As he entered the door of the Pear Tree, he heard the tinkling of the door chimes. Thomas Wickham kicked the snow off of his boots and removed his stocking cap. He grimaced, he knew he already had "Hat Head". Patti used to tease him mercilessly about it.
Damn. Why did everything have to remind him of her? Especially at this time of year? It had been only a few weeks past a year that she'd been taken, stricken by the same kind of cancer that killed her mother and grandmother.
Thomas managed a weak smile as he thought of his Patti. He'd fallen in love with the beautiful blonde on their very first date, her sweet face matched her sweet nature. She managed to get him out on a toboggan, something no one had ever done. Thomas hated winter, but somehow, with her, the cold didn't matter. When the pair of them tumbled off the sled into the snow, she was on top of him. She leaned over and kissed him, hard.
That was the moment he fell in love with her. He kept that piece of information to himself for a few months, when he finally DID confess how he was feeling, she just gave him a look and said "I knew you were in love with me on our first date."
"How?"
She gave him that shrug that he was to see many times over the next few years. "I just did, that's all. Don't worry about it. Love doesn't punch a time clock. I love you too, dummy."
Their sex that night was wonderful, full of love and unrestrained passion. She had his heart and all the lusts that went with it.
They were together for 5 years before they got married, Patti wanted to finish her degree in English Literature and Thomas wanted to get his Chef's papers and get the restaurant in order. His parents paid for the pair of them to live in France for a year, so he could study at the Cordon Bleu school and a month before his graduation, he asked Patti to become his wife.
Giggling, she told him if he hadn't asked her soon, she was going to ask him.
Thomas and Patti had 5 wonderful years, Le Petite Chou was becoming very successful when Patti started getting sick. She kept it to herself at first, but he was so in tune with her by then, she couldn't hide it for long. He suffered through every agonizing minute with her, supported her and cried unashamedly when she passed away. To this day, he felt almost ill when he thought of her. Which, he knew, she would have hated. Patti believed in LIFE.
While she had a lot of her strength left, but knew what was coming, she jabbed his chest with a fingernail and said "You'd better find someone else mister, or I'm coming back to haunt you, got it?"
Thomas kissed her forehead and said "There will never be anyone as special to me as you, got it?"
Patti murmured something he couldn't quite make out and fell asleep. He cried then, long and hard, unashamedly. She was gone less than three months later.
Thomas' mind returned to the present. He had to get those truffles the newlyweds had requested, the one he used in his signature omelettes. The two lovebirds were having a reception brunch for their wedding.
He approached the owner, Mike Lords, whom Thomas had known for years. "Hiya Mike" he said, good-naturedly. "I can't seem to find those truffles I like. Didja move them on me?"
Mike gave him a warm smile. "Yeah, we've been doing some reorganizing, the new girl's been a wonder at helping us make the best use of our space. Hey, Cheryl, can you come here for a minute?"
Thomas heard the girl approaching as he was getting up from getting a few packages from one of the shelves. He wasn't prepared for what he saw when he got to his feet.
There was an honest-to-gosh vision standing in front of him. She had long, thick auburn hair that went down nearly to her butt. Her eyes were blue, but not the normal baby-blue, these were a deep, rich shining blue. Her smile was bright and beaming, she had high cheekbones on a truly lovely face. Her lips were full and the brightest shade of red he had ever seen.
Cheryl was tall, likely about 5'10" and everything seemed to be in the right place. She was wearing tanned slacks and a tight sweater, this was the most beautiful woman he had seen since he had lost Patti.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"Umm, yeah. I'm looking for truffles, I'm ... "
She smiled at him, even her teeth were perfect. "I know who you are, you're Thomas Wickham, you own the Petite Chou. Some of my friends have eaten there, they say you're food is wonderful!"
The compliment actually made him blush, Cheryl noticed and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Cheryl Partridge. But please, call me Cherie, everyone does."
"Lucky everyone" Thomas thought to himself.
Cherie offered to help him find the remaining items he needed for the Wedding Brunch tomorrow. The lovebirds wouldn't be disappointed, he might even manage to be ahead of schedule, thanks to her help. As Mike was ringing up his purchases, he saw Cherie walking towards the door with her coat on.
"Thanks a lot Cherie, you were a big help!" he called out to her. She came over to him and smiled.
"In that case, care to buy a girl a cup of coffee? It's freezing out there and my car broke down this morning."
Thomas nearly declined, he hadn't been too social since Patti's death, but something about Cherie made him reconsider. "Sure thing, coffee sounds great."
The two of them walked a few blocks to Witter's diner. He'd been going there for years, it wasn't fancy like his place, but the food was hearty and great. He ordered two cups of coffee and realized he was hungry, so he ordered a slice of Pecan Pie. "Would you like something to eat?" he offered Cherie.
"No thanks, I am on a diet" Cherie said, waving her hand and sipping her coffee.
"What the heck for? You look terrific!" Thomas realized what he'd said and blushed again.
Cherie laughed again. "You're blushing, I think that's so cute."
Thomas didn't feel it was too cute, he felt awkward around her, like he did when he was dating in High School, the new kid from another country. Cherie put him at ease soon enough, she chatted affably about this, that and the other thing and he felt good to be in her company. He listened to her chat about her family and barely heard her question him.
