"No, not really.
Saturday, I guess ..." bewildered responds Annie trying to remember
if there is any significance to the day.
"Of course you know" teases Elliot taking her hand
"It's a very special day for us".
"ummm" sighs Annie not sure of any event to mark
the date "Let me think ..."
"You're kidding me!" retorts Elliot "It's been
three months since we met again in New York!"
"Oh ... I didn't realize it, sorry" states Annie a
little flushed that it would have been a milestone to him since they've been
going out together as friends "I'll have to put it in my calendar so I
remember the it next time it rolls around again."
"Well, today we are celebrating" informs Elliot
not deterred by her lack of memory of dates "I'm taking you to my favorite
Peruvian restaurant."
Recalling sweet memories, Annie smiles "I'd love too! Are we going there now?"
"Yes, I thought we would start there and spend the rest
of the day together" suggests Elliot having thoughtfully organized the day
for the two of them.
"Let me just grab my coat and I'll be right back"
offers Annie quickly heading towards the other room.
Noticing in the mirror her lack of fashion accents, she
looks into her jewelry box on the dresser and finds the long looped red and
green beaded earrings that Beatriz made for her at the children's home as a
parting gift. Holding the earrings in
the palm of her hand, she tenderly smiles and says a silent prayer for the
children, Harriett, and Major Smith at the home.
"I'm just about ready" she calls out to Elliot
patiently waiting in the other room. Her
thoughts linger and she wonders how Rick is getting along. Thinking sadly to herself, "He must be
engaged by now, it's really time for me to move on."
While attempting to pick up her purse, it accidently tips
over and out of the side pocket falls the most recent postcard Rick sent to her
a couple of weeks ago. It was friendly
and warm with news of current events but devoid of any personal impressions of
anything more than friendship towards her.
After tracing the signature slowly with her fingertips, she gently
places it in the top drawer of her dresser and shuts it with a firm hand.
As they walk towards the subway, Elliot is very chatty about
recent conversations in his life with influential people around the city. He tells her of his new wardrobe and how
impressive he looks wearing it. He repeats many of the charming stories he has
told several times before. Annie encourages
him but her thoughts remain elsewhere.
As the trek up the sloped sidewalk, Elliot places his hand
on the small of her back to make sure she doesn't slip on the wet concrete
among the overcrowded walkway.
"It's just up a handful of blocks, it won't take us long to get
there."
Moving past a floral shop on the corner, Annie senses fill
with the scent of orchids which remind her of Peru. Looking over, she sees baskets filled with
colorful orchids of maize, mauve, and violet and notices also the magenta-hanging
belled flowers with a sunburst in the center.
The Cantuta daintily mixes in as accents amongst the buckets of orchids. She tenderly remembers gathering the wild
flowers on an outing with the children and then keeping the collection fresh in
a paper Dixie cup to decorate her simple room for the summer.
"Would you like to carry a few with you for the
day?" asks Elliot noticing how much the flowers seem to be affecting her.
"No, thank you.
They just bring back some memories" responds Annie quickly boxing
those sweet moments in to recall at a later time.
"Just wait a minute" as Elliot walks into the
store leaving her alone to peruse the other options of flowers.
Quietly Annie picks up a single orchid in her hand inhaling
the fragrance as it sooths her thoughts.
She looks over at Elliot through the window and notices he has a small
bouquet in his hand. He is chatting with
the young woman in the somewhat rather long line behind him. She notices that he is taking out his phone
while she seems to be repeating a number to him.
Sighing, Annie shakes her head and is grateful that her
feelings have not moved any deeper beyond friendship towards him in spite of
his attention and mock devotion.
"Here, I got these just for you!" exclaims Elliot
handing her a small wild flower bouquet and quickly giving her a light kiss on
the cheek.
"Well, thank you very much! They brighten my day!" sincerely
responds Annie holding the bouquet between both her hands and taking a moment
to breathe in the beautiful kaleidoscope of scents.
As they near their destination, Annie can hear rhythmic
drums and flutes with a familiar beat and tune. She can feel her feet
unintentionally move to the rhythm of some of the traditional dances the
children taught to her over the past summer. She giggles to herself knowing
that her uncoordinated ability to dance left a lot to be desired but the
attempt was greatly appreciated.
"What are you doing?" curiously asks Elliot noticing
that Annie is moving in an unusually slightly awkward way.
"I'm just having fun, trying to remember how the kids
taught me to dance" replies Annie and then more sincerely with some
laughter "I wasn't a very good student as you can see".
Placing his arm around her in a shoulder hug, Elliot laughs
with her and attempts to mimic some of her moves as well which amuses both of
them.
"Please come this way" offers the hostess carrying
two green leather bound menus and guiding them to a quiet corner table.
The waiter greets them with "Hola! Como estas esta
tarde?"
"Muy bien, muchos gracias." replies Elliot with
his limited knowledge of Spanish and then burying himself within the folds of
the menu hoping there are no more further questions to answer.
After chatting some with the waiter about the menu choices,
Annie orders her meal in Spanish that she was eventually able to pick up and
recall from her service corps experience.
"Well, I hope what you ordered for me is good"
teases Elliot not very daring where food is concerned but wanting to please
Annie.
"I think you'll like it, if not I'll trade you"
offers Annie feeling quite a home there and placing a finger on her cheek as
her earring dangles against her hand while noticing the decorations and
atmosphere of the restaurant.
"This is delicious!
What is it again?" asks Elliot taking another portion from the
appetizer plate.
"It's called
"papa rellena" which is fried mashed potatoes stuffed with
meat, raisins, olives and a hard boiled egg.
It was one of my favorite snacks" remarks Annie taking another
large bite "I've ordered a squash soup and for the entree Tacu Tacu with
fried Bizcochito bananas. I think you'll
like it."
"You're always having me try new things" admits
Elliot with a smile "Most of your ideas haven't turned out to be too
bad. I'm going to trust you this
time."
While Elliot excuses himself to respond to a text with a
return call, Annie looks around the room.
Framed photos of the Peruvian landscape of clouded mountain peaks and
Machu Picchu outline the dining room. Annie's thoughts drift to conversations
she once had with Rick. Her heart aches
for a moment as she shuffles her cloth napkin in her lap trying to place the
memories aside.
As Elliot returns to the table, he seems a bit flushed and
agitated. "I have to change our plans for this afternoon. A personal emergency came up that I need to
deal with. Do you mind if I take you
home and I could meet you later on for coffee?"
"That's fine.
Don't worry about it. I was
thinking of going to the book store anyway because one of the books of my
favorite authors has just come in" offers Annie wanting some time on her
own to think and to sort-through all of her emotions that have been stirred
today.
"All right, I'll meet you at the 'Adventurous Sleuth'
since I know it is typically where I will find you at 6 pm. How does that sound?" suggests Elliot relieved that Annie is not
upset that he has to leave earlier than expected.
"See you then!" graciously replies Annie
"Thank you so much for lunch, it was very thoughtful of you! We'll have to do this again in three
months."
"Sounds like a date!" jokes Elliot kissing her on
the cheek before heading out on his way to deal with other private matters.
