The sun was setting behind 'Ivan's' as they pulled in off the highway. Brenna smiled. She and Molly had noticed this place last week and thought it looked like a good place to check out.
Adam noticed and asked, “What are you smiling about?”
She just said, “Oh, it’s such a beautiful evening.”
Adam looked at her and said, “Yes, it is.”
He parked, opened her door and helped her from the cab. At the door of the restaurant, they were greeted by a large man in a black suit.
“Ivan, I’d like you to meet Brenna Callahan. She’s new to the area.”
Ivan shook her hand. “Very nice to meet you. How do you like it here?”
“I love it,” Brenna replied. “I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I’m really enjoying it.”
Ivan guided them to a table by a window with an ocean view. He picked up a ‘reserved’ sign from the table as Adam held Brenna’s chair for her.
“Would you like something to drink before dinner?”
Adam looked at Brenna to see what her preference was.
“I’ll have some white wine, thank you.”
“I’ll have the same,” Adam told him.
“Very well. I’ll send your waitress right over.”
“Thanks, Ivan.”
Brenna looked out at the sky. The light over the ocean was nearly gone. “It’s really beautiful out here. Very calm. Does Ivan own this restaurant?”
“Yes, he’s been here about ten years. He always greets his customers and kind of oversees things during the evening. There’s a dance floor on the other side of the restaurant and a lounge upstairs.”
A petite, energetic woman with shiny black hair in a braid came up to their table and laid menus in front of them.
“Hi, my name is Sabrina. I’ll be your waitress this evening and I’ll be right back with your wine.”
She quickly returned with a bottle of white wine and proceeded to fill their glasses. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your order. Good to see you, Adam.” And she zipped off to the other end of the room.
Adam gestured in the direction she had disappeared in. “We went to school together and she married one of my best friends just out of high school. They had three kids in five years and were pretty happy together until her husband was killed in a logging accident. That was a couple years ago and I was away at school or I might have responded with the fire department on his call. I’ve never been able to figure out if it would have been better or not for me to have been there. I know I couldn’t have helped him. He landed on a sharp stump and bled out right away. But I felt helpless being so far away when it happened.” He stared out the window for a few minutes, then looked back and smiled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to ruin the mood.”
Brenna smiled. “Oh, you can’t really do that. I have too many war stories of my own.”
“Yeah, I guess you would, being a nurse. What led you to give it up; is that an open subject?”
“I guess so. I just got burned out,” she replied. “I have really mixed feelings about it. Sometimes I think I’m crazy to leave a field I loved so much and have such extensive training in. I used to take care of sick babies. Then I think about it realistically and remember the stress was destroying my love of nursing. I can get out now and take a break and possibly go back into it later, or I can try to keep doing it, have a nervous breakdown and end up hating it forever.”
“That sounds like a pretty wise decision to me. It must not have been easy to make.”
“No, it wasn’t until I almost had that nervous breakdown that I was able to say ‘I’m out’. Once I did, things kind of fell into place. You know how they seem to do that sometimes when you’ve made the right decision?”
Adam nodded at her as Sabrina hurried back to their table. “Are you ready to order?”
“I’m sorry, we were so busy talking we forgot to look at the menu. Anything particularly good tonight?”
“The prime rib is wonderful and so is the salmon.”
Adam looked at Brenna and she said, “The prime rib, please. The 8 ounce, medium rare.”
Adam smiled. “A girl after my own heart. I’ll have the 12 ounce, medium rare.”
They chose salads and baked potatoes, and Sabrina whisked away the menus.
There was a moment of awkward silence, then Adam said, “Have you ever considered doing emergency medicine?”
Brenna blinked in surprise. “I have to say it never occurred to me. I didn’t like it at the beach when Jared drowned, that’s for sure.”
Adam was silent for a moment and Brenna recognized the familiar stricken gaze of someone who's lost a patient. “That was a bad one, calls with kids usually are. It’s just that we’re a pretty small department and in the summer things can get pretty hairy. We need all the help we can get."
“You know, the thought of doing anything medical right now makes me feel terrible inside. I just have to have time to regroup and I think I’m pretty lucky to be able to. Most people have to keep on for the paycheck, but I had enough savings I could take a break.”
