Hungry for Love (9 page)

He touched her on the shoulder
,
leaned down to kiss her cheek and sat beside her in the garden.  This was a lovely spot.  Perhaps they could hold the party here. 
“
Just saw one of your billboards. 
Smoke now
,
die sooner
.  Really great.
”

“
We try to get more and more in your face with the ads.  I just wish the kids would take them more seriously.  They think they
’
re immortal.  I want to do a big one featuring that kid who took up chewing tobacco in high school and was dead within a year.  Show close ups of what the surgery did to him
,
not that it did any good.
”

“
That was a huge tragedy
,
but a very unusual case
,”
Bill said.

“
I don
’
t think it was so unusual
,
just a bit fast.  Kids need to believe it can happen to them.
”

Bill nodded
,
agreeing with everything she was saying. 
“
Sorry I haven
’
t had more time to work with you and the board on it.  You know I want to but…
”

“
Chrissy
,”
Laura said disdainfully.

Bill sighed and spoke a bit haltingly but with sincerity
,
“
I
’
d hoped you
’
d forgiven me. It was almost a year after JoEllen died before we began dating
,
and she would have understood.
”

Laura sounded angry
,
but Bill couldn
’
t see why she was still so infuriated. 
“
Men need company
,
we all know that. I just couldn
’
t see how you could replace Jo with a-a-I
’
m sorry
,
but a bimbo.
”

Bill nodded to the busboy who
’
d brought them water and a basket of beautiful breads.  After he was out of earshot
,
Bill said
,
“
I don
’
t think you
’
re being fair to her.  You don
’
t even really know her.
”
  Then he sighed with painful depth and finally continued
,
“
I felt like hiding under the covers every day
,
you know that.  You know what she meant to me
,
to us all.  Finally I said
,
no
,
okay
,
I
’
m gonna live
,
not hide.
”

Laura
’
s face softened but before she could respond a waiter had arrived to introduce himself and take their order.  To his request if they wanted something from the bar
,
Laura replied
,
“
Oh I think this diet soda
’
s plenty.
”

Bill nodded
,
“
Yes it
’
s lunch
,
let
’
s just eat.
”

“
Shall I give you another minute
?”
asked the waiter congenially.

Bill held up one finger as they both glanced hastily at their menus. 
“
Want to share salmon blini or a shrimp pizza to start
?”
Bill asked Laura
,
who nodded
,
causing him to order both.

“
Maybe I
’
ll try that lobster cobb salad
,”
said Laura.

“
Fantastic
,”
said Bill
,
“
I was tempted to have the lobster club but think I
’
ll do the grilled rib eye—comes with potatoes.  Not sure I remember what one is any more.  Gotta get the calories and the carbs out. Not to mention fried.
”

Laura laughed and patted Bill
’
s hand. 
“
Poor starving doctor boy
,”
she cooed.

As the waiter departed
,
Laura left her hand on Bill
’
s for an extra second. 
“
It
’
s okay
,”
she said
,
I
’
m not expecting you to become a monk.  So—what about this party
?”

“
I just wanted to do something nice for Chrissy
’
s birthday.  She seems very insecure lately
,
as though she
’
s going through something and the current diet has her way on edge
,
but I
’
m trying to talk her through that
,
so I thought maybe if I threw her a party
,
made her feel special
,
she
’
d calm down a little
,
return to being that sweet girl who charmed the kids so much at the mall when we met her.
”

“
Leave it to you to meet a girl who gives you a free piece of Godiva and you move her into your house.
”

Bill laughed. 
“
Never underestimate the power of chocolate on the human heart.
”

“
You
’
re right.  I never trust people who
’
re allergic to chocolate.  So were you going to have the party at home or out somewhere
?”

“
I don
’
t know. I never had to plan a party before.  Maybe some place simple
,
sweet
,
elegant—like this patio—it
’
s really pretty here
,
isn
’
t it
?”

“
All right
,”
said Laura
,
“
I
’
ll go home
,
think about it
,
make a few calls
,
come up with a list of potential places
,
some ideas for the menu
,
and we can go look at them one day next week
?
  Maybe you could take a couple hours off toward the end of the day
?”

Bill nodded. 
“
Sounds great.
”
  He moaned softly then and said
,
“
Oh my God
,
taste these blini.  Why don
’
t I come here every day
?
  Maybe I will from now on.
”

“
Pizza
’
s great too
,”
said Laura
,
“
Wolfie never misses.
”

After eating their lunch and talking about old times
,
Bill and Laura strolled a bit
,
still in a relatively convivial mood and moving toward a jewelry store where Bill could ask Laura
’
s advice about some sort of present for Chrissy.  They approached a gym called Zero Tolerance
,
but before they could continue
,
Laura spotted a young couple on the sidewalk smoking.  She signaled wait to Bill
,
dug into her bag and smoothly removed the flyers she intended to pass along
,
hoping to convert them on the spot.

Laura
’
s voice was impassioned but gentle
,
but the urgency with which she spoke caused the couple to react to her with some level of discomfort
,
probably unrelated to the subject of her tirade. 
“
The choices you make now are so important
,
so long lasting
,”
she said maturely but kindly. 
“
You can
’
t even imagine how you
’
ll feel twenty years from now about something you
’
re doing today.  Maybe you won
’
t want it at all
,
but by then you
’
ll be stuck with it.  It
’
ll be a habit
,
a bad habit
,
but one you might not have the courage to break.
”