Helping Hands

It was another warm evening, but it was a little cooler than it had been the last three days. Zack wore a dressy, dark gray, button-down shirt with navy-blue Dockers and before getting out of the car, used the lint roller on the for second time. He kept the flowers behind his back as he rang the bell.

Seconds later, the door opened and Zack was speechless and didn't even see her dog vying for his attention. He stood there just staring at her while trying not to stare. "Zack? Are you okay?" she asked waiting for him to come in or at least say something.

He broke out of his trance and said, "Wow. I've always thought you were beautiful, but...wow."

He'd never seen her dressed to go out before. Around the ranch she wore only jeans or shorts with cowboy-looking shirts or tee-shirts and often a cowboy hat. This evening she was wearing a white sleeveless rib-knit top with a dark blue skirt that had some small white dots on it. Her spun-gold hair was soft, long, smooth and silky and a perfect match with the gold necklace and matching earrings she was wearing.

"That's why you're my favorite, Zachary! You always know just what to say." Her smile was already killing him and he was still just standing there with his hand behind his back.

"Are you going to come in or just stand there?" She noticed him arm and said playfully, "So what's in your hand, Doctor? Did you bring me something?"

"As a matter of fact I did." He took a step inside and kept his front toward her as she closed the door. "I hope these aren't too much but..."

Kendall smiled and reached around his back saying, "Come on, let me see!"

He showed her the dozen roses with the baby's breath in the plastic sheath and Kendall's smile instantly faded. "Zack. These are..."

She stopped talking and smelled them but didn't speak. "Kendall? If it isn't obvious then..."

"They're beautiful, Zack," she said. She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thank you. That was the sweetest thing ever."

She turned to find a vase and Zack followed her toward the kitchen but didn't say anything else.

As she trimmed the stems she said, "This is a date, isn't it? I mean, that's what you were thinking, right?" She wasn't being mean nor accusatory. She was only seeking clarification.

"Maybe it isn't that obvious." He saw her raise an eyebrow and said, "The way I feel about you, I mean. Or rather...the way I've...felt about you for as long as I can remember."

"After your phone call I was pretty sure that's what you were thinking."

"But that's not what you were thinking, was it?" he said without trying to let his deep disappointment show.

She finished the last flower and put them in the vase and said, "These are SO pretty. I love them, Zack! Thank you."

She asked him to sit down at the table then sat across from him. "Zack, you are the nicest boy...sorry...guy I know. We've been friends for well, a whole lot of years. I had no idea you ever thought of me...like that. I mean, I was married and I loved my husband and you were so..."

"Young?" he said trying to smile.

"Well, yes. Young. Not just young, you're so much younger than me. And I've just started dating again and I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship with anyone right now—no matter how nice...or how cute—he might be."

"Now I know how Cassandra must feel," he said still forcing a smile.

"Your assistant at the clinic, right?"

Zack nodded. "She has a serious crush on me and when I told her you and were going out..."

"On a date..." Kendall added.

"Yes. On a date...she was really hurt."

"Have I hurt your feelings, Zack?" she asked sincerely.

"You've been honest with me, Kendall. What more could I ask for?" He smiled then added, "Just not what more could I hope for, though."

"I...I've just never thought of you...of us...like that before, Zack."

"In the spirit of honesty I'm hoping that you'll be able to at least try and do that."

She sat there just staring at him for a few seconds before saying, "I think I could manage to do that. To at least—try." Her voice was soft and sweet and more importantly...encouraging.

"If I didn't already say it, you look absolutely amazing, Kendall. I don't think I've ever seen you in anything but work clothes."

Kendall looked down for a moment then said, "I spent a long time trying to decide what to wear tonight. I tried on a couple of dresses and that felt too formal. I tried a blouse and it seemed to informal and I ended up settling on this." She looked up at him and said, "I guess if I were to be completely honest with myself, there must be a reason why it mattered so much to me."

"Date or just dinner, I wanted you to know how I feel about you, Kendall. I've dated quite a few girls over the years, but I've never been...interested in anyone before. So for now, if 'trying' is what you can offer, then I'll reluctantly settle for trying."

He was watching her eyes carefully as he spoke and between what he believed he saw and what she'd said before he was now hopeful.

