Page 4 of A Thistle Beyond Time
Chapter 2
Cormac and Dylan made themselves comfortable in a corner booth of Joe’s Diner, a local watering hole.
“Let’s order some food first and then we’ll talk,” Dylan suggested.
“Aye.” Cormac looked uncomfortable as he examined everything – from the booth, to the glasses, to the floor and ceiling.
“Here.” Dylan handed Cormac a menu, but instead of reading it, he just held it in his hand.
“No diners where you’re from?”
“Diners?”
“That’s what this place is. It’s a diner.”
“Nay. I’ve not been to adiner.” Cormac carefully pronounced the word.
“Okay. Well, that’s the menu in your hand. You order your food from it.”
Cormac took a deep breath and continued to look around.
Dylan wasn’t sure what was going on. “I’ll order for both of us. I’m pretty hungry and I’d guess you are, too.”
“Hey, Dylan, long time no see.” A pretty young waitress stood at their booth ready to take their orders.
“Oh, hey, Sophia. How’s it going?”
“Okay, I guess. You never called me,” she said, staring daggers at him.
“Oh, yeah, I’m sorry. I just got really busy helping Jenna out, you know.”
“Right.” She didn’t believe him. He could tell. “Who’s your friend,” she asked not hiding her interest.
“This is Cormac.”
Cormac stood and gave her a slight bow. He took her hand, brought it to his lips and said, “’Tis an honor to meet ye, lass.”
Sophia’s legs appeared to go wobbly and she looked a little flustered, so Cormac steadied her to keep her from falling. She fanned herself with the order pad and started to walk away.
“Aren’t you going to take our order, Sophia,” Dylan asked.
“Oops. Sorry. What can I get you, Cormac?” She smiled and batted her lashes at him, ignoring Dylan.
Dylan ordered enough food to feed a family of six and as they waited, he decided there was no time like the present to find out what Cormac was all about, but before he could ask his first question, Cormac had one of his own.
“What have ye done to that poor lass that has angered her so?”
“You picked up on that, huh? I made the mistake of going on a date with her. She’s really pretty, you know, but we didn’t have any chemistry. So I never called her for a second date. I guess she expected I would.”
“Chemistry. What is chemistry?”
“Really?”
Cormac continued staring at him, waiting for a reply.
“Chemistry is like when you have this immediate connection with someone. You just hit it off right away.”
“I’m sorry, Dylan. I’m not verra good with yer twenty-first century American language. Ashley speaks it all the time and I’ve come to understand most of what she says, but there is always something new to learn.”
