Now that we'd visited the doctor and Olivia shop. I surprised her by asking to extend our visit in town. "Gee, I'm hungry," I said as left the shop. "Is there a place around here where we can have lunch?"
"Of course. Good idea, I felt hungry too," she said "But only if you let me treat,' she added in a firm tone.
"Come on, Olivia . You already gave me the book," I reminded her.
"No, I mean it," she insisted. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood squarely facing me "Otherwise, I won't go."
"All right, all right." I laughed at her determined expression and reached out to touch her shoulders, steadying her. "I'm new around here. I don't care to make a scene on Main Street my first day," I said, as if it really mattered.
"Good thinking," she advised. "It's a small town. People talk."
"So I've noticed," I said dryly. Which meant I must have overheard at a least a small portion of her repartee with flora, Olivia felt embarrassed. When we entered the Sweetwater Café, I felt all eyes upon us. People weren exactly gawking She had to give them some credit. But just about everyone took a quick glance at the door to check out the stranger walking at Olivia's side
Then, as we walked slowly toward an empty table by the window, Olivia was greeted again and again by interested acquaintances who wanted to know how she'd come to be walking with a limp and a cane. They offered their good wishes for her speedy recovery and some well-tested home remedies, such as laying slices of raw potato on her ankle to bring down the swelling, or soaking her foot in tomato juice to speed up the healing. Olivia politely thanked her friends, but felt relieved when we finally reached our table. "I've heard of soaking your head in tomato juice if you have a hangover, but never thought it would help a sprained ankle." I said
"Oh, that was old Mrs.Cobbs. She gets a little confused sometimes. I think she thought I said I was sprayed by a skunk."
"Well, that at least makes some sense," I said with a laugh. "Tell me, is everybody always this friendly?" Or were they just acting so interested in your welfare because you' re with a stranger today?"
"Well, they're probably busting to know who you are. But they're all genuinely nice folks around here."
"Well, you're certainly the popular one," I replied. "Have you ever considered running for mayor? think you'd be a shoo-in, a longtime resident and prominent businesswoman."
Olivia smiled. She knew I was only teasing her but it was a nice compliment all the same, "Maybe when Noah's a little older and I have more time,"
"You shouldn't put off too many things until Noah's older, Olivia," I advised. I still poke in a teasing tone, but my expression was quite serious.You don't want to wake up one morning and find life has passed you by."
She knew I was thinking of her comment the night before, when she'd said she wasn't looking for romance until Noah was older. While there was some truth to my advice. She said certainly didn't want to pursue that line of conversation right now.
Nina, the lunch shift waitress, soon appeared. "Hello, Olivia. What happened to the leg?"
"Slipped in the mud," she explained briefly.
"I'Il have the usual," she added. "And a lemonade, thanks."
She scribbled down the order. "What about you, partner?" she asked me. I stared at Olivia, his eyebrows slightly lifted.
"No...menus?"
Olivia shrugged, and Nina laughed and gave me shoulder a friendly pat. "I can see he's from out of town all right." She shoved her pencil and pad in her pocket and left the table.
"I'll be back in a few to get your order. Don't rush yourself"
"They don't have menus here. lts just what's up on the board, " Olivia explained, pointing to a small chalk board propped on the counter.
I sat up and squinted at the writing. "It's sort of blurry. I can barely read it from here."
"Don't get up. I'll tell you what it says," she said to me And she did, in alphabetical order, starting at the barbecued beef sandwich platter all the way to the tuna salad.
"...Which I don't recommend, by the way," she added. "The cook puts sweet relish in it. It always gives me heartburn."
"You knew that entire list by memory? That s quite a feat," I remarked. Olivia didn't understand why I was so impressed.
"If you lived here as long as I have, you'd know it, too."
"How's the food in here, anyway Is it any good?"
"That depends," she replied.
"On what? I persisted.
"On what you'd call good, I guess," she said with a laugh.
As for me, a gourmet meal at a four-star restaurant, with several courses and a vintage wine to accompany each course, was probably what I'd call good. I wondered if I'd find the humble regional cuisine of the Sweetwater cafe even edible.