A Place at the Table
12
Dating
Hana
“ROLLER SKATING? This is wonderful! I haven’t been on my skates in years. How did you know?” I couldn’t believe it when Liam told me to wear clothes comfortable to skate in. I tried my skates on just to make sure they still fit. And we were holding hands as we made our way around the rink the first time, just getting used to wheels beneath our feet.
“I try to be attentive. I miss things and I don’t understand others, but I pay attention,” he said. What a sweet boy. “You told me the story of your calling and said you and your friend had been roller skating. It sounded like you really loved it.”
“I did. I do. I just haven’t had time for a while.” The movement felt good and familiar. I’d be sore tomorrow. I turned and skated backward as he held me in a dance pose. Liam wasn’t a great skater, but he was good enough to hold me while we skated. I did all the spins and fancy moves. He just kept the momentum going around the rink.
Roller rinks aren’t the greatest places for conversation, but it was a great way to make contact, so to speak. We skated for almost two hours!
When we got to the restaurant, I was pretty used to touching him and held his hand until we were seated.
“Come on, fess up,” I said. “I know I didn’t say anything about Italian food being my favorite.”
“I know. I overheard Meredith say something about it.”
“Overheard her?”
“When I told her I wasn’t going to have her plan my dates for me, she turned away and mumbled, ‘She does like Italian food.’ I took it as a hint. But I chose the restaurant.” We were seated at a nice table and presented with a large Italian salad and bread before we’d had a chance to look at the menu. I ordered spicy chicken rigatoni and Liam showed some savvy about Italian food when he ordered linguine with clams in white wine sauce.
“It’s a good thing we skated first,” I said. “I won’t be able to move after this meal. If you chase me, I’ll have to let you catch me.”
“Hana, I wouldn’t do something like that. I’ll be too full to put up much of a chase.” He made light of it, but I got the feeling that if there was any chasing to be done, I’d be the one doing it. We’ll see.
“Tell me about your job. Meredith said you went to work.”
“Technically, it ended yesterday. It was a short-term project for my father. I studied what was running smoothly and what could use adjustment. This week, I have to put the report together in a non-proprietary format to hand in at school when classes resume,” he said. “I don’t think I could have done it without Meredith’s help. She kept coming up with ideas and helping me brainstorm situations. She typed up the reports when I’d written a draft and was really supportive. I’m glad I have her as an assistant.”
Somehow, I got the impression Liam was happy with Meredith. In fact, maybe more than happy. I doubted very much that I’d date Liam again. Although I doubted that after the first date, too. He might not be aware of it yet, but he was fixated on my former roommate. I sighed out loud.
“Hana, I’m sorry if that came off sounding like more than it is. Meredith and I have a professional relationship. We aren’t dating.”
“It’s okay, Liam. We’ve always known it would be difficult to have and maintain a relationship with each other. I hardly ever have time to see anyone and you have a whole new path ahead of you. Let’s just enjoy the food and company. Are you having dessert?”
I was still comfortable with him. I knew he wouldn’t be overly aggressive with me but I was interested in more than holding his hand. I cuddled next to him in the back seat as his driver took me home.
“Walk me to my door?” I asked.
“Of course.” We held hands and when we reached my apartment, I pulled him to me and brought my lips to his. It was like striking a match to tinder. I lost myself in the kiss and in his touch. I fumbled for my key and opened the door, pulling Liam toward me. He stopped without crossing the threshold. He bent and kissed me tenderly again.
“Thank you for a lovely evening, Hana. Maybe we’ll be able to do this again sometime. Good night.” My lips tried to follow him down the hall. I sighed. If things were different, I wouldn’t have let him go.
Meredith
OUR LAST WEEK before school would start was filled with working on Liam’s paper for Mr. Peoples and generally getting things organized. That included a trip into Covington to do last minute shopping and get Liam his driver’s license. I didn’t know what he’d be driving normally, but I let him drive my car for the test.
