God In The Kitchen (24 page)

            “I would still do the promo drive,” I said. The lemonade stand, after all, was what had saved Ian’s life and he deserved to live. “And I would still be a part of their lives,” I paused again, thinking about how the outcome might have been different had I not gotten so invested so quickly. “But I’d protect my heart more,” I continued. “I wouldn’t get involved in their little family because in the back of my mind, I always knew about Greg and the possibility that he could come back.”

            Evan nodded, satisfied with my answer, the Cheetos, or both. “He IS her husband,” he said as if the man had every right to come back to his wife and move her away without even a moment’s notice.

            I squeezed my lips together. When he put it that way, I really should have done things differently. I should have given her space to figure out her emotions for her husband before I tried to interject myself into her family life. But I most certainly did not regret what I had done for Ian.

            “What do I do now?” I asked, hoping that the answer would be easy.

            “Well,” said Evan, licking his thumb and forefinger. “I guess we get to do it all again.”

            “What?” I asked, having no idea where this conversation was going to lead.

            “You want to make changes. You want to do things differently. So let’s do it. Let’s do it all again.”

            Was this guy talking about going back in time? Did he have a time traveling car in the backyard or something?

            “I’m no Michael J. Fox,” Evan said, a huge grin on his face.

            That much I could see. He would have towered over Michael J. Fox and his hair was way too long to make him a teen idol.

            “And we’re not going back to the future,” he continued, grabbing two Cheetos at once and throwing them into his mouth without inspection. “We’re going to the past to correct what went wrong.”

            “You can do that?” I asked, incredulous as to what his ‘spiritual authority’ really covered.

            “I can,” he said. “And I will. All I need from you is a precise time. Think about where it all went wrong and we’ll go from there.”  

            I allowed myself to dig through my memories with Chloe and Ian, all of which were painful because of my relationship with them. I thought about going back to the beginning and not bothering to fix her car, but she really needed that vehicle. Then, I thought about not inviting her to the concert in the first place, but I didn’t want to take that joy away from Ian.

            I could have maybe gone back to the concert itself and put Chloe in her place the minute she kissed me on the cheek, but I didn’t even want to change that. I finally settled on the moment I wanted to change the most so that the rest of the events could fall into place in a different manner.

            “The diner,” I said. “I want to go back to the diner when I tell Chloe about my idea for the promo drive.”

            “That was when things really began between you,” Evan said in a matter of fact voice, as if he had been there with us.

            “Yes, I think so,” I said, remembering the way she had thrown herself into my arms and how I had held her against me. Perhaps she had simply been showing gratitude and relief and if I had done something differently, I could have stopped the relationship from blossoming in the first place.       

            “So be it,” Evan said as he placed two more Cheetos in his mouth. He looked longingly at the bag and I wondered if there was no such thing as food where he came from. Any food, since he had eaten the apples and carrots just as well.

            Evan raised his eyebrows, leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “Choose differently,” he said, and my kitchen began to fade around me as the diner materialized.

            I recognized the scene immediately. I had just asked Cal where Chloe was and if I could speak to her and he had sent me to the back room. I had arrived in the storeroom at the back of the diner and found Chloe bent over the box of sugar packages. I had startled her and she still had a look of shock on her face.

            This time, when I told her about my idea for the promo drive, I didn’t move any closer. I kept a good six feet of distance between us. I thought that perhaps that would make the difference, but when Chloe heard my idea, she covered the distance in two seconds flat and threw herself into my arms just like before. I knew this was the time that I had to make a difference or things would play out just as they did before.

            “I have something else to tell you,” I said, not allowing her to let the idea fully sink in before I went on. “I’ve met a really special woman and I hope to be in a relationship soon.”

            Chloe pulled away slightly so she could look me in the eye, “Okay,” she said, drawing the word out. “Why are you telling me this?”

            She didn’t look disappointed at all, just a little taken aback. I knew in that instant that it HAD been me all along. Somehow, I had forced the issue. I had drawn her to me. Had I allowed her to live her life, she never would have fallen for me in the first place.

            “We’ll be working closely together,” I said, releasing her from my grip. “I just wanted you to know so that there aren’t any misunderstandings.”

            Chloe shook her head. “Understood. When do we get started?”

            I left the diner without a deep moment happening between Chloe and me. I left feeling as if I had a friend for life, but nothing more. I left with the option of saving Ian, and still dating Abigail. I couldn’t wait for my date with her. Things were about to change and I was going to make it happen right this time.

