Page 54 of When Morning Comes Around

He nodded. “Not that I don’t enjoy your company, you know that I do. But…” He glanced at Sadie.

“But I’m nowhere near as pretty as Sadie, and it’s bad enough that neither of you has a place of your own. You’ll take her out soon enough, I’m sure. But for tonight, you can pretend that the kitchen is a fancy ass restaurant.” He chuckled. “You’ve got the food, if not the ambience.”

In the kitchen, he was pleased that Sadie let him plate up the food while she fixed the drinks. He liked feeling that they were working together rather than her treating him as a guest.

Once she had Harvey set up with his meal on a lap tray, and a beer on the end table beside them, he shooed them away.

“And close the door behind you, would you?”

Sadie looked ready to argue, but he added, “I don’t need to hear the sound of you two talking over my TV.”

Dominic laughed, and Harvey winked at him.

When they were settled at the table in the kitchen, he raised his glass to her.

She tapped hers against it with a puzzled smile. “What are we drinking to?”

None of the words that came to him felt right. He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Rather than looking disappointed, as he’d feared, she looked relieved. “I like that. I couldn’t think of anything that we couldsay as a toast that seemed fitting.” She smiled and tapped her glass against his again. “Here’s to not knowing.”

He held her gaze. “To not knowing, and also to finding out.”

He loved the way her pupils dilated as she nodded.

“So, what’s the plan now that you’re home?” he asked as they ate.

She gave him a wry smile. “Remember what we were saying about not knowing?”

“No plans, no ideas?”

She shrugged. “Lots of ideas, but I can’t really make any plans yet.”

“Why’s that?”

She blew out a sigh. “You know; I have to extricate myself from my old life before I can really start a new one.”

He frowned, wondering if she meant that she wasn’t over her ex yet.

She glanced toward the door. “Dad thinks that I should go hard on the divorce. It’s not that I don’t want to, but I’m more interested in just being done with the whole thing, you know? Putting it behind me.”

“I can understand it. But there’s a middle ground between going hard and getting walked on – taken advantage of. Don’t let him take advantage of you, Sadie.”

She nodded sadly. “I think letting him take advantage became something of a habit. It was easier to go along with what he wanted than to stand up for what I wanted.”

“I thought as much, that’s why I said it.”

“Anyway.” She smiled brightly. “If we’re calling this a date, I don’t think that’s exactly first date appropriate conversation. You were asking what I plan to do now. The only reason I brought that up is because the divorce will kind of dictate my finances.” She rolled her eyes. “And that sounds even less like first date appropriate conversation, doesn’t it? Way to go, Sadie!”

He chuckled. “It’s okay. I think the first date is about getting to know each other. It’s hard to get to know each other if we don’t talk about what’s going on in our lives.”

“True. But still. I guess what I was trying to say is that I might need to find a job. Even if it’s only something part-time for a while. I’m going to need to rent a place of my own.”

That took him by surprise. “You don’t intend to stay here?”

She chuckled. “I’d consider it, but he really doesn’t want me here.”

“Are you sure?”

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