Page 21 of Southern Comfort
“I’m still working on this one,” she says, bringing the glass to her lovely lips.
Lovely? Who are you, man?
“I’m good too. Will you bring the wine list, please?” I say.
The girl takes the list from under the menus and hands it to me. I scan the choices.
“I want a good dry Riesling. Like this 2019 Gonnhoff Estate.”
“Yes. That is an excellent choice.”
“Do you have any favorites, Kim?”
“I know very little about wines. You pick.”
I look to the server and nod. “We’ll have a bottle with dinner,” I say, returning the menu to her hands.
“Very good.”
And she’s off. Thank God. I don’t want to do anything but listen to, stare at, and fantasize about the girl across the table.
“I thought she’d never leave.”
“What?” She asks the question but her grin says she understood my meaning.
“We’re having too good a time talking. Everything else is an annoying interruption. Right?”
“Right.”
There wasn’t hesitation. I like that. It is encouraging.
“Tell me about Memphis. How long have you been there?”
“Three years. I was in Nashville before that. It took time to get to a place that felt right. Just bought my first house there.”
“How great. I’ve been in my home for years, and don’t expect that will change for awhile at least.”
“He just finished his first year?”
Her eyebrows knit.
“Yes. I’m not sure it’s for him though. In fact I think it may not be. His grades are good, but he just isn’t warming to it. I don’t know how much longer he’ll last.”
“It isn’t for everyone. I went for a year then dropped out.”
“I didn’t go at all.” She chuckles. “That’s part of the reason I want him to have the experience. I understand it’s about what you learn and how you learn. But it’s also about the last of real youth. The four years before you are required to be an adult with adult responsibilities. I just don’t want him to miss that.”
“I guess no one but Hunter will know what’s right for him.”
“I know. My thing is to keep our home as a touchstone. Especially before he finds his direction.”
Our crispy garden rolls arrive and the server takes away my empty martini glass. I pick up the conversation.
“I still love coming back to my parents’ place.”
“How come you left Smyrna and your family? Were you bored with the small town atmosphere?”
“Bored? No. Hardly. I just wanted to be somewhere new. Where everybodydidn’tknow my name.”
