Love and Fate - Evelyn's Story

Chapter 7

My watch says 7:12, but I don't believe it so I check it again. And again. Jason is not here yet and every second that ticks by, and every person who walks in the bar who isn't Jason, nicks my heart a little more. Pretty soon my heart will be a shredded mass of tissue, bloodied and broken. I don't let myself believe that he isn't coming, not yet anyway, and I smile bravely at the waitresses who keep checking on the lonely girl who's sitting in the booth.

By 7:30, I'm ready to give up, and never show my face here again, when the door to Camila Tequila opens wide. The wind and rain howls, blowing dying red and orange leaves into the bar. The person walking in shakes the rain off their hood before turning around to scan the tables. I gasp with such relief, that it takes a minute for the irritation to hit. It's Jason, and he finally showed up. I decide to listen to his excuse first before chewing him out. I really hope it's a good one! The devastation on his face looks sincere, as he finds me among the crowd and rushes to my booth. He shrugs off his wet jacket and hangs it before sitting down.

"Let's hear it." I say. I'm not about to let him off so easily.

"I'm so sorry, Evie. My cat got loose from my apartment just as I was about to leave!"

"Your cat?" I ask, suppressing a giggle at how distraught Jason looks.

"Yes, she's an indoor cat but decided at that exact moment to make a run for it. I had to chase her all over the neighborhood."

I bite my lip to keep from laughing at the image of Jason running after a small animal, and Jason notices.

"She's not accustomed to being outside. She wouldn't survive the night." He says smiling. "I had to lure her home with a piece of ham."

I bust out laughing. "She sounds like a handful. What's her name?"

"Lucy. Normally she's chill, but tonight, I don't know what got into her. I managed to take a picture of her hiding behind this shrub."

Jason pushes his phone across the table and I see a beautiful grey Persian chewing on a branch with Jason's hand barely in view with what I assume is the piece of meat. Lucy seems more interested in the branch.

I hand the phone back to Jason. "Ok, you're off the hook. How can I fault a guy for caring about his cat."

Jason reaches across the table to where my hands are, but doesn't touch them. "Thank you, in all seriousness though, I really am sorry about being late. I promise you it won't happen again."

A hopeful kind of glee starts to spread through my body until my mind shuts it down with one joy ending thought.

"You aren't married, are you?" I blurt.

Jason pulls his arms off the table, away from me, and I instantly regret the question. Partly because I'm afraid of the answer, but mostly because I'm afraid I won't care. Married or not, I'll still want to see Jason again, and in that moment, I understand Amber and her fixation on Bruce. Still, I hope Jason isn't married.

"No, not married." He says and I breathe a tremendous sigh of relief. "Are you?" He asks with a look of concern.

I laugh and tell him no. "Most guys won't even give me the time of day, let alone ask me out! I'm definitely not married."

Jason stares hard into my eyes. "Evie, you are by far, hands down, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in all my 27 years of life. When I saw you for the first time, I didn't think you would give me the time of day!"

My mouth drops open. "Are you serious?"

"Then you went and pretended to be Russian or German or whatever. I figured that was just a long winded, hurtful, brush off."

"I'm so sorry. That wasn't my intention, at all." I can't believe what I'm hearing, no one has ever said such nice things to me before, especially a guy like Jason!

"But then I saw you at the rehab center for your friend, and you looked at me with such interest. It made me question things." Jason laughs at the memory. "And then, when I found out it was you who saved my granny, well, I knew then that I had to see you again, and not leave it to chance. I was so nervous to ask you out. I was afraid you'd break out into another language again!"

A waitress interrupts us and asks if we would like anything to drink. She gives me a wink and I smile, the biggest, happiest, dimpliest, smile I own.

Jason and I leisurely sip our drinks, taking turns asking each other questions. I learn that his parents divorced when he was a little boy and that his father moved far away. Young Jason had found that difficult so his mother encouraged him to write letters, every day, and send them to him. Sometimes those letters would make it and sometimes they wouldn't. As Jason grew, he vowed then, that he would become a mailman so that no other child's letters would ever get lost again.

"When I believe in something, I make it happen." Jason says, his eyes firing up a delicious sensation within me.

By closing time, Jason and I are holding hands across the table. His fingers tighten and relax around my hand and stroke my palm. It feels natural, like something we've been doing forever instead of just a few hours.

"You guys make such a cute couple." Our waitress says, dropping off the check. "We've been watching you all night." She gestures to the other waitresses and even the bartender smiles and waves. I feel like a princess on cloud nine.

Jason pays the check without a second thought and I notice he gives our waitress a huge tip. It's the same amount I would have given. So far, everything is going perfectly and I have high hopes for this budding new relationship. We walk out of the bar together and wait for our cab. I know I don't want the night to end, and I'm pretty sure Jason doesn't either, so when he casually asks if I want to see his apartment, I say yes.

"I hope it's not too forward of me," Jason says. "But, can I kiss you?"

"Yes," I breathe. I lower my eyelids and raise my chin and wait for his lips to softly press against mine. It's gentle at first, cautious and exploratory, then more fervent as our excitement builds. He pulls me closer, one hand on my waist and one cradling the back of my head. I feel safe in his arms and electrified by his kiss.

A car horn blasts then, separating us. Our cab is here and Jason climbs in after me. We smile at each other.

Our story is about to begin.