Connections

Kate had a moment where she wondered if Liv could read minds or saw the 'butt stare' before saying, "Oh. I'm not really sure what time will work for me, so if I bump into him, great."

"All right. I will definitely look forward to seeing you again," Liv told her just as two more customers walked in with loads of dirty clothes.

"Looks like I chose the right time!" Kate said as she said her goodbye.

On the drive home Kate laughed when she thought about calling Megan to tell her she'd met someone. She imagined her daughter's excitement as she asked who he was, what he was like, and if he was handsome.

Kate would never say it, even if Cam was a possibility, but she laughed even more when she thought about telling Megan, "He has a really nice butt!"

Over the next four days, as her laundry slowly piled up again, Kate thought a lot about trying the dating site Megan recommended to her. Maybe it wouldn't be as awful as she thought, and it couldn't be any worse than trying to meet someone on your own. Then again, she'd never made any effort to do that, so it probably wasn't fair or accurate. Neither option appealed to her, and yet she couldn't stop thinking about one very unlikely opportunity.

She looked at the basket and knew she could wait two more days, but it was 7am, and the laundromat opened at 7:30, and since it was a Friday, she decided to wash clothes. She'd already worked out and showered, so some mascara and very nice gray sweater and a pair of jeans and a pair of flats were all she needed for the cool morning.

She tried not to be obvious when she walked in, but she hadn't taken two steps when Cam called out her name.

"Kate! Good mornin'!" he said when he saw her.

He was removing tokens from washing machines and stopped to go talk to her.

"You came back," he said, that amazing smile on his face.

"If I could just get these clothes to clean themselves!" she joked, getting a loud laugh.

Cam leaned her way and put one hand up to block his mouth as though he was sharing some deep, dark secret.

"The key is asking them nicely. Yeah, try that, and you'll never have to wash another load."

Now Kate laughed just as heartily before Cam said something that shut it down.

"On second thought, don't do that."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, I'd never get to see you again," he said, still doing the hand & whisper thing.

"Oh. Right. No, we wouldn't want that, huh?"

She opened the washer's front door as Cam said, "I can't speak for you, but I'd be pretty bummed if that were to happen."

She dropped some of the clothes when she understood what he meant. Adding insult to injury, the clothes that fell were a bra and two pair of panties. Plain old...old-women's panties.

"Um...sorry, but I'm not picking those up for you," Cam told her as he lifted his head as his eyes looked down at the dainties in front of his feet.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so embarrassed."

She quickly grabbed them and tossed them in and shut the door.

"Delicate cycle, right?" Cam asked.

Kate couldn't look at him, but she did reply.

"Oh, um...yes. Delicate."

He had a kind of master security card or something and waved it in front of a red light. The machine then asked for a cycle selection which he made manually. The water began running, and Cam smiled and told her it was on the house.

"What just happened?" Kate asked.

"I started the machine for you," he told her in a matter of fact way.

"But why? You didn't have to do that," she told him.

"Well, I have to try some way to get your attention. So far, nothing else has worked."

He smiled and waited for her to look at him before saying, "I'm sure there are a bunch of guys out there who'd like to ask you out, so I'm just trying to give myself the best chance possible."

He watched her reaction then said, "My little ploy isn't working, is it?"

Kate was speechless, a stunned look on her face.

"Did you just...ask me...out?"

"I...kinda did," he replied with a little shrug and a 'can you blame me' look before saying it.

"But can you blame me?"

"Huh?"

"This is a college town. Hot girls are everywhere. But beautiful women aren't. Especially beautiful women who have grace and class. So when I meet one--who's single--I do my best to try and find a way to get to know her. Granted, my efforts have been pretty lame thus far, but come on, we're in a laundromat, right?"

"Did Live tell you I have daughter in college?"

"She may have mentioned it."

"And you heard me say I was in laundromats in the 80s."

"Every word."

That smile on his face was so...unfair!

Kate kind of stared at then said, "Liv told me your age, so you can understand why I'm having trouble...understanding."

"Not really, no. Unless you see me as a college student. But I graduated a little over five years ago."

He got very serious as he said, "I'm a catch because I don't live with my parents, and I have a job! So yeah, you better say 'yes' before some other beautiful woman gets ahold of me."

She made a 'pfft' sound then laughed.

