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“Thank you, thank you. Now come on. Let’s get to the good stuff. You? Darren? A date? How did this happen? Are you excited? What are you going to wear? What if he tries to kiss you? Can you please get married tomorrow and get pregnant tomorrow night and have an adorable baby girl that can grow up and marry one of my sons?”

Kate shook her head in disbelief at her overly excited friend. “No more lattes for you. Like, ever.”

“Come on, give me something. How do you feel?”

“I feel…I feel like I don’t know how I feel. Is that weird?”

“Not really.”

“I mean, Darren took me completely by surprise. It was even kind of weird the way he asked. It was like he decided one second and did it the next second without even really thinking it through.”

“Darren doing something impulsive? Shocking.” Amy rolled her eyes.

“It’s not that I don’t think he’s sincere or anything. I think it’s really sweet that he wants to take me out. It’s just so random!”

“Rick and I were talking last night – well, we were doing other things last night, but then we were talking…“

“Gross. Too much information.”

“Anyway,” Amy continued without missing a beat, “I told him that it was so bizarre, but I have never thought that you and Darren would get together. And I can’t figure out why I’ve never thought of it. I mean, you’re both wonderful, you get along great, and let’s face it, I love to play matchmaker, so it’s completely strange that this was never on my radar!”

Kate shuddered. “Please don’t remind me about you being a wannabe matchmaker. I have endured some horrific blind dates because of you.”

“Oh come on, some of them weren’t that bad!”

“Oh really? Which ones weren’t that bad? The one with the guy who asked me if I knew how many calories were in the pasta dish that I ordered at dinner? Or the one wore leather pants to church? Or how about the one who locked his keys in his car and called his grandmother to come and pick us up? Would you classify any of those as ‘not that bad’?”

“Fine. You’re right. But the point is, my dear Kate, that there’s absolutely no reason why you and Darren wouldn’t be great together. I always saw you as just friends, but who knows? Give it a chance.”

“I plan to,” she said. “It’s just weird!”

“What’s weird?” asked Meredith, gliding into the office and taking a seat.

“Darren and Kate are going on a date tonight, and she thinks it’s weird,” said Amy, catching her grandmother up to speed.

“A date? That’s wonderful! This is your first date since The One We Don’t Speak Of, isn’t it?”

“Thank you for remembering Ian’s proper nickname, and yes, I haven’t been out on a date since him,” she said.

“Maybe you should give Hank a call! He was your soul mate, remember?” said Amy with the snicker.

“Don’t even start with me,” growled Kate.

“Hey, you can’t blame that one on me. That was all Brooke.”

“So you’re going out with Darren? My my my…well, I agree with you. That’s ‘weird’,” said Meredith.

“I know. I almost feel like my brother is taking me to the prom or something.”

“Would you two
stop
already?” said Amy. “You’re psyching yourself out. You and Darren always have a good time together, and tonight will be no exception. Just relax and let things happen.”

“Says the girl who wants us to get married and have babies tomorrow,” Kate muttered. “Look, no offense to either of you, but I’m in the middle of some work right now, and the more I talk about this, the more it freaks me out. Can we just drop it for now? Please?”

“Fine, consider it dropped,” said Meredith breezily. “Come on Amy, I want to show you some new books I got in that I think the boys might like.”

“I’ll know if you’re talking about me!” Kate yelled after them as they walked away.

Kate shook her head back and forth, trying to shake all of the crazy thoughts right out of it. She didn’t want to make more of this than she needed to. It was just a date. It was going to be fun. And the fact that she pretending to go over her inventory spreadsheet while she was trying to think of which dress to wear that would best accentuate her curves and bring out the color of her eyes had nothing to do with Darren Davidson. Nope. Not a thing.

~~~~~

Kate tucked a piece of her smoothed hair behind her ear after putting on a thin silver necklace with a sparkly pendant. She had chosen a dark navy dress that skimmed her leg just above her knee. Her makeup was done to perfection, but she touched up her lip gloss as she slid into a pair of pewter wedges.

She heard a knock on the door and gathered her purse and a light sweater from her bed before heading down the hall to greet Darren. She opened the door and saw Darren standing there in dark gray slacks, a white shirt, and a black tie, holding a small bunch of flowers. Usually a very casual dresser, she wasn’t used to seeing him in much other than jeans and simple shirts.

“Darren! You’re wearing a tie!”

“Why yes I am,” he said. “But don’t let it throw you off. It’s a clip-on.”

“No!” said Kate, her eyes widening in horror.

“No, it’s not a clip-on. But thank you for actually believing that I would own a clip-on tie. What a great confidence booster for a guy on a first date.” Darren smiled to show he was joking and handed the flowers to Kate. “For you, m’lady.”

“Thank you!” she said enthusiastically. “I love daffodils. That was very sweet of you.” Setting the flowers on the table, she turned back to Darren and said, “You ready to go?”

“Well, in the movies the girl always puts the bouquet of flowers in a vase of water that she just happens to have waiting conveniently in the kitchen.”

“Yes, but what most girls don’t know is that daffodils actually live longer out of water than they do in it. So please accept my humble apology for ruining your perfect entrance with my exceptional knowledge of horticulture.”

“Is that true? Where did you learn that?”

“From my mom. Now, where are you taking me? I’m starving.”

“The Woods.”

“Yum,” she said at the mention of her favorite steakhouse. “I could definitely go for a rib-eye tonight.”

“I love a girl who appreciates a good steak,” said Darren.

