more than once, demanding nothing in return.
She told herself she was being unreasonable. Adrian had no idea what was happening in her life, or what had happened, and he didn’t need ever to know. He was only acting in a way that was natural for him, and she couldn’t fault him for that.
She tried to keep her hand from shaking as she inserted the key into the lock, then wiggled it enough to get it to turn. She swung the back door open and was about to start loading her groceries, when Adrian’s hand rested on her arm, halting her on the spot. She bit her lip so she wouldn’t scream.
“That looks heavy. Can I help you with that?”
Without waiting for an answer, he stepped in front of her, reached into her cart, and began piling everything up on the back seat. “Most people put their groceries in the trunk,” he mumbled as he worked.
“The trunk smells like gasoline.”
His brows knotted as he frowned. “Maybe you should have that looked at.”
“No, the gas container just spilled. It’s nothing. I just have to remember to leave it open to air out next weekend. Actually, if I ever took this thing in to get fixed, they’d either bury it, or take all my money to fix it up. Besides, I only need to put up with it until my mother gets back. She keeps telling me she’s going to have it restored, but somehow that never happens. Instead, it just keeps getting worse.”
He nodded and continued to load all her groceries into the back seat without being asked.
Celeste stood back as her throat clogged. What he was doing obviously wasn’t a big deal to him, but it was a big deal to her. Again, he was helping her, without thinking, without being asked, and without expecting anything in return.
She didn’t know much about signs from God, yet she wondered if God was trying to tell her something.
He pushed the door closed, but the rusty hinge creaked and groaned, preventing the latch from catching properly. He re-opened it and slammed it shut, giving the handle a pensive wiggle.
“Are you sure this thing is safe to drive? I couldn’t help but hear the grinding it made on Sunday when you left the parking lot.”
“It’s okay for short distances, which is all I have to do. Really, once it starts, it’s fine after a couple of blocks.”
His mouth opened and he raised one finger in the air, readying Celeste for what she thought would be a challenge to her decision, but nothing came out. The finger dropped, he stiffened, and he cleared his throat.
“Never mind. As soon as I put my own groceries in my trunk, we can be on our way. Just remember I have to follow you. You know where I live, but I don’t know which house is yours.”
While Adrian tossed his groceries into the trunk of his car, Celeste slid behind the wheel and closed her eyes to think and pray.
She still wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing by encouraging Adrian in whatever it was he thought he was doing by being so friendly. However, she couldn’t live underground like a gopher, only going to work and back. All she could do was count on Jesus for wisdom, guidance, strength, and protection and pray that she was doing the right thing. With her Savior by her side, she prayed she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
The bang of Adrian’s trunk closing made her eyes open. As she headed for home with Adrian behind her, she told herself that it was unrealistic to think she could keep where she lived secret. As far as risks went, being with Adrian out in public seemed a minimal one. At home, since she lived in a duplex, if she screamed, her landlord Hank would hear, and, she hoped, call the police.
Like a gentleman, Adrian helped Celeste carry all her groceries into the house. He disappeared while she tucked most of it away, then returned with one more bag.
“Would you mind putting this in your freezer? Everything else will be okay in the trunk, but this stuff has to stay frozen. I didn’t think of it until now.”
When she took the bag from his hand, he laid a frozen pizza on the table, along with a package of shredded mozzarella cheese, as promised.
He looked apologetic. “I don’t usually eat like this, but I didn’t feel like cooking today.”
While Celeste made coffee, Adrian made a great show of ripping away the wrap from the pizza, and carefully sprinkling on the mozzarella cheese, making it look as though he was doing more work than it really required.
When the pizza was in the oven, Celeste walked into the living room to put some music on. She didn’t have much yet, but she had started a small collection of Christian music, which included the same CD Adrian had had in his car.
While she tried to think of which one to put on, Adrian wandered across her living room.
“Wow. You’ve got a great electric piano. It’s probably silly of me to ask if you play. Maybe we could do something together one day. I’d bring my guitar.”
She broke out into a cold sweat. Her hand shook too much to put on the CD. Her past was behind her. What Adrian was asking was entirely different.
She forced the words out. “I just play for my own enjoyment. I don’t think so.” Her words were truer than Adrian could ever guess. When she said ‘for her own enjoyment,’ she meant she played alone. She’d exchanged the joy of making music with others for something of much more value, even if at times it hurt.
He fumbled for the switch, turned it on, and plunked out a few notes. “Nice sound. I tried to learn to play piano when I was a kid. I wasn’t very good. I’m actually not very good on guitar, either, but I’m the best they’ve got.” He plunked out a few more notes, shook his head and stepped back. “Would you like to tickle the ivories for me?”
“Plastics,” she mumbled.
“Plastics?”
“The keys are plastic. Even if it was a real piano, I don’t think they use ivory anymore.”
He stared at her for a few seconds. “Then would you like to tickle the plastics?” Adrian paused as he shook his head. “I think it loses something when you say it that way.”
Thankfully, she heard the oven timer go off. Before he could ask again, Celeste hustled into the kitchen, removed the pizza from the oven, cut it into slices, and set it on the table.
They bowed their heads while Adrian prayed. “Dear Lord, thank You for this food, and for the rich blessings You’ve bestowed upon us. Thank You also for friends, both old and new, and the opportunity to share with them. Amen.”
She hadn’t taken her first bite when Adrian started with the phrase she had been hoping wouldn’t come out.
“So. Tell me a little about yourself.”
Celeste studied her plate as she spoke. “There isn’t much to tell. I work in the credit department of a small company. I haven’t been there very long. Soon I’m going to take an accounting course. I’ve started looking into what’s available at night school, so I can still work.”
The touch of his hand on hers startled her. “See what we have in common already? I’m an accountant. Also, we like the same ice cream.”
What he was trying to do was more than obvious. While she did like him, she was far from ready to enter the relationship he alluded to.
He grinned. “You’re looking at me funny.”
“Sorry. You don’t look like an accountant.”
One eyebrow quirked. “And what should an accountant look like?”
Celeste chewed on her lower lip before answering. “Accountants are short and bald, wear suits all the time, and have suspenders to keep their pants up. They also have those little half-sized reading glasses perched on the ends of their noses all the time.”
Adrian cleared his throat, straightened his stylish glasses, then ran