When he heard a car in the drive, he opened the door to find a woman getting out of a car, and being assisted by an honest to goodness chauffeur.....uniform and all. The woman introduced herself as a Mrs. Gibson. Mrs. Thomas Gibson. Dave was familiar with the name and knew that the Gibsons were involved with all sorts of things in town having to do with the arts. They also had money. Old money. He stepped aside to allow Mrs. Gibson to enter and escorting her to the living room, offered her a seat.

She looked around the room . "I am getting a collection of works together from various artists in town for a charity auction." she said. "I have seen your paintings in the gallery and think they would be quite an asset to the collection. Joseph sent me out to talk to you and I would like to see the things you have here. Joseph says he only has one or two of your things in the gallery at once. I suppose you must keep the majority here in that case."

"What exactly did Joey tell you about my paintings?" Dave asked

"He did say that you only do one at a time, but that cannot be correct. No artist works that way these days. Do you keep the prints here or in storage.?"

Dave tried to explain that not only did he not do prints of his work, he did in fact, work on one at a time and that he did not do the actual painting here. Only the rough sketches. She insisted upon seeing the sketches and Dave reluctantly took her through to the studio where he set them up on easels. He could not seem to get through to her that he did not have paintings stacked everywhere, and that as soon as they were done he took the work in to the gallery. He kept looking at his watch and as the time crept slowly to seven and past, he started to get annoyed. She wanted to know where he did his painting and he explained that he had a place out of town where he did the actual painting and she demanded that he take her there. The woman was being totally unpleasant and if this was the sort of thing Joey had to put up with at the gallery, then he certainly had all of Dave's sympathy.

At quarted past seven, Dave excused himself and called the restaraunt to extend the table he had reserved. He knew it would be no problem, for his table was always there for him. He wanted to call Molly and explain that he was being detained, but realized that not only did he not have her phone number, he didn't even know her last name. Neither of them had thought of it and now here he was being held up by someone who obviously did not have the least intention of leaving and he couldn't imagine what Molly must be thinking. He turned back to Mrs. Gibson, and made up his mind that he really didn't care if she had money or not. It didn't give her the right to impose upon others and be rude about it in the process.

"Mrs. Gibson.......I am terribly sorry to have to disappoint you, but I really must bring this to a close. I do not have any paintings done at the moment. I am honored that you feel my things are good enough to be in your charity, but unfortuantely that is the way I work. I will not take you to my other place. There are no paintings there either,since I have just, last week, delivered the latest one to the gallery. Also, I have to say that I am late for something rather important to me and if you will excuse me, perhaps we can continue this another time."

He took her arm firmly and practically dragged her to the door with him, only pausing on the way to pick up the bundle of flowers he wanted to give to Molly. He kept hold of Mrs. Gibson's arm all the way to her car, ostentatiously to guide her, but in reality to make sure she got there as soon as possible. When he saw them coming, the chauffeur jumped out and opened the car door. Mrs. Gibson was huffing and puffing and saying something about the rudness of today's youth, but she did get in. As the man closed the door he gave a Dave an appologetic look and shook his head. Dave could almost hear his thoughts and they echoed his own. He didn't even stop to look as the big car backed from the drive and turned down the street. He hopped into jeep and drove as fast as he safely could to Molly's house.

He wondered what she would be thinking of him by this time, but when she answered the door, he didn't think she looked too angry. That was a good sign. He made a hurried apology and knew that he sounded as though he was babbling ,but she accepted it gracefully, and invited him in while she thanked him and exclaimed over the bouquet and found a big vase to put some water in. Toby wound in and out around his feet and he bent to give the big cat a rub. When the flowers were in water and she had admired them once again , she checked to make sure Toby had food and collecting her purse, followed him out to the jeep.

