Chapter 3: Getting to Know Her
It was a great afternoon. We headed out into the surrounding countryside and just cruised for while before stopping at an old auction barn on a whim. It was long past the auction time, but people were still there paying for their purchases and picking up their prizes. We wandered around, looking at the various items that hadn't been sold or weren't picked up yet. I always liked auctions, especially these country kind. All sorts of old stuff turns up, and you never know from week to week just what you might find.
Merilee apparently shared my feelings because I think we spent an hour just looking and touching and wondering what some of the items were. It was too late to buy anything, but that was just as well. The 'vette wasn't designed to carry much other than two people.
It was starting to cool off as you would expect in the late afternoon, and I handed her my windbreaker so she wouldn't get cold. She thanked me with a kiss on the cheek, something I sure didn't expect, but made me feel pretty good. We wound the windows up and I turned on the heater so we would be comfortable on the ride back to her house.
As I walked her to the door, she had her arm wrapped in mine, another thing I didn't expect. We weren't talking, just slowly walking toward what I thought was the end of a very nice afternoon.
"Do you want to come in?" she asked me. "My parents are out at some association function and won't be home until late. We could have dinner together if you like."
"Uhhm ... yeah ... sure ... that would be nice. You sure I'm not ... well ... you know ...."
"No ... I don't know," she said with a funny look.
"I mean ... I really had a good time this afternoon. I just don't want to ... I don't know ... maybe take advantage of you ... your ... what do you call it ... hospitality?" I couldn't have sounded like much more of a jerk if I'd tried.
She smiled at me with that beautiful, easy smile. "Dieter, I had a wonderful time this afternoon also. You are a very nice man and I like spending time with you. Please ... I don't enjoy eating alone, and besides, you can help me in the kitchen ... even if it's just doing the dishes."
"I can do that. The dishes, I mean. Otherwise, I'll let you decide if you want me to do more."
"You make your own meals, don't you?" she said as she walked to the kitchen.
"Yeah. Nothing fancy, mind you. But I eat proper food. Not just burgers and burritos."
"Good for you. That's smart. It's almost what I expected," she said, looking back at me with a little grin.
"Jeez, you've got me pegged pretty good, have you?"
"If you mean I've figured you out, you're wrong. I haven't got you figured out at all, as a matter of fact. You're nothing like I expected," she said as she went about pulling things out of the refrigerator and cupboards.
"So ... what were you expecting?"
"I'd rather not say," she said.
She looked at me with that funny look I saw once in a while.
"I guess I expected someone more ... rough," she went on. "Not mean or nasty, but ... you know ... rough!"
I shook my head. "Merilee ... I am rough. I'm not slick and polished like some college guy. I come from a working class background and I'm not ashamed of it. I know I don't talk like the guys you're used to being with, but that's just who I am. So why wouldn't you expect me to be ... rough?"
Now she was shaking her head.
"I'm not talking about how you speak. I'm talking about what kind of person you are. How you act around other people. I could see how close you are to your parents. You love them and they love you. They don't pretend to be something they're not either. I like them. I like them a lot. And ... I like you."
She had a nice smile on her face when she finished her little speech. It was a surprise ... but a nice surprise. I didn't know how to respond to it, though.
"Maybe I should clear up something, Merilee. Marla is my step-mother. My Dad hired her for the business, and one thing led to another. She wasn't just good for the business, she was good for the ... I mean, Pop."
"Were you ever going to tell me that you are the majority owner of your business?" she asked slyly.
"How did you find that out?" I was surprised she knew.
"It wasn't hard. I just checked the county record files when the business was incorporated. You started that business and your father joined you later on. That makes you quite a remarkable young entrepreneur."
"Why would you go to all that trouble?"
"Curiosity. I told you ... you aren't what I expected ... so I was curious."
"I don't tell anyone about the ownership because Pop is the guy that runs the show. I mean ... he really runs the show. I just do my thing with the customers and suppliers and make sure we have new business whenever I can find it."
"My father thinks you are the engine in that company. You are always looking for ways to make it better. That's why you've grown as fast as you have. People like doing business with people they can rely on. You don't have the lowest prices, but you have the best quality and service. So ... end of sermon," she grinned.
"Yeah ... let's get off this business talk," I agreed.
I was sitting on a stool at the island in the middle of their big kitchen. It was damn near restaurant size and everything was either cherry wood or stainless steel. There was a silence for a few moments before Merilee turned to me.
"What would you say if I suggest we should get to know each other better? You know, go out together?"
