He caught her eye as soon as she sat down at the table. It
was the shape and colour that did it; the wide curve and the deep red. Her
mouth was watering and she had to look away.
Why did Jake insist on coming back to this place time after time? Yes,
the gesture was romantic in that it harkened back to the early days of their
relationship. At this point though, the temptation was just too much.
She looked again at her watch. Where was he? Trying desperately
not to look at the delicious looking wine glass on the gentleman’s table next
to her she closed her eyes and massaged her temples. Only ninety minutes to her appointment, only
ninety minutes. Peeking through her eyelashes she spotted Jake rushing towards
the table. With a sigh, she faked a grin
up into his still amazing blue eyes as he kissed her on the cheek. “Sorry I’m
late babe, this deal won’t leave me alone.”
“No worries, lover. I
only have an hour though; I have an appointment at 1:30.” She perused the menu,
even though she knew everything on it. “And Jake, next time, not here, please?” She looked up at him and smiled, for real this
time, as she caught his gaze over the menus.
She watched as his shoulders fell.
“Geez, Kat, I can’t believe I forgot. Next time I will
remember, I promise. Six months and you’d think I could remember a small detail
like that.” He smiled apologetically, and she was fixated on that for a minute,
then shook her head. Seventy minutes to
her appointment. Her gaze slid one last time over to the glass at the next
table. A good Tuscan red, she’d swear on
that. Taking a deep breath, she signaled the waiter over and ordered her
favourite thing off Liscano’s menu – their carbonara.
She spent the next fifty minutes reminiscing with Jake,
going over the evening’s schedule, worrying about Mitch’s latest escapade with
the daycare and trying not to tap her foot or look at the glass anymore.
Staying engaged still had not come back to her. “Patience,” she thought to
herself, “patience.”
Finally her phone beeped the reminder. By then Jake had paid the bill and her coffee
cup was half empty. “That’s it, hon, I have to go. Can’t be late!” She rose
from her chair, dragging her coat and bag behind as she leaned down and kissed
him on those lips that had held her attention at the beginning of lunch. “Sorry
to rush off, but you know how much I need this.”
“Happy anniversary, Kat. I know you need it, but I wish we
were enough.” His tone said so much more than his words and she struggled to
suppress her impatience. He was right,
and he was being honest, a lot more than she deserved. He grasped her hand
tightly as she went to move past him. “One day at a time, right?”
With one last, wistful glance at the next table’s wine
glass, now empty, she bit her lip before smiling down at him, trying to show
her love and appreciation for him in her now slightly watering brown eyes. “See
you later, lover.” And then she was out
the door.
The blocks couldn’t go fast enough. She kept her eyes focused straight ahead,
ignoring the two local pubs she passed, the two liquor stores and the open air café
on the corner of her destination building. “Just need to get to the meeting,
just need the meeting,” over and over again went the litany in her head.
And then she was there, the elevator heading up the flights
in no time at all. Down the hall to the brick red door with the brass letters she
knew so well. She wiggled her fingers
hello at Nancy briefly on her way through to the inner office, tossing her
things on a chair. The desperation was fading a bit, the distraction and
comfort of knowing the meeting was at hand doing its work. She hadn’t believed
her therapis when he said this would work, but it would appear he was right.
Smoothing her long chestnut hair and the pleats of her skirt one last time she grabbed
her notebook and went into the meeting room. She took a deep breath and then her
seat.
“Hello Channing. My name is Dr. Meyrick.” Reaching across
the gap between their chairs, she offered her hand and was pleasantly surprised
by her patient’s firm grip. She looked the young man in the eye and smiled
gently, smiled genuinely. “Thank you for coming to see me today. I will review
the file you created with Nancy after our session. This first hour is all about
getting to know each other and seeing if I can be of help to you?” Kat released
his hand and opened her notebook. “Now tell me, how long has it been since you
returned from Afghanistan?”
