“Let me know if he ever needs any guinea pigs to sample new recipes, will you?”
“You’ll be the second person I call.” “Second?”
“Well, Jerry is always number one for food. Except for tonight. Tonight, he’s taking his way-too-young girlfriend to her favorite restaurant—White Castle.”
“I don’t go there. Gives me heartburn.” She smiled as her ears picked up the chords of a guitar in the distance. “You said earlier you like music. What do you listen to?”
“I like vocals that have a message or a powerful string
arrangement.” “Like?”
“Like ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,’ or ‘I’ll Always Love You.’ That kind of stuff. But my all-time favorite is ‘Nights in White Satin.’ The end is so powerful. The lyrics tell such a haunting story—just love the orchestration and the end. The Moody Blues were the best. What about you?”
“Promise not to laugh?” She flashed a big smile. She hadn’t been this relaxed with a guy in quite some time, and she was feeling good inside. She’d almost forgotten how much fun could be had on a date that actually was going well. For once, she had no desire to end it right after dinner and go home and curl up in bed in front of the TV. Or worse, a medical journal.
“Promise.” He smiled back. She could tell—or at least hoped she was reading the signals correctly—that he was having a good time as well. Plus he was having quite the effect on her. She looked into his eyes.
“Musical stuff. Songs from musicals, you know.” She giggled— she hardly ever giggled this much—then pushed him away ever so slightly as he pretended to suppress a laugh. “You promised!” She stopped mid-step. “Oh, and Motown.”
“That’s quite a combination there,” Nick said, facing her. She felt that familiar awkwardness as they really looked at each other. He broke the trance. “Well, then, Doctor, tell me a few of your favorites.”
“Well,” she began, feeling her cheeks flush, “as far as musicals go, it’s a toss-up between ‘Climb Every Mountain’ from The Sound of Music …”