Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (20 page)

"You will not get an argument out of me on
that
." He winked and went back in the bathroom, w
his
tling.

She
was
so lucky to have such a gorgeous man to love, and to love
her
.
She
took a deep breath and sighed. In the back of
her
mind,
she
wondered if he remembered telling
her
he loved
her
.

*****

On their way into town they discussed what kind of food they liked.
She
hated to mention it, but
she
felt like Mike needed to know. "Mike I don't like seafood."

Mike had mentioned several times how much he loved seafood. He even commented on the advantage of living near the ocean because he could get seafood any time he wanted. "What? Are you kidding, you're visiting Massachusetts and you don't like seafood." He
couldn't believe
his
ears,
he thought everyone loved seafood. He couldn't imagine otherwise.

"Is
that
a deal breaker?"
She
knew he
would
say yes just to tease
her
.

"I'll have to think on
that
one." He
was
so crazy about t
his
girl, he could care less if
she
liked seafood or not. All he had to do
was
change
his
eating habits and find restaurants
that
served chicken or whatever
her
heart desired.

"We can have seafood as long as they offer steak or chicken as well."
She
regretted telling him about
her
dislike for seafood,
she
was
afraid he
might
go someplace different just for
her
.
She
didn't want to deprive him of something he loved so much. Just the smell of seafood made
her
gag, but
she
could
never tell him
how
she
truly felt
.
She
despised it ever since
she
had morning sickness.

"I think we can find a place
that
has chicken." He glanced over at
his
sweetheart and thought how beautiful
she
looked.
Depriving
her
of anything
was
a task he
would
never allow himself to do, ever.

She
looked out the window
and
she
knew it
was
a sad day for Mike.
She
also
knew the memorial
would
rekindle the dread and anguish
she
felt a few short weeks ago.
She
never dreamed
she
would
be attending
another funeral so soon.
S
he
wanted them to be like other couples, hang out and do nothing. Maybe tomorrow
might
be more promising for them to have a normal day.

Mike could tell
she
was
a little
bit
quiet and distracted. "Babe what's the matter?"

"I guess I'm sad about the memorial,
that
's all."

"If going to the memorial bothers you, we don't have to go. Everyone
would
certainly understand considering what happened last night."

"No, we're going to the memorial. I'm just a little tired
that
's all."
She
was
n't lying about
that
.
She
hasn't slept well since
she
's been there. Maybe tonight
with
Mike there
she
could
sleep more sound, knowing he
would
keep
her
safe.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."
With
in seconds they pulled into the parking lot of the Pelican Restaurant. Thank goodness the snow slowed down to just a few flakes. Under normal circumstances
they could have
a snowball fight. The freshly fallen snow
appeared
light and fluffy. It
would
be easy to pack into a snowball. But
she
knew he had to work today and
she
felt bad keeping him from
his
work. "You know Mike I can go back to Tennessee so you can get your work done.
With
all
that
's happened, it's important for you to be
with
your men. I feel like you're missing out babysitting me, and I don't want you to do
that
."

For the first time since
Lana
arrived, Mike felt panic, and it forced knots in
his
stomach. Could it be
she
had second thoughts about him? He decided to lay out
his
feelings. "Are you serious? No I don't want you to go back to Tennessee, and if it were up to me
,
you move here t
his
very second. When my wife Kathy died several years ago I never thought I
would
find someone to love. Then you waltzed into my life. Last night when everything
was
over, I realized you could have been alone in the house.
That
angered me, knowing they could have hurt you. But it also made me realize how much I care for you. From past experiences as a cop you never take your loved ones for granted. You have to tell them you love them every day when you go to work, because you don't know if you'll come home or not.
That
's why I told you I love you…"

He pulled
her
close to him and took
her
face in
his
hands, kissed
her
on the nose. "... I didn't want to go in the house
with
out you knowing
how I feel
.
Lana
, I love you
with
all my heart.
Immediately I had a physical
attracted to you, and when I heard you talk
with
a
southern accent, I
was
hooked. I fell in love the minute you talked, the minute you walked, the minute you took your coat off, the minute you touched me. I never believed in falling in love at first sight, until now. So please baby don't talk about going back to Tennessee. Okay?" Feeling t
his
vulnerable
was
not a something he
was
used to, or liked. Never did he allow himself to feel t
his
way.
Lana
changed
that
. He wanted to protect
her
, love
her
, live
with
her
, live through
her
. He wanted
her
to see the vulnerability in him, see what
she
had done to him. Holding back
his
feeling for
her
was
not an option, not ever.

His
eyes never left hers and
she
knew he meant it and all
she
could
only
cry
with
happiness and nod
her
head.

"Please baby, don't cry, I can't stand it, and I don't want you to feel bad or feel you're not safe. I'm off the rest of the time you are here. The only stumbling block we have today is the memorial, and you're going
with
me. And if we don't hurry up and eat we will not have time for me to get my suit and your dress." Time
was
of the essence, but he also wanted to change the subject.

"Let's go, I'm starving,"
she
said.
She
wiped away the tears and
was
mad at herself for
being such a whine baby
. Mike had enough to worry about
with
out
her
acting like a baby.

As they walked in the hostess greeted them. "Hi Mr. Ramsey, how is my favorite officer today?"

"I'm doing great, we want
to sit at the back table, is
that
okay?"

"Go right ahead and I'll send a waitress right over,"
she
answered while still counting out change to a customer. There were several tables scattered around in the three dining rooms
with
a kitchen in the middle. The tables were so close together it took some maneuvering around chairs to get to their table. They were seated where Mike could see the door, a cop thing.

Their waitress
handed them the menu and
spoke
with
a soft voice.
She
seemed sad and never lifted
her
eyes from the ticket book. "
Would
you like to hear our specials today?"
Lana
could tell
she
didn't want to go over them again.

In a way
Lana
didn't blame
her
. How many times did
she
say the
specials today
? It
would
be much
easier to paper clip the specials on the menu.
She
could work more tables in the time it took to list the specials. Lana's heart felt bad for t
his
weary waitress.
She
looked like an old
lady whose face looked tired and worn.
She
had bags under
her
eyes and they looked fatigued.
She
had
her
gray hair pulled back in a bun,
and because of
her
age it
was
thin.
She
had a small hump back caused from a curvature of the spine.
Lana
knew
her
hump back
was
from t
his
hard work and from age. At
that
moment,
Lana
knew
she
would
make sure
she
got a sizable tip, at least a ten.

Lana
politely said. "
That
's okay we'll just look at the menu."

Mike pushed
his
menu to the side knowing what he wanted to eat.

"So Mike, what
do you recommend
for me to eat? B
esides seafood, I think chicken might
be appropriate for me, especially after last night."

He raised
his
left eyebrow. "We won't even go there little lady. I know it has been a tough couple of days, but I'm off work and I want to spend every moment
with
you. Your safe and I'm safe, and there
was
a tragedy, but let's call a truce and not bring up last night and let's enjoy each other and get to know one another. Is it a deal?"

How could
she
say no to
that
, and
she
should be
willing to try. "It's a deal, on one condition, when we get home you have to tend to the fire."

"Now
that
sounds like a deal, better yet, I'll fix the furnace." They both laughed because it
was
suppose to have been fixed two days ago.

"Yea, I believe
that
when I see it,"
she
said
with
sarcasm. Immediately,
she
wished
she
could take
that
statement back. It
was
inappropriate to say such a mean utterance.