But our date should be fun. I’m taking her to a place I need to check out for my business called Pasta Flyer. It’s kind of like a Chipotle, except for pasta instead of Mexican food. Genius or horrible idea? All I know is that Maggie’s opinion is important to me. She’s smart and will help me gain insight into what could potentially be a new, lucrative add-on to my existing pizza line.
I grab my coat and stride outside before walking two blocks away. Sure enough, below a towering gingko tree is Mag’s sedan. We’re using her car because she’s supposed to be out with this Sam person.
"Thanks for driving," I say when I get in the car. "How are you honey?”
She smiles at me, and my heart melts.
“Good. Where to?”
“It’s this place called Pasta Flyer over in Edondale,” I say. “Take a right at this corner and then pull onto the main road.”
She nods.
“So what is it? Just a regular pasta place?”
“Sort of, but also not,” I elucidate while taking her hand. “I’ve wanted to sample this place for a couple of weeks now, but I could never find the time. But it’s a potential business opportunity and I definitely want your opinion of what you see because you’re the target demographic, honey.”
She giggles.
“Well, I’m not sure I know anything about restauranting, but I’ll let you know.”
I squeeze her hand.
“You know more than you think, honey. You have great taste and you’re good at these kinds of things.”
Maggie shakes her head ruefully while looking out at the road.
“Well, I don’t know about that. Senior year is turning out to be pretty hard.”
I shoot her a questioning look.
“How so? If I remember correctly, I barely did anything my last year of high school. I was partying every night, and that includes weeknights too.”
She lets out a rueful giggle while stepping on the gas.
“Yes, but see Mr. Sterling, you don’t have an older boyfriend who keeps you up all night with his demands. He’s very persuasive and as a result, I can barely keep my eyes open in class.”
Immediately, I reach for her hand again.
“Honey, is it too much? Should we back off a bit? You know I want what’s best for you.”
She smiles and sighs a little.
“No, it’s not that. I love being with you Ed, but yeah, our nightly fireworks are taking a toll. I wish we could … well, I don’t know,” she says slowly.
I squeeze her hand again as she drives.
“We’ll figure it out,” I say in a low voice. “I, for one, am completely sick of sneaking around like a teenager.”
“But I am a teenager!” Maggie exclaims.
I nod.
“You are, but I’m not and this whole crawling around in the dark thing is wearing me down. I’m old fashioned honey. I want to take you out, and for everyone to see the pretty young woman I have on my arm.”
She laughs.
“Yeah, but we have a lot of considerations first,” Maggie says in a soft tone. “Like my parents and your son.”
“Like them,” I acknowledge. “But when you’re ready, I’m ready, honey. This is our life together, and I don’t like to hide,” I shrug.
With that, we lapse into a comfortable silence until pulling into the parking lot of a big strip mall.
“There it is,” I gesture. Maggie parks the car, and then we get out. I place a large hand on the small of her back, guiding her into the chain restaurant. "So I’m thinking about expanding into pasta with Burrata, but I want to see what this place is all about, and my intel is that it’s a quick serve pasta line where the pasta is cooked before your eyes. Have you been to Chipotle?"
She nods.
"Yeah, a bunch of times.”
I nod.
“It’s just like Chipotle, except with pasta instead of Mexican food,” I explain, pointing to the line of workers before us. “So you see the way they make the pasta through a clear plexiglass barrier? I want to see how it works, or if it’s a total execution fail.”
My girl nods and smiles. "Well, it sounds like a good idea, especially because maybe not everyone in a group wants pizza all the time. Someone in the group could get pizza, another one could get pasta, and that way, everyone’s happy.”
I nod as we place our orders and watch as our food is cooked. I want to hold Maggie’s hand in the restaurant, but think better of it because she’s still a little bit antsy. It’s okay because we’re already past the beginning stage of our relationship and often spend time in bed talking about a future together, but still, there’s so much to be determined. It’ll work out, though. I can feel it.
Meanwhile, I look around the restaurant while we’re waiting our turn in line. The tables and chairs are standard issue, and the sidebar, with utensils, napkins, and sauces, is traditional as well. Pasta Flyer has also done a good job with guiding the customer to separate and recycle their trash after they finish a meal. Our number is called and I nod when looking down at our trays. The pasta presentation in low, large bowls is nice, and even more important, it’s appetizing.