Anne was enjoying herself so much she was oblivious to the passage of time until Louis asked if she was ready for him to take her home, and she realized she'd just yawned. "I suppose it is getting late." She looked around and saw that the crowd had dwindled down to less than ten.
"I was just worried that you might be getting too tired," Louis explained.
"I'm fine." She laughed. "I suppose it would be a good idea to get back before the sun comes up, though."
"Yes." He laughed as well.
"Don't forget to email me about the aquarium specials!" Elisabeth called.
Anne smiled. "Of course I won't!"
As Louis escorted her back to his car, she saw that there was a spring to his step that hadn't been there before. Once again, he hurried to open her door for her, giving an exaggerated bow as he did so. She smiled her appreciation, and he beamed.
"Your family all seem so nice," she remarked as they rode along. She'd briefly met Louis, Sr., and even Uncle Philippe, his wife Angelique, and their son and daughter.
"Thank you," Louis replied.
They rode in silence for a few more minutes. "Everything just looks so different after dark, doesn't it?" Anne asked after awhile.
"It's a lot harder to see where you're going, that's for sure," Louis replied.
"When I was a little girl, I used to look up into the sky and wonder how far out the stars went, if there was such a thing as the furthest star or if they just went on forever," said Anne. "Did you ever do that?"
"Nope." He switched the ignition off. "Well, here we are."
He opened her door, then walked her up to her apartment. "Thank you for a lovely time," she told him.
He smiled. "You're very welcome!"
"I would invite you in for a drink, except that I know you have to drive right back."
"That's true, but I appreciate the thought. I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself, Anne. I had a wonderful time as well." He lifted her hand and brushed it with his lips. "Well, good night, beautiful lady, and I hope you have sweet dreams."
"You too." Her feet seemed to have wings as she danced into her apartment.
Anne arrived at work Monday morning to find that Anna was all smiles. "Guess I don't even have to ask how your weekend went," she joked.
Anna's light, tinkling laugh rang out like a silvery bell. "Charles took me to that new Italian restaurant on the other side of town, and then we went to my favorite lounge and danced the night away! We had - how do you say it? A real blast!"
"I'm glad you had fun." Anne began to don her scuba equipment in preparation for diving into the tank. "I met Louis' family over the weekend at his Uncle Philippe's fais dodo."
"What's that?"
"A Cajun dance party. It was great!"
Wednesday evening, Anne's telephone rang. Expecting it to be Louis, she grabbed the receiver and was surprised to hear her mother's voice instead. "Hi, Mom! How are you and Dad?"
"Doing well. You can come over for dinner on Sunday, can't you? Mary and her family are coming to visit, and you know how much I love to have all three of my children here together."
"Sure, I'll be there! And Mom, there's this new guy I've been dating. Is it OK if I invite him to come too?"
"Of course, dear! The more, the merrier!"
Anne's sister Mary was a year and a half older than her and was married to a soldier named William Stafford. She had two children, four-year-old Katie and two-year-old Eric, and the family lived in Baton Rouge. They spent the weekend with her parents about once every month or two, and the elder Boleyns always invited George and Anne over for dinner when they were visiting.
After hanging up, Anne had second thoughts about inviting Louis. Her father had been ecstatic when wealthy entrepreneur Henry Tudor had taken an interest in his younger daughter, and even though their marriage had come right on the heels of his scandalous divorce, the social climbing attorney had welcomed it. The subsequent divorce had devastated father almost as much as daughter.
Since then, Thomas Boleyn had tried several times to fix Anne up with wealthy, older clients, but she'd found them pompous and boring and hadn't agreed to see any of them again. She knew her father wouldn't approve of Louis; he'd consider the younger man a weakling with no ambition and would discourage her from getting involved with him.
On the other hand, the feistiness that was an integral part of her personality was determined to prove to her family and everyone else that she wasn't ashamed of Louis or of her growing feelings for him. Her mind made up, she dialed his number.
Louis was so absorbed in manipulating the tiny, intricate components of the watch that he didn't even hear the telephone until the ninth or tenth ring. Several other broken watches lay on the table beside it. He'd acquired such a reputation for repairing broken watches that even acquaintances of acquaintances often contacted him.
Thinking it was likely one of his clients, Louis grabbed the receiver and was surprised but thrilled to hear Anne's voice. "Hey! What's up?"
"Hey, Louis! I'm going to my parents' for dinner on Sunday, and I'd love for you to come with me. My sister Mary and her family are gonna be there too, and so's George."
Louis gulped. Although he was thrilled at the prospect of seeing Anne again, the thought of meeting so many new people at one time terrified him.
