Alex laughed. “My mom’s friend is like that too. I can’t imagine.” The waiter arrived with their food and they dug in. As they ate, Alex caught her up on some of the people they both knew from the restaurant in Boston. He still saw some of them even after he graduated and started working in finance.
When they finished eating, Alex ordered another margarita but Gina still had more than half of hers left. She sipped it slowly to make it last. She didn’t want another one. They were big and she was always careful when she was driving. Plus, she was so full.
Alex took a sip, then yawned and immediately apologized. “That was rude, I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to the hours. I had a few weeks off before starting this job and I fell into sleeping late and not getting up until seven.”
“Seven? That seems early to me. What time do you have to be in the office?”
“We’re there by seven at the latest, so I’m usually up by around five or so to check the markets and work out before heading in. It’s a long day. Everyone was still there when I left at six thirty. I’ll probably stay ‘til seven or so tomorrow.”
“That’s a twelve-hour shift.” It sounded like a very long day.
“Yeah, the norm is a sixty or seventy-hour week. It’s intense, but I love it.”
She could tell that he really did and his energy was contagious. She thought about her artwork. She hadn’t painted anything in months. She was always so tired when she got home from work. But she did love painting and she missed it. She made a mental note to make time for it and to start a new painting soon.
“Do you want dessert?” Alex asked when the server came back to their table.
Gina shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m stuffed. But if you want something go ahead. They have a really good key lime pie.”
Alex yawned again. “I think I’ll pass too. Maybe next time?”
Gina thought it was a good sign that he mentioned a next time, a second date possibly. When the bill came, Gina pulled out her wallet, but Alex insisted on paying.
They left and when she dropped him off, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for driving. I had fun tonight and you were right, Millie’s is great.”
“I had a good time too. Thanks again for dinner.”
“It was my pleasure.” He paused for a moment. “Do you ever have a weekend night off?”
“Sometimes. I usually take every other Friday night, but I can usually switch a night or ask for a night off if I know ahead of time.”
“There’s a company Christmas party the Friday after this one. Would you like to go with me? It’s supposed to be a big deal. They have it at the Whitley Hotel. I’m not familiar with it, but they say it’s impressive. And everyone is bringing a date. It should be fun, I hope.”
Gina had never been to the Whitley, but she’d heard about it. It was a waterfront, ultra-exclusive hotel on the other side of the island. She was curious to see what all the fuss was about and excited for another date.
“I’d love to go with you.”
“Great, I’ll give you a call soon. Maybe we can see a movie or something before then.”
“Goodnight, Alex.”
Chapter 8
“You look comfy.” Paul’s voice was amused as he stood in the living room doorway, holding a mug of coffee and looking at Emma, who was curled up on the sofa with a soft knit throw over her lap and two big cats, her own fluffy Maine Coon in her lap and Paul’s giant orange boy, Brody snuggled up next to her. She’d adopted her cat from a local shelter. She was an older kitty, almost seven and her full name was Isabella. They’d called her Izzy at the shelter and Emma and Jill had at first too, but it soon morphed to Bella, which seemed to suit her better—there was also her nicknames, Bella-boo, Bellery, Baby Belle. Paul laughed at the many different names Emma’s cat answered to.
Emily smiled. “We are very comfy.” She took a sip of her spicy cinnamon tea and glanced outside where a blanket of white covered the ground and trees and tiny icicles hung from the window frame. She could almost feel the cold and she wasn’t looking forward to venturing out. But, they were both due at the restaurant by four and a quick glance at her phone told her time was running out.
“I suppose I should jump in the shower. You might have to take over my spot.”
He laughed. “I can do that.” Paul’s hair was still damp from his own shower and he was already wearing the long sleeve t-shirt and heavy sweat pants that he wore in the kitchen under his white chef’s jacket. Emma carefully got up, so as not to disturb the ‘children’ as she and Paul referred to the two cats. Paul settled into her spot and Emma quickly showered, changed and blew her hair dry.
They often walked to work as her grandmother’s house, where they lived, wasn’t far from downtown. But it was so bitter cold out that they decided to drive instead. Emma warmed the car up and a few minutes later, they arrived at Mimi’s Place.
Gina was already behind the bar, putting a case of wine away, and Jason and Jared were in the kitchen. Jason was the lunch chef and was taking off his white coat and getting ready to leave for the day, while Jared was putting his on.
Paul headed into the walk-in refrigerator to take a look at what they had on hand for the evening and what to do for a special. Sometimes specials were a limited supply of seafood that just came in or a creative way to move an item they had extra of.
Emma hung up her coat and joined Mandy, Billy and Jill at the front desk. They were about to leave for the day, too. Mandy handed her the reservations book. “It was busy today and we took more reservations than usual for tonight. Some people asked about the prix fixe menus when they called. I already let Jared know so he and Paul can make sure they have some good options for tonight.”
“Great, thanks. What are you guys up to tonight?”
“Cory is going to be bringing the kids by soon, and we are going to hunker down and watch some Christmas movies, I think. Maybe get pizza or Chinese takeout. None of us feel like cooking.”
“I don’t blame you. It’s a good night for that. Have fun.”
Emma was initially surprised that they were busy earlier than usual. Connie Boyle wasn’t the only one that came in around four thirty. By a little past five, the dining room was more than half full and most of the people had at least one shopping bag with them. And the early people were almost all walk-ins. She guessed they worked up an appetite walking around and shopping.
When there was a lull in new customers, Emma strolled over to the bar to say hello to Gina. Jared was by the soda gun, filling up a tall glass with ice and coke. Connie looked up when she saw Emma.
“Hello dear. I was just asking Gina how her date with that nice young man went. But she seems suddenly shy to tell us.”
Jared chuckled as Gina looked like she wanted to crawl under the bar. “Yes, Gina, how was your date?” he asked. “We’re all dying to know.”
Emma sensed something in the air but wasn’t quite sure what it was. She felt a little badly for Gina. “It’s really none of our business. Gina doesn’t have to tell us anything.” She grinned. “Though we are curious.”
Gina relaxed and laughed. “It’s not that big of a deal. We had a nice time. We went to Millie’s. I’d suggested it as one of my favorite places.”