Aimee (A Time for Love Book 3) (10 page)

“Somewhere fun, I hope. You’ll just have to trust me.”

He led her towards the elevator, but instead of stopping at the ground floor, he continued to the basement. With another guy, Aimee might feel alarmed, but she trusted Frank. When the elevator door opened, he led her down a narrow hallway under a collection of pipes and vents, and they emerged on the sidewalk of a busy road, just steps from a MetroLink stop. Frank bought their tickets, and they stood on the platform to wait.

“Have you ever ridden this train?” Frank asked.

“The MetroLink? Occasionally. My friend Charlene loves it, but I usually drive.”

“I thought you might like a break from driving.”

Aimee didn’t comment. A whooshing sound signaled the train’s arrival. Frank stepped back, but Aimee pulled him forward so they could board before the doors closed. The car was only half full, so they took seats beside a window and watched as the car sped to the next stop. Aimee glanced at Frank and saw he was sitting in a rigid pose, hands clenched over the arm rests.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s so fast,” he said. “Really, really fast.”

“Haven’t you ridden on a train before?”

“Sure, but it wasn’t this fast.”

“If the train scares you, how do you handle flying?”

“I don’t,” he said shortly. He unclenched his hands from the arm supports and leaned towards the window to watch the buildings flashing past. “I’ll be okay. I just need to get used to it.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence. When they got off and boarded a bus, Aimee guessed where they were going. The city zoo. When she was little, her schoolmates had often talked about the animals. Aimee had always wanted to go, but it was a place for normal families, families with a dad and a mom who wasn’t always working.

Aimee’s grandparents had taken her once, when they were visiting from Oklahoma, but the excursion had been cut short by a thunderstorm. Later she’d gone with a school group to see a special exhibit, and she’d been the only one who didn’t know her way around.

“We’re going to the zoo!” Frank cut into her memories to announce.

She didn’t spoil his excitement by telling him she’d already figured it out or that the zoo was the least romantic place she could think of. “Great.” She managed a small smile.

“You probably go all the time, but I’ve never been.”

“You’ve never been to a zoo?”

“No. I’ve always wanted to.”

“Me too. When I was little, I mean. And I haven’t been here in years.”

“Then we can discover it together.”

His tension over the train had completely vanished, and he turned to her with a grin that dispelled her gloomy mood. Maybe this date would be fun after all.

“Let’s do it,” she said and held out her hand.

Aimee and Frank toured the exhibits. Aimee didn’t particularly enjoy the area that featured the big cats, even though she knew there was no way the bored-looking lion could reach her. Frank was fascinated by the sea lion show, and Aimee enjoyed watching the penguins waddle along the rocks and play in the water. One penguin waddled back and forth on the shore as if dithering over whether to join his friends as they splashed in the pool, and Aimee smiled when he finally dove into the water after them.

They moved on to the polar bears, and Aimee marveled at how graceful they were in the water, for such large animals. Then Frank wanted to tour the reptile area. She liked the turtles and didn’t mind the lizards and frogs, although Frank walked past them without stopping, but she shivered when she saw the snakes. Frank put his arm around her, and she snuggled against him as they toured the rest of the exhibit.

By the time they had visited all the areas of the zoo, Aimee’s feet were starting to hurt from all the walking. Frank guided her to a vacant bench beside a beautifully landscaped fountain, and Aimee stretched out her feet.

“What was your favorite?” Frank asked.

“The penguins. I could watch them all day! What about you?”

“The tigers. I can’t believe I’ve seen an animal that fierce up close. As close as I’d ever want to get anyway.”

They chatted about the zoo exhibits for a few minutes. Frank kept glancing at his watch, and finally he stood up. “Ready to go?”

“Where?” Aimee hoped it was to the zoo cafeteria for a late lunch, or her stomach would soon be growling.

“You’ll see.”

They caught a bus from the zoo to a stop Aimee didn’t at first recognize. The buildings were not as old as the Art Deco in the heart of historic downtown St. Louis; instead, they were mostly small shops and former homes from the sixties and seventies. Several had been renovated recently, and the neighborhood had the Bohemian feel of an area in the process of renewal but not yet completely gentrified. They strolled along, past a thrift shop, a pottery studio, a barber shop, and a couple of houses with For Sale signs in the yards. Then they turned the corner, and Aimee immediately recognized where they were.

“Eat Street!”

The street that had once been the main thoroughfare of the neighborhood now housed small cafes, bakeries, and food-themed shops. A craft brewery held the anchor spot, where the street ended in a small open square. Frank led Aimee to a building with a red-and-white-striped awning, and Aimee’s mouth began to water.

