Natalie

Damn Jack! Damn Rosie! This better work out or I may never help anyone ever again.

We both ate with one hand while we held hands like little kids. Even though we both were well into our middle age, her hand had managed to weather the ravages of time. She had long slim fingers that showed no hint of her age. Her skin was soft and warm to the touch. When we were done eating, she picked up the plates and took them to the kitchen. I stood and waited by the counter. As she placed the dishes in the sink, she looked at me out of the corner of her eye and said, "Would you like to see my stamp collection?"

"You have your collection here, already?"

"No, it's at my apartment."

Oh boy. I might as well jump in with both feet.

"Sure."

She finished rinsing the dishes and we headed to her apartment. It was only a short walk from the diner. She opened the door and invited me in. It was a small apartment and she had several boxes already packed, or she never unpacked them in the first place. She picked up a shoebox and an album and sat on the couch. I sat next to her as she explained the rarity of each type of stamp in her collection. I found myself looking less at the stamps and more at her lovely face. At one point she turned her head to me and caught me looking.

"Do you like my stamps?" she asked, innocently.

"Yes, very much," I said, after clearing my throat.

The urge to kiss her was strong. I was busy controlling that urge when she leaned toward me and kissed me instead. Her lips were soft and moist. It was a sweet kiss, the kind you used to give your first girlfriend, long before passion replaced first time love. When she pulled away, I stood and told her that I should go.

"I'll come back tomorrow at closing again," I said, as I headed to the door. "Thank you for showing me your collection."

"Rosie was right about you," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"You are a gentleman."

I shook my head and chuckled as I let myself out.

While walking home, the conflict within began. My head was spinning with all the 'do's and don'ts' and the 'what ifs'. All I knew at that moment was that I was attracted to her and that things were more than likely going to get very serious. It was the end result that I was afraid of.

* * *

When I got home from work on Tuesday, I jumped in the shower and scrubbed myself silly. In the back of my mind, I was hoping that something was going to happen that night. I wasn't even sure what we were going to do. I put on extra clean clothes and shaved extra close. I wanted to cover all the bases in case something did happen.

I arrived at closing and Rosie had some pasta ready for both of us. Natalie was dressed in a pretty powder blue shirt and black slacks. Her long black hair was tied up in a large bun on her head. We sat in the same booth as the night before and we ate and chatted.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" I asked.

She looked at me with her green eyes sparkling, and said, "You must have something in mind."

I didn't. I just wanted to see her again. "Not really," I said.

"Why don't you introduce me to this dog you seem to have conversations with?" she said, smiling.

"If that's what you want, sure."

"I can bring some leftovers for him," she said.

"Oh, he'll love that, I'm sure."

"I showed you mine, now you can show me yours," she said, giggling at the pun.

"What do you mean?" I chuckled back.

"What ever it is that you do for fun or hobby."

"Oh, well, you may not find it all that exciting," I replied.

"Neither is stamp collecting."

We finished eating and headed to my house. Jack was barking and whimpering as soon as he heard my voice, as I talked with Natalie on the last leg of the walk. He greeted us at the gate and nearly knocked Natalie over trying to get her to pet him. The two of them hit it off right away. I gave her his bowl and she cut up the leftovers for him to eat. I usually don't give him regular food. I stick to his dry food diet to keep his teeth clean and to give him the proper nutrition. But, once in a while, he got some people food for a treat. He was in doggie heaven with assorted diner leftovers.

"Well, it's official. You have a new friend for life," I said to Natalie.

"He doesn't seem big on conversation, Gene. When can we expect his opinion of me?"

Jack finished his treat and came out in the living room. He looked at Natalie and barked once.

"See, he just said 'Thank you'," I said.

"Oh, you're welcome Jack," she said, as he jumped up on her.

"I think he likes you," I said, stating the obvious.

As she petted Jack, she asked, "What is your hobby?"

I walked over to a three-inch binder and handed it to her. It was nearly full.

"I write romance stories," I said. "Some are kind of long, but most are in the ten to fifteen page range. They are romantic in nature, although not graphic or explicit."

She opened the binder and paged through it."There must be close to thirty stories here. What inspires you to write?" she asked, flipping through the pages.