"I guess we should probably be going," Kendall said cheerfully with a smile. "I haven't had anything to eat since about ten o'clock and I'm starving!"

On the way back into Pueblo, they talked about his time at college and vet school as well as how he liked the practice so far. They also had just enough time before they arrived for her to very briefly talk about her marriage to Robert and how she'd gotten along since his passing. It was obvious Kendall missed him, but it was equally obvious she was lonely and already tired of being alone. It even seemed she was very tired of trying to run that big ranch by herself. But now that she'd taken Barrett's money, she had to be fully committed to it even though Zack had the sense she'd like nothing more than to be out from under it.

Zack parked the car and went around to open Kendall's door. "Thank you," she told him sincerely as she stepped out holding her purse and draping the ubiquitous sweater over one arm. "In case I get chilly," she said unnecessarily.

The sign over the door said "Tsunami Sushi Bar Wok & Grill" which they read together as Zack opened the door for her.

"I've only had sushi the one time," she warned him. "I enjoyed it, but I don't really know what everything is. You may need to help me out with the menu."

The were shown to one of the booths and Zack sat across from her as the hostess handed them their menus. Kendall smiled at him and said, "In the spirit of trying, would you like to maybe sit next to me?" Her eyebrows were raised in anticipation of a positive answer.

"Well, I would never do anything to stand in the way of your efforts so...yes, I would like that very much." Zack stood up and Kendall slid over making room for him.

"Okay, so what is all this stuff?" she asked as she looked at the menu. "What is sashimi?" Before he could answer Kendall said, "Oh, this looks good! It's a sample plate with a little of everything." She laid her menu down and looked over at him and said, "What do you think about trying that?"

Zack smiled and said, "If it involves trying, I'm all for it."

Kendall caught his reference immediately and laughed. "Smart, cute, and funny! You're quite the package deal, Doctor Bartlett."

"So you're warming up to me then?" he asked with mock seriousness.

"Don't push your luck," she said pretending to be putting him in his place.

When their order came, Kendall picked up her chopsticks and said, "Don't you dare make fun of me. I've only used these things a few times before."

"All that matters is that you...try," he told her.

She took her chopsticks and playfully poked him in the ribs. "You're trying my patience right about now...Doctor Bartlett!"

She pulled the paper covering off of them and said, "Okay, where do you recommend starting?" She hovered over all of the choices with her chopsticks then said, "How about with explaining to me what each of these things is?"

"Okay, let's start with the difference between sushi and sushimi." Zack gave her a quick tutorial on the vinegared rice which was called 'sushi' on which the raw seafood was served and 'sushimi' which is also made up of raw fish and other seafood but without the rice.

He picked up a piece of raw tuna and said, "This is called 'Ahi." He dipped it in a sauce then offered it to her and she took a bite while making a face as though it might be awful.

"Mmm. Not bad!" she said. "What else?"

Zack walked her through each type of fish or seafood from 'Ebi' or shrimp to 'Hamachi' which means yellowtail. Each time, Kendall took a small bite and Zack finished the piece. One of the pieces fell into a dish of wasabe and the splatter left a tiny spot on her white top directly on top of one of her boobs. "Well, that couldn't have hit in a worse place now, could it?" she quipped making both of them laugh.

She looked down at the stain then over at Zack who said, "Uh-uh. Sorry, you're on your own with that. I'm not touching anyone—there." He looked away from the stain and added, "Or even looking." Kendall laughed again before they braved the next piece which was called 'Taco' or octopus in Japanese.

"Is that a tentacle?" Kendall asked pushing it away when it was offered.

"Yes, but trust me. It doesn't...suck."

Kendall cut her eyes at him then made a spewing noise as she burst out laughing. "I haven't laughed like this in so long!" she said reaching up to wipe tear from her eye.

"Let me get that," Zack said. Kendall lowered her arm and turned toward him. "I'm not worried about looking at this part of you," he said as he dabbed her eyes.

As he did, something in the way she looked at him changed. It was only for the briefest of moments, but it was there and it only added to the feeling of hopefulness that had been slowly building. "There! Good as new," he said when he was done.

"Thank you," she said sweetly before suddenly looking away.

