“Wow, I didn’t realize we’d have a view too.” She leaned forward, scanning the horizon. “It’s so beautiful.”
He nodded slowly. “I’ve always loved the mountains.”
“I never knew I did until now.”
The hostess brought ice water and menus to the table. “Your waitress will be with you shortly. The specials are on the wall over there.”
“Thank you.” Natalie read the specials out loud to Paul. “Let’s see, today’s specials are a tomato basil soup with half of a chicken and Brie sandwich, chicken and artichoke pizza, or stir-fried vegetables over rice.”
“I’ll have the soup and sandwich special,” he said.
“Sounds like two.”
The waitress must’ve overheard them because she was right over to take their order and off to the kitchen just as quickly.
“So, have you always lived in Chestnut Ridge?” Natalie asked.
He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands on the table in front of him. “Not at all. Started out here, though. I was born in Chestnut Ridge,” he said. “Grew up there. Lived there until I went away to college.”
“And you came back after college?” She remembered Orene saying something about that.
“I did. With a law degree and the most beautiful girl I’d ever met on my arm, too.”
“That sounds romantic.”
His face lit up. “It was. She owned my heart. In those days, you married a woman before living with her. I had a commitment to the town to practice law in Chestnut Ridge for a period of time. No matter how much I loved her, I couldn’t move to where she lived, and I couldn’t imagine leaving her behind.”
“Did she like it here?”
“She did. She was one of those people that saw the beauty in everything. I think she’d have been happy anywhere.”
“That’s lovely.”
His eyes danced. “Everyone loved her. There was no denying her sparkle.”
“Do you have a picture?”
“Of course.” He leaned forward and pulled a worn black leather wallet from his back pocket. The photo inserts had yellowed so badly you could barely see the pictures through the plastic. His knobby fingers worked a small picture from one of the holders and passed it to her across the table.
“Oh my gosh!” She looked at him and then at the picture again. “You look like a Hollywood couple. She was gorgeous.” She handed the photograph back to him. “And you wereveryhandsome!”
He chuckled. “It was a long, long time ago. Funny you should mention Hollywood, because I did end up there. I’ll have to tell you all about it sometime.”
“I’d like that.”
The waitress brought their lunch, and they ate, enjoying the quiet company.
Paul insisted on paying for their lunches, so she let him, but she’d be careful of that in the future. She’d hate for anyone to think she was using her position to mooch off of clients.
“I’ll leave the tip,” she said to him at the register, then went back to the table to do so.
When she returned, he’d already walked to the door, heading to the car.
It only took a couple of minutes to get buckled up and back on the road.
They drove for about fifteen minutes when he broke the silence. “Why did you move to Chestnut Ridge?”
She’d answered that question before. Maybe he’d forgotten. “My husband owned a cabin there.” She knew she couldn’t just leave that open-ended like that. “I lost him in a car accident a few years ago.” The exact number of days calculated in her brain, like they always did.
