Page 11 of Healing Hazel
Well, she had me there. “That’s right, sorry, by all means, enjoy.”
“I will.” She gave me a brief smile a moment before the next spoonful was eaten and when she removed the top bun from what remained of Hazel’s bastardized burger and used the same spoon to scoop up a mound of cheesy pasta, I just stared. And when she then reached for two tater tots and dropped them into the glass and covered them with what little whipped cream remained, I managed to keep my shudder to myself. But when she spooned one up and put it into her mouth, I couldn’t keep quiet.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
One finger lifted to indicate I’d need to wait a moment for her to chew and swallow before she said, “Duh, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.”
It wasn’t so much the answer, but the tone in which it was delivered that gave me pause. It was spoken as if she believed it was either the stupidest question ever asked or she thought I was incapable of comprehending such a simple concept. I wasn’t a fan of either choice.
This time she used her fingertips to dig into the whipped cream and retrieve what I was positive had to be a totally soaked and completely inedible potato puff. I actually drew back when she reached across the table in an attempt to reach my mouth. “Try it!”
“No thanks, I prefer my hash browns to be crispy and brown rather than soggy and whatever color that is.”
“Party pooper,” she said with a shrug. “Your loss as everyone knows hash browns are for breakfast, tots are for supper anddipping into ice cream.” She popped the sodden mess into her mouth and dropped another pair of tots in the melting shake.
Funny how I’d never really had to consider dinner conversation before, but I suppose that just meant that there had been actual conversation involved. Even when Hazel was teasing me about the fare of my homeland, I’d not felt the need to examine every response before I gave it. And it wasn’t like my career choice didn’t involve chatting with women as it most definitely did and was an aspect I normally enjoyed. But for the life of me, I had absolutely no clue how to talk to the woman sitting across from me.
Even when all thetotswere eaten and the spoon began to clink against the insides of the glass instead of sliding silently through chocolate ice cream, all I could think of was that I must be totally clueless as I’d never considered myself switching dinner partners in the middle of dinner. Still when Sadie sat back and I saw the last of the whipping cream hadn’t quite made it into her mouth, I managed to say, “You missed a bit.”
“Huh?”
“Whipped cream? You missed a bit.”
Sadie bent over the glass and then looked up at me. “No I didn’t, it’s all gone.”
“I mean, you’ve got a bit on your upper lip.”
“Oh, then why didn’t you just say I had a mustache?”
Why not indeed? When I couldn’t come up with an answer that wouldn’t sound sexist or just plain ridiculous, she shook her head, grabbed a napkin and scrubbed her mouth.
“Gone?”
Before I could confirm she’d gotten it all, a new voice had my gaze snapping to the side to see Julie holding a tray on which two bags sat.
“Sadie? I wondered where you were, and so does your Daddy. Master Derek called to ask if you’d come by yet and I was aboutto tell him I hadn’t seen you when I happened to look over here. At first I thought you were Hazel.” She turned her head slightly to ask me, “You did come in here with Hazel, right?”
Now why did that make me feel like some heel who abandoned his date only to grab another gal at the dance?
“Right, but?—”
“So? What happened?”
That’s what I’d like to know,” I said, taking advantage of her need to take a breath before asking another question.
“Hazel left,” Sadie said as if that hadn’t been totally shocking.
Evidently it wasn’t as Julie just nodded.
“Oh, okay, well, I think you’d better go too. Your Daddy sounded a bit hangry. I’ve got your order all packed up and ready to go.”
“Thanks, Julie,” Sadie said, plucking the bags off the tray after sliding out of the booth.
When it became apparent she was about to pull a Hazel and simply walk out without explanation, I finally found my voice.
“Just a minute! Where do you think you’re going?”
“To have dinner.”
