The Road That Leads to Us (Us 1)

“Something like that,” I whispered.

We didn’t bother heading back to the hotel, instead choosing to go straight to the restaurant.

Frank had given us directions, and the restaurant was close by so it didn’t take us long to find it.

Frank had already arrived and secured a table.

I noticed he’d changed his clothes—he now wore a pair of khaki pants, a button-down collared blue shirt, and he’d even combed his gray hair away from his face.

Willow and I took the chairs across from him and he smiled at our appearance.

“Thank you for doing this.” He smiled bashfully, as if he was ashamed he’d asked for this.

“No, thanks needed.” Willow beamed at him.

&nbs

p; Her kindness towards other people always astounded me. She never met a stranger and she loved everyone.

“What’s good here?” She asked him.

“Everything,” Frank answered with a chuckle.

Willow pursed her lips as she studied the menu. “Hmm,” she hummed in thought.

A waitress stopped by to fill the empty water glasses in front of us.

“How are you doing, Frank?” She asked him, placing a hand on the back of his chair.

“Good,” he replied with a kind smile.

“It’s nice to see someone joining you tonight.”

He nodded at her words, but a sudden sadness had stolen over him and I was sure he thought of his wife.

“I’ll be back to get your orders in a few minutes.” She smiled at Willow and me before heading to another table.

I scanned the menu and decided on spaghetti so I set it aside. Apparently Willow had also made up her mind since her menu sat at the end of the table as well.

“Are you here for the festival?” Frank asked, lifting his glass of water to his lips.

Willow shook her head. “We’re on a road trip and just passing through. We stumbled upon the festival and decided to check it out. It was nice.”

“Lots of stuff.” Frank nodded. “So much that it’s hard to take it in and enjoy it all. Ruth and I,” he cleared his throat, “we used to have a booth there.”

“Oh, you did?” Willow’s eyes lit up. “What did you sell?”

“Made my own bird houses. Still do sometimes, but they’re not as grand as they used to be. It’s a silly hobby.” He shrugged.

“No, it’s not,” Willow interjected. “I think it’s nice that you enjoy doing something.”

His eyes lit up. “I have one in my car if you’d like to see it.”

Willow nodded eagerly. “I’d love to see it.”

Frank’s smile was so big that his eyes nearly disappeared. “I’ll show you when we head out.”

I wanted to lean over and kiss her senseless. Kindness was the most attractive quality on anyone and Willow wore it better than anyone else.