We met my parents at Rangers for dinner Wednesday evening at their invitation. Liam wanted to return to the restaurant and try another dish. My father was anxious to show him some more of his cuisine. Erich drove and we waited for him to open the door. I took Liam’s arm and went in.
“Meredith, how wonderful to have you and Mr. Cyning with us this evening. Your mother is already at your usual table. I’ve never seen you father so nervous. Here we are.” The hostess showed Liam and me to the table where my mother stood at once.
“Please, Mrs. Sauvage, don’t stand for me. It is so nice to see you again.” Liam was a perfect gentleman, holding our chairs for us. Of course, I expected nothing less. Just in the few weeks we had been working together, I’d noticed a new maturity in his bearing. The incident with Mr. Wilcox had affected him profoundly.
“You are very kind, Mr. Cyning.”
“Meredith and I are very close and I am sure we will see you frequently. Please call me Liam.”
“Then you must refer to me as Kendall and Meredith’s father as Rainer.” Mother was Mother, of course—charming and relaxed with her quick smile. She’s very physical and frequently reached over to touch one of our hands or arms.
“Meredith, did you know you have something of the same sparkle in your eyes that your mother has?” he asked.
“Liam! I… How kind of you to notice.” He was flirting! No wonder Hana was infatuated. I was still puzzled that when I called, she said she had a wonderful time and really liked Liam but wouldn’t be able to see him again—at least not soon. I wondered at her attitude but she just said the new term was starting and she couldn’t afford an entanglement that might distract her from her studies.
“Even my heart jumped a beat with that,” Mother said.
Father emerged from the kitchen bringing us each a bowl of hot soup and a plate of bread.
“Good evening, Mr. Cyning…”
“Just Liam, sir. Please.”
“Wonderful. Liam, have you noticed the weather getting cooler? Lovely, of course, but I thought our meal needed to start with a hot soup. I hope you find this French onion soup to your liking. And don’t worry about your breath. The characteristic odor of the onions is muted by the broth and cheese. I’ll join you for the entrée but must ask that you excuse me from the soup.” He nodded his head and ran back to the kitchen.
I watched Liam savor the soup.
“This is heavenly! Mmm. It warms one up, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. It is one of our favorite winter soups. Rainer was torn between this and the minestrone, but chose this because it is warming but not so heavy as the minestrone. I’m so glad you like it,” Kendall said.
“I do. Meredith, what kind of cheese is this that your father uses? It seems so unusual.”
“The usual in this area is to melt Emmental on the top. Father found an old recipe that used gruyere. They are both Swiss cheeses but the gruyere is a little softer and sweeter than the Emmental,” I said.
“It’s delicious. I wonder if I’ve ever had that on a cheese tray. I’d like to sample it sometime. Could you assist me in selecting cheeses for a tray some evening? Perhaps we could serve my parents and grandmother. I do owe them something for their tolerance this summer.”
“I’d be delighted.” I smiled at him. He could have just told me to do it and as his employee I would. But it sounded much more fun this way.
“Here we have the entrée,” Father said as he and a server returned to the table. “For our dining pleasure this evening, I have chosen a lamb fricassee with avgolemono, sauce. You will discover, however, that I have included greens in the sauce, which lightens it and enhances the flavor of the lamb. Bon appétit!” Liam leaned forward and inhaled just to savor the enticing aroma. He started eating and moaned his pleasure.
“The avgolemono is exquisite! I’ve never had anything like it.”
“It’s why I serve this only with crusty bread. It is the best way to get every last sop of the sauce.” Father was being very formal, explaining dishes as if Liam were a food critic from the newspaper. When I teased him, however, he started telling stories—some I found quite embarrassing.
“Meredith, I didn’t realize you had four older brothers. Did you have a difficult childhood?” Liam turned to me, picking up Mother’s mannerisms and touching my hand.
“Oh, not so terrible. I learned a great deal from my brothers. Including, I’m told, a vicious right hook.” We all broke up laughing at that.