~~~~~

Darren pulled his car up to the valet station at the restaurant. “Valet, huh?” said Kate. “You’re really going all out tonight.”

“You see, I have a couple of options right now. I could play it cool, or I could admit that it’s been so long since I’ve worn these dress shoes that I forgot how much they hurt my feet and I don’t want to walk any farther than absolutely necessary.”

“So which one are you going to go with?”

“I think I’ll play it cool. Try it again.”

“Wow, valet, huh? You’re really going all out tonight. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention that I like your shoes.”

Darren grinned at her. “Clever.”

“I try.”

The waiter led them to a cozy table. The entire restaurant was dim and peaceful, and a single candle on the table provided a little flickering light. They both began to peruse the menus.

After both had ordered and began to nibble on some bread, Kate noticed that Darren had a distant look in his eyes. Pensive, almost. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

He brought his gaze back to her and smiled a slight smile. “It’s funny. One minute I was being brutally attacked by a Slurpee, and the next minute I was practically begging you to go on a date with me. Quite a turn of events, no?”

“You’ll get no argument from me there. To be honest, I’m still not 100% sure if you’re serious or not.”

“I can’t possibly imagine why you’d doubt me!’ said Darren. “I’m such a serious guy. Not one to kid or jest.”

“Riiiight,” said Kate sarcastically.

“Well, all I can tell you is that I definitely didn’t see this coming, but I’m seriously glad we’re doing this.”

The date continued seamlessly as the friends poked fun at each other, talked about everything from Kate’s parents’ divorce to the church service a few months back when Darren’s fly was down the entire time, and there was never an awkward or dull moment.

The apple crisp that they had decided to share for dessert arrived. She took only a few bites before admitting, “I can’t possibly eat another mouthful. I’m stuffed.”

“Good, neither can I.” Darren motioned for the waiter and quickly handed a credit card to him before he could even set the check down on the table.

“Smooth move, Double D.”

“I saw it in a movie.”

“No, but really. Thanks so much for dinner. This whole evening has been…well, it’s been pretty great! I’m having a really good time with you.”     

“And I with you.”

Darren pulled Kate’s chair out for her as they got up from the table and took her hand as they walked out of the restaurant. Once they were in the car, she turned towards Darren. “I’m not ready to go home yet. Want to go to something fun and juvenile?”

“As long as it’s something that involves me letting my feet out of shoe prison, I’m game.”

“I think we should go to the park. It’s the perfect night for a swing set.”

~~~~~

“Higher, Mommy, higher!” Kate’s little legs pumped with all of their might as she tried to achieve the maximum height and speed possible on the swing set in the park near her house.

“Any higher and you’re going to swing right over the top,” said Olivia, who was pushing her daughter on the swing.

“Can that really happen?” asked Kate, her eyes widening.

“Oh, sure. But I think it makes you go cross-eyed, so you better not try it.”

She lessened her effort, but only ever so slightly. She definitely didn’t want to go cross-eyed, but she also didn’t want her mother to know that she was afraid.

Olivia smiled, knowing exactly what her daughter was doing, though she would never let on. Kate had always had a wonderful balance of bravery and responsibility, which Olivia admired. She wasn’t afraid to try new things and take risks, but she wasn’t a foolish girl. Olivia knew those qualities would serve her well later on in life.

“What’s for dinner, Mommy?”

“I think I’m going to make some homemade pasta. Would you like to help? I think eight years old is plenty old enough to get started learning how to cook, don’t you?”

“Yes!” said Kate enthusiastically, jumping off her swing. “I want to help!”

“Well all right then. The Henry ladies are in for a night of domesticity.”

“Of what?”

Olivia kissed her daughter on the forehead. “Of learning how to be a good wife.”

They walked towards the family minivan and Kate buckled herself into the front seat. She hoped that she would get to wear an apron while they cooked. As Olivia pulled the car out of the parking lot, Kate peered out the window at a couple sitting at a picnic table. The man had his hand high up on the woman’s leg and they were kissing. Kate wrinkled her nose at such a gross display of affection, but her expression changed to horror as the couple separated just enough for Kate to see their faces. The man sitting there at the picnic table kissing that woman was her father.