Chapter Seven

By four forty-five, Faith had picked out something that she felt confident about. Jandy hugged her, wished her luck, and left. But instead of immediately heading home, she opted to take a little walk.

Reconnaissance.

She wanted to see exactly what creature had her baby sister so excited and terrified all at once.

Being overprotective, I know, she told herself. But she’s been through so much already. I really hope for Faith’s sake that this guy is the real deal.

She entered Book Keepers and looked around the place, nodding approvingly. She turned toward the front counter where a dark-haired man was finishing up a phone call.

Wow, she thought. Baby sis has good taste.

He ended the call, then looked at her.

“Hi, welcome to Book Keepers. I’m Rick, the owner. How can I help you?”

“Just browsing,” she said.

“Oh, ok, sure,” he said distractedly, and checked his watch. “We close at five on Sundays, so about five minutes from now. But you’re welcome to return anytime. We’re open Wednesday through Saturday from ten a.m. to eight p.m., and from ten to five on Sundays.”

And checked his watch again without realizing it.

“I’ll come back,” she said, and left.

“Geez, he looks as nervous as Faith did,” she murmured. “That’s kind of cute.”

She sent up a silent prayer on her sister’s behalf as she returned to her car and drove away.

***

Rick locked the door behind the last customer.

Oh my God, finally, he thought. It’s almost time to see her again.

He ran on autopilot as he closed out the register, shutting everything down. Then he headed upstairs for a shower. He wanted to look his absolute best.

***

At five-forty p.m. Faith stood in front of her mirror, checking the results. She’d contemplated leaving her hair loose, a silver and brown waterfall down her back, then opted to pile it high into a loose bun instead.

She kept her makeup to a minimum - eyeliner, a hint of shadow, mascara, just a bit of blush, and nude lips. The royal blue sweater fit nicely, showing curves without being tacky or revealing. Slightly faded jeans ran down to her boots.

Jewelry. She pondered it. Typically, she didn’t wear much at all, only her college program ring on her right ring finger. But she found tiny diamond studs she’d forgotten she owned, and those she put on before opting to add a simple gold chain and tiny cross that had been her mother’s.

She thought about, rejected, reconsidered, and finally consented to just a touch of perfume on her wrists and at the base of her neck.

Then she stood a moment, eyes closed, willing herself to remain calm.

Jandy’s voice echoed in her head.

It’s just a meal, right? No major decisions to make tonight. So, let’s chillax a bit.

Chillax.

That still cracked her up.

Must’ve been something Jandy picked up from the kids. Faith’s niece and nephew were what? Nineteen and twenty-one now?

Jesus, time flies, she thought wistfully. She glanced at her watch.

Five-fifty.

It does indeed.

She grabbed her phone and purse, overcame the couch calling to her telling her to play it safe, and firmly locked her front door.

***

As she walked toward Book Keepers, the knot in Faith’s stomach seemed to grow and grow.

Just a meal, it’s just a meal, she chanted in her head as if it were a talisman warding off evil.

Her palms were sweaty. Absentmindedly she scrubbed them on her jeans as she walked. She arrived at the door just as it was opening.

Seeing him standing there made her stomach knot shrink some.

He looks nervous too, she thought, and the realization calmed her further.

He reached out and took her hand.

“Hi,” he said, as he stepped outside. “Let me just lock this, and we’ll head out.”

She watched as he secured the door.

Long sleeve button-up shirt, sleeves rolled to halfway, and the exact same color as her sweater.

It looked good on him.

He turned, caught her gaze, looked down at himself then back to her.

“Great minds, huh?”

“I believe you called it ‘kindred spirits’ the other day.”

“That I did. Shall we?”

And they began to stroll back the direction of her house. The restaurant she’d chosen was about six blocks down and was a favorite of the neighborhood residents.

“Have you been to Jade’s before?”

“Not yet,” Rick admitted. “To be honest, I haven’t really gone more than four blocks this direction since I got here.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat,” Faith said. “Great food, nice atmosphere, and the people that own it are friendly but also give you your space, you know?”

“Sounds great,” he said.

Then he caught her completely off guard by turning to her and stating, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she said, smiling.

They arrived and were seated quickly. Within moments, their drinks were served, and their dinner order placed.

“So,” he asked, “how was the conference?”

“Amazing!” she said. “I have quite the learning curve about the manufacturing industry to work through, so it was nice to go be steeped in it for a week and be surrounded by others in my field. I made a lot of good strong contacts. So now, if I see something that’s particular to manufacturing that I don’t understand, I have people I can reach out to and ask if needed.”

Faith took a drink, then asked, “How was your week?”

“Well,” Rick answered, “pretty interesting. Met a guy named Max Jones.”

“He came back?” Faith interrupted.

"You know him?”

“Kind of,” she said. “He was looking for your Uncle Jack the day before Thanksgiving. Saw me on the street and asked me if I’d seen him lately. Said they were supposed to meet but your uncle wasn’t answering his phone.”

“Yeah,” Rick said. “Uncle Jack always tried to answer, even if it was just to say, ‘I can’t talk, I’ll call you back’. And he never failed to return a call.”

“Anyway, long story short, Mr. Jones is the one that sensed something was wrong, called the police and had them check it out, and that’s how they found him. Oh, and, sorry I interrupted you.”

Rick grinned.

“You’re forgiven. So, you must be the ‘attractive younger woman’ Max was referring to when he told me that exact sequence of events. Small world.”

Faith blushed.

Their conversation was paused as their food arrived and was placed neatly before them. After the waiter refilled their iced teas and left, Rick leaned over slightly and inhaled.

“Smells and looks fabulous.”

“And the best part is, it tastes just as good.”

“As I was saying,” Rick resumed, “Max came down and introduced himself. He said he used to work with my Uncle Jack, then asked if I’d be interested in a little consulting work since Jack was gone.”

“Really? What kind?”

“Solving puzzles.”

“How weird. Why would he ask you that?”

"Remember when I told you I was retired Navy? Well, I was active service for twenty years – as a cryptology technician.”

“That is seriously cool ‘007’ sounding type stuff,” Faith stated. “But what the hell would you need codebreaking skills for in the civilian world?”

Rick leaned in closer.

“It’s not for the civilian sector,” he whispered.

“Oh,” she said, then her eyes widened as understanding dawned. “Ohhh…”

“Yeah,” Rick grinned, and took another bite. “Anyway, it’s classified, I can’t share more than that, but suffice it to say it’s interesting work. I got all the relevant files sent to me this week. A lot of stuff to dig into. I live for this kind of thing, and I get to put everything I learned from my Navy career to good use.”

“Wait, aren’t you going to get into trouble for even telling me this much?” she asked, panicked.

“No,” Rick chuckled. “Besides, I trust you completely.”

“You barely know me.”

“That’s not true. Kindred spirits, like I’ve said before.”

***

With dinner done and the table cleared, they ordered coffee and hot tea, and shared dessert and further details.

He’d been an only child. She told him about her brother and sisters. He talked about his time in the Navy, describing some of the places he’d seen around the world in twenty years’ time. And she walked him through the recent job change that had revitalized her professional life.

They talked birthdays – Faith had her thirty-sixth coming up at the end of June, Rick had just turned thirty-nine in February.

But Faith had a nagging feeling as they went along that he was holding something back from her, something vital. She couldn’t shake it.

Finally, she summoned up the courage and asked the question weighing on her.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

He gazed at her intently for a long time.

“Not here,” he said, and signaled for the check.