“Yes, mom,” I say and give her a quick hug.
I loop my arm with Chad's as we walk to his car. He loves his Prius, sometimes I think more than he loves me, but that’s just a guy thing.
“Our reservations are in fifteen minutes, hopefully there’s no traffic.”
“Aren’t we going to the little Asian fusion place around the corner?”
“Oh shoot. I didn’t tell you. My parents got us reservations at the new steak house that just opened up.”
“Oh,” I say bitingthe inside of my lip. My heart was set on Hibachi.
“That ok?” He asks looking over at me.
“No. Yeah, that's fine.”
“Great.” He puts his hand on my knee and gives it a little squeeze.
We get to the restaurant with one minute to spare, and they take us immediately to our seats. The environment is the opposite of what I was expecting. It’s loud. There’s big TV’s on above the bar, music is playing, and people are trying to talk over all of it.
“Let’s hope the food is good,” I say to Chad.
“What?” he says, his voice a bit loud. I lean over to him a little more and raise my voice.
“I said, I hope the food is good.”
“It’s great. My parents loved it.”
I nod my head and sit back in my chair. Our server drops off our menus with some waters. The menu is a tiny thing with only steak and burger options.
Chad fidgets with his menu. I can tell he’s getting nervous. I wonder where he's hiding the ring. We actually talked about rings once. We were at the mall jewelry store where I was getting a necklace fixed. I showed him a couple that I loved, and he even had me try them on.
When our server returns, we both place our orders. He ordered the fillet mignon, and I ordered a loaded sweet potato and a side salad.
“So, how was work this week?” he asks me, his hands screwing together.
“It was alright. Pretty quiet since school is still in session. But it should pick up when summer break starts, and we have the reading program for the younger kids.”
I am the librarian at our local library. It was something I always knew I wanted to do, even as a young girl. I volunteered at the library every summer during my middle and high school years. I started taking college courses towards a bachelor’s degree my senior year, so I was able to graduate in five years. I continued to work at the front desk and volunteering when I could while I was in school.
“What about you? Sell any amazing houses?”
Chad is a realtor. He sells higher end homes, which means he usually takes home a hefty commission.
“Sold two houses this week. Both of which were over eight hundred thousand. That’s the only reason I accepted these reservations, because my check is going to be quite amazing.”
I nod my head. Chad loves selling homes. He was made to be a salesperson. He’s good at it and knows he's good at it. And as a plus, he will have first dibs on any homes that we come across that we may want to buy.
Chad looks around the restaurant, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Is everything okay?” I ask him.
“Uh, well,” he starts to say, and then the server brings us our food, interrupting his train of thought.
My sweet potato is giant. It almost takes up the whole plate, and it smells amazing, smothered in butter and brown sugar. I smash it down with my fork and mix it all together while Chad fiddles with his steak.
“What were you about to say?” I ask him as I scoop some onto my fork and take a bite.
“I think we should split up.”