“I‘m sorry Gladys, this is a very sensitive issue for me and talking about it throws me off balance. Can we talk about it some other time?”
“You said that the last time too. If we‘re to go forward and if I‘m to feel comfortable with you, I need to know you better. But of course that is your choice.”
A waiter broke the heavy mood when he interrupted them to serve their entrees. They tucked in silently for a while and then Edward started again in a lighter tone.
“How‘s your fish? This chicken is just the way I like it.”
Gladys followed his lead. “This is good too, but the portion is so big. I don‘t know if I can finish it.”
“How come you girls have such small appetites?”
Gladys laughed with him, “You don‘t expect us to eat like men now do you?”
“Well some say that what a man can do, a woman can do better right?”
Their laughter rang out over the restaurant and some of their fellow diners looked over at them. They finished their dinner and left the restaurant without returning to the subject. They were still lightly debating gender issues when some minutes later, the car engine purred to a stop on the street in front of her aunt‘s house.
“Thanks for the wonderful evening. I really enjoyed it.” She moved to open the door.
His voice stopped her. “I want to be with you Gladys. I want us to move forward. What do you say, will you be my girlfriend?”
Gladys sat back, her heart pounding. Their relationship was now official. “I love being with you too. I‘ll give us a chance Edward. But you have to too.”
“I will. But I want you to know that I‘m just a man not a saint. I know only the barest details of those who gave me life. I‘ve done some wrongs, experienced a lot of hurts. In most ways I‘ve risen above these setbacks, but I am still working on others.”
Silence swirled around them for several more seconds before his voice tiptoed in. “I want to ask now that you please do not judge me harshly.”
Gladys nodded. “See you next week?” she asked and watched him nod slowly.
They stared into each other‘s eyes for another beat and then he leaned across and kissed her on the lips. Their lips clung as electricity crackled and excitement mounted. Gladys drew away breathing disjointedly. She pecked him on the cheeks and stepped out of the Mercedes.