7
Funny-Peculiar
They sat at a table tucked away into a quiet corner of the restaurant. The waiter handed out menus. Laura shrank in on herself, holding the menu card like a shield to hide behind, glancing skittishly at other diners. Casper hooked an index finger over the top of her menu and teased it down a little.
‘Peek-a-boo!’ he said. ‘Are you trying to hide from me?’ His blue eyes sparkled in the candlelight.
She put the card down. ‘No, of course not.’
‘You look uncomfortable. Are you alright?’
She gave a jittery smile. ‘I’m not used to going out,’ she said. ‘I don’t feel as if I belong here.’
He frowned. ‘You most certainly do.’
‘I feel people are staring.’
He looked around. ‘They are far too busy concentrating on themselves,’ he said. ‘Most people generally are. If you don’t like it here we can leave.’
‘No, that would be terrible of me after all the trouble you have gone to, Mr Younge!’
‘Now then, isn’t it time you stopped calling me Mr Younge? I sound like a teacher or something. Call me Casper.’
She smiled. ‘Like the friendly ghost,’ she said.
‘Yes, that’s it, a jolly old spook! Never been called that before, but it’s got spirit!’ He laughed and she laughed with him. ‘There you are, not such a bad old place after all. You must smile more often. Your face lights up when you do.’
She lowered her head to hide her embarrassment. The waiter came to the table, asking if they’d like drinks. Laura looked across at Casper, panic widening her eyes. ‘I really don’t know…’ she said.
‘That’s fine. I’ll order for both of us, shall I?’
‘I don’t drink,’ she said quickly. ‘Water, please.’
‘Then I’ll have water too,’ he said. ‘A bottle of your best mountain spring water!’ he said to the waiter. ‘Are you ready to order yet, Ms Leach?’
‘I’ll have whatever you are having,’ she said quietly.
‘You may not like what I’m having,’ he said.
‘I’m not fussy, honest.’
‘I might like fish tonight,’ he said, looking up from his menu at her. She nodded. ‘Trout, salmon or sea bass; which might I choose?’
‘Possibly the trout,’ she said.
‘Yes, I do rather fancy trout tonight. For both of us, please,’ he said to the waiter.
The waiter loped off. Vivaldi scratched the air. There was a gentle murmur of voices, the sharp clink of metal against ceramic.
‘It is a nice place,’ she said, looking about her, almost as if trying to convince herself. ‘And please call me Laura. Ms Leach sounds like a headmistress.’
‘Laura. You know, whenever I say that it sounds like someone breathing. It’s a nice name.’
‘You certainly didn’t have to go to all this trouble,’ she said. The waiter brought the water. Casper poured some out into her glass and she lifted it to her dry lips.
‘This is as far from trouble as I can imagine,’ he said. ‘It is my pleasure.’
‘Are you always such a gentleman?’ she asked. ‘Manners are fast becoming old fashioned these days.’
‘Only in the presence of a lady,’ he said, giving a mock bow. ‘Perhaps that’s it. Perhaps I am old fashioned. It’s just the way I was brought up, I reckon. I had a rather privileged background. Educated privately, boarding school, that kind of thing.’
‘Me too,’ she admitted. ‘I hated it.’
‘They’re not all Billy Bunter or Mallory Towers, are they?’ he said.
She noticed a young couple walk in. The woman was terribly slim, hair flicked neatly back, blue eye-shadow and heavy lashes. She sat down very elegantly, floating down like a feather to her seat. It made Laura feel uncomfortable all over again.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked concernedly.
‘Nothing. Nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?’
He waved his fingers briefly in front of his face. ‘I can tell by your expression.’
She began to colour. ‘Is it that obvious?’
‘To me it is,’ he said.
‘She’s so pretty,’ she said, nodding in the direction of the young woman.
‘I’m sure she is, to her boyfriend. But beauty takes many forms. Not everyone likes butterflies, you know. You are beautiful.’
‘I am not!’ she said, shocked. ‘You are just saying that to be polite. I was not fishing for compliments.’ Her features hardened and she felt herself going tense.
‘Please forgive me, Laura. There I go again with my big mouth. I speak what I think without thinking before speaking.’ He frowned. ‘Does that actually make sense?’ he smiled and she smiled back. ‘Am I forgiven?’
‘There is nothing to forgive. What happened to your wife?’ she blurted, and immediately regretted having said it. ‘Oh, now you must forgive me. That was very insensitive of me to have brought that up.’
‘That’s fine. She died of cancer. A long illness. We had only been married six years. We were very close.’
‘I’m very sorry,’ she said.
‘And has there ever been a Mr Leach?’
Laura shook her head. ‘Only my father.’
‘So you live all alone?’
‘All alone, yes.’
‘That’s not good, to live all by yourself. I should know.’
‘I am used to it,’ she said.
‘I’m not,’ he sighed. ‘I loathe being by myself.’ He raised a glass. ‘But tonight I am not alone. Tonight I am sitting here with Laura and we are about to eat trout together.’ Their glasses clinked merrily against each other. ‘Though I admit I have never eaten trout before.’
‘Never?’
‘Never. Not a fan of fish.’
‘How do you know you will like it?’
‘I don’t, but I am willing to try anything once. I mean, what’s the point of life if we can’t stick our turtlenecks out from our shells every now and again, eh? Bring on the trout, I say!’
She gave a squeak of a chuckle. ‘You are funny!’
‘Funny ha-ha, I hope, and not funny-peculiar!’
‘A bit of both, perhaps.’ She put her glass down on the table. Studied it hard. ‘Why have you brought me here, Casper?’ she asked.
‘Why, I told you, to repay – ‘
‘You could have come here with any woman you liked. Someone like her,’ she said, indicating the pretty one that came in. ‘Instead you brought me.’
His eyes grew sober. ‘Yes, I am here with you, aren’t I? Do you think me so shallow that I can be turned simply by a flash of red lipstick?’ he appeared faintly hurt. ‘Not all men are the same, Laura. Do you really want to know why I invited you out to dinner? The real reason?’ She nodded dumbly. ‘Because I like you. It’s nothing more complicated than that. Do you know how much parking money I shelled out waiting for you to come along in that blasted car park? It’s not a fun spot, you know.’ He smiled warmly. ‘The man that checked the parking tickets gave me more than one suspicious glance, I can tell you!’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘I’m spoiling your evening.’
‘Not at all! Far from it. And we both really need to stop saying sorry all the time. I shall demand a forfeit every time one of us says it from here on in! Agreed?’
‘Agreed.’
‘All settled, then.’
Afterwards he drove her back home, walked her to the front door. She looked at him nervously but he made no attempt to kiss her like she feared, not even a friendly peck on the cheek.
‘Well, Laura, it has been a wonderful evening, but remind me to steer clear of the trout next time.’ He put his hands behind his back, studied his shoes for a second or two. ‘I don’t suppose…’
‘You don’t suppose what?’
He gave a shrug. ‘Would you mind if I see you again?’
‘I think the damage to my car is more than paid for, Casper,’ she said. ‘That was very expensive and you should have let me pay my half.’
‘Perhaps if I crash into your car again that would give me another excuse…’
‘An excuse?’
‘It would be nice to see you again.’
‘I don’t know…’
‘You’re right. That was too forward of me. You have my number if you decide…Well you have my number.’
He went back to his car. She said something to him but he couldn’t catch it and wound the window down. ‘What’s that you say?’
‘I had a lovely time,’ she said hurriedly and went inside and closed the door.
* * * *