“We never quite forgave her for that. To think that she would bloody the nose of the host! I died of mortification.”
“Kendall, please forgive her as I have. I was being insufferable and deserved the punishment and embarrassment. I assure you, both Meredith and I have learned more civilized behavior since that day.” Desserts arrived.
“How colorful, Papa!”
“It’s a parfait with layers of fruit and frozen cream.”
“This is ice cream? It’s so rich!” Liam scooped past the creamy layer into the fresh berries beneath.
“Not ice cream, precisely. It is frozen cream. I have a good relationship with a local dairyman. He skims the top of the cream for me. It is so thick a spoon will stand up in it without whipping it or freezing. When lightly whipped and frozen, it retains a pliability that is softer than the typical ice cream. I did not even sweeten it.”
“It is a wonderful capstone for a delightful meal, Rainer. I can scarcely thank you enough for this invitation,” Liam said.
“We hope you will not be a stranger to us here. As Meredith knows, I have this table ready for her or for you at any time. Please join us often.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Rainer.” Father excused himself to check on the kitchen and encouraged us to take our time over coffee. Liam decided it was time for us to leave, too.
“I’ll go into the kitchen now,” Kendall said. “Sometimes there are little tasks Rainer has left for me so I can feel useful.”
“I’m going to run in and give Papa a kiss before we go. I’ll be right back, Liam.” I moved quickly to say goodnight to Papa.
Thursday evening, we sat at the kitchen table at Buxton House and shared a meal of steak au poivre. Cook served it with a layer of mashed roasted potatoes, crisscrossed with asparagus spears. The steak rode atop the stack with abundant sauce over all. I wondered if Cook felt threatened by our having dinner with my father the night before. This was a basic meal if you thought of it as simply steak and potatoes but it contrasted nicely with the lamb my father had cooked.
“We start classes Monday,” Liam sighed. “The summer is over.”
“Well, since you finished your paper this afternoon, you can have a long weekend to enjoy the last of summer before Monday.”
“I am glad to have the paper finished. Of course, Peoples will want a complete discussion of it as soon as he’s read it. That will be okay.”
“I was surprised,” I said cautiously, “that you gave so much emphasis to our working relationship. It was a little embarrassing.”
“Oh, Meredith! I didn’t do it to embarrass you. I really don’t think I could have produced what we did on my own. Even this paper, you helped tone down some of my statements and direct me in positive ways. I’ve learned so much from you these weeks that I can’t possibly keep your influence hidden,” he said. I could feel the heat in my face.
“Thank you, Liam. I suppose we will have less interaction this fall. I can scarcely be in the next room when you are at Elenchus.”
“Nor can I expect you to help me with my studies when you have your own at the University,” he said. “But perhaps, at least on the weekends, we could study together. I would like that.”
“I think that could be arranged.”
“I tell you what. Why don’t we spend tomorrow going for a ride and having a picnic? There are beautiful places in the woodland I’ve yet to show you. Would you join me?” His enthusiasm almost overrode my good sense.
“I suppose that during our work hours we can do nearly anything you need help with,” I said. I wasn’t sure, but it sounded more like he was asking me on a date.
“No. That won’t do. I’m officially giving you tomorrow and the rest of the weekend off. It is your own personal free time. Would you consent to joining me during your free time to enjoy a ride and picnic?”
He was asking me for a date! I should have turned him down. He shouldn’t have asked me.
“I would love to go riding and for a picnic tomorrow,” I said.
We met in the kitchen a bit before noon and instead of sitting to eat, we made sandwiches and packed fruit and water bottles. Liam had his saddlebags with him and carefully packed our lunch. Cook had thoughtfully provided a potato salad in a container for us. I stepped out to change clothes and when I returned, Liam was in his riding clothes and his saddlebags seemed much plumper than they had been in the kitchen.
