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“This does suck. It’s raining too hard to go anywhere so we’re stuck here without power.”
“Too early to start drinking too,” she says. This would be the perfect type of day to lay around with your man. Except I don’t have a man and if I did, he isn’t even on the island.
“I wonder if Chase is back yet.” My roll lands me on B&O Railroad. Thank the Lord she didn’t purchase that. I pass. I need to save my money for more important property.
“Why don’t you go check?”
“Dressed like this, are you crazy?”
“If he’s attracted to you in sweats, you’ve got a keeper.” Her smile is bright. I think she’s laughing at me. I give her a death stare. She’s right, though. The only way to find out if he’s back is to go over there.
Remembering I didn’t bring an umbrella, I grab a plastic bag, cover my head and run out the front door down and around the walk to his door. Thank the Lord he’s next door. I knock and wait. And wait. I knock again but nothing. Either everyone is still sleeping from a late night of partying, or they went out. I run back to the house.
“So?” Brenda inquires. She is now on Boardwalk. Damn, I never get to own that property.
“No answer.” I’m trying not to feel affronted.
“The weather is horrible, and the bay is really choppy. Maybe he hasn’t been able to come back yet.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I miss him, more than I should. He’s really gotten under my skin the past few days. Brenda is right. I need to stop stressing myself out worrying about what everyone else will think and just go for it. Chase could be my shining knight, or he could be a welcome distraction. I need to give him the benefit of the doubt, as well as myself.
“We still have battery power in the Bose, and my iPod is fully charged. At least there’s music,” I say encouraged. She just stares at me. Finally, she rolls her eyes, shrugs, and settles in to the couch.
“So pick something upbeat. The weather is depressing enough. Don’t make your music choice make me want to kill myself.” She gives a flamboyant wave toward the Bose. I grab my iPod and scroll down the song list. She wants upbeat, she’ll get upbeat. I click on my dance mix folder and select random then hit play. Kat DeLuna starts off the mix with “Stars.” Now that is an upbeat song. I flop down on the other side of the couch and tap my feet while we continue the never-ending game.
After five hours of Monopoly with no end in sight, and two bottles of wine later, the power finally comes back on around dinner. Good thing, because my Bose and iPod died a couple of hours ago, and I can’t play any more Monopoly. It’s still raining out, but the wind has died down and the lightning is less frequent. You can almost see the sun trying to peek out from behind the clouds.
“We could make a run for the Casino Café for dinner,” I suggest.
“Anything is better than staying here. I need to get out,” Brenda whines.
“Alright, but we can’t go dressed like this,” I wave in the direction of my sweats. She nods her head in agreement and goes to change. I follow suit.
Now that we no longer look like vagrants, we head over to the Casino Café, the restaurant side of the bar. It’s pretty busy. I guess everyone had the same idea as we did. I put our name on the waiting list. Since it’s raining, we can’t sit outside, so we take a seat at the bar and wait for a table to open up.
Looking over the drink menu takes no time, there aren’t too many choices. I order a bottle of Charles Krug, Napa Sauvignon Blanc and ask for a dinner menu.
It’s not a big place, therefore, not too many choices for dinner. I decide on either the lobster roll or fish tacos. Brenda is opting for the pear and pecan salad.
Approximately one hour and a bottle of wine later, we are seated. It made the waitress’s job easy since we ordered as soon as we sat down. I favored the fish tacos over the lobster roll.
“I’m going back tomorrow,” Brenda announces.
“You are?” I’m a bit surprised.
“I came to make sure you were okay, and you look fine to me now.”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Good. I need to do a few things at home before I go back to work.”
“I think I might head back early too, not much else to do here.”
“Let me know when. I can find room on the schedule to fit you in if you want.”
“Maybe, we’ll see,” I murmur, not quite sure if I’m ready to go back to Anthony’s. There are too many regulars who know Evan, or at least have seen us together. Evan spent way too much time at the restaurant. He would come in after his construction jobs if I was working, have a few beers, and talk to my regulars. I should just rip the band-aid off so to speak rather than a little at a time. Get it over with.
Our dinner comes quick considering how crowded it is. It looks fantastic. We dive in since now we’re starving. It is delicious.
