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Even now, with everything feeling like it was coming down on me, I was still thinking of Danielle. I had no idea why. She probably wouldn’t admit it, but I could feel the wall that she had up with me. I had every intention of calling her this morning and asking her out again. That plan just got scratched.
Sorry Danielle. I don’t want you to think you’ve been forgotten, but I’ve got my hands full.
“Katherine, I appreciate you checking, but I have a lot of things I need to go take care of.”
“I know Robert. You’ve always been here for me, even now, but I wanted to let you know I’m here for you too. Just a phone call away,” she said.
That meant a lot to me. She’ll always be my baby sister, and I’ll always feel the need to watch out for her. Guess you’re practicing for motherhood.
“Thanks, and I’ll call you later,” I said as I heard another call buzzing in. I ended the call with Katherine and picked up the other one.
“This is Robert,” I said, climbing into the Jeep.
“Oh thank God,” Danielle’s voice said, sounding shaky.
I wanted to hear her voice, but not with her sounding…panicked. “Is everything okay?” I asked.
“It is now. I…I woke up from a nightmare and couldn’t go back to sleep. So I turned on the television and that’s when I saw your restaurant burning. I had to make sure you weren’t hurt,” she said.
So you do care.
“I’m okay, and as far as I know, so is everyone else at the restaurant. I was just leaving now to head down there,” I said.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have called. I’m sure you’re very busy,” she stated.
“No. I’m glad you did. I was going to call you later,” I said.
“Why?” she asked.
“I was hoping you’d have dinner with me again tonight, but as you know, things have come up. Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow?” I asked.
There was a longer pause than I’d hoped for, and I was beginning to think she was going to say no.
“Would you like to come here and I’ll cook for you? I know it won’t compare to your chef’s, but it will be edible and quiet,” she stated.
“I’d like that.”
“I’ll text you my address. And Robert, sorry again about your restaurant. I know what it means to you.”
Those words meant more to me than I was going to tell her, more than I wanted to admit to myself. She might have had walls up yesterday, but she was really listening to what I had said. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been out on a date with a someone, and we just talked. She probably realized. “Thank you, Danielle.” I didn’t want to end this call, but once again, someone was buzzing in. Another time, I’d have ignored it. I couldn’t do so today. “Sorry, I got to go. Thanks again, Danielle. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I ended the call and picked up the next one.
“Mr. Bennett?” a man asked.
“Yes, this is Robert Bennett.”
“I’m Sergeant Miller. I’m calling about Bella’s restaurant,” he said.
“I know. It’s on fire. You’re the fourth person who’s called. I was just on my way,” I said.
“We’d appreciate it if you came to the police station instead,” he stated.
“Is there a problem that I’m not aware of?” I asked.
“We’ll tell you when you arrive. When can I expect you?” he asked.
The police station was closer to me than the restaurant. “Fifteen minutes,” I replied.
