half tall bar tables. Reece was sitting at one of these tables. The table was near the back corner of the bar.
He stood and she welcomed his hug. They sat down-Elise had to jump up to sit-and started talking.
“Find the place ok?” he asked.
She nodded, “I’ve never been here before.”
His arms were folded and he leaned them on the table, “I’ve been here a couple times before. I came here for lunch with Leo and our parents for my graduation from Temple.”
After ordering their food, Reece asked her a question. She shook her head, pulling her head out of the clouds, “What?”
“What made you want to be an actress?”
“Oh,” her finger went to play with her hair absentmindedly, “when I was a girl I saw this movie The King’s Lady starring Margaret Stillwater. It was about a king’s mistress, Margaret, taking control of the kingdom after his death.” Her eyes gleamed and she smiled wider, “She was so…commanding. When she talked, people listened. I wanted to be like her.”
Reece nodded and asked her to tell him more about the movie. She was seven when she saw it and she watched it with her mother. Her mother loved Stillwater’s films and loved period pieces as well.
That day Elise was sick and stayed home from school, her mother took a day off from work to stay with her. Her mother made her special soup and propped little Elise up on her lap as the movie played. They giggled together and little Elise talked about wanting to marry the young man (“Roger Murdock,” she said with a blushing grin) who played the quiet stable hand that would later warn Stillwater’s character of the enemy forces over the horizon.