"The wine pairing was excellent," she said changing the subject. Neither of them were connoisseur enough to fully appreciate it, but the wine seemed to be quite good.

Once most of their food was gone, Zack said, "I saw something on the menu I think we should try." Kendall gave him a 'be careful, buddy' kind of look as he reached for it.

"Here it is," he said pointing to it. It read Fried Banana Tempura with Vanilla or Chocolate ice cream.

"You can't be serious," she said to him. "I know you take really good care of yourself and you're not going to put that in your body? Are you?"

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," he said as he got their server's attention.

"Garbage in, garbage out is more like it," she said wrinkling up her nose. "Fried banana tempura. Are you kidding?"

"Nope. See anything you like?" he said as he placed his order along with two cups of coffee.

"No thanks, I'll pass on dessert," she said, still giving him a look of disgust over what was essentially a fried banana.

When the dessert arrived, Kendall scooted over and said, "Get that thing away from me!"

Zack had to admit it did look pretty awful, but sliced into it anyway with the knife he hadn't yet used then speared it with a clean fork. He picked it up and waggled it in front of Kendall who turned away and said, "Don't you dare!"

He waited for her to slowly turn back his way before setting his fork down and asking her, "Okay, so what happened to the whole 'spirit of trying' thing we had going on here?"

She wrinkled her nose at him and said, "Just when I was thinking I might actually kind of maybe like you...a little..." She gave him another faux dirty look before had, "Very little...you do...this." She pointed to the ugly banana and made yet another face.

Zack picked his fork back up then looked right at her and said, "Come on. You know you want to." He tilted his head at the banana and said pretending to be the banana, "You think I'm gorgeous...you want to kiss me...you want to hug me..."

Kendall started laughing as she completed the movie line from Miss Congeniality, "You want to smooch me...you want to..." She was laughing and looking right at him as Zack leaned over and kissed her while still holding the piece of banana in front of her with the fork.

"Yes, I do want to smooch you, and to hug you and..." he said.

Kendall briefly looked at him then quickly turned away and said, "I love that movie." Her eyes told him something had changed yet again although neither of them mentioned the kiss. After maybe a second which seemed like much longer to Zack, Kendall said, "Okay. You win. I'll try it. But if it's as nasty as it looks..."

She opened her mouth and let him feed her again. She made still one more face as she bit down, but the face soon changed to one of complete surprise. "Oh, my God! That is the most delicious thing ever!" She picked up her fork and said, "Let me have that!"

Kendall reached for the dessert plate, but Zack was ready. He slid it just out of her reach and said, "So I was right. It is good."

She tried reaching over and under his arm to get at it as she said, "Okay, you were right. It's delicious. It's...amazing! Just one more bite, okay?"

"I think an apology is in order here," he said keeping one hand on the small plate.

"You are so mean!" she told him. "Please? Just one more tiny little bite of heaven? Please???"

"Nope. Not until you admit you were wrong."

She tried going under his arm one last time before giving in. "All right already! I was wrong. It's delicious. Now please let me have some more!"

He slowly slid the plate her way and as she pounced for it, he quickly slid it back to the other side. "Not so fast!" he told her. "We have to share."

"Okay, that sounds reasonable," she said waiting for him to put the dish back between them.

Zack cut off a small piece and said, "My turn."

He watched Kendall spear it for him and move her fork toward his mouth. Just as he opened, she snatched it away and ate it herself.

"Oh, you are in so much trouble!" he told her as she chewed and shrieked and laughed all at the same time. "But it's SO good!" she said holding one hand in front of her mouth as she chewed. It's better-than-sex good!"

Several people had turned to see what the ruckus was about and one older couple heard what she said. She waved politely to them as they turned away while she finished chewing. Then she leaned over to Zack and said, "Well, it is."

Zack laughed and told her, "Then you've been doing something very wrong."

Kendall again looked at him briefly and said, "Let me tell you, I haven't been doing anything, right or wrong, for a very long time."

Zack laughed then Kendall laughed. She picked up her knife and pointed it at him and said, "And that wasn't a hint, by the way, so don't go getting any ideas, okay? Just stating a fact. Got it?"

"Got it," he told her. "And I've got time. All the time in the world."