“Ray, I so appreciate you having Dancer prepared and cared for when I ride,” I said. I wasn’t sure when I’d be out for a ride again. Liam’s Sim was prancing around next to the mare waiting for us to get going. Liam gave me a gentle boost into the saddle and patted my leg before he led Sim to the mounting block.
“I’ll need to make a fool of myself mounting from the ground after the picnic,” he laughed. “I don’t need to start the ride like that.” I was glad I hadn’t shown off by vaulting into the saddle. My riding instructor had made sure I was equipped to mount under any circumstances and taught me a few tricks.
“I went for a morning ride yesterday and found how peaceful and still things were at the duck pond. You might go that way,” Ray said once we were mounted. He attached Liam’s saddle bags and a rolled blanket. “There were a dozen mallards in the pond when I passed by.”
“Thank you for that suggestion, Ray. We’re taking a leisurely ride and having a picnic, so don’t wait for us if you have a Friday night engagement. We’ll groom and cool the horses,” Liam said. My! It was only just after noon. He must expect us to ride for a very long time!
“Certainly, sir. Enjoy yourselves.”
The pond was well-maintained and quite far from the house. We rode for nearly an hour—sometimes on trails I’d ridden before—when we reached the picnic location. It had only one fully cleared shore of about fifty feet of gently sloping grass. On this there were two covered swings, large enough for two people in each. I wondered if they were ever both in use at once as Liam lifted me from Dancer and spent several long minutes holding my hand and listening to the birdsong and the light breeze rustling the leaves as we swung.
Suddenly becoming aware we were holding hands, I pulled away and suggested we busy ourselves with the picnic. We spread the blanket and Liam surprised me by pulling a table cloth from his saddle bag to lay over the top of it.
“I confess, I did some preparation last night,” he said. “We have a bit more than just the sandwiches and fruit we packed at noon. I hope you don’t mind. I did it myself—with just a bit of help from Cook. We needn’t try to eat everything. I’m afraid I packed enough food for a crew.”
“Oh, we should have invited company,” I laughed. He looked at me uncertainly but realized, I think, that I was joking. I reached over and lightly laid a hand on his. “Thank you, Liam. This is lovely. We can spend all afternoon eating if you like.”
“Well, the horse carried it all out here, so I suppose they’ll still be able to carry us after we’ve eaten. Try a Scottish sausage roll. Cook instructed me on preparing the filling and baking the rolls. There are deviled eggs, as well.”
“Goodness, Liam. I had no idea you were so domestic.”
“It is something Grandmother suggested I learn before I need to fend for myself in college. I’ll never be the kind of chef Cook or your father is, but I did enjoyed preparing food for you. May I pour you a glass of wine?”
“Oh, this is delicious. Yes, thank you. Wine would be lovely.”
“Cook cautioned me not to overindulge. We do need to sit our horses later.”
I looked at him, sitting opposite me on an edge of the cloth. He was pleasant to look at, but I wouldn’t have considered him a model. He continued to chat on about various things in his bag, including a cheese tray and thermos of coffee, wine glasses, plates, cups, and flatware. No wonder his bags had been bulging!
Leonard, always accompanying us, lay down at one edge of the blanket and was happy to receive bits we fed him.
“Did you know,” Liam said, “my father is still disappointed I didn’t become a Commander or a Promoter? As if he believes it was my choice. And I’m not saying I would choose either of those anyway, but I thought our classes were supposed to be revealed, not chosen. Of course, he’s suggesting that I could still learn to manage the business. That type of work just doesn’t appeal to me.”
“It’s true that our class is revealed and not chosen. However, it is our choices that reveal class,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“Would a Commander choose to turn, say, your team captainship to someone else more able to plot and strategize the plays? Or would he simply assume he is the best for that role? Yet you chose to nominate Lonnie as your team captain.”
“It’s true, but I’ve always known Lonnie is better at actually making things happen. It goes back to when we were kids. Even if I came up with an idea, he’d organize it and get us all working together.”
