I woke the next morning to bright sunshine and the smell of fresh coffee. I followed the scent and found that my ankle felt considerably better. "So far, so good, I murmured to myself as I carefully limped down the stairs.
As I passed by the side porch, I heard the sound of the washer and dryer running. Someone Brian, most likely-had already attended to the laundry. In the kitchen Brian stood at the gas cooker, cooking scrambled eggs. His hair was damp from his shower and he was dressed in clean clothes--his own clothes apparently, a pair of faded, well-fittng jeans hat hung from his slim hips like a magazine ad for masculine appeal, I thought His cotton-knit shirt looked incredibly soft, emphasizing his wide shoulders and muscular arms .The color was distinctive not quite red and not really what I'd call burgundy It was a shade of fabric perhaps best described as simply...expensive, I decided. Whatever you'd call it, it looked great with his darlk hair and eyes. The boat shoes on his feet were appropriately casual and sporty... if he were out on a friend's yacht in Newport, I thought. I couldn't wait to take him to town, where 99 percent of the men would be wearing either cowboy boots or work boots. Had anyone around here even seen such shoes? she wondered.
He glanced at me briefly as I entered the room and then dropped with a sigh into the closest chair. He poured a mug of coffee and set it down in front of me
"Cream and sugar?" he asked politely.
"Just black is fine," I replied, taking a testing sip
"Hope you like strong coffe, he said, turning back to his cooking. Strong coffee and stubborn men had always been her weakness. But I didn't tell him that. The coffee was good.
Maybe even better than my own.
"Just the way I like it," was all I said.
"So far, so good, then." The toast popped browned to perfection. He placed it on a dish, then slathered on some butter "Looks as if you got up early."
"With the birds Saw a beautilul sunrise walking out to my car to pick up a few thing"
He'd hiked out to his car and back already? Now that was enterprising, I thought And would explain the outfit.
"How about Noah, does he get a ride to school or take a bus?" Brian asked.
A bus stops at the end of the drive at about half past seven. I checked the time. It was a little past six-thirty. Noah soon appeared in the doorway, rubbing his sleepy eyes behind his glasses. Brian greeted him cheerfully as he dished out the eggs, then set the toast, jelly and juice on the table.
"This looks good." Noah took his seat and began to eat his breakfast. I watched, thinking that It was funny how my son was never pleased to see my scrambled eggs in the morning and always insisted on cold cereal
"I was thinking, Mom," he said thoughtfully as he chewed, "maybe I ought to stay home today from school to help you."
My son gave me his sweet, innocent look and l knew exactly what he was up to. Anything to get a day off from school
"That's okay, Noah. Brian will be here. You'll have plenty to do l'm sure when he's gone."
"How long are you going to stay?" Noah asked as Brian took a seat next to him
"Oh..that depends on what the doctor tells your mom he answered, glancing at me. "A few days, I guess."
"Cool," Noah jammed his mouth with a slice of toast
Brian smiled at him, clearly pleased by the boy's response. I was pleased, too. I rarely dated and never brought men home to meet Noah. He had so little masculine influence in his life, and it woried me sometimes. I could see how, in just a single day, Noah was trying to soak up all the manly energy from Brian his little body could absorb. Why, I thought I even noticed Noah sitting a little taller in his chair, holding his knife and fork a little differently as he mirrored Brian's every move.
Then I worried if this was indeed a good thing, allowing Noah to get attached to Brian. He'd be here a few days, and who knows when we'd see him again? Noah will feel let down when he goes, I realized. And so willI....
"Can I get you anything else, Olivia ?" Brian pleasant voice cut into my thoughts. "More toast maybe? You barely touched your eggs. Would you like me to tost them differently."
"Uh, no, thanks, I said politely. I'm just not very hungry this morning."
"How's your ankle? Does It hurt much this morning? he asked solicitously"
"I feels a lot better. And the swelling is down, " I answered, holding out my leg for him to see. "But I guess I should still see a doctor."
"I insist," Brian replied. He stood up and began clearing off the table. "I'll take you over as soon as you get dressed."
With Noah's help. I climbed upstairs again and went into my room to dress. As I stood in front of my closet, trying to decide what to wear, I heard Brian on the phone downstairs, speaking to the rental car company and taking care of his other personal business. I knew he was making some sacrificein order to stay here with me, and I cer-tainly planned to thank him. But I also planned to make it clear that I neither expected-nor wanted-his help beyond today. I finally chose a short skirt again, a dark-blue-and-peach floral pattern which I wore with a peach tank top and a bunch of silver bangles. The peach color complemented her complexion, I thought, feeling pleased as I applied a dash of makeup and perked up my hairdo with my fingertips. But I wasn't dressing up for Brian, I told herself. Not at all. It was just easier to dress in a skirt for the doctor's exam. And I planned to look in at the store and needed to look professional. However, there was no doubt that Brian was pleased with her appearance, when I appeared a few minutes later in the living room.
He was seated On the rocking chair, reading a copy of the local newspaper that was a few days old. He suddenly sat up, staring at me. His eyebrows rose, his mouth hung open.
His swilt glance took me in, from my damp tousled hair to the low heeled leather sandals on her feet
"Wow, you look great," he complimented.
"I clean up well," I said modestly. I found my purse on the antique coatrack in the foyer. "Ready to go?"
"If you are, he replied. He stepped toward me and gallantly opened the door. "Shall I help you down the steps? he offered.
"I think I can make it,'" I said, holding on to the porch rail. Brian quickly went to the bottom of the steps and waited for me. He was looking me over again, I could just tell. It was flattering in a way, but definitely made me feel self-conscious.
"You do look very nice," he said again as we sat side by side in my truck. The truck started up without a problem, and they headed for the main road.