On the way to the restaurant he explained about Mrs. Gibson's call and apologized again for being late. Molly started to laugh. "They can really be something, can't they? The wealthy, I mean." she said. "They so often seem to think that money can compensate for being polite and thoughtful. Well, I think you handled her just fine, no pun intended. And just to set the record straight, my last name is O'Leary. And a fine Irish name to be sure!!!"

opened the door of the restaurant for Molly to enter ahead of him, and he noticed, as she ducked under his arm, that her perfume reminded him of some of the flowers he had seen in the woods around the cabin. Carlita, the youngest daughter of the owners of the restaurant greeted them at the door , and indicated that their table was ready. Dave led Molly over to a table for two in front of a window that overlooked the tiny back yard. Carlita followed them with the menus and lit the candles in the middle of the little table. She would be back in a few minutes to take their orders, she told them and left to greet some more customers.

He watched from the corner of his eye as Molly read the menu. She looked lovely and he tried to remember if he had complimented her. He had been in such a state when he finally got to her house that it was all a bit of a blur and then on the ride over, he had been explaining about Mrs. Gibson.

"You look lovely, Molly." he said. "Those colors remind me of fall leaves."

She looked up from the menu and smiled at him, and he could see little dimples at the corners of her mouth. Now, why hadn't he noticed that before. Her hair shone in the candle light with strands of a lighter color that may have been silver, and he wondered why he hadn't noticed that either. He hadn't thought of her as particularly pretty before and realized that apart from the night at the single's bar, he had only seen her in her gardening things with her hair in a pony tail. He had no idea what she had been wearing at the bar, but knew that he had been drawn to her more by the obvious discomfort she felt at being there than by how she had looked. He had a few minutes to really look at her while her attention was on what she would order for dinner and was pleasantly surprised to find that she was actually very pretty. It crossed his mind that he also had no idea how old she was and then thought that it probably didn’t really matter. Maybe he’s ask when he got to know her a bit better. He thought she should dress up more often and then remembered that it wasn't her looks that had kept him coming back to see her in the garden, but the fact that he felt so at ease in her presence, and that she was so easy to talk to and that they seemed to have the same thoughts on so many subjects. He also realized that they had mostly talked about the garden and her Grandfather and the things she did. Angela had been right......Molly knew next to nothing about himself and this would be a good time to set that straight. He wondered if she would ask him,or if he should volunteer. Angela had told her that he was probably married but Molly had never asked him. He wondered if she didn't care, or if it just had not occurred to her. She didn't seem like the type who would go with a married man, but you never knew these days.

Carlita came over and took their orders, and left a bottle of the very excellent house wine in a decanter beside Dave.

was feeling a little shy by the time they reached the restaurant. As Dave related the episode with Mrs. Gibson, she knew that he was not in fact, "just a painter" but someone of some importance. She knew of the Gibsons, and that they were wealthy and of some importance in the arts circles. She had seen Mrs. Gibson a couple of times at Horticulteral events where she had always been surrounded by some of the more affluential folk of the town. She always had the feeling that those people were acquaintances who were more trying to curry her favour rather than actual friends. The woman was a little too loud and overbearing for Molly's taste and she was glad that she had been so far below notice.

At the door of the restaurant, Dave held the door for her and she easily ducked under his arm to go in. He was quite a bit taller that she had realized and she wondered fleetingly if she should have worn heels afterall. Well too late now. A pretty Mexican girl greeted them calling Dave, "Mr. Addison", and he preceeded her to a table near a window that he was obviously familiar with. He held a chair for her that gave her a view of a pretty little herb garden behind the restaurant and took the opposite one for himself. The thought passed through her mind that he had eaten here often and she wondered if he brought all his lady friends to this place.

The girl lit the candles and left menus, and Molly busied herself looking at the different foods. It all looked so appetizing and she tried not to look at the prices. They weren't actually bad, but more than she would ordinarily spend on a meal. She looked up and smiled as she heard Dave compliment her, and was glad that she had chosen the suit. She knew it looked better than the blue dress. Dave seemed to be looking at her strangely and she wondered if she had a smudge on her face or if her lipstick had blotched or something. She felt a little insecure suddenly and wished they were back in the garden. She seemed to have no trouble talking to him there, but then she could be busy with her trowel if conversation got awkward.