"My life," I replied.

"You mean these are true stories?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes and no. Some are true to fact and some are a bit of a stretch." I replied.

"Have you published any of these?" she asked, landing on a story named 'Pearl'.

"No. They're just for me, but you're free to read them."

"Are they arranged in any kind of order?"

"They are arranged earliest to latest in my life."

She started to skim over some of the stories. She was silent for nearly an hour when she finally spoke.

"All these stories involve you helping a woman, falling in love and then losing them to other men. Is that why you stopped helping people? Is that what you meant by having your ability blow up in you face?" she asked, looking at me with those green eyes.

"Yeah," I replied.

She went to the last story in the binder and started to read. She stopped and went to the first story in the book and looked at the title.

"Oh my God," she said, softly.

The first and the last story each had the same title. 'Theresa'.

When she finished the first story, she started to read the other.

"Oh my God," she said, as tears rolled down her cheek. When she finished, she closed the binder and wiped her face and blew her nose. "It happened to you twice with the same girl. Twenty five years apart, she dumped you for someone else."

"I've helped an awful lot of people over the years. Most of the single women I've helped also seem to like me and we wind up dating," I said, pointing to the book. "There are two details I leave out of the stories. One is, it's my fault that these women leave," I said, looking away from her.

"What do you mean? Are you abusive?" she asked.

"Hardly. One talent I have is matchmaking. When I meet people, I can read them well for their perfect mate. All of these women in these stories left me because I pointed out men that were better suited for them than I. I'm never wrong, and that usually ends our relationship, no matter how far along it may be. At least I never got to the point of marrying and having a wife leave. Theresa's husband died in a car accident and she returned here. Like the story says, we hit it off again. We were three weeks away from marrying, when I met a guy that was perfect for her. I couldn't keep my mouth shut and introduced them to each other. She wound up marrying him and left town again. I stopped helping people, simply so I wouldn't get tempted to date and have it happen all over again."

"What's the other detail?" Natalie asked.

"Rosie is Theresa's mother."

Her jaw dropped so far that it nearly hit the floor.

"Rosie always liked me. I started dating Theresa after helping her get a student loan for college. One afternoon after classes, we were sitting in the diner drinking shakes when I struck up a conversation with a new guy in town. I knew immediately that he was perfect for Theresa and introduced them to each other. I didn't want to do it, but it comes over me and I have no control over myself. After she dumped me, I thought Rosie was going to kill me. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that she knew how much it broke my heart to see Theresa walk out of my life. Since then she has been trying to play matchmaker for me. When Theresa came back to town, Rosie almost set the marriage date herself. Once again, right in front of Rosie, I introduced her daughter to someone that was perfect for her. When she left town, Rosie was so upset that she wouldn't even go to her own daughter's wedding. That was five years ago. I stopped helping people and I only went to the diner on rare occasions."

She closed the binder and set it on the coffee table. "Why did you help me?"

"I don't know where it comes from, but when the urge hits, I find it hard to resist. It's as if I receive a directive from somewhere and I have to try. The urge to help you was so strong that I couldn't stop myself. It was Rosie's idea that Theresa and I would take over the diner for her to retire. Of course that never happened, so she brought it up again that evening when I called her looking for ways to help you. She really wants to retire."

"I know she does," said Natalie. "Is that why you wanted to baby sit Jack instead of seeing me last night?"

"Yes," I said, looking at my shoes.

"Have you ever told any other of the women you've dated this story?" she asked.

"No."

"Are you still interested in seeing me?" she asked, as she stood.

I looked into her swampy green eyes. "Yes," I said, in a strong voice.

Jack barked.

"I think Jack agrees," Natalie said.

"He hasn't steered me wrong about you yet," I said, as I put my arms around her and kissed her.

"Do you want to do this in front of Jack?" she asked, breathlessly.

Jack was sitting there wagging his tail.

"Jack, can we have some privacy?" I asked.

He got up and walked into the den.

"You two really do converse, don't you?"

"Yeah, but he never laughs at my jokes."

* * *

Wednesday evening I arrived early and surprised Natalie in the back. I put my arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek, as she was stirring some soup.

"Um," she moaned. "I hope that's you, Gene, otherwise I have to call the cops."

