An Unexpected Approach
A young man leaned down over the edge of a round wooden table, resting one palm against the back of an empty chair. He looked toward the woman sitting across from the lit candle, her blonde hair styled loosely around her shoulders. She wore a fitted black dress with a wide neckline and held a small leather clutch in her lap.
Two glasses of red wine sat near the glowing candle between two filled water glasses. “I’ve been waiting for your husband to get up,” the man said, shifting his weight to look directly at her.
The woman raised her chin slightly. “Why?”
“So I could finally talk to the better view,” he replied, sliding into the chair that had been left vacant moments earlier.
She rested her hand near her collarbone, her gold bracelets catching the ambient light of the dining room. “You did see my wedding ring, didn’t you?”
“Before I sat down,” he said, resting his elbow on the edge of the dark tabletop.
“And that didn’t stop you?” she asked, her voice even as she maintained eye contact.
“Made you more interesting,” he answered, leaning closer across the wooden surface.
A Persistent Presence
A tall, silver-haired man wearing a dark tailored suit and wire-rimmed glasses walked up to the edge of the table. He stood upright, looking down at the uninvited guest occupying his chair.
“You’re in my chair,” the husband said, keeping his arms at his sides.
The younger man angled his head upward, keeping his arm resting on the table. “I know. She hasn’t asked me to move.”
The woman shifted her weight back against her seat. “I’m asking now. Get up.”
The young man stood up slowly from the chair, sliding his hands into the pockets of his dark trousers. Instead of turning toward the restaurant floor, he stepped sideways, remaining inches from the woman’s shoulder.
“Come have one drink with me,” he urged, gesturing toward the bar area with an open hand. “He can spare you for ten minutes.”
She tilted her head back to look up at him. “You’re asking me that with my husband sitting right there?”
“I was hoping he’d hear me,” the young man replied without stepping back.
He pulled a black smartphone from his jacket pocket and extended it downward toward her. “Put your number in. I’ll call when he isn’t sitting next to you.”
She extended one hand, holding her palm flat in the air between his phone and her chest. “No. Put your phone away.”
“You’d answer if he wasn’t here,” he stated, keeping the screen face-up in front of her.
A Sudden Revelation
Before the conversation could continue, a staff member wearing a black suit and necktie stepped up to the table holding a leather menu binder. A second staff member in a white collared shirt stood quietly nearby.
“Mrs. Reed, the private room is ready,” the manager announced, bowing his head slightly toward the couple. “Your family’s anniversary display is set.”
The young man paused, his arm lowering as he looked between the manager and the couple. “Your family?”
“Yes sir,” the manager replied, glancing toward the younger man. “The Reeds have been here since opening night.”
The manager turned back to the woman. “Mrs. Reed, I placed the original opening night menu beside your anniversary table.”
The young man shifted his weight onto his back foot. His gaze moved from the woman up toward the far wall of the dining room. Hanging in a gold frame beside the entrance was a large portrait showing a younger couple standing inside the newly opened restaurant space.
“You still have something from opening night?” the young man asked, turning back toward her.
“You got curious awfully fast,” she noted, her hand resting over her clutch.
“That’s you and William in that picture?” he asked, pointing toward the artwork on the wall.
“Yes,” she answered softly. “We opened this place together. I signed the first lease.”
The Unwavering Choice
The young man took half a step forward, gesturing toward the surrounding room. “You built all this and never wondered what younger feels like?”
The woman looked directly into his eyes, her posture straight against her chair back. “I wondered what kind of man you were.”
“And?” he asked, tilting his head.
“You’ve spent nine minutes answering that for me,” she replied.
The young man turned his shoulder away from the table, taking several steady steps past the manager and heading toward the restaurant entrance without looking back.
The husband pulled out his chair and sat down across from his wife. He looked across the candle at her with a slight smile forming at the corners of his mouth. “Still want that anniversary dance?”
She looked back at him, her expression softening. “More than I did ten minutes ago.”
“Then come on,” the husband said, sliding his chair back as he stood up and extended his hand toward her.
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