"You're really asking me out?"

"So far, it's been hints and innuendo, so let be more direct. Kate? Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me tomorrow night at 7pm?"

"You're really serious."

"As the proverbial heart attack," he said in a way that made her have to cover her mouth when she laughed.

"Oh, my goodness. You really are asking me out."

"Hey! You're finally catching on!" he said as that smile reappeared and made her tummy flip-flop. "So...will you?"

"I...I guess so," she barely managed to say as the shock slowly started to wear off.

"I guess so," he repeated as he put his hand under his chin to show he was thinking deeply. "Okay. I'll take it! That's not exactly a resounding endorsement, but for a woman as beautiful as you, I'll have to accept that!"

Secretly flattered and now also secretly happy, she rolled her eyes and raised her eyebrows.

"Don't get too cocky over there. It's just dinner."

"Ah, you say that now," he told her as he tilted his head at her.

Unable to stop herself Kate finally smiled. A bright, happy smile that belied her hesitation.

"See! You kinda like me. I can tell," Cam said as he narrowed his eyes and pointed at her when he said 'you'.

"Don't flatter yourself!" Kate said playfully as though she were serious.

In a flash, Cam had his phone in his hand, holding it out for Kate.

"If you'll just enter the secret code...."

She laughed again as he put his hands on either side of the phone to 'shield it' from prying eyes.

"Can't be too careful. Those...commie spies are everywhere!"

She gave him another playful look that said, "You're ridiculous."

"Thank you," he told her in his serious tone.

He then folded his arms and again narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know why yet, but you're different than any woman I've ever met, but I will find out why."

"Probably because I'm older than any woman you've ever m...asked out," she said, trying to mimic his demeanor.

"Not unless you're 46," he told her, causing her eyes to bug out.

"Forty-six? Are you kidding?" Kate asked.

He did the fake serious thing again then looked around and leaned in.

"Kate? I love to joke around. I have a great sense of humor. But...I never kid. So, yes, 46, and she said 'yes', and it was fantastic. So unless you're older than that, you're not the oldest woman I've ever asked out. But you are quite possibly the most...alluring and...intriguing."

As he moved back she couldn't help but laugh and like him. He did have a sense of humor, and that was important to her, because life often got difficult, and the ability to laugh when it did made things so much easier. He was clearly well-educated, he was obviously willing to work hard, and he was, well, flat out gorgeous. But he was also...27. And had gone out with a woman older than her. She was dying to ask if there'd been a second date and why or why not but decided that could wait.

As she thought about those things, Cam sent her a text just as someone called for his help at the token dispenser.

Kate read it smiled. "May I have your address, please?"

She sent it to him, and for the first time she learned her ex-husband was boinking a co-ed, Kate Bennett felt lighthearted and unencumbered by the past. She was even feeling mildly optimistic about the future in spite of Cam's...lack of time on earth.

Okay, so he was younger than her. A lot younger. But she hadn't been on a date in...she thought back and got sad, so she quit by saying, "Too long," and left it at that.

This time as she drove home, Kate not only thought about calling her daughter she used the buttons on her steering wheel to do so.

"Mom. Are you okay?" Megan asked.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because it's like early in the morning."

"It's 9:30, Megan. You know I'm up at 6."

"But I'm not. My first class is at noon."

"Okay. Then I won't tell you about how I was just asked out by a very attractive man. Talk to you l...."

"Stop! Don't you DARE hang up!" her daughter said as she sat up in bed. "Details, Mother. NOW!"

Her mom laughed in a way Megan hadn't heard in quite awhile and it made her smile. Kate gave her the gist of the story without any mention of the thing Megan would latch onto were she to know.

"That is SO great, Mom! Wow. So your washing machine dies, you go to a laundromat, and you meet Dreamy Guy. How cool is that?"

"Megan, it's just one date," her mom said. "But I am kind of excited!"

Megan squealed like a teenager, which she still was, and Kate was so happy she squealed, too.

"Okay, Mom. You WILL call me tomorrow night no matter how late, right?"

Kate went to answer, but Megan threw out a caveat.

"Unless, of course, you uh, end up at his place or your pl...."

"Megan! Oh...my...god! Would you stop!"

"Um...Mom? As Forest Gump said, 'It...happens'."

"Well, not to me, it doesn't!"

