The Christmas Elf, A Secret-Santa Story

Chapter 11 - Napkins

Saturday 17 December

The pub was exactly as she remembered from the night before. Warm, lively, full of a sense of people having a good time. She had talked about how great the drinks were and about how much fun it had been to sit at the bar sampling a variety of things from the menu. Jake and Kate kept wanting to change the topic back to the amazing thing they thought she had done with the Christmas trees.

They didn't get that she didn't want to talk about it and she was glad she hadn't clued them in on the rest of the stuff she had done – or that this secret Santa/Christmas elf thing was now her own Christmas tradition.

When she walked in, she restrained herself from looking at the bar by focusing on the perky young hostess instead. Jake was immediately behind her and Kate brought up the rear. The hostess asked if they had ever been there before, Eileen indicated once and Jake interrupted with, "We think she has totally fallen in love with the place. There's nowhere I know of that she would be interested in going to twice in a row!"

By the time they were being led towards a table she realized she didn't have a plan on how to get the bartender from the night before to talk to her again. Then her eyes strayed, of their own volition, to the bar and she spotted the hunk behind it who was giving her a very interested look. However, he wasn't the same man from the night before and she couldn't help the feeling of disappointment.

She also didn't have a plan for what she was going to do if he wasn't there. Asking the waitress or even the current bartender were moves that reeked of desperation in her mind. She decided to absorb herself in the menu and put those thoughts out of her mind. After all, if he had any interest in seeing her again he could have tried to initiate contact right? Maybe she had been too cocky in her belief that she could come back at any time and he would be there.

Granted, the bar had been busy, but it would have literally taken twenty seconds to ask for her number or offer his. She couldn't help her gaze from straying back to the bar though. Then one of the lovely young waitresses was next to their table and offering a drink, compliments of 'a gentleman at the bar.' She sighed and wondered why the universe seemed to have it in for her. Why was one man offering her a drink and the one she had hoped to see was not there?

"We should bring you out more," Kate laughed, "we haven't even warmed our seats properly and the drinks are coming your way."

Eileen smiled at the waitress, "I am sorry, but I don't think so. Which gentleman is it, though?"

The waitress pointed to the end of the bar, where the two oldsters from the night before were looking on avidly. Ryan and Sean could have been having a little fun of their own, a likely prospect given their behavior the night before. Then she saw him. He was leaning back dangerously far in his seat and had what looked like the same drink in his hand.

The sun came out from behind the clouds. Scarcely aware of what she was doing she took the glass and had a drink. As she looked across the crowded room at Michael (whose last name she still did not know) she felt that instant sense of connection again.

Dinner with her friends passed in a delightful blur with excellent conversation and great food. Michael eventually came by to welcome them and ask if they were having a good time or if he could get them anything else.

"Do you know," he observed, "we didn't properly introduce ourselves last night."

"Would you like to sit with us a bit?" she asked, gesturing to the seat next to hers. He took the seat she offered and held out his hand for her.

"Michael O'Leary," he said.

"Eileen O'Connor," she took his and felt hers engulfed in his much larger one. He looked into her eyes and shook it slowly.

"May I say how relieved I was that you decided to return to my establishment?" he said.

Conscious of her friends curious eyes on her, she looked at their hands and then back at him, "Really? Why is that?" She tried for her most politely curious voice but was aware that the heat in her cheeks was probably translating to a blush. "Changed your mind about auditors?"

"I was told by my good old friends, Ryan and Sean over there," he inclined his head towards the bar and she inferred he meant the old guys, "that I was a bit of a loser for not trying to ask you out last night."

"Did they really say that?" she asked.

"Well..." he cocked his head to one side consideringly, "I believe Ryan criticized my being too busy to slip you a note on a napkin with my number..."

"A napkin?" she asked and her nose wrinkled.

"Yep, but Sean said you were too much of a lady for notes on napkins." he teased.

"Excuse us over here," interrupted Jake, "are you planning to end that handshake anytime soon?"

Michael released her hand slowly and she shot a look at Jake that said she didn't thank him for interrupting. Jake grinned unrepentantly back. She made the introductions to her friends and Michael shook each of their hands. "What," Jake laughed, "is she the only one who gets the long and lingering handshake? Ow!"

The table thumped a bit and Kate looked unrepentant as he looked over at her in chagrin. "Did you just kick me?" He sounded scandalized.

"No, my love that would be really immature of me wouldn't it? Almost as immature as you teasing the nice young man who might want to ask our Eileen out." she smirked at him.

Eileen looked at them in bemusement until Michael asked, "Are you?"

"Am I what?" she scrambled to remember the thread of the conversation.

"Too much of a lady for notes on napkins?"

She frowned as though giving it deep thought, "Noooo, my mother actually said it was very ladylike to use a napkin properly."

"Oh Eileen, please give the man your card and put him out of his misery!" chimed Kate.

They all laughed at that, but Michael still looked at her expectantly. She decided to go with the silliness of the moment and pulled a pen out of her purse. She took a napkin from the holder in the center of the table and scribbled her number.

"Ta da!" she held it out. "Now you have to decide what to tell Ryan and Sean about ladies and the fact they write on napkins."

The server arrived to take their order then and Michael indicated he should get back to work. Unless she was very much mistaken, he was humming when he walked away.

It was a great evening and her friends agreed that the food and atmosphere had been every bit as good as she had led them to believe. Michael was in and out of the kitchen, pitching in wherever he saw the need and he seemed very busy. Yet every now and then, she would feel his eyes on her and when she looked over he would meet her eyes and smile. The way he looked at her made her feel somehow warm and comforted and yet tremulous at the same time.

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Author's note: Santa can you hear me? lol

Please let me what you think so far!