Liquid Lucidity (A Novella)

Chapter Eighteen

That single word David spoke remained in Hannah's thoughts throughout the day. They'd known each other for close to three weeks at that point; not nearly enough time for real love to blossom from the seed of introduction. Love didn't come with one big wave, crashing down on you in a single moment, but rather from all the small moments collecting and building up. 

David had gone from a life of one night stands after getting his heart broken many years ago. More likely, he was just in love with the idea of love, wanting to give his heart to someone again with the hopes of it being taken care of this time around. She could see herself falling in love with David Givens. He was uncharacteristically handsome, thoughtful, with a strong body and a mind to match. 

More than anything, he cared for her in a way Hannah never expected to have again in this life. He took her under his wing and gave her shelter, but she didn't feel like a charity case. When he looked at her or listened when she spoke, she didn't feel less than. Around him, she was rid of the label of 'broken person' and was only Hannah; a young woman on her very own, terrifying adventure of possibilities and second chances.

So was there a possibility that he truly did love her? 

Were they each other's second chance?

"You've been thinking about it all day," her mom noticed as they walked the streets of the small town nearest David's house. 

No one had mentioned the end to the conversation he had with her father. Her dad went off to explore the larger city, David went to check on the bar and confirm it'd been cleaned up from that single terrible night, while her and her mother chose a more quiet day. Although no one had spoken about it, at least not to Hannah, it remained heavy in the air. 

"How long d-did it take you to fall in l-love with dad?" Hannah asked her mother. 

Her mom let out a snicker as she paused to admire a cashmere sweater dress in one of the shop windows. "Truth is, I found your father dull as can be for the first several dates, but your aunt Becky kept assuring me that it just takes awhile for him to open up. He did eventually, but it was a long time before I really started to fall for him."

Hannah knew her parents were introduced by her aunt, but that was the only part of the story she'd heard about how they ended up together. She supposed if it was an adorable story, she would have heard more. "Why did you start to fall for him?"

Her mom pried her eyes away from the pretty dress in the window and turned to Hannah, running her fingers through her short dark blond hair and licking her lips. "One day he came over to pick me up for a date and my elderly neighbor was just getting home from the grocery store. She was so tiny and fragile and it took her a good minute to walk even a few steps. 

"He asked me about her, but I didn't know much. All I knew was that she'd never married, had no children and had lived with her twin sister after her husband died. Her twin had died about a year prior and I never really saw her have any company over.

"Anyhow, he trotted over to her and took the groceries out of her hands and helped her up her porch steps and into the house. When he didn't come out after a few minutes, I went over there and saw he was helping to put groceries away. He asked if it would be okay to have dinner in with his new friend. That night I realized he had this big old heart he'd kept hidden away. We moved in together a few months later into a bigger place, but he still insisted on going over there a couple of times a month to have dinner with her, all the way up until she died two years later. 

"A year later, we got married and a year after that we had a beautiful baby girl he wanted to name after her, as a way to show that she was remembered. He told me that was a fear he'd had when he was single; that he would die alone and be forgotten. Your dad didn't want that for her."

Just as she didn't know much about how her parents ended up together, Hannah also knew very little about how she was named. 'You were named after a lovely woman we knew years ago,' was all she was told. 

Normally Hannah would want to know every bit about that woman there was to know, especially since she'd unintentionally played Cupid for her parents. Her mind was on a different path, however, unwilling to deviate. 

It had taken Hannah several months before she began to fall in love with Shawn. Was it possible for real love to form in a fraction of that time?

Before Hannah could ask that question aloud, she saw David walking down the street toward them, a smile on his face like none other she'd seen before. Once he reached her, David grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction he'd just come from. "Come on, I wanna show you somethin'."

Hannah through a quick glance toward her mother, who only shrugged, and followed David's quick pace as fast as she could, her mom not far behind. They'd gone about a block and a half when David stopped abruptly, taking her by the shoulders and moving her body away from the street.

"What do ya think?"

Hannah looked around her without the slightest clue what she was meant to be looking at. Then her eyes caught a 'for sale' sign in the window of the building she was facing. She took two steps forward, close enough to peer through the window. Though it was more or less empty inside, the large space and bar near the back confirmed it was a restaurant. "You're ser—iou—sly think—ing a-b-b-out this, are—n't you?"

David had shared his dream of owning a restaurant briefly, but she remembered how his eyes lit up when he spoke of it. Still, she hadn't realized just how soon he wanted that dream to become a reality. 

"Realtor gave me a key," he said, shoving the piece of metal into the lock and turning it before he pushed open the door just as her mom caught up. 

Despite it being only mid-afternoon, it was fairly dark inside the building and David flipped the light switches beside them to bring the building to life. Hannah tried her best to imagine the space in all it's glory. The walls would be better suited a different color than the dark red they currently were; something quite a bit lighter to make it feel less drab. 

"I'm not sure what I would do with this area," David began, pointing at a smaller section in front of the bar. "It's only big enough for about four tables. Maybe just have it as a waiting area."

"You could serve drink and appetizers there," her mom suggested. "Have a nice tapas menu. You could fit a good six bistro tables there and put a couple of couches over there with a coffee table for larger parties that are waiting or just looking for a quick bite."

"You're ser—i—ous?" Hannah asked once again. 

David crossed his arms and she watched as his grin grew to nearly half the size of his face. "Oh, I'm serious. I'm gunna need your help when it comes to decorating and tables and all that shit."

By the look of his house, as well as the furnished apartment she was living in, David didn't need any help in that department. His taste was worlds better than her own, but he wanted to include her and Hannah would try her best not to steer him wrong. 

"Tell me you like it. Please. I'm dying here, darlin'."

Hannah looked around once more. Restaurant owning was a risky business and an exhausting one. But David was a hard worker and didn't seem to shy away from a risk. More than anything, she was just happy that he was making his own dreams come true. "I love it," she responded finally. 

In an instant, David's arms were wrapped around her and he was spinning her body around with the greatest of ease.