“I don’t know. I think he was pretty upset when he left.”
“He did offer to stay and help. I think he simply wanted to help you settle everything down.”
“He did that.” She really hoped their friendship hadn’t been compromised. She was starting to realize that she really liked him. She liked him a lot. In fact, she wouldn’t be opposed to sometimes seeing him alone. To spending a couple of hours when it was just the two of them. Instead of refereeing arguments, serving food, and washing dishes, they could talk.
They could simply enjoy each other’s company.
Why, that would be wonderful, indeed.
Chapter 15
Well, that was horrible,” Tricia said after she and Ben said good-bye to his father and started walking toward the inn so she could change. “I think it was truly the worst lunch in the history of all after-church lunches.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” When he caught sight of her incredulous look, he laughed. “Okay, it actually was that bad. And to think it all started with William giving Frankie a pickle.”
“I’m starting to think that Frankie had the best time of anyone.”
He chuckled again. “He was the only one who didn’t seem out of sorts.” After a pause, he said, “I didn’t grow up around girls, but I would have thought that the three of them would have gotten along a lot better.”
“I must say I’m kind of surprised myself. Every other time I’ve been around Mrs. Keim and her daughters I thought they were the most well-behaved siblings in Sarasota.”
“I guess everyone can have an off day, hmm?”
Tricia looked up at him and felt herself warm. She loved how he took things in stride. He seemed to be a perfect foil to her constant emotional state. No matter how hard she tried to conceal her emotions, she always seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve. “When you put it that way, I have to agree. Jah, everyone can have an off day.”
She also liked how he seemed to embrace life’s imperfections easily. It made her realize that he wasn’t expecting her to always be at her best. That thought kept her warm during their walk to the Orange Blossom Inn, where he waited for her on the front stoop while she ran inside and changed her dress.
When she reappeared dressed in a light rose-colored dress and matching flipflops and feeling much better, he smiled. “You look pretty.”
“Danke. At least it’s clean,” she said as they started their walk.
“It’s more than that.”
His sweet words made her smile as they walked down Bahia Vista toward the center of town.
“Is there someplace special where you’d like to go?” Ben asked fifteen minutes later when they reached the sign for Pinecraft Park. “We could go to the park, walk around the shops, even go to Olaf’s and get ice cream.”
“I’ll do whatever you would like.” It was the truth, too. She was simply happy to be by his side.
“Nee, Tricia. I asked you what you wanted to do,” he said gently.
“I just want to sit alone with you.” She thought that sounded like the best thing in the world. Every day she counted the hours until they got to see each other and then, they were always in the company of his siblings or Beverly or their friends. Though it might make her seem selfish, she wasn’t ready to share him with the rest of the world just yet.
“You mean that you want the two of us to have a real conversation without my little brothers eavesdropping?”
“Maybe. Or my aunt commenting on my behavior.” Thinking about how much Beverly’s rather personal comments had bothered her, Tricia felt sad all over again. She knew Beverly thought Tricia was being silly, and maybe she was. But her bold comment about Ben and Tricia having children when Ben hadn’t even said anything about marriage had truly embarrassed her. It was the cherry topping to a series of cautionary conversations that had grown increasingly difficult to be a part of.
Tricia had come to Sarasota in the hopes of being around a family member who understood her. Or who at least wanted to try to see her point of view on things. But it seemed that Beverly had just as many notions about how she should behave as her parents ever did.
Ben pointed to an area of benches just beyond the park near the Phillipi River. “There’s some shade down there. How about we sit there?”
The area was quiet and picturesque. Mossy trees hung over the river, and the wooden benches were spread far enough apart that it was possible to have a private conversation even if every bench was occupied. “I think that would be perfect.”
Ben reached for her hand as they walked down the slight hill that was covered with soft grass. The closer they got to the river, the stronger the scent of water and the many flowers and shrubs that grew along the banks became.