I turned her enough to kiss her. She dropped the ladle and it hit the floor clanging.

"What the hell is going on back here…?" said Rosie, as she came in from the dining room, saw us, made a u-turn, and headed back out. "Nothing's wrong back there!" we heard her bellow from the dining room.

"What are you making?" I asked.

"Italian wedding soup," she replied.

"It smells great!"

"I made it for us, after the diner closes," she said, as she kissed me again and got a new ladle.

"Have you talked to your landlord yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said that I could move out this week and he would refund all of my money. All of it!"

"Fancy that," I said.

She turned and looked at me. "You made that happen, didn't you?"

"He owed me one."

She shook her head for a few seconds and then said, "You're like the Godfather."

"Nope. I just have a way of making people open their hearts and wallets."

"Thank you," she said, kissing me again.

I went back out to the dining room and sat in a vacant booth. Most of the customers were either finishing up or were gone. Rosie came over to the booth and sat down.

"Natalie told me that you spilled the beans. I like her, Gene. She likes you quite a bit as well. You're almost fifty now. Whether you know it or not, she's fifty-five. Both of you need to find someone to spend the rest of your lives with. I think together, you two fit the bill quite nicely."

"Rosie, sooner or later it's going to happen. I'll introduce her to someone else and she'll be gone. I can't even stop myself when it happens!"

"Have faith," she said, as she got up and escorted the last few people out. "Have a good evening," she said as she left.

"Where's Rosie?" asked Natalie, as she carried out two bowls of soup.

"She left already," I replied. "Do you want me to help you move your things into storage?"

"Oh, would you? That would be great!" she said, as she blew on her soup.

* * *

That weekend, Rosie ran the diner and I helped Natalie move her things into storage. I also helped her take a few things that she needed to the small room behind the diner. When we were done, she asked if I would mind if she tagged along with me to give some leftovers to Jack. I didn't mind.

Jack was more excited to see her than me. Well, she did have the treats. She got a good laugh watching him nearly inhale the food. I walked over to my computer and stopped the screen saver. There still was a story up on the screen that I had been working on the night before. Natalie noticed and peered over my shoulder.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Just another story I'm working on," I replied, trying to exit the program.

"Wait!" she said, stopping me. She scrolled up the screen and looked at the title. "'Natalie'," she said. "I guess that I should be flattered that you would be compelled enough to write a story about me, but I'm a bit upset, because of the way your other stories always end. Is this your way of saying that you like me a lot?"

I looked into her swampy green eyes and said, "Yes."

She put her arms around my neck and said, "Maybe we can come up with a new chapter for the story tonight," and kissed me.

Jack barked, as he sat there wagging his tail.

"Jack, some privacy please?" I asked.

He got up and wandered into the den.

"That's better, thanks Jack!" I yelled into the den.

Woof!

"You two are truly amazing," she said, looking into my eyes.

"Sometimes I have to put my foot down because he likes to watch."

She started laughing and kissed me again. "So, do you want to work on a new chapter?"

"Well, I only do that with woman I fall in love with."

"Something tells me that you wouldn't be writing about me unless that had already happened. That's another running theme in your stories." She paused and then said, "I've fallen in love with you too." She kissed me again.

Woof!

"I think Jack wants us to vacate the living room," I said.

"Okay Jack, we're leaving," she said, leading me to my bedroom. She closed the door behind us.

We heard the TV come on in the living room.

"What's that?" she asked, alarmed.

"Oh, Jack likes to watch 'Animal Planet'," I replied.

* * *

I soon found myself with little on my mind other than Natalie. The warning bells were still going off in my head, but I ignored them, hoping history wouldn't repeat itself. We continued to see each other every evening and she started going back to the diner afterward on fewer and fewer occasions. I never had a woman actually move in with me, but I asked her to. She said no, for reasons of her own. I guess she still wanted a bit of independence.

Our courtship continued until the Holidays. I had been with Natalie longer than any other woman and the alarm bells had gone silent. I was doing my Christmas shopping when I came upon the window of the local jeweler. They were having a diamond sale and they boasted free mountings on engagement rings. I had been thinking of popping the question for a few weeks, but had always stopped short. I entered the store and looked around. A very senior citizen came out of the back and said hello. I told him I was thinking about popping the question and wanted to have a look at some of his best stones. He asked me my name and I told him.

