Page 23 of Sweet Somethings

"I'd like to be back. Anything new with anyone?"

"Jimmy got himself engaged."

"What?" he asked with a laugh. "Again?" Jimmy had been engaged three times in the five years Roman had known him.

"You know Jimmy. He falls in love every other day."

"And out of love, just as fast."

"True, but he thinks this one will stick."

"I hope it does."

"I gotta run. Let me know what happens after you see the doc."

"I will. Stay safe, Cole."

"Always."

As he slipped his phone back into his pocket, his gaze returned to the water, but he wasn't seeing the scene in front of him; he was seeing Cole and his buddies playing cards to pass the time, running drills, passing out soccer balls to kids, rebuilding a school, getting ready for their next mission. So many memories—both good and bad. He should be with them, but he wasn't.

Letting out a sigh, he told himself to stay in the moment and stop dwelling on what he couldn't control or predict. He turned away from the view. He needed a distraction…maybe some food.

Spying a café down the road, he quickened his steps, and a few minutes later he was sitting at the counter of the Sea Bird Café.

A cheerful woman named Ruth took his order for a bowl of turkey chili and a salad, which he ate while watching a basketball game on the television behind the counter.

"Are you new in town?" Ruth asked, as she cleared his empty plates.

"Not exactly. I lived here a long time ago; now I'm back."

"Welcome home. Are you going to the movie fest tonight?"

"I don't know what that is."

She looked at him as if he'd just crawled out from under a rock. "You must not have been back in town long if you haven't heard about the film festival. It starts tonight in the town square. They put up a big screen, and they'll be showing romantic movies the next two nights. Tomorrow, they'll also be having a costume contest for best romantic couple in history. My boyfriend and I are going as Rose and Jack from Titanic."

"That sounds…" he could hardly say really bad, so he settled for, "like fun."

She laughed. "The look on your face matches the one my boyfriend gave me when I showed him our costumes the other day."

"Doesn't Jack die, and Rose ends up with someone else?"

"Yes, but they still had the love story of a lifetime, and he died for her. What greater love can you have than that?"

He could not argue her point.

"My boyfriend is being a good sport," she continued. "Of course, he agreed, because if he wants to keep getting lucky, he has to put in a little work ahead of time," she said with a mischievous smile.

He grinned back at her. "I suspect he'll do whatever is necessary."

"I suspect he will, too. Are you married?"

"Nope," he said, seeing the interested gleam enter her eyes.

"That will make a lot of single women in this town very happy."

He finished off his beer and then put enough cash on the table to give Ruth a generous tip.

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