Roseanne
"Oh my God. It's you."
I look to my right where Hyeri stands at my side, expecting that this is probably a fangirl moment. Hyeri might be signed with a smaller indie record label, but she still has a significant following and it wouldn't be the first time she was recognized while we were out together.
But when I return my gaze to Meg the Hostess, she's staring straight back at me.
Flame engulfs my cheeks. "Umm...hi...?"
"I'm so sorry. When you came the last time, I totally got sidetracked and forgot to tell Lisa." Meg's pretty eyes widen as she shakes her head. "I still feel terrible."
"Well, I hadn't made a reservation, so you have nothing to apologize for."
"But you have a standing reservation at 3 In Coach," Meg says with a sweet, knowing smile. She pulls a thumbtack from her podium and passes me a sheet of paper.
Table twelve is PERMANENTLY RESERVED for:
-any reservation under the name Roseanne Park
- a beautiful, blonde-haired woman with brown eyes, 5'7", probably alone, shy, looks like she wants to run
Inform Lisa immediately of any reservations under this name or any guests fitting this description.
And then, in red text as though it was added at a later date:
IMMEDIATELY. I AM NOT FUCKING AROUND.
The word 'IMMEDIATELY' is underlined six times.
"That's so cute," Hyeri says as she lays her chin on my shoulder and reads the note, pointing to the red text. "It sounds like she's going to cut people up for you. That's so Keanu-mantic."
I snort a laugh as I pass the paper back to Meg. "First of all, Keanu-mantic is so not a word. Secondly, Keanu doesn't cut people up in a red-flag romantic kind of way."
"He does in John Wick."
"Sure. For a dog. I wouldn't call that romance, Hyeri."
Hyeri shrugs before she beams a smile at Meg. "Table for two, please, for Roseanne Park, blonde-haired, 5'7" beauty who looks like she wants to run."
Meg takes two menus from her podium and grins as she motions us forward. "Follow me. I'll let the Chef know you're here as soon as you're seated."
Hyeri squeaks and grips my wrist as we follow Meg to the booth I sat in the last time I was here over a year ago. She can probably feel my pulse hammering into her hand. I stayed with Lisa for two weeks after extending my time off from work as Jake had recommended. And those two weeks with Lisa just weren't enough.
My body was still bruised and sore when I left for Raleigh to pack up my things and rent out my furnished house. I made arrangements at work to go fully home-based, and spent my evenings and weekends dismantling my storage container kill room that I've barely used since we started this game. It's been three weeks since I saw Lisa, and my heart is nearly ready to burst through my chest as the seconds tick down to the end of our separation.
I don't know if this is going to work-living with her, working from home every day, being in a new city, trying to build this foundation we've made into something more. But I'm going to try.
"You're hella excited," I say to Hyeri, trying to divert attention from my own blistering anticipation as we weave through the busy restaurant. The lunch rush has passed, but there are still more full tables than empty ones, even if many of the patrons have finished main courses and have moved on to desserts.