Sabrina delivered their salads and they began their dinner.
“You know,” said Brenna, smiling, “I really appreciate how they do their salads, with the lettuce and tomatoes actually small enough to fit in your mouth. Did you ever have a list of terrible food to eat on a first date? Spaghetti pretty much tops it, but then there’s drippy things like salad with dressing and tacos and melting ice cream cones.”
“Man, you’re not kidding. More than once, I have worn my dinner on my shirt trying to impress someone. I finally quit worrying about it and, you know, I quit dropping so much food.”
Brenna laughed, balancing her salad on her fork, and told him, “It’s Murphy’s Law, plain and simple.”
They finished their salads just as their dinners arrived. Sabrina was right, the prime rib was wonderful, and for awhile the table was silent as they concentrated on eating. Finally they leaned back and admitted they could eat no more. They refilled their wine glasses halfway and sat for a few minutes. When the glasses were again empty, Adam asked her, “Would you be interested in dancing?”
Though Brenna had hoped they would have the opportunity, her heart still fluttered with something that, if she didn’t know better, she might have interpreted as a case of nerves. “Yes, thank you. Although I have to warn you, it’s been awhile.”
“Well, there probably wasn’t a lot of room in the nursery for that.”
Brenna laughed. “You’re right, there wasn’t.”
Adam came and held her chair as she got up and he showed her to the other side of the room, beautiful music becoming louder with their approach. Ivan had a swing band capable of a wide repertoire. Adam went up to the leader, whom he seemed to know, and spoke to him briefly.
There were few other couples on the dance floor, this being the off-season at the coast. Adam took Brenna’s hand as the music slowed and the strains of 'Blue' floated through the air. She smiled, somewhat embarrassed, but pleased. She put her cheek closer to his shoulder to hide her face, hoping she wasn’t blushing.
Adam sensed her discomfort and said, “I’m sorry, I hope this doesn’t embarrass you. This song has been on my mind ever since I saw you tonight.”
She just nodded, not looking at him. What a sweet-talker. And Lord, he smelled good.
They danced for nearly an hour, becoming accustomed to the way each other’s bodies moved. She rested her head on his shoulder, breathed in his scent and realized how long it had been since she was this close to a man. Dancing made her feel as if she had come to know him better although no conversation was shared. Finally, they both agreed they had danced long enough and returned to the table. Brenna’s new shoes were beginning to wear out their welcome.
Sabrina appeared out of nowhere with a dessert cart and though they each would have bet earlier they couldn’t eat any more, now they found that dancing had restored their appetites. They considered the cart for a moment, then Adam decide
d on German Chocolate cake while Brenna chose a thick piece of cheesecake with blueberries. After cutting the desserts in half, they each traded half for the other's, and dug in.
After awhile, they leaned back and groaned and laughed.
“Well, I didn’t mean to be a glutton tonight!” Brenna said.
Adam smiled at her and said, “It’s impossible not to be at 'Ivan’s'. Every time I’ve been here, I’ve come away feeling like this.”
“I don’t think that makes me feel any less gluttonous, sorry.”
“Okay, I tried. We have only ourselves and Ivan to blame.” He helped her with her wrap and called a goodby to Ivan a few tables away, receiving a hearty wave in reply.
As the doors closed behind them, Sabrina’s eyes met Ivan’s and she smiled. He nodded in return, acknowledging a shared intuition that Adam had brought his future with him tonight when he escorted the pretty girl in blue through 'Ivan’s' doors.
Driving home, they began to feel sleepy from all the rich food although Adam assured Brenna he would be fine driving home and refused an offer of coffee. He escorted her to her back door and said goodby to her there, determined to make a good impression. However, since she was standing on the first step and he had held her closely when they danced, it felt natural to lean over and give her a brief kiss on the lips. As Brenna kissed him back, she was overwhelmed at the rush of emotion that shot through her. She smiled at him dumbly as she continued up the steps and when he asked if he could call the next day, she just nodded. He waved and climbed into his truck as she unlocked the door and was rushed by her small horde of animals demanding the lawn and her attention, in that order.
Too overwhelmed to consider any possibilities arising from this evening, she brushed her teeth, let the animals in and, dropping her new clothes on the floor, fell into bed and slept like a rock.
Chapter 22