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Quintessa gives me a knowing look and says, “Yes. I’m busy doing all of that. What he said.”
“Do you have children?”
“No,” Quintessa answers, “But I—we—want children.”
“That’s good for you,” Olivia replies. “We never had any, but Paul has three boys from his previous marriage.”
“Well, I was an only child, so I want at least three, maybe even four,” Quintessa tells her.
I purposely stay out of the conversation and let the womenfolk talk and establish a rapport.
After Paul has had his share of the appetizers, he says, “There’s something about children that keeps you young.”
“Is that right?” I ask, “Because when I see people with children, they look like they’re on the verge of a breakdown.”
Paul and Oliva chuckle.
“It’s like that when they’re young,” Paul explains. “It’s not a walk in the park by any means, but trust me, when they’re older and you get to help mold them into adulthood or prepare them to take over the company, it’s a lot better.”
The waiter comes back to take our food orders. Paul orders grilled elk. Olivia opts for the roasted chicken breast. I get the cast iron filet and Quintessa orders the steamed jumbo shrimp and cheddar cheese grits.
Paul talks briefly about his company and where he sees it going in the next ten years. I discuss DePaul & Company – how we’re expanding and have talks of opening another office on the West coast.
“That’s awesome,” Paul says. He raises his glass and says, “To growth.”
We all grab our glasses, raise them and say, “To growth.”
The entrees arrive shortly thereafter.
Quintessa dives in right away, tasting the grits and telling me how good they are. I can hardly eat listening to her moan and carry on about how good the food is. Then she does something that has me wishing we were home. She dips one of the jumbo shrimp in the grits and sucks the cheesy grits off of it. She does this several times before she eats the thing.
I glance up at Paul and Olivia. They’re too busy with their own entrees to see how Quintessa’s eating.
I lean over and whisper to her, “What are you doing?”
“I’m eating. What are you doing, handsome?”
“I’m watching you make love to that shrimp.”
She snorts a little laugh, covers her mouth and attempts to make herself stop laughing.
Olivia says, “So, how did you two meet?”
Quintessa looks at me then returns her attention to Olivia, saying, “We met in high school.”
“Oh, how lovely,” Olivia raves. “Were you high school sweethearts?”
“Well, not exactly,” I say.
Quintessa adds, “We were friends. You wouldn’t believe this now, but back then, Essex was quiet and shy.”
“You don’t say,” Paul says.
Quintessa sucks grits off another shrimp and says, “Yes, he was. And I was always enamored by him, but he never knew that. It wasn’t until years later that we reconnected.”
“And now you’re married,” Olivia says.
“Yes, now we’re married…don’t know what I would do without him.”
