The two of them were guided to their table by a hostess. When they got there, Mattheus pulled out Cindy’s chair. It had been such a long time since he’d done that and Cindy had missed it. It felt wonderful to have the old Mattheus back. She looked at him across the table. His, handsome craggy, suntanned face relaxed and smiled at her, enjoying her delight.
Cindy reached out her hands, and he took them. This place was so magical, she couldn’t help remember being with Clint on their honeymoon down in the Caribbean as well. They’d also held hands in the dining room. They’d also felt relieved to finally be alone together, away from the pressures of family and friends, after preparing for the wedding,
Cindy sighed lightly and brushed the memories aside. Enough time had passed. She was ready to start again now. Oddly enough, even though she and Mattheus had been working together awhile and had already been lovers, she felt as though they were starting fresh tonight.
“This is long overdue,” Mattheus said softly, as Cindy felt a chill. “I don’t know why I waited so long to do this. I must have been on a different planet.”
“Preoccupied,” said Cindy, “both of us. We couldn’t help it.”
Mattheus relaxed. “It’s good to hear you say that.”
“I’m just happy to be here with you,” Cindy answered without hesitation. “It feels as though we’re starting new.”
“We are,” Mattheus liked that. “We’ve been through a lot, but we’ve learned from it, and what’s past is behind us now.”
Cindy held his hands tighter. It was both scary and wonderful to realize that the past could be over, that it was possible to start anew. She looked around in the dining room which was filled to the brim mostly with couples and a few families and singles sprinkled here and there. The place was lit with bronze chandeliers and lovely breezes blew in from the ocean. Everywhere you looked you felt a sense of exhilaration and anticipation. Cindy smiled. It had been such a long while since she had let herself unwind and take a vacation. She hadn’t really, since Clint had died.
As she looked around, Cindy noticed the table next to theirs. A startlingly beautiful, young couple sat there, looking at each other. The young woman, who had ash blonde hair, wore an incredibly beautiful amber bracelet that captured Cindy’s attention.
“Look at that bracelet,” Cindy said to Mattheus.
He looked over. “The bracelet is beautiful and so is she,” Mattheus said softly, “but nothing here is a match for you.”
Cindy smiled, “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” said Mattheus as the waiter approached and they ordered. When the waiter left, Mattheus pulled his chair back, “let’s dance,” he said, mischievously.
Cindy was astonished. She loved to dance, but they’d almost never danced together.
Mattheus laughed at her surprise. “I’m not all that bad a dancer.”
“Who said you were?” Cindy grinned. Mattheus was going all out, doing whatever he could, to make her feel special. “Let’s go.”
They stepped onto the dance floor and as his arms circled her, Cindy felt transported to a place she’d always wanted to be, connected, united, wanted. She put her head on his shoulder, he put his head over hers and they circled the floor as though they’d been dancing together their whole lives.
“You never told me you could dance like this,” Cindy whispered, delighted.
“I haven’t you told you lots of things about me,” Mattheus played with her.
“I can’t wait to hear,” said Cindy.
“Everything in its time,” Mattheus ran his hand through her hair. “If I tell you too much, it could spoil things. I don’t want to lose you again.”
Cindy lifted her head and looked in his eyes. “Nothing is going to spoil things again,” she said, her eyes teary.
“You never know,” said Mattheus.
“I do know,” Cindy said.
“Well, I like that,” he replied.
After dancing for what seemed like hours, Mattheus led her back to the table where their dinner sat waiting for them.
“We can do this, Cindy,” Mattheus said as they sat down.
“Do what?”
“Everything,” he said, “we can dance, we can work, we can play, we can love.”
This was the first time he had actually said the word love. It was both frightening and beautiful.
“Let’s eat,” Mattheus said, softly then. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Cindy picked up her water glass and as she did, her attention couldn’t help being drawn to the table besides theirs again. A young man and woman suddenly came over to the table, surprised to see the couple there. The young man who arrived was agitated. The ash blonde woman was stunned to see him. The boyfriend who’d been at the table had no idea what was going on.
There was such sudden intensity at the table that Cindy couldn’t but help watch. After greetings and introductions, the new couple seemed to invite themselves to sit down. Cindy thought about how lovely it was to meet old friends on vacation. It seemed as if many people came to this hotel regularly, it was a popular watering spot. Cindy sat transfixed watching the four of them.