“Lucy’s Yummies? I can’t’ wait!”

After she’d met Lucy at the pizza party, she’d promised herself she’d visit the shop soon, but she hadn’t had time. Frank said nothing, just guided her inside, where Lucy was waiting.

“Aimee, it’s great to see you again!”

Lucy, wearing a red apron that matched the awning, hurried forward to give her a hug. Her smile was as warm, and the smell of freshly popped corn was tantalizing.

“Your shop smells delicious. It makes me want to buy everything!”

“Not yet.” Lucy pulled away from Aimee, and this time her smile was mischievous. She reached beneath the cheery red countertop that held the store’s cash registers and returned with a single sheet of paper, which she handed to Frank. “Have fun. Enjoy yourselves. I’ll see you later.”

She ignored Aimee’s attempt to ask a question and held the door as Frank led the way out of the small shop.

“I wanted popcorn!” Aimee objected.

“Not yet.” He echoed Lucy’s words. “I called Lucy and asked her for advice on a fun meal, and she set up a snack menu. We’ll have the best treat at each shop.” He held up the sheet. “Here’s our menu, which is also our map.”

A culinary tour of Eat Street? Aimee loved the idea. “Where do we start?”

Frank studied the sheet. “Stop 1 is chips and salsa at La Comida.”

He checked the map, and they started down the street. Inside the first stop, the owner, a stocky middle-aged man with a shaved head and a full mustache, greeted them. “You must be Lucy’s friends. Come in, please!”

He showed them to a table and brought them a huge basket of green and yellow tortilla chips with a divided bowl containing two types of salsa.

“Spinach and corn chips,” he explained. “Hot and mild dip.”

The hot dip was spicy queso with jalapeno, which Aimee thought was perfect with the spinach chips. The mild dip was a tomato salsa, very fresh and flavorful.

“I could eat another basketful of these,” Aimee said as they nibbled on the last crumbs.

“This is just the first stop,” Frank reminded her.

The proprietor reappeared to thank them for coming, and when Frank tried to pay, he waved away the money. “Lucy’s taken care of it,” he told them.

Their next stop featured crispy snoots, a dish Aimee always thought of as a cross between bacon and barbecue. Frank looked dubious at first but had to admit the meat, dipped in a tangy sweet sauce, was delicious. They also shared Vietnamese crepes, cups of dill cole slaw, spicy red pepper potato chips, and frozen custard. By the time they returned to Lucy’s snack shop, Aimee felt like she could barely move.

“The popcorn still smells delicious, but I can’t eat another bite!” Aimee said sadly.

“Actually, I was hoping you could help me,” Lucy said. “I’m supplying popcorn for an arts event downtown tonight. Normally, I’d cook the corn fresh onsite, but the organizers think it would distract from the event, so I’m preparing it ahead of time. Would you like to help me make it?”

“Help you?” Aimee didn’t hesitate. “Definitely!”

They spent the rest of the afternoon following Lucy’s directions as they popped corn in the traditional oil cooker and in the newer hot air cooker. Aimee stirred sugar for caramel sauce, and then sprinkled Parmesan cheese and other toppings on the fresh corn. Once they had cooked the popcorn, they packaged it in red- and white-striped boxes that matched the shop’s awning.

When they finally finished, Aimee surveyed the rows of boxes packed into plastic crates. “That looks like enough food to feed an army!”

“A small army with fat checkbooks, I hope,” Lucy smiled. “I can still get tickets for you two, if you’d like to attend.”

Frank looked questioningly at Aimee. She shook her head. “Thanks, but I think I’m ready for a quiet evening,” she said.

Lucy hugged Aimee again, thanked her and Frank for their help, and handed them boxes of popcorn to take with them. They walked back to the bus stop, and Aimee slumped into a seat.

“Are these dates, or is Edwina just trying to get free labor for herself and her friends?” she groaned.

“If you’d like to end the date, I understand,” Frank offered. “But we
do
have a quiet evening planned.”

“Doing what? Scrubbing city sidewalks?”

“You get to pick a favorite movie, which we can watch in the lounge at A Time for Love.”

“Any movie?” When Frank nodded, Aimee teased, “Even one with no horses?”

“Even one with no horses.”

Aimee thought for a minute. “You seem like you’re not very familiar with movies.” She wasn’t sure why, but that was a question for another time. “Have you ever seen
Gone with the Wind
?”

“No.”

“Then we have to see it. I used to pretend I was Scarlett O’Hara. I’d put on one of my mother’s old party dress and walk around saying, ‘Fiddle-dee-dee!’ and ‘I’ll think about it tomorrow!’ because if I said the other famous line, my mother would have washed my mouth out with soap!”