The pretty waitress came back and took their orders and left a bottle of wine. She hadn't heard Dave order it and wondered if it just came with the meal. She wondered what on earth she was going to say to him through a whole meal. She wasn't much of a conversationalist and preferered to listen while others did the talking. Dinner dates had always been a trial for her since she tended to run out of things to say rather quickly.

picked up the wine bottle. He always had this kind and Carlita had brought it automatically. He hoped that Molly wasn't partial to red instead.

"Will you have a glass of wine, Molly? It's really very good........unless you would prefer red instead?"

"Thanks.....no.....white is fine."

He poured her glass almost full, and then his own.

"It sounds as though you come here often." Molly said.

"I usually manage to come here two or three times a month. I tried it just after they opened and liked the people and the food so much I just kept coming back. The folks who run it seem almost like a second family by now and they have started keeping this table for me. It's a little embarrassing when I think of it, but it's one of the reasons I keep coming back. Actually I don't often bring anyone here. It's sort of a place I like to eat where I feel comfortable enough to take my time and read a book if I don't feel like cooking for myself."

"So..... then...... you aren't married." Molly said with a little hesitant smile."Angela said she thought you must be since I couldn't answer any of her questions. And she sure did want to know everything about you. I didn't realize you were such an important person. I guess you did see the little oils I have in the living room? I'm quite embarrassed that I didn't know they were your's, but I didn't get them from the gallery. I found them in a little gift shop and thought they reminded me so much of the country, that I bought them."

"I'm flattered that you like them. I did see them, but got caught up in your pictures and then never thought til afterwards to comment on them. They are some of the first things I did when I started painting seriously. To answer your first question.......... no.......I'm not married. I was once for quite a few years. It turned out that we had very little in common and I started spending more and more time at my cabin painting and she finally got the message and we divorced four or five years ago. To be honest, I can't say I miss her. I don't know, now, quite what the attraction was in the first place. She was very city and I prefer the country. She liked parties and lots of people around and I don't much like either. I suppose it was the old "opposites attract" thing, but we got to the point where there was too much opposite and nothing in common. I think we were both relieved when the thing was finally over. She left town and her boss went as well. I often wondered if they had been an item before we split, but never cared enough to find out for sure. It wouldn't have mattered by then anyway."

" Know what you mean." Molly said. "I was married for what seemed like a very long time. All he ever thought about was money and couldn't understand why I wouldn't sell my pictures. He couldn't understand that the people I know just don't have that sort of money to put against something that isn't actually useful and I could never get up enough nerve to try a gallery. I'm not good with people.........you may have noticed that!" She smiled a little ruefully. "I'm just so glad that I didn't inherit Grandpa's home until after the divorce. I would have been devastated if I had lost that to Ted."

Dave explained that he had also been able to keep the cabin in exchange for the town house that he and Margret had bought, and that he had moved into a much smaller house on the street he had grown up on after the divorce.

The food came and they settled in to enjoy it. Dave found he wanted to tell Molly all about the cabin, and promised to take her there to see it for herself, if she would like to go. They talked about painting and her pictures and found that they agreed on most things and had a lively little debates on the things they differed on. Altogether, he was quite pleased with the meal and the company and life in general.

They sat and talked about all sorts of things over another bottle of wine, until Carlita approached and gently mentioned that they would like to close for the evening. He looked in horror at his watch to find that it was almost midnight, and that the time had flown by. He looked across at Molly and saw that she was laughing.

"I can't believe it." She said. "I must say......I cannot remember when a meal has been so much fun. I'm always a little hesitant to go out for dinner in case it drags on and on. That certainly isn't the case with you,Dave." She gathered her purse up and excused herself for a few minutes, and Dave went with Carlita to pay the bill.

He didn't want the evening to end, and tried to think of some way to extend it a little longer. "We're glad to see you with a lady friend, Mr. Addison." Carlita said. "We think of you as family and you look so lonely sometimes. She's a very pretty lady."

"Thanks, Carlita. You may be seeing much more of us, I hope. Will you give your Father my reguards and tell him that the meal was the best as usual."