"Okay. Then you'll have no excuse not to call me."

"I'm a little concerned, though."

"About what?" Megan asked.

"I'm up at 6am, but I can't remember the last time I stayed up later than ten."

Megan laughed then told her mom, "Yeah, it sucks getting old, huh? Should I call the retirement home for you?"

"Fine, fine. Mock me if you will, but I haven't exactly had any reason to stay up, and TV pretty much...."

"Blows?" Megan offered.

Kate couldn't help but laugh as she said, "I was going to say 'sucks', but okay."

Megan thought about her current 'hook up guy' who was laying next to her and how those two words were part and parcel of all of their hookups, but there was no way she was going to tell her mother that.

"I hope you have a wonderful time, Mom, and I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks, honey, and I'm sorry I woke you up."

Megan looked at her hook up who hadn't even stirred when the phone rang or during the call and told herself that was okay. When she said 'goodbye' she woke him up using those words which immediately got his attention and then, in turn, something stood at attention which then led to some amazing morning sex, something Megan did quite often.

Satisfied, Megan laughed when she thought about how she was hoping her mom might find someone to satisfy her. Just not tomorrow after a first date. Because she was her mom and mom's didn't do that sort of thing. Even though she knew they did, it made her feel better to see her own mom as sort of saintly and pure. Just not too pure.

Kate hung up and realized she had put her freshly-washed and dried clothes away yet. She smiled as she put her underwear in a dresser drawer, recalling how they'd fallen on the floor right in front of Cam. They were made of fabric like other clothes, and yet they were different in a way that caused people laugh or feel uncomfortable in a situation like that.

That wasn't her concern, but seeing them made her think about the date, and that made her think about what to wear. She sometimes envied men who didn't have to do hair or makeup or decide what to wear. Just shower and maybe shave then throw on anything and look great. And yet Kate loved being a woman and having so many options to choose from. But before she could decide she needed to know where Cam was taking her, and then even that made her laugh when she thought about him 'taking her to heaven'.

She'd just put the last thing away when she heard her phone notify her of an incoming text. She felt like a kid at Christmas when she saw it was from 'him', and after reading it she felt like she had when she got something she'd wanted for a present.

"Hi Kate. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again! So...how do you feel about seafood? Yea? Nay? Maybe?"

Kate loved that he was asking her opinion rather than telling her where they were going. She liked men to be decisive, but she wanted to have an equal say in decisions.

"I love seafood! No maybe about it. And I'm looking forward to seeing you, too, Cam."

"This is so much fun!" she said after sending it. She didn't care that all of this felt like high school except that there were texts instead of phone calls.

"Wonderful! How about Rock and Rye Oyster Bar? I'm open to other ideas, too. Just let me know."

"That sounds lovely! I also like Anthony's at Squalicum Harbor. Both are quite nice."

"I haven't been to Anthony's, but I hear it's excellent. If that sounds good to you we can give it a try."

"Yes! That would be wonderful. It's casual to 'mildly dressy'. For what that's worth. lol!"

Cam smiled when he read her text.

"It's supposed to be chilly. There's a cold air mass moving down from Canada. Brrrr!"

"Sounds like sweater weather!"

"Indeed! So can I pick you up at 7?"

"I'll be ready!"

"See you then."

"No wonder young people like texting so much!" she said to herself as she went to decide what to wear.

For the time of year Bellingham averaged a high of 55 and a low of 40. Kate heard on the local news it was going to drop down to 40 by sunset and 34 overnight. That made her decision easy.

She showered, shaved her legs and underarms then blow dried her long, dark hair. She put it in big rollers around 5:30 and got dressed while time did its thing.

She had a very pretty dark-yellow sweater she hadn't worn in months and paired it with a dark-green skirt that came to about four inches above her knee. She loved that she still had the legs to pull it off, and the size 6 skirt made all the workouts worth it.

She put a towel around her neck and did her makeup. By the time she was done, the rollers needed to come out, and as she combed her long, silky hair she felt pretty which was something she hadn't cared much about lately. Now, however, that mattered to her a lot, and she smiled when she thought about the reason why. Until she really thought about it and asked herself what in the world she was doing going on a date with someone only a few years older than her daughter.