“He’s always known it, too. But how did your teammates know that?”
“Well, I nominated Lonnie and said he was the best to be our captain because he understood the playbook and when to use each play best of any of us.”
“And what did the team do?”
“They voted for him.”
“That is the difference between a Commander and a Leader. The team voted in your direction. I’ve scanned your school papers while organizing them, you know, including the notes attached by instructors and coaches. They confirm the same behavior. When strategy and tactics are needed, Lonnie or another Commander are called upon. When consensus is needed, all eyes turn to you.”
Liam paused in the midst of biting his ham sandwich. His eyes seemed focused on something far away. I just watched his profile and saw the strength and character in it. He finished his bite and turned back toward me.
“So, you are saying it is not my choice to be a Leader, but the choices I made revealed my Leadership. It feels like more of a burden now than it did. What do I choose? I will be thinking of every suggestion I make,” he said.
“Oh, don’t obsess over it. You have seldom led anyone astray. People need to know someone is incorruptible. If you are struggling over a direction, it is probably the wrong time to attempt to lead,” I said. I found, however, that I was more willing now to follow him than ever before.
“I certainly was not leading well on my tenth birthday. I attempted to sneak the boys away.”
“And they were ready to follow you. If you had some ready reason to give to the girls, we would have let you go. An insult, however, brought home the consequences. And as soon as I struck, Lonnie took charge. He waved us away and took you to the house. Donnie, of course, thought he was sucking up and was ready, instead, to hit me back. Peggy Anne and Karen thought I was a brute.”
“And Richard?”
“I’m not sure because it all happened so quickly, but it seems that Richard was examining the mechanism of the lawn sprinkler and missed most of the action.”
Liam laughed and shook his head. “And it took us eight years to all get back together.” He turned on his elbow and looked across the food at me. Those piercing blue eyes made me think he was looking right into me. “Are you happy, Meredith? Is being with me—around me—too much? I find I’ve come to depend on you in ways I never knew were possible.”
What a difficult question to answer. Not because I was unhappy but because the kind of happiness I had when I was with him had nothing to do with my job or responsibilities. I was suddenly conscious of where we were and how we were behaving. Riding and picnicking with Liam were not part of my official duties. Our conversation could be considered mentoring, but it was not so different than any couple might have on a date.
A date. We were alone and undisturbed with food and wine and conversation. I’d kept the notion away from my conscious mind through all our preparations. But now I could not restrain it. We were on a date. And I was thrilled.
“I’m very happy, Liam. I hope we will continue to have opportunities to develop our understanding of each other and to work together. It pleases me to spend time with you.”
He reached across the table spread and I let him take my hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed my fingers. Then he let them slide away from him. We continued our chat, packed the remains of our luncheon, and he lifted me to my saddle. It was a very good date.
“Let me help you with your boots,” he said, kneeling before the bench where I sat in the entry.
“Really? You don’t need to do that for me, Liam.”
“It’s my pleasure if you are not offended by it.”
“Oh, certainly not! I just… thank you.”
I was a bit self-conscious. Riding boots are not particularly breathable and feet tend to sweat in them. I’d been wearing mine for at least five hours and was afraid my feet would smell. Liam pretended not to notice as he gently removed them and massaged my feet before slipping house shoes on them. It was heavenly.
I stood and struggled to get him to sit while I returned the gesture and we began laughing so hard we simply fell together and then my lips were suddenly against his and I realized we were kissing and I wasn’t fighting it. At all. I panted as I finally pushed away from his embrace. My! Did Hana teach him to kiss like that?
“Shall we tell Cook we’ll be ready for dinner at six?” he asked. I took a deep breath.
“I should really be getting home this evening,” I sighed. “We both need to be ready to move into our dormitories this weekend. I’m sure you have as much preparation to do as I have. I… I’ll say goodnight and go change to my traveling clothes. Have a good evening, Liam.”
I tried not to run as I fled from the possibility of another kiss.
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