After the Reunion Ch. 18

I started getting dressed at five. Those clothes were completely outside my realm of experience. The jacket and pants felt silky and had a soft, smooth lining. It was a damned good thing they were twenty-five percent off the regular price. Addie will probably kill me anyway when she finds out how much I spent. I forgot the tie. After spending fifty bucks on it, I was damn sure going to wear it. I took the jacket back off, then put on the tie like Kayla had shown me, pulling it tight around my neck and making sure the shirt's collar was down over it right.

When I was all done, I realized I'd forgotten to shave and brush my teeth. Shit! At least I'd remembered to shower. Off came the jacket, tie, and shirt, then a shave and tooth-brushing and put them all back on.

It was six-fifteen when I was ready. I looked in the mirror and had to admit that I thought I looked pretty damn good.

Michelle had suggested that a bouquet of flowers would be nice to greet my date with, so I stopped at Safeway and explained to the young lady in the floral department that I was picking up a blind date. She suggested a dozen red roses.

While I was there, another idea hit me broadside. Clark Kent! I checked out the reading glasses section and found a pair that looked decent and didn't obstruct my vision enough to worry about. Hey, it worked for Clark Kent, it should for me, too. Anything to make myself less noticeable to Adriana.

I left with the roses, a pretty hourglass-shaped vase and a disguise.

A few minutes later, I pulled up on the street in front of the house. It was actually in Richland, not Kennewick. The towns are connected so that you can't tell when you leave one and enter the other. I sat in the car for a couple minutes, trying to calm my nerves, at least enough so that I'd be able to walk. My pounding heart was jackhammering in my chest like it was doing somersaults! I was damned glad for the tip of the flowers. At least, it was something to hang onto.

I finally developed enough courage to walk up her sidewalk and stood looking at the door, then held my finger right in front of the doorbell button, trying to get the courage to actually push it.