Chapter 9
The rest of the day flew by and by five forty-five I was more than a little nervous. Susie noticed. "Will you stop pacing? You've got me with you, remember?" she growled at me as she sat at the foot of her bed.
I wore the wood floor boards through as I walked to and fro in front of her. "Yeah, that part still worries me," I quipped.
She smirked at me. "It's not like this guy is rich, handsome, responsible, and into you. I mean, if it turns out he doesn't really like you then so what?" she teased.
I stopped my pacing in front of her and glared at my friend. "Sometimes I wish you'd keep your helpful words to yourself."
She beamed at me. "I try."
There came a knock on the door and I smoothed my clean blouse. Susie rolled her eyes, strode past me and opened the door. Linda stood on the other side. "Are you two ready?" she asked us.
"Yep," Susie replied.
Linda led us down the row of cabins and to the lodge. Dinner was served in the ballroom and I looked for the angry man, but he was nowhere to be found. Susie was more direct in her curiosity as she sidled up to Linda.
"So what happened to that guy who wanted to smash us?" she asked our attendant.
"I'm afraid he had to leave," Linda informed us.
Susie snorted. "He must have thrown a hell of a fit over that. And no refund, right?"
"Unfortunately, that's true," Linda replied.
I frowned at my friend and jabbed her in the side. She glared back at me. "What?" she asked me.
I lowered my voice so Linda couldn't overhear. "I think this subject's a little touchy."
Susie blinked at me and her eyes widened. "Ooh, right."
Linda directed us away from the ballroom and to the second floor. We bypassed the breakfast balcony and walked along the catwalk to the front outdoor balcony. The lights from the lobby ceiling and a few outdoor lights above the lower panes of glass illuminated the area. A table was set out there with an ice bucket, and two slender wine bottles chilled in the ice. Young and Nelson stood by the railing. They appeared deep in conversation, but broke off their talk when Linda opened the glass door and allowed us through ahead of her. I heard the door clack shut behind us, but didn't see nor hear Linda walk with us over to the men.
Young smiled and strode over to us with his arms spread wide. "Good evening. I trust you ladies brought your appetites."
"Yep. I barely touched my lunch," Susie replied. I rolled my eyes. She'd consumed the meat and salad meal with all the daintiness of a famished lioness.
"Good, then please have a seat." Nelson and Young both walked to the round table with its four chairs and scooted out two of them. I noticed the two chairs weren't side-by-side, but rather opposite each other.
Susie looped her arm through mine and dragged me to the table. "Come on, don't be shy," she whispered to me. She plopped me in the chair set out by Young and took the one offered by Nelson for herself.
"I hope you don't mind this being a foursome. Daniel and I often eat together," Young told us.
"We could make it a five-some if we could find Linda," I suggested.
Susie glanced around us. "She is gone. Where'd she go?"
"I told her she could have the night off before she went to fetch you," Young admitted.
"So what's on the menu?" Susie wondered.
"A special steak with a special thank-you, and these." Young pulled out one of the bottles while Nelson took the neck of the other. I was shown Young's bottle, and Susie got a look at Nelson's.
"Late-harvest viognier, 1950," I read the label. My eyes flickered up to Young's face and I was glad for the limited light. His eyes couldn't bewitch me. "Was that a good year?"
"A very good year. This has a unique flavor that no other bottle in the world contains," Young promised. He eased the cork out, and the last half inch it spared him the trouble and flew from the neck. The cork sailed into the sky and dropped a few feet from the table.
"Cool!" Susie commented. She looked to Nelson. "Do that to yours."
Nelson chuckled. "I make no promises, but here goes." He slowly opened his cork and leaned his face back. At the last quarter inch his cork burst from the neck and made an arch above us. It dropped close beside its fallen brethren near the table.
I furrowed my brow. "I didn't think anybody could get a cork out with their hands. Are you sure the contents aren't tainted?" I asked them.
"I told you these were very special bottles," Young reminded me.
"Are we talking expensive or actually tastes good?" Susie wondered.
"Both, because of the rarity and the flavor," Nelson promised. He grabbed their two glasses while Young took a hold of ours.
Susie covered the mouth of her wine glass with her hand and shook her head. "Not for me, thanks."
Nelson raised an eyebrow and I noticed Young's eyes flickered between our complimenting pair. "Any particular reason why you don't want it?" Nelson asked Susie.
"I don't drink wine. It just doesn't agree with me. Too fruity, I think," she admitted.
The men visibly relaxed, and Nelson smiled and poured only one glass. "I see. I'll have to make a request to have the contents mixed with our steaks. You can't taste the flavor that way."
"That sounds like such a waste," I spoke up.
"A used drink is never a wasted drink," Nelson countered.
Young chuckled and pushed my drink toward me. "My friend is quite the philosopher when it comes to management. That's why he's in charge of the finances and I get the honor of handling the guests," he commented.
"How did the meeting go with the other guests, if you don't mind my asking?" I wondered.
Young picked up his glass and winced. "I don't particularly mind, though I'm afraid there was nothing constructive accomplished," Young replied.
Nelson raised an eyebrow. "They slaughtered you," he corrected his friend.
"I wouldn't go that-"
"There were no survivors," Nelson interrupted him.
"They took no prisoners?" Susie added.
"Not alive," Nelson answered.
Susie cringed. "Ouch, brutal annihilation."
"Devastation."
"Destruction."
While the two went back and forth showing off their thesaurus skills Young leaned toward me and nodded at the pair. "They seem to get along," he commented.
"Like two patients in an insane asylum," I agreed.
He chuckled and held his glass between us. "I'll drink to a little insanity in life. It's a refreshing change from the ordinary."
I lifted my glass so it was beside his. "I suppose I can drink to that." We chinked our glasses and he swallowed half of his in one gulp. I took a tentative sip of mine and found the flavor not only sweet, but with a hint of something I couldn't decipher but found delicious. "What's in this?" I asked him.
"Oh, an old specialty of mine," he replied.
"Yours? From 1950?" I wondered.
"That is, an old specialty of my family," he corrected himself. His eyes scrutinized my face. "How do you like it?"
I shrugged. "Not bad." To prove my point I downed the rest of the glass and held it out to him. "May I have another, gov'ner?"
"Don't get drunk on me," Susie spoke up. Their back-and-forth was finished, but I wasn't sure who was the victor. Probably not the thesaurus.
"If I do you can help me back to the cabin. I promise I won't make too many passes at you," I teased.
Young smiled and poured me another glass. He refilled his own and raised his glass above the center of the table. "To new friends and new futures."
Susie furrowed her brow. "That's a strange toast."
"It's my motto. It keeps me looking forward without dwelling too much on the past," Young explained.
Nelson raised his glass, and we girls followed suit. "To new futures," we chanted. We chinked our glasses together and downed what drinks we'd chosen. At that mo
ment a cart wheeled through the glass door and to our table. A metal cover shielded the food from our gaze, but wonderful smells wafted from beneath the lid.
"What's for dinner?" Susie asked our host.
Young shrugged. "Daniel demanded he be in charge of the meal, so everything's a surprise to me," he told us.
"Tender sirloin steak with side dishes of salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn," Nelson replied.
Susie picked up her knife and fork in each hand and widely grinned. "I'm game."