“What other famous line?”

“We
definitely
have to see the movie!”

They stopped by Aimee’s apartment long enough for her to shower and change out of clothes sticky with caramel. She was thankful she’d taken the time to tidy the place, and she settled Frank on the couch with a glass of ice water and the TV remote.

“I won’t be but a few minutes, I promise,” she said.

She hurried through her shower, changed into fresh jeans, and went back to the living room to find Frank on his hands and knees with her coffee table flipped over.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked up and appeared slightly embarrassed. “Sorry. Your table had a wobbly leg. I hope you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. Feel free to fix anything.” She waved a hand.

“You can make a list,” he offered.

“A honey-do list?”

“A what?”

“Never mind.”

She watched as he used an attachment on his pocket knife to tighten a couple of screws. He tested the steadiness of that leg and the other three, then flipped the table over and checked that it was stable.

When he finished, Aimee asked, “Do you do light bulbs too?”

“Do light bulbs?”

“Forget it. Not on your first visit, anyway.” She grabbed a light sweater from the closet. “Ready?”

Aimee drove them back to A Time for Love. Whitney, at her usual station at the reception desk, told them to go on back, and Frank led the way past Edwina’s office and around a corner of the hallway to a room Aimee had never seen before. It had a pool table, shelves of board games, books, and a large flat-screen TV with a squishy leather sofa in front of it. Frank fetched two soft drinks from a hidden fridge, adjusted the lighting, and chose a spot on the sofa beside Aimee.

“What about the movie?”

“Edwina took care of it,” Frank said confidently.

He clicked the remote and selected Play from the menu that appeared. Aimee settled in beside him and made sure she had discreet access to the tissues she’d tucked into her pocket. She knew she’d need them for certain scenes, especially Bonnie Blue’s fall from the horse.

They nibbled on the popcorn Lucy had given them, and at one point, Whitney popped in, bearing a large pizza, which she set in front of them. Any hope of eating healthy was already blown for the day, so Aimee dug into the pizza as they watched.

When the movie was over, Aimee stood up and stretched. “Wow, I’d forgotten how long that movie runs. So, what did you think?”

“Very powerful. It does give an idea of the havoc the war wreaked on the lives of civilians. A man who used to own the farm next to ours said the sounds of the cannons and men screaming were deafening. He thought nothing could be worse until he saw families wandering around the burned ruins of their homes or their neighbors’, looking for anything they could salvage or anyone who was missing.”

“I can only imagine.” Aimee shuddered. “He must know a lot about the Civil War to be able to picture it so vividly. Did he study it?”

“No, he—“ Frank stopped and then changed what he’d been about to say. “In a manner of speaking, yes. Not as a profession.”

“A Civil War buff,” Aimee nodded. “I’ve met a few of them.”

“The other lesson is to realize what you have before it’s gone.”

Frank’s tone had changed, and Aimee caught her breath. He was bending towards her, and before she realized what was happening, he kissed her. A firm kiss, shorter than she would’ve liked. When he drew away, he looked at her.

“I appreciate you, Aimee. I like where we’re going, and I hope we can keep moving in that direction.”

Maybe it wasn’t as romantic as being swept up a staircase, but Aimee loved hearing it. “Me too.”

He smiled. “That was nice. I wondered how it would be.”

“Kissing me?”

“Kissing anyone.”

Aimee twisted in her seat. “Why would you wonder? You’re not seriously telling me you’ve
never
kissed anyone before, are you?”

“No. I mean, yes, that’s what I’m telling you. I wanted to share my first kiss with the girl I was going to marry.” He grinned. “And I hope I just did.”

Aimee’s mouth dropped open, and she was still speechless when Edwina breezed in. Before Aimee could speak, Edwina was clearing away the remains of the pizza and chatting non-stop. “I do hope you two enjoyed the movie. Such lovely costumes, aren’t they? I was quite smitten with Rhett Butler when I first saw him. Some movies hold up over the years. Classic, if not politically correct by today’s standards. But it
is
rather lengthy. Aimee, you must be tired. You need your rest, dear, since tomorrow will be a busy day. Enjoyable, I hope.”

She was sweeping Aimee out the door with time for nothing but a quick wave at Frank, who was watching them with an amused expression.

“Frank will pick you up at ten AM,” Edwina continued. “I would suggest wearing a pretty dress or skirt. Nothing fancy. Appropriate for indoor wear.”

They reached the elevator, which was already waiting. As Aimee stepped inside, Edwina added, “Oh, and bring that mud pie you promised to make, would you, dear?”

The doors closed before Aimee could ask why.