Kendall got more serious and said, "Patience just earned you a whole lot of points on the 'I'm trying' scale."

"Then I'm glad I said it," was all he said back to her.

They each took turns taking a bite until it was gone. Kendall wiped her mouth and said, "I don't even wanna know how many gazillion calories was in that thing, but it was so delicious!"

"Did I already tell you I told you so?" he teased.

"Oh, at least once or twice already but go ahead and pour some more salt into the wound why don't you?"

She smiled at him in a way that made him want to kiss her again more than anything in the world, but he wasn't going to press his luck. "Slow and steady wins the race," he told himself as he looked back at her.

"This was really nice, Zack," she said. "I'm so glad you asked me out. I can't remember the last time I had such a good time. Thank you."

Zack never moved even when she kissed him on the cheek or when she took his hand. He only smiled back at her before turning away as they sipped the coffee he'd ordered with the dessert.

Later, as they pulled up to her house she said, "I really did have a wonderful time tonight, Zachary."

"Wonderful enough for a second date?" he asked.

She looked over at him and smiled at him and said, "Yeah. Definitely. I'd like that."

"May I walk you to the door?" he asked her.

She looked down into her lap before answering. "That might not be such a good idea, Zack." She looked over at him and said very sweetly, "If I let you get that close to my door I might invite you in and if I invite you in, well... Maybe later, okay?"

"I'm not in any hurry, Kendall. And I had a great time tonight, too." He reached over and gently brushed back her long, golden hair and told her, "I've always known you're very pretty and I always believed you were as nice as you are beautiful. But tonight I learned for sure I was right."

"Thank you, Zack," she said. "I...I always thought you were very handsome, too. Well, since you grew up, that is." She smiled at him then continued. "And I also knew you were a really great guy. I'd just never thought of you like...you know...like...this."

"How am I doing...like this?" he asked still playing with a strand of her hair.

"Well enough that I'm scared?" she replied in the form of a question.

"Don't be afraid," he told her.

"It's not that easy, Zach," she said softly. "Can you just give me some time? Please?"

"Take as much as you need, Kendall. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you," she said. "So...good night?"

"Yes, good night," he told her. She didn't move so Zach decided he would. He leaned over hoping she would turn toward him and he was rewarded with an actual, real first kiss. It lasted just two or three seconds but it was the most wonderful, amazing kiss he'd ever had in his life.

"May I least come around and open your door?" he asked as her face was just an inch from his.

"Okay," she said so quietly he could barely hear her.

He got out, walked around, and opened her door. He helped her stand up then closed it. "So...good night," he told her again.

"Good night, Zack," she said. She put her hand on his cheek then kissed him quickly one more time. Just a short peck but on the lips this time. "Will you call me?" she asked.

"Guaranteed," he told her.

"Okay so...good night then," she said one last time as she lowered her hand and turned to walk inside.

As he watched her walk away he realized he wasn't even hard, something that had never happened before when he'd been around her. "Things they are a changin'," he said to himself as he got back in his car to drive home.

Zack was on top of the world the next morning at work while Cassandra was more subdued than he could ever remember. She barely spoke to him again and it got bad enough that Dr. Weber noticed something was wrong.

He came in and set down in Zack's office and closed the door. "What's going on with Cassandra, Zack?" he asked coming right to the point.

Zack stopped inputting data and told him the truth. "She has a kind of thing for me. I didn't know about it when I agreed to go see a movie with her. She thought that meant I must have feelings for her, too, and now that I'm dating Kendall, she..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he said putting his hand out. "What do you mean you're dating Kendall?"

He told her about their dinner and obliquely mentioned the romantic nature of the date. Dr. Weber said, "Holy cow. It seems like the entire world has changed since you got here."

He looked at Zack and said, "Look, what you and Kendall do is your business. But what goes on here is mine." He wasn't being mean, he was simply letting his new partner know how he felt. "Cassandra really is indispensable around here, Zack. Smooth this thing over somehow and make it go away. Okay?"

Zack thought about 'the spirit of trying' as he told his mentor, "I'll try." He noticed that didn't seem to satisfy the older man so he said, "I'll do my best." Still not satisfied he told him, "I'll take care of it. Today."