Chapter 10
"I'm Will," I said, extending my hand toward him.
He looked at it and approached carefully before accepting it. We shook equally carefully, mindful not to squeeze too firmly.
In a moment that I would have taken back if it hadn't been too late, I said, "I'm taking your mom to the theatre tonight. I hope that's okay with you?"
He looked at me carefully, then his mother, then back to me.
"I guess so. Is it just one time?"
"You mean this date?" I asked and he nodded.
"Well, that's up to your mom. I hope there might be more than one."
"How many?" he asked. I was getting in deep and I was looking for a life preserver.
"Laddie, you'll have to wait and see, just like we will," his grandfather said, putting his hand on Jimmy's shoulder and saving me from embarrassment.
"Okay," he said, moving to stand beside his Grandad.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but when I looked at Nicole, I thought she might burst out laughing. Her mother seemed to find the whole episode amusing too. I struggled to get myself under control and turned to Nicole.
"Shall we go?"
"Quickly, I think," she giggled as she stepped into a pair of medium height heels. I helped her with her light jacket to ward off the cool of a fall evening.
We said our goodbyes, with Nicole reminding Jimmy of his bedtime and to be good.
As we walked down the front stairs and out toward my car, Nicole took my hand a bumped my shoulder with hers.
"Not nervous are you?" she jabbed.
"Oh yeah. That was hard. I haven't been on a date in ten years. That was torture."
She stopped as I held the car door for her.
"Is it that important? This date?"
I looked at her closely. "Yes. Yes it is."
I caught the hint of a smile as she slipped into the front seat before I closed the door.
Between the Saturday evening traffic and the time it took me to park the car, we arrived at the theatre only ten minutes before the opening curtain. We decided to forego the drink and wait for the intermission. We seated ourselves in our reserved seats and I was pleased that they gave us a good view of the stage without being right on top of it.
I handed Nicole a program and a printout of Max Peller's review from our paper. It would help her follow along with the play as it went without giving away all of the plot.
By intermission I knew I had chosen well. Nicole was laughing along with the audience almost from the beginning and was clearly enjoying every minute. I had scored a winner.
"This is great fun, Will," she enthused at intermission. "Thank you so much for suggesting this. I'll have to tell all my friends at work about it."
"I'm glad you're enjoying it. I am too," I said as I passed her a small glass of white wine.
"This is so much better than a movie. The audience is more into it and you can see the actors are having a ball because of it. It's a two-way communication I've never seen before."
"Have you not been to live theatre before?"
"Yes, but it wasn't anything like this. One of my dates thought we should see something serious and chose Hamlet. I know Shakespeare is great, but it was so ... dark ... that I didn't enjoy it the way I should have. I guess I'm not cut out for that kind of entertainment."
"Neither am I. But ... I do like a good mystery. One where you don't know how it's going to turn out. When they are done in live theatre, you can come out of the playhouse at the end and be completely wrung out from following all the twists and turns."
"Oh ... I'd love to try that. I love a good mystery ... trying to figure out whodunit."
"Well, I'd be happy to put that on our calendar too," I suggested hopefully.
"Oh yes, let's," she said enthusiastically.
That was all I needed to hear. I knew now that there was a good chance for me ... for us.
When we walked out of the theatre later that evening, Nicole had her arms wrapped around mine and she was in a decidedly bubbly mood.
"Thank you, Will. That was a wonderful evening. The best I've had in a long time."
"It doesn't have to end yet," I tested. "If you'd like, we could stop for a snack and a glass of wine on the way home."
"Yes, let's do that," she agreed immediately.
We stopped at a little bistro well away from the theatre district and found it was quiet enough that we could have a conversation. The room was dimly lit and the atmosphere was subdued. The atmosphere between Nicole and me was anything but. If I was wondering if there would be a spark to encourage me, I no longer had any doubts.
"Can I make a suggestion?" I asked as the waitress left with our order.
"Sure," she smiled.
"Uhhm ... I was wondering if maybe we could have a date where Jimmy was included?"
She gave me a smile that might have been enigmatic if she hadn't reached over and kissed my cheek. Just reading her sparkling eyes told me that things were going very well between us.
"I think that would be a great idea. Did you have something in mind?"
"If it's a nice day, we could go to Wixom Lake for a picnic. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we could take in one of the matinee plays for children we talked about."
"You're really fixed on this idea about Jimmy being part of this, aren't you?"
"He has to be. He's the most important thing in your life right now. I wouldn't feel right not including him if we are going to see where our relationship might go."
"Will, whatever is happening between us is happening very quickly. Much more quickly than I would ever have expected. I'm not trying to stop it, but I am going to be careful. So far ... you're more than I expected. Much more. I think we could have something in our future. But I have to warn you ... I'm going to go slow and go carefully. I think you know why."
"Yeah, I can guess. But as long as we can see each other and let things develop as they will, then I'll be happy. I like everything I see about you. I like your family too. That counts for a lot with me. Somewhere along the line I want you to meet my parents too. I want them to know I might have struck gold," I grinned.
She was holding my hands now and only let them go when the appetizers we ordered arrived.