A sense of despair hit her, and she almost called Cam and told him she couldn't go. But she wasn't going to lie, and telling the truth was almost as bad, so she resolved she would go, be polite, then never, ever be so...stupid...again.

She had a pair of 5-inch heels she'd only worn once and was going to wear them, but she didn't feel quite so 'exotic' anymore. So why then didn't she wear the flats that were just a little lower on the rack? Why did she choose a pair of boots with three-inch heels? She justified it by telling herself it would be cold, and these were the only nice boots she had.

It was almost seven, and Kate suddenly felt paralyzed. She had her coat, gloves, and purse ready but her stomach was churning and she felt a little queasy. And then there was a knock at the door.

"Don't throw up, don't throw up, don't...."

She took a deep breath and opened the door as her tummy roiled.

"Hi," Cam said as he handed her a bouquet of lavender roses. "I believe this color is okay for a first date with a woman a guy really wants to impress. Or at least that's what the internet tells me."

His smile was so amazing that, with the flowers, her stomach quit churning and butterflies appeared.

"These are beautiful!" Kate said as she asked him to come in. "How on earth did you find these this time of year?"

"In Florida," he told her, his dimples dimpling as he told her he had to special order them.

"Cam. You shouldn't have. This is...too much!"

Kate forgot about every single thing she'd been fretting about as she went to the kitchen to get a vase.

"You look so...hot!" Cam told her. "I was gonna say 'beautiful' which is true, but...wow!"

Kate laughed nervously then told he looked...hot...too.

He was wearing a kind of fisherman's sweater that made him look sophisticated on top of just plain gorgeous, and Kate told him she loved the look.

"Thank you, and...good. I never spend any time thinking about what to wear, but I went back and forth all afternoon. Because...I really do want to make an impression."

"I think that's a given," Kate told him as she tried to focus on trimming stems and not on how 'hot' her date looked.

"My date? Oh my gosh," she said to herself as the earlier concerns tried to resurface. But when she looked over at him and saw him looking at her, smiling, the concerns slunk away in despair of their own.

"Okay. Unless you'd like a drink, I'm ready."

"I'm fine," he told her.

Kate had no idea where the words came from as she didn't talk that way, but she said, "You most certainly are."

As he helped her with her coat he told her from behind, "You really do look amazing, Kate."

She grabbed her purse and gloves, set the alarm, then stepped outside.

"It's so cold!" she said when the cold air hit her.

"The front's moving in. Let's get you in the car."

He opened her door and waited for her to pull her legs in then closed it. Kate didn't care much about cars, but she did notice that Cam drove a nice Toyota Camry with leather seats. Not a Lexus, but not a Ford Fiesta, either, although she wouldn't have cared either way. It seemed just about right for a very handsome man...of his age.

"I had the heater on, so it'll warm up quickly," he promised.

The sun was long down, and it was dark, but because there weren't any clouds, a very unusual thing for the time of year, it wasn't pitch black outside. The cab was toasty warm in just a couple of minutes, and Kate said that it felt so good not to be cold.

"So you have a daughter?" Cam both said and asked.

"Yes. Megan."

"And a freshman at WSU, right?"

"Right. I just spoke with her, and she seems to be doing fine."

"My first year of college was...memorable," Cam said with a laugh.

"Let me guess. Frat parties. Kegs of beer. Skipping class, etc."

Cam laughed then told her he went to the Naval Academy.

"Oh. Oh, my heavens. I feel like such an...idiot!"

"No, you are definitely not that," he said as he looked over at her. "Let's just say I was rather busy. All the time."

She asked about the routine, and Cam gave her a quick rundown about Plebe Summer and that first year.

"I wouldn't have lasted one day," she admitted without shame. "In fact, I wouldn't have even been admitted, but that's another story."

She asked more questions, but after answering two, Cam said, "I'd really rather talk about you, Kate. Tell me about yourself."

"Oh, boy. Where to start."

"You can skip the part about being born in a log cabin and just...."

She gave him a playful shove as she said, 'ha-ha' and got a laugh.

"I'm not that old," she said with feigned indignance.

"No, you're most definitely not," he said in a voice that made her feel wonderful along with another glance her way. She left her hand on near the gear shift, and when Cam took it, her heart skipped a beat. "So please go on."

She talked about where she grew up, her family, meeting her ex, Megan's birth, and her current job.