daughter,” I said.
“Bring her, too. I like kids. Both of my sisters are married. I’m a great uncle. My nieces and nephews love me,” he said. “We could all go to dinner and a movie.”
I thought for a moment.
“Why don’t you join us instead? We usually have dinner at Mrs. Franklin’s house on Sunday. We could see a movie. Then walk to Mrs. Franklin’s. I can let her know beforehand that there will be one more head at the table.
“Whatever you like,” he said. “Um, I have a meeting first thing tomorrow and I’ve noticed your Friday nights are hectic. I’ll be back for lunch on Saturday.”
“Sure. See you then,” I replied.
Chapter 7
Sunday, Regina spent the morning picking out what she thought I would look best in for our movie date with Mitchell. She went through half the clothes in my closet before settling on an ankle-length black maxi dress with a red denim jacket. I wore my hair down and loosely curled. She wore her favorite jeans and a nice shirt with her winter jacket. She brushed her hair into two nice puffs with ribbon on each.
We had a snack before we walked to the theater, so we wouldn’t be hungry there. As we walked she asked me questions about Mitch, but there was only so much I could tell her besides what he seemed to like to order.
“I don’t think he will mind if you want to ask him questions and get to know him,” I said as we approached the theater.
“Well, I can’t ask him much during the movie,” she said.
“You have before the movie, the walk to Mrs. Franklin’s, and dinner,” I replied.
“It’s okay. I have narrowed it down to the three most important questions. His answers will tell me all I need to know,” she said.
“And, what are the three questions that are so all-telling,” I asked.
“Well first, what is his favorite movie and why. If it’s character related, I figure he cares about people, since he took the time to notice. You’d like that. If it is plot driven, he’s a thinker. I’ll like that. Anything else, he’s at the hands of fate.”
“Okay, what is the second?” I asked.
“I’ll ask what his usual tip is when he goes out. I want to see how much of an exception he is making for you and if he is generally nice anyway,” she said.
“That’s clever. What is the last question?” I said.
She had apparently given my love life and Mitchell a lot of thought.
“Easy. I will ask if he loves you,” she said nonchalantly.
“Isn’t it a little soon for that?” I asked.
“Not really. You and Daddy knew when you first met, and you were three. You two are grown and have had almost two weeks. Some things you just know,” she said.
We reached the theater and Mitchell was already there waiting. He had a rose for me and a small bouquet of miniature roses for Regina. She thanked him as he handed them to her and introduced himself. She admired them a moment, then shook his hand.
“So, what are we seeing today?” she asked.
“I thought you could pick. If what you want doesn’t start for a while, we can entertain ourselves in the arcade,” he relied.
“Sounds good. I like that you plan loosely. Prepared, but with room for structured spontaneity,” she replied.
“Did I forget to mention that she is eleven going on thirty-five? Anyway,
Marc Nager, Clint Nelsen, Franck Nouyrigat