“You know how when you are kids and you grow up with family or even Pride members, and you grow particularly close to some of them and share all your innermost thoughts and opinions with them, and then later when you’re an adult and things have shifted to a place you never thought they’d be and those you were particularly close to use those adolescent words to try to remind you of what you’re supposed to still know?”
Kaiser grinned smugly. “Nope. Not a clue.”
“Yeah, you do. And it’s a reminder to me to stop being an open book to some people,” she teased.
“You don’t really mind that I know you that well, do you?” Kaiser asked. “I’m a safe place, even if I know you better than you sometimes. Besides, I’m sure you’re holding some things back and not confiding them at the moment.”
“Maybe,” she said. “But aren’t I allowed that?”
“You absolutely are. As long as you understand that it’s a choice and not a necessity. If and when you do need a sounding board, I’m here. In the meantime, mull over whatever you need to. No judgment here for not coming clean with me.”
“Thank you, Kaiser. I appreciate your understanding.”
He put his hands on the table, still clutching a knife and fork and leaned a little toward her, staring directly into her eyes. “Remember that. Remember this exact moment and exactly what we just discussed.”
She opened her mouth to ask what he meant by that, their server approached their table with two huge sizzling platters, one in each hand, and another server following him with a large serving tray in his hands.
The platters their steaks were served on were metal and obviously heated so that the steaks would sizzle when placed on them. The metal plates were seated in wooden cutouts that held the blisteringly hot metal plates in place. “Your dinners,” he said, putting one in front of each of them. “Be careful not to touch the plates themselves. If you must adjust them, please make contact with the wood only.”
He turned back to the server following him and lifted two smaller white plates filled to almost overflowing with AuGratin potatoes and put them beside their steak platters. He turned back to the tray the second server was still holding and took two bottles of condiments and a gravy boat off the tray. “I’ve brought steak sauce, ketchup, and a gravy boat filled with more sauteed mushrooms in so much melted garlic butter it should be illegal.”
“You’re my hero,” Cristie said, already licking her lips as she reached for her fork and knife to begin cutting into her steak.
He grinned at Cristie. “Best compliment I’ve gotten all evening.” He turned back to the server behind him and took two large glasses of ice water off the tray, putting them beside each dinner plate, then taking a basket of a fresh sliced loaf of Frenchbread off the tray and set it between them. “This is good dipped in the butter, too. Or even the juices of the steak and the butter as you go.”
“You’re a genius, too,” Cristie said.
The server laughed. “Enjoy. I won’t be bothering you all the time, but I’ll be glancing this way from time to time. If you need me, just signal me and I’ll be right here.”
“Thank you very, very much,” Kaiser said genuinely.
“Not a problem, sir. Enjoy.” He quickly left their table, leaving them to enjoy their meals in private without the usual interruption to ask how they were doing and if they needed anything else, making sure that the other server was ahead of him and did not have an excuse to linger.
“I like him,” Kaiser said.
“Me, too,” Cristie said, using a piece of French bread to soak up some of the juices from her steak. “The man knows what he’s talking about with this bread.”
“I might start making reservations and asking for him. I like that he’s pretending that he doesn’t know me.”
“He’s really good at it,” Cristie said, as she cut her first bite off her slab of meat and placed it in her mouth.
“Same as usual?” Kaiser asked.
“Better,” she said around a mouthful.
Kaiser tried his and nodded enthusiastically. “Been a while, but damn, this does taste better than usual.”
“Standing date, twice a month?” Cristie asked.
“At least,” Kaiser agreed.
“You know what else I think?” Cristie asked as she concentrated on cutting bite after bite of her steak and chewing appreciatively.
“What else do you think?” he asked, as he did the same.
“I think that we should trade cars. Yours is easily identified and if anyone tries to track you, they’ll only find me getting outof it. They’ll never be able to track you in mine. They don’t even know what I drive. It’s in my mom’s name. I never bothered to change it to mine. It’s a hardship, but I think I can handle it,” she teased.
Kaiser started chuckling. He nodded at her and winked.
