Chapter 3
Reba finished getting ready for work and rushed downstairs. She found Kyra in the kitchen with a blueberry muffin and a travel mug full of coffee. Other than Kyra the house seemed empty.
"Hey, where is everyone?" Reba asked as she hurried to the fridge.
"Here mom, this is for you," Kyra said putting the coffee and fresh muffin in her mother's hand. "Van and Cheyenne have already left for work. They took Elizabeth to daycare and dropped Jake off at dads on their way."
Reba couldn't help but chuckle, it seemed so weird to her that BOTH Van AND Cheyenne had jobs. Of course Van was working with Norris Realty and Cheyenne was working at Gucci.
"Alright I'll see you after work, love you," Reba said hugging Kyra.
"Okay love you too."
After a morning full of paperwork and organizing it was finally lunchtime. Reba pushed back from her desk, grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She drove to her favorite pizza place and ordered a slice of hawaiian and a pepsi. The restaurant was really busy so she decided to take it back to work. If she did that she would have some time to look at houses for Narvel too. When she walked in the door though, there was a surprise waiting on her desk. There sat a dozen long-stemmed roses with a card.
Reba,
I can't wait for our date tonight. I made us reservations at Mark's.
Narvel.
Mark's American Cuisine was a very popular restaurant. It had a golden ceiling, candle lit tables and was in a renovated 1920's church. It was one of the most beautiful and romantic restaurants she had ever been to. A smile spread across Reba's lips. She couldn't wait for work to be over so she could go get ready for her date.
The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever. She had an open house at two with this grumpy woman who couldn't make up her mind. When Reba finally returned to the office the boss had another stack of paperwork on her desk. She finally got out of her office at six only giving her an hour to get ready.
Reba ran into the house and straight up the stairs to the shower. She showered as fast as she could while hopping from foot to foot because she didn't set the water temperature right. She jumped out and quickly dried her hair. She put on the dress she had picked out earlier. It was an elegant, black one with a golden trim under the bust. She slipped into her black heels and did her make-up. Realizing she still had fifteen minutes she decided to put her hair up. She put it up in a bun with a piece on each side left out to frame her face.
Reba came downstairs and found her family sitting around the table eating soup and sandwiches for supper. "Wow mom! You look amazing!" Cheyenne squealed when she caught a glimpse of Reba walking into the kitchen.
"You really think I look good enough?" she asked with a worried expression playing across the features of her face.
"You look really nice Mrs. H," Van said smiling at his mother-in-law. Reba smiled back; she had such a great family.
"Thank you g..."
"Mom wait!" Cheyenne yelled, making Reba jump.
"What?" She yelled back not knowing why her daughter was freaking out.
"You forgot earring!"
"Oh crap!" Reba said spinning on her heels to head back up stairs. When she got to the top of the stairs she heard a knocking at the door. She ran into her room and quickly put on her silver hoop earrings.
When she came back down the stairs she saw Narvel standing at the door talking to Van.
"Wow, you look beautiful," Narvel whispered when she crossed the kitchen towards him.
Reba blushed. "Thank you," she whispered back in response. "Umm... are you ready to go?"
"Yeah. See you guys later," Narvel said waving to the kids.
"See you later," they replied in unison as they watched Reba walk out hand in hand.
When they got to the restaurant Narvel walked around and opened the door for Reba. They went and got their table. Narvel pulled out the chair for Reba and then went and took his own seat. What a gentleman Reba thought to herself. The server dropped off their menus and left them to decide.
"So how was your day at work?" Narvel asked staring into her beautiful, blue eyes.
"Exhausting," Reba replied. "How was your day?"
"It seemed to take forever. I couldn't wait to get home and get ready to come see you," He said with a smile that lit up his face.
Reba felt a smile spread across her lips and the blood rushing to her cheeks. She didn't like blushing in front of him but he could do it so easily. He was really sweet.
Just then the waitress came back. "Are you guys ready to order?"
"I'll have the Penne Rosa with Parmesan Chicken please," Reba said folding her menu and handing it back to the waitress.
"I'll have the same thing and can we get a bottle of Prima Rosa please," Narvel said turning back to Reba.
"Good taste," she smiled at him.
After some small talk their food was brought out. They ate with some more light conversation and drank their wine. The food was amazing. The wine was great too. Reba was really enjoying herself. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy when she was out with a man.
When they left the restaurant Narvel drove them to the park. Reba took off her heels and walked with him across the soft grass. He reached out and grabbed her hand and leaded her to a bench. It was just dark enough to see the stars. They sat for an hour just talking and looking at the stars before they headed back to Reba's house.
Narvel pulled up and stopped the SUV. He went over and opened the door for her again and walked her to the door.
"Thank you, I had a really great time tonight." she said smiling.
"Me too," He said leaning in to kiss her goodnight.
When he leaned in though it was someone else's face that crossed her mind. She turned her head so that his lips connected with her cheek.
"Sorry," Narvel whispered feeling stupid for moving too fast.
"No I'm sorry. I just... nevermind," She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "See you soon?" "See you soon," Narvel said with a smile and walked back to his vehicle.