I flew through the next few days, making all of the arrangements I had made before for the lemonade stand. Things were much easier the second time around because I knew who would give me what and I knew what businesses were going to shoot me down. It saved a lot of time because there were several calls and contacts I simply didn’t have to make. I was able to make the schedule for the day before I had all of the volunteers lined up because I already knew who would want to do what. Everything was still fresh in my mind and I wondered if I could do every job that way from now on.

            Then I remembered what I had gone through with Chloe and I decided I would rather do my work from scratch than go through another heart break. But, since I was doing things differently this time around, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about that.

            Instead of waiting to hear from Abigail like I had last time, I contacted her first and asked her if she would be available on our agreed upon day for supper at Luigi’s, an upscale Italian restaurant downtown known for both its food and atmosphere. It was a romantic restaurant and any couple that went there had a purpose. My purpose was to make sure that Abigail understood my intentions towards her. I would still have to explain what she saw at the concert between me and Chloe, but after that, I would only have to explain what I was feeling towards her.

            Abigail emailed me back quickly, agreeing to the time and place. She even said she was anxious to see me and I felt my heart swell. All of the feelings I had for her came rushing back and made me wonder why I had chosen Chloe in the first place. If it had not been for her need and Ian, perhaps I would have made a different decision last time.

            But none of that mattered now. Evan had somehow given me a second chance and I was not going to botch it this time.

            Since I was able to get through my work on the lemonade stand faster, I was also able to make it home for a shower in order to prepare for my evening out with Abigail. We had still agreed upon an early supper at 5 p.m. but this time, I planned for the date to last much longer than the few minutes it had gone last time.

            I put on a nice shirt with a collar, though I skipped the tie because I just never felt right wearing them. I wanted to be myself and let Abigail know what she was getting with me. It was time to show her who I was so she would know who I was and what I wanted from a relationship with her.

            I combed my wet hair and splashed on a little cologne. This time, I was really going to put my best foot forward. I even arrived at the restaurant well in advance and waited by the front door, watching for her to pull up. The only change I would make in the date up to that point was I would have offered to pick her up instead of meeting her at the restaurant. But I planned on there being many more dates in the future so I could make that adjustment next time.

            Abigail climbed out of her car in a cute navy blue sundress, her red hair sparkling around her shoulders and her smile sparkling on her face.

            “Evan!” she called out to me as she waved, as if I hadn’t had my eyes on her the minute she had gotten out of the car.

            I approached the parking lot to meet her in the middle. “You look fantastic,” I said, taking her cute dimples in with my eyes and lingering on the shimmer in her hair.    

            “Thanks,” she said. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”         

            We walked into the restaurant and secured a nice table in the corner where we would have a little privacy. The waiter, who had a cloth napkin draped over his arm, promised to bring us water and bread while we looked over the menu.

            When Abigail began to apologize about her anger over what she had seen at the concert, just as she had last time, I interrupted. It was my turn to change the story.

            “You had every right to feel that way,” I said. “It should be me apologizing to you. You probably felt as if I had been leading you on and that I was seeing other people in addition to you.”

            Abigail blushed a bit. It had been exactly what she had been thinking and I was certain of it.       

            “Let me assure you,” I continued, feeling as if I knew just what to say and what not to say since I had certainly said the wrong thing last time, “there is no one else that interests me.”

            I then told Abigail that Chloe was the woman whose car I had bumped and that I had formed a friendship with her and her son since that time.

            “Her son is really sick,” I told her, something I had not mentioned last time because I felt I needed to be loyal to Chloe’s privacy. “And I offered to help raise money for him to get the surgery he needs through a station promo drive.”

            “That’s amazing,” Abigail said, her eyes lighting up over the darkness in the room.

            “I just really want him to have a chance at a good, long life. He deserves that much.”

            “You said that was his first concert?” she asked, laying her hand on the table palm down.

            I nodded. “He loved it.”

            “No wonder his mother was so grateful. I completely understand why she kissed you. I feel pretty silly for doubting you.”

            “Don’t,” I said, laying my hand over hers. “You had every right to imagine the worst. You don’t really know me that well. But I want to change that. I want to know everything about you and I want you to know me.”

            “I’d like that too,” Abigail said, glancing down at my hand covering hers. So far, it was going well. Much better than last time. She had already stormed out by this point.

            “Next time, you choose the place,” I said, in order to reassure her that this wasn’t a one shot deal. “Or we can do something different.”

            “I love to bowl,” Abigail said as she let out a slight giggle. “I know it’s weird, but I find it soothing.”

            “Bowling it is,” I said and with that, the waiter returned with our waters and we ordered our meals.

            The date could not have gone better had I written the evening myself. After our meal, we were both so full we barely felt like we could move. In order to work off the heavy pasta, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and Abigail pointed out some interesting buildings I had never noticed before.