"I can't help you," he said, and walked back into the back room.

"What? I want to buy something!"

"Go away!" he yelled from the back.

I shook my head and left. Well, there was another jeweler the next town over, but I didn't feel like driving over there at that moment. I walked my stuff home and went to the diner.

* * *

I looked for Natalie, but didn't see her. Rosie waved me over to the counter.

"I sent Natalie out to do her Christmas shopping. How did you do with yours?" she asked.

"Well, I was doing fine until I stopped at the jewelers. He wouldn't wait on me. He threw me out."

"Oh… You weren't looking for an engagement ring, were you?" she asked.

I looked around the diner to make sure no one was within earshot. "I'm thinking of asking Natalie to marry me," I said, in a low tone.

"What makes you think she'd marry you?" asked Rosie, very quietly.

"Because we love each other," I whispered back.

"Oh. I see. Mr. 'I don't want to get involved again' wants to get married. What if she says no?"

"I hope she doesn't, but I can't ask her without a ring," I said.

"I'm glad Leo has a good memory. I told him to turn you away two months ago," she said. "I'll be right back." She disappeared into the back and returned a moment later holding a box.

"Remember this?" she said, as she opened the box. It contained a beautiful diamond mounted on an equally beautiful ring.

I remembered it perfectly. It was Rosie's engagement ring. She gave it to me to give to Theresa almost 30 years before. When the marriage was called off, it went back to Rosie. I assumed that she had given it to the next fellow, trying to keep it in the family.

"I want you to give this to Natalie. You are the closest thing I have to family in this town and I love you both like my own kids," she said, in the lowest tone possible for her.

"What about Theresa?"

"She's broken both our hearts twice. She's not getting it."

"I don't know what to say."

"'Will you marry me?'" she said, as she placed the box in my hand. "That's what you say."

"Thank you, Rosie," I said.

She patted me on the cheek and headed back into the kitchen. I headed home, trying to figure out where and when to pop the question.

* * *

I wanted to pop the question on Christmas Eve, but Natalie was to visit her daughters on the 24th and 25th. I decided on New Year's Eve being the day.

She arrived at 8:30 and brought Jack more treats. She looked at the dining room table all decked up with flowers and lit candles and said, "Wow!"

"I don't cook big very often. I wanted to make it special," I said, disappearing into the kitchen to check on the gravy.

"What ever you've got going out there smells great," she said, petting Jack.

"Well, it's ready," I said, placing two glasses of wine on the table. I went back to the kitchen and fixed two plates. I returned to the dining room and set the plates down on the table. I held her chair for her as she sat and I sat across from her, waiting for her to begin.

I was nervous as hell. She must have picked up on it, because now and then, she would ask me if something was wrong. I assured her that I was fine. We finished the meal and sat in front of the TV, waiting for the ball to drop. Around five of twelve, I decided to do it. Jack was sitting at my feet, wagging his tail. Natalie had her head on my shoulder, trying to stay awake the last five minutes. Dick Clark was yapping away on the tube as I dug through my pocket to find the box. I found it, opened it, and held it in my hand.

"Nat," I said.

"Hum?" she said, opening her eyes.

"I have something to ask you," I said.

She raised her head off my shoulder and asked,

"What?"

"The ball has started to move!" yelled Dick on the TV.

"I've thought real hard about this and I know I'm making the right decision."

"10…" yelled Dick.

"Nat."

"9…"

"Yes?"

"8…"

"Will"

"7…"

"You"

"6…"

"Marry"

"5…"

"Me?"

"4…"

"Oh!"

"3…"

"Gene"

"2…"

"Yes!"

"1…"

"Woof!"

"Happy New Year!" yelled Dick.

Natalie and I kissed as the neighborhood launched fireworks and banged pots out on their porches.

We made our own fireworks that night.

* * *

Natalie and I set the wedding for that spring. As the weeks passed and we made the arrangements, we both noticed a change in Rosie. She didn't seem to have that same robust approach to life. She started coming in late and leaving early from the diner. About a week before the wedding, Natalie called me at work around noon.