After we sat down and ordered a round of sugary alcoholic drinks - I almost wanted to burst out laughing when Daniel agreed to a pitcher of strawberry margaritas - I actually began to feel relaxed and at home for the first time since Daniel had “proposed” to me. Lindsey soon launched into the epic saga of her most absurdly difficult client, and we were all laughing uproariously even before the margaritas started flowing.#p#分页标题#e#
“…and then he goes, ‘well, you’re supposed to be the expert!’”
Lindsey was wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, and I was right there with her. Back before I’d landed this job, I used to do a lot of work on the side for absolutely impossible people, because I simply couldn’t afford to say no. It was comforting to know that even people on Lindsey’s level still struggled with such things.
Of course, I’d never have to do anything like that again, if I played my cards right.
“Well, you won’t have to worry about that for much longer,” Lindsey said after a moment, like she was reading my thoughts. “Lucky, lucky.”
“Yeah,” I said, staring into my drink.
“Well, I wouldn’t ever want to quit work anyway,” said Lindsey lightly, pushing her drink aside as the server came back with our orders. “I’d go crazy. I’m like one of those sheepdogs that always needs something to occupy my time, or I’ll destroy everything. Oooh, who got the bleu cheese burger? That looks fantastic.”
We dug into our food, and the conversation fell silent for a while. I kept glancing at Daniel. It was strange to see him in a place like this, and stranger still to see him not looking uncomfortable in the least. Even with barbecue sauce dribbling down his chin, he was somehow still the man I knew - and yet, utterly not.
I was deathly curious to know more about his childhood memories of this restaurant. They were obviously bittersweet, perhaps more bitter than anything - but that didn’t kill my curiosity in the slightest. I had a feeling if I could get Lindsey alone, I might be able to learn a little bit.
“Mmm,” said Lindsey, setting her burger down in its basket to wipe her hands and face. “The burgers here haven’t changed a bit. I love it.”
“That’s because they’ve never cleaned the grill,” Daniel said, dryly.
Ray looked down at the burger in his hands. “Gross,” he said.
“All the best burger places don’t,” I supplied. I was pretty sure I remembered seeing something about it on a T.V. show about the world’s greatest diners. “It gets so hot that nothing ever goes bad, so all the flavor stays on there for years and years.”
“You’d better be kidding,” said Ray, downing the rest of his margarita.
“Deadly serious,” said Daniel. “She’s right. It’s nothing to worry about, don’t you think the health inspectors would have said something about it by now if it was?”
Ray shook his head, regarding the burger hesitantly for a moment, but then he shrugged and raised it to his mouth again.
“And the burger wins out!” Lindsey grinned. “The burger always wins out, doesn’t it?”
“If it’s the right burger? Absolutely.” I broke a huge steak fry in half and dipped it in ketchup.
“Maddy.” Lindsey leaned across the table. “I know you’re busy, wrapping up work and planning the wedding and everything, but can I take you shopping tomorrow? Just us girls. Those two can hang out and toss a football around in a parking lot or whatever the hell they do. I’ve been doing a little independent research, so I know all the best vendors and boutiques. I’d love to take you around. What do you say?”
I grinned at her. “I’d love to!”
By the time we all left Jerry’s, everyone was in a happy mood. Daniel and Ray were joking around with each other, and Lindsey was telling me about all the ridiculous mishaps from her own wedding ceremony and planning process. I hadn’t actually given any real thought to the whole thing - I supposed Daniel would go along with whatever I wanted, but I didn’t know what I wanted.
“…the point is, no matter what happens, everything will be fine. We can talk more about it tomorrow. I know it’s stressful as hell, the industry puts all this pressure on us, but there’s no reason why it has to be a big old mess. Especially not with me helping you out.”
She hugged me goodnight, and then we all parted ways. I found myself getting into the town car with Daniel and not even questioning where we were going; I’d spend the night at his place, of course, and that was all right with me.
The next morning, Lindsey came by at ten o’clock on the dot. We started out with breakfast in a trendy vegetarian diner - “I’m not vegetarian, obviously, but sometimes I like to pretend” - and then hit the fancy shopping district.