A Daughter of Light(A Light onto the World)

Chapter 8

“A friend of mine told me about it.”

“Ah.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I just thought that you might have taken your ex here.”

“Nope.  Never been here in my life,” I respond.  “Let me ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Is this your first date?”

“What makes you think that?”

“First of all, girls don’t usually say you can take me for a burger, that’s not how it works.  Now I figure you either had some crappy boyfriends or you haven’t ever dated.  That, and every other guy who ever tried to ask you out is buried in the basement of your old house.”  Mar laughed so loud I could tell she embarrassed herself.  I love her laugh. 

“You’re very perceptive,” she says still chuckling. 

“Mmm-hmm.  Why is that?  I mean I bet — I mean I know you had a lot of guys interested in you?”

“I wasn’t interested.”

“Picky?”

“No.”

“So, you’re telling me you weren’t interested in one guy?  And you say you aren’t picky?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Mmm-hmm, sure.”  She rolls her eyes — that seems to be a habit of hers — and takes another long sip of her coke.  “Alrighty then, let me ask you another question.”  I hesitate. 

“Go ahead.” 

It’s too late, man.  You already caught her attention.  You have to ask her now.

“Why did you accept my offer?”  It’s her turn to hesitate.

“I accepted because … I thought you might be a nice guy and you don’t seem like a wuss.  You still took me out even after you met Papa.  All of the guys that knew my Papa wouldn’t even think about asking me out —”  She stops suddenly, like she hadn’t meant to say that last part.  That took me for a loop.  So she wasn’t being picky.  Nobody had ever asked her.

“How can that be?” I ask, beside myself.  I should have probably left it at that.

“Like I said, they were all too afraid to ask with Papa around giving them the third degree,” Mar says carelessly as she flips strands of curls back behind her shoulder.

“That’s understandable.”

“That’s why he put out all the stops for you.  He wanted to see if you were going to go anywhere.” 

I’m not going anywhere, I think.  Before I can say anything our waiter shows up with our food.

“Here are your orders, call me if you need anything.”  He directed that last part to Marimar.

“Thank you,” we both reply.  Marimar straightens up in her seat and takes the utensils off of the napkin and places them onto either side of her plate, she places her napkin down onto her lap.

The smell is mouth-watering.  I take a big bite.

“Tasty.  How do you like it?” Mar asks.

I can’t reply.  I’m trying too hard to swallow the piping hot mass in my mouth.  My mouth feels as if it’s blistering.  I gotta spit this sucker out!  It’s sticking like napalm!  Ugh, she’s looking at me, waiting for me to reply.  Suck it up!  Be a man!  Swallow the stupid thing!