MissBEHAVED

I nodded. “I’d listen to your point of view, but the final decision, and the consequences of that decision, would fall to me.”

She turned that over in her head and was about to say something, but the waiter returned to take our order.

Melody settled on the shrimp scampi, and I chose the ravioli and meatballs. Neither of us felt the need for an appetizer, in fact, we barely glanced at the waiter, both of us seeming to want to return to the conversation.

When he finally left, she started talking before I could say a word.

“I don’t know if I’m crazy, but nothing you’re saying scares me.” I let out a sigh of relief, but then she continued. “But before I agree to any of that, we need to get to know each other better. Who has control won’t matter a bit if we find we can’t stand one another.”

“I agree.” Because she did have a point. “But I also didn’t want us to start seeing one another without that out in the open. It isn’t something I’m willing to compromise on, so I think it’s better to disclose it up front.” I’d had one terrible, but memorable, experience where my college girlfriend tossed me out of her dorm room while screaming that I was a freak when I told her what I wanted.

“All right. It’s out there.” She took a piece of bread from the basket and buttered it. “The first thing I’d like to share is that I prefer to be called Mellie. Melody reminds me too much of the formal, private school I went to where they refused to use nicknames.”

“That’s… interesting,” I said, because I had no other words.

She took a bite of bread and chased it with a sip of water.

“That’s one way of saying they were snobby and pretentious, but they offered the best college prep program around, and since I was supposed to go into the family investment business, that’s where I went.” I ate my own bread while she talked, not wanting to interrupt since it seemed to be a touchy subject. And I was learning a lot. “The problem was that my full, given name wasn’t sufficiently snooty either, so I was often made fun of.”

“Kids are assholes,” I noted, and she nodded her head in agreement while chewing. “But may I ask why your parents named you Melody?”

“My mom is very musical. She majored in music in college, taught music in an elementary school, and played in a string quartet on the weekends. She’s the opposite of my father, who is a very numbers-driven guy. But I’ve never seen two people more in love.” A soft smile lifted her lips as she spoke about her family. “He dotes on her, and on us kids. Even though we were part of Pittsburgh’s society scene, he never made us feel like we had to live that life if we didn’t want to. He made sure we all could, but when I said I wanted to open my store, he only questioned me a little, and that was to make sure I knew what I was getting into.”

There was a lot of information in that speech, but I decided to ask the question I’d been curious about since I discovered she wasn’t from the area.

“What made you decide to open up shop in Ellicottville? It’s what, three hours away from Pittsburgh?” I asked. “I’m actually surprised people from Pittsburgh know about the area.”

She laughed and the sound hit me in the gut. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to make her eyes light up like that again.

“My parents brought us up here every winter to ski, and I fell in love with the town. It captured my imagination and became the perfect example of what a small town should be. I had such good memories of time with my family here that I decided this is where I wanted to make my home.”

“It seems like such a difference from Pittsburgh. Do you ever miss the city life?” This was the question that concerned me the most. Even though it was only our first date, if she had any thoughts of someday returning to her hometown, we wouldn’t be able to take this further.

She sat back and set down her fork with a serious look that made me nervous.

“No. I like the slower pace and not feeling like I’m under a microscope, like I did in my social circle. It was exhausting.” She looked like she wanted to say more, but then she changed the subject. “What about you? Why are you still in the area?”

“A combination of liking the slower pace of living in the country and my grandparents—I owe them everything, and I can’t leave them now when they’re getting up in age and will need me.”

She gave me an encouraging smile when I paused, and I found myself continuing on when I hadn’t planned on diving deep into my past. I told her about my childhood and my mother abandoning me and then dying. Things it usually took me months to share. She told me about her brother in New York City, and her sister, the only one of the three to join the family investment firm. Our conversation flowed easily, and I was ecstatic that I hadn’t misremembered our connection. It wasn’t until I noticed the waiter passing our table a third time with a pointed glare at the check that I realized how long we’d been there. She noticed his behavior, too, and looked at her phone for the first time all evening.

“Wow, it’s almost nine. We should probably get out of here. I think they close soon.”

I glanced around and found we were the last occupied table in the place.

“You’re right. I completely lost track of time.” I reached into my back pocket for my wallet as I spoke.

“May I contribute to paying the check?” I looked up and found her with her hand on her purse, waiting for my response.

I took a moment to choose my words carefully, hoping this didn’t lead to an argument, but I wasn’t going to give in, no matter what she said.

“No, thank you. I asked you out, so I’ll be paying. Maybe some other time.” I stopped before adding that it would really be never if I had my way. Then I braced for her response, hoping this didn’t ruin the night. And any future for us. While I fully supported a woman’s independence, I also liked to feel like I was taking care of her in some way, and if she couldn’t let me have that, she wasn’t the woman for me.

“All right, but if I invite you, then I’m paying.” She took her hand off her purse and extended it over the table. “Deal?”

I didn’t want to agree, but from the firm set of her jaw I could tell this was important to her, so I shook on it because, if nothing else, it meant that she definitely wanted to see me again.

“Deal. If you invite me to do something, you can pay.”

Now I just had to make sure that I did all the inviting.