Molly returned at that moment and they went out with smiles and thanks all around. At the sidewalk, Dave stopped for a minute before going to the jeep. He hesitated and then decided that the worst that could happen was that Molly would want to go straight home.

"Do you feel up to a walk in the park? It isn't too cold and I have to admit that I really don't want to take you home just yet."

was thrilled when Dave asked her to go for a walk. She thought she would have said yes even if it had been freezing out. She didn't want the evening to end and was afraid that he would just take her straight home. She was so glad she had worn the flats after all. A walk in the park would be a perfect ending to a perfect dinner. They drove there and parked beside the little lake in the middle of the park. There was a walking path all around it and she felt a little shiver go through her when Dave reached out and tucked her hand through his arm, keeping his hand over hers. Oh.......this was lovely......so old fashioned and cozy.

They picked up the conversation where they had left off at the restaurant and for the next little while just enjoyed each other's company and the night and the smell of the spring earth and the water and the stars shining on them. She would have a lot to tell Angela in the morning since she was absolutely sure that she would call to get the low down on the evening. On second thought ....... maybe Angela didn't need to know every little thing. This evening was too good to share and if she knew Angela, she would want to analyze everything and it would all be spoiled. No .......most of it would be kept to herself and thought about for a long time.

When they had walked once around the little lake, she expected him to head for the jeep and was surprised when he led her to a small bench and indicated that she should sit. He didn't say anything for a bit.....just looked out over the lake and Molly was content to sit quietly as well. The moon was not full but gave enough light to glimmer on the water. It reminded her of times when she was small and her Dad would wake her up to show her the rabbits playing in the garden. She realized that Dave had said something.

"I'm sorry.......I wasn't paying attention." she said apologetically.

"I just asked what you were thinking about so quietly."

"Rabbits."

"Rabbits ? ! " He sounded so surprised and she had to smile at him. She explained all about the rabbits.......how they had come out when the moon was shining and played and jumped and chased each other all over the garden. And then stopped to sample the things growing there and then played some more while she watched and laughed with her Dad. They had been special times. She hadn't thought about the rabbits in years.

Dave laughed with her and said he had never seen rabbits play. He wondered if there were any at the cabin and said he should stay up some night and watch for them. He finally looked at his watch and said that he should really get her home. Molly was sorry that the evening was at an end, but she had to admit that she was tired and she had a few hours to put in at the Hort club tomorrow. Well.......today. She would grab a few hours sleep and then go down to help with things there and then go to her job at the craft shop for a little while.

The drive home was short and in no time, Dave was opening the jeep door for her and walking her up to the porch. She wondered if he would try to kiss her goodnight and what she would do if he did. He didn't.........instead he took her hand and brushed the back of it with his lips, and smiled at her. She wasn't sure if she should be disappointed or relieved, and decided that kissing her hand was even more romantic than a regular kiss.

"This has been a lovely night, Molly. I don't know the last time I had such a nice time. I would really like to show you where I do my painting if you'd be interested."

"Thanks Dave," she said. "I'd like that. It sounds like a very special place to you and I'd love to see it."

"Would next Saturday be a good time? I could pick you up in the morning and we could spend the day there if you aren't busy."

"No......I don't think there's anything on then. Saturday would be fine. Thanks for tonight. I had a really lovely time. Wait, though.......... " and she rummaged in her purse for a bit of paper and a pen. "Here's my phone number.......I never thought of it earlier, but if something comes up again like it did tonight, then you can let me know."

He took the bit of paper, and tore off the bottom.

"Here's mine, too. If anything should come up and you can't make Saturday ..... you can call me as well."

Molly knew that there was nothing on earth that would interfere with Saturday, but took the number and thanked him again. She could hear Toby on the other side of the door, putting in his two cents worth and had to laugh.

"Sounds like someone has missed your company this evening." Dave laughed. He bent down as Molly opened the door and ruffled Toby's head before saying goodnight once more and heading back to the jeep. She watched as he drove off , waved when he did, and turned to pick Toby up with a big smile on her face. Oh.......it had been a wonderful night. It was too bad it had to end, but she was tired and she wondered how long she would get to sleep before Angela called.