Page 146 of Lee

Lee held her Bible, finding the verses the pastor gave them while she took notes. It was a small thing, but she liked that it was them doing something together.

Following the service, Lee led her away from the rest of the group. “Do you want to go to the park with the others?”

From the way he asked, Rori thought that perhaps that wasn’t what he wanted, though he’d probably go along with whatever she preferred. “I’m happy to go, if that’s what you want, but if you’d rather not, I’m good with that, too.”

“I’d rather not,” Lee said.

He still didn’t have his usual spark, so his response didn’t surprise Rori. It was a bit disappointing because she’d hoped to spend more time with him. But she knew that she needed to adjust to Lee’s new normal and be grateful that he’d picked her up for church that day, so they’d been able to spend a little time together.

Lee greeted a few people as they walked through the foyer, but he didn’t stop to chat with anyone. Rori was fine with that. She still didn’t know a lot of people there, so most Sundays, she mainly chatted with Lee’s family and Essie and Al.

After they were in his car, he said, “I’ll swing by your place so you can change.”

“Change?” Rori turned in her seat to stare at him. “I thought we weren’t going to the park.”

“We’re not, but I thought we could go to that spot where we went on our first date.”

“Oh.” Rori smiled as she comprehended what he wanted. “I’d like that.”

“I’ve missed you,” he said. “So I’d rather have some time with just the two of us.”

“I’m definitely on board with that.”

The smile Lee gave her was small, but a smile was a smile. “Good. Once you’ve changed, we can swing by the store to pick up some food for lunch.”

Rori didn’t really care what they did, as long as she was doing it with Lee. He wasn’t pushing her away anymore, and for that she was extremely grateful.

“I’ll be right back,” she said when they pulled up to her building.

“I’ll be waiting.”

She grinned at him, then opened the door and got out. After hurrying inside, she quickly changed out of her church clothes into a pair of black shorts and a T-shirt. It was nothing fancy, but she would be comfortable.

Her camera bag was under the daybed, and she looked at it for a moment before deciding not to take it. She wanted to just relax and be present with Lee. There would be lots of other opportunities to take pictures.

It felt important to focus on Lee after everything that had transpired over the past couple of weeks.

When she got back to the car, Lee was waiting to open the car door for her. “No camera?”

“Not today,” she said as she slid into the passenger seat. Lee closed her door, then strode around to get behind the wheel.

It didn’t take them long to get to the store, where they picked up a cart and made their way to the food department.

Everything felt so normal as they debated over the type of bread, cheese and deli meat they wanted. Thankfully, their tastes were very similar, so they didn’t have to buy a bunch of different things. After picking up chips, drinks, and some brownies, they headed to the checkout.

Rori wanted to offer to pay, but they’d had a discussion about it shortly after they’d made their dating relationship official. Lee had said he’d welcome any treats from her—like the cookies—but since he was in a position to earn more, he felt it only fair that he pay for anything they bought while together.

Society would probably say that she should insist on at least paying her share, but it truly seemed to please him to do that for her.

That day wasn’t any different. He didn’t hesitate to pull out his wallet once everything had been rung through. After he’d paid, Lee handed her the bag with the chips and the bread while he carried the other two bags.

It was a sunny day, but it wasn’t super hot. Just nice and warm. Perfect for spending time out of doors.

“Did you let the others know we weren’t joining them?” she asked as he drove out of the parking lot. “Or should I text Charli?”

“I texted her while I was waiting for you to change. She was disappointed that we weren’t joining them, but she understood.”

“Have you told anyone besides your parents and Gareth what’s been going on?”

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