Free Broken Lives by Brenda Kennedy Page A

the kids from school and
is taking everyone out for pizza before going to their taekwondo
class.
    I pick up the house and try to calm the
butterflies in my belly. When the doorbell rings, I double check
myself in the mirror before answering it. I look outside and see
that Alec is standing there in a black suit. I smile and open the
door. “Hi, you don’t have to knock.” I open the door for him to
come in. 
    “ Tonight we are on a date —
we are not roommates. You look lovely this
evening.” 
    “ All right, thank you and
please come in. You look very handsome.”
    “ Thank you, and these are
for you.”
    Alec hands me a beautiful bouquet of lilacs.
I take the vase of flowers from him and smell them. “These smell so
good, thank you.” 
    “ You are more than welcome.
Are you ready?” 
    “ I am, where are we going
tonight?” 
    “ It’s a surprise; are you
ready?” 
    I look at Alec, who is
smiling at me. I can’t help but smile back. “I am. Where did you get the suit? Do you have an
apartment I don’t know about?” I joke. 
    “ No, I took the clothes to
work with me. I didn’t want to get ready with you. I wanted this to
be special.” 
    “ It still would have been
special, no matter where you got ready.” He opens the door for me,
and I take his hand after he locks up. We walk to the car in
silence. When he opens my door, I look up at him. “If I forget to tell you later, I had a really
good time tonight.” 
    “ Thank you,
Emma.” 
    He waits for me to get situated before
closing my car door. I watch him walk in front of the car to the
driver’s side. He stands tall and confidently. He squares his
shoulders and looks around before getting into his car. We fasten
our seatbelts at the same time and he looks over at me and smiles.
I get butterflies in my belly — I can’t be certain why. This isn’t
our first date, so why do I feel like it is? 
    “ Are you ready,
Baby?” 
    I nod. Just the way he says that increases
the flutter in my belly. I look away from him when I feel the blush
rise to my face. Am I ready for what? It’s just dinner, right?
Again, I feel like this is our first date. He reaches over the
console and takes my hand. 
    I look over at his handsome face; he winks at
me before looking back at the road. He is clean shaven, and his
hair is neatly combed. Alec has put a lot of thought into this date
tonight. His suit looks new, and his shirt looks like it has been
starched. I look at my dress and smooth it out. I hope I look as
good as he does. All of a sudden, I feel underdressed.
    “ Emma, you look stunning
tonight.”
    He always knows what I am thinking. “Thank
you, but I feel underdressed. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn something
so snug?” 
    He looks over at me and squeezes my hand. “I
think it’s perfect for this evening.” 
    All of a sudden, I feel perfectly
dressed. 
    We pull up to the valet parking at Café
L’Europe at St. Armands Circle. 
    Alec says, “I’ll get your door for you.” I
watch Alec as he gets out of the car and shakes hands with the
valet attendant. He carefully places the valet ticket in his inside
jacket pocket before opening my car door for me. I stand and smooth
my dress out before taking his hand.
    We walk hand in hand into the crowded foyer
of the restaurant. “Hello, Dr. Collins, we have your table waiting
for you. Please follow me.” 
    “ Thank you,
Theresa.”
    I hold Alec’s hand as we follow the hostess
through the crowded restaurant to a secluded table for two in back
of the room. The table is small and intimate. A single white rose
sits in the center of a round white linen cloth-covered table. The
lights are dim, and soft music plays in the background.
    Alec pulls my chair out for me as the hostess
stands close by. Alec takes the only seat across from me before
unbuttoning his jacket. He smiles at me and then smiles at the
hostess.
    “ Your server will be right
over.” 
    “ Thank you, Theresa. Is
everything