The Shop on Main(26)

“You’re kidding me, right?” Izzy looked at him with wide eyes.

“Honest truth.” His admission shocked him probably as much as it surprised Izzy. He never blurted out anything. He always carefully thought through his words before speaking, a trait that served him well in the business world.

“Wow, the pressure is on then. I hope it lives up to what you think a picnic should be.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited at a stop sign.

“Since I have no preconceived idea, I’m sure it will be great.”

“Surely you have some notion of what to expect. You’ve seen picnics on TV and movies.”

“But those are fiction, this is real.”

“Just so you realize there are flies at real picnics and sometimes ants.”

“Okay, I’ll be prepared for anything.”

He watched her as she drove, trying not to be obvious. She had on a casual floral sundress and sandals, her hair was down and drifted around her shoulders in waves of golden red. The breeze coming through her half-opened window made her hair float around her face. She kept tucking it back behind her ear.

He was probably overdressed, but he hadn’t really brought any clothes with him that were appropriate for a picnic. Nor shoes. He glanced down as his leather loafers. She probably thought him a fussy dresser. He should really pick up a pair of jeans or maybe even shorts and some casual shoes if he stayed here much longer.

There he was, already planning on spending more time with her. He wondered what it was like to grow up in a town and still live there as an adult, for people to know you when you passed them on the street, what it felt like to really belong to a town. To fit in to a place. To have life-long friends. He could only faintly imagine these things. Izzy was a lucky woman.

He looked back over at Izzy. Her lean legs stretched out beneath the dress. Her legs had a bit of tan already though, somehow, he didn’t think Izzy had sat out tanning. It was probably from watching the boys’ ballgames and taking them to the park.

He noticed she drummed her fingers against the steering wheel almost every time she made a stop. Her painted nails made a subtle click sound. He was fascinated watching her painted nails tap the wheel.

Owen wasn’t sure when he had taken in so many details on a woman. It was like his business mind, the one he usually tapped into for discovering every little detail about a business he was interested in, had flipped and started recording every little detail about Izzy. She intrigued him.

~ * ~

Bella wondered how much longer Owen would be in town. It seemed silly to date a man who lived halfway across the country, and yet, she was glad she’d said yes to his invitation. He was a bit overdressed for a picnic, but she guessed that he hadn’t brought any more casual clothes—not knowing he’d be going on his first picnic. First. The concept of never having gone on a picnic boggled her mind. He wasn’t just from a different city, he was from a whole different world.

But, he intrigued her. The first man she had been interested in dating since, well too many years to count. Her last date with anyone, before marrying Rick, had been in high school. So, yes, it had been a long time.

“Here we are.” She pulled into the parking lot.

“It’s beautiful.” Owen’s voice held an edge of awe.

“It is pretty isn’t it? I love the way the live oaks frame that pathway. There are a couple gazebos with tables, or we can just put the blanket down where ever we want.”

“The blanket sounds fine.”

They got out of the car and Owen took the picnic basket and his bag with the wine and glasses. She grabbed the blanket and headed over to her favorite more secluded spot near the edge of the park. A family was having a barbecue at one of the gazebos. A father pitched a ball to his young son. A few couples wandered along the paths. A lazy evening of fun at the park.

Bella led Owen down the main pathway through the live oaks, and turned onto a smaller path. She felt his hand brush against hers, then again. He finally took her hand in his. His hand was strong, but not rough. Warm. When was the last time anyone had held her hand except for her boys? It felt nice to just walk along in companionable quiet. She led him down the trail until they came out into an opening with a large tree and a couple of big boulders.

“We’ll set up here.” She pointed to the large tree.

Owen set down the picnic basket and helped her spread out the blanket. It was an old blanket that she’d had since high school days, a bit tattered since it had seen its share of picnics and ball games. She sank down onto the blanket and kicked off her sandals.

“This is nice.” Owen looked around the clearing.