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“Are you saying I need to?”
He laughed. “No. But I need to. I just didn’t want to use up the hot water if we were both going to shower.” He thought about conserving water in a fun and interesting way, then dismissed the thought. He’d be keeping that to himself.
“I don’t need to shower. Go take a long hot one. We’ll go when you’re ready.”
“Okay. Think about where you want to go.”
She smiled. “Like there are a lot of choices.”
“How’s the Mexican place?”
“Pretty good, actually.”
“Let’s go there.”
“Okay.”
John gathered his clean clothes, then went to take a shower. He didn’t stay in too long, though, because he was anxious to spend the evening with Ember. Just because it’d be wrong to take the next step, it didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy spending time with her.
They drove into town and parked in the lot of the Mexican restaurant. It was privately owned, as were all the businesses in town. The city council upheld the will of the people of Schaeffer Mills to not let in any corporations or franchises. It made for a great small town, down home feel that the tourists seemed to appreciate. It wasn’t a well-known spot, it was more of a hidden gem. And when someone did discover it, they tended to come back year after year. John had grown quite fond of it.
He got out of the truck and went around to open Ember’s door, but she’d already gotten out.
He frowned at her. “You make it hard to be a gentleman.”
“Sorry.”
He took her arm. “Come on. I think you need a margarita after all that yoga.”
“Are you having one?”
“No. I might have a shot of tequila, though.”
“Hmm. Adventurous.”
He opened the door, and as he went through it, he got the pain above his eye again. It wasn’t as severe as the first time, but he stopped walking and put a hand to his head.
“John?”
“I’m okay.” He rubbed his temple. “I saw her face again.”
“The older woman?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s get you to a table.” She took his arm and went to the hostess desk. “My friend needs to sit down. He’s feeling a little dizzy.”
The hostess nodded and took them right to a table. John took a seat, and Ember sat across from him, then reached over and took his hand. “Is it going away?”
“Yeah.” The hostess brought some water and John took a drink. “Sorry. I don’t know what it is about her that makes my head hurt.”
“There must be a reason.”
“I don’t know what it’d be.”
“Was her face any clearer?”
“Yeah. She was smiling at me. But I feel like I was a child. I think maybe she’s my grandmother.”
