God, he wished he was dead! He should have never sat in the passenger's seat of her Cadillac. The second she started the car she gave it the gas and Rick became worried, well actually a little more uneasy. The second the car's engine came back down to an idle she slapped it into drive and floored it. He was still trying to fasten his seatbelt as he is thrown back into the seat from the force.

"Kate, did the tower clear you for that take-off?"

All she did was press harder on the gas and give him a suspicious smile. She turned up the radio when she heard the beginning gong of AC/DC's Hell's Bells. By the time they got out onto the freeway, Kate was doing close to eighty-five miles per hour. Rick watched as she narrowly missed hitting several cars in their path.

"Watch out!" Rick shouted out as they almost hit a car right in front of them. She was zig-zagging all over the road using it like her own personal race track with speed to match.

"So do you know Minneapolis?" She asked him.

"No, I've only been here a couple of times." He said as he squeezed his eyes shut once again because she was almost about to hit another car.

"Ohh I know a good place to eat!"

Rick who wanted to get there in one piece said: "Anyplace is fine Kate."

She looked over at him and noticed that he was cringing so she asked,

"Rick is something wrong?"

In the seconds that followed she had drifted into the other lane and was going to hit a car coming at them in the opposite lane.

"KATE!" watch the road….."

Kate looked up and saw a pickup truck heading right for them. She swerved to the right missing the truck entirely.

"Man, you really drive this thing don't you."

All Kate could do was smile as she ran through a red light pressing the gas pedal harder to the floor.

Rick who is now sure he was going to die asked her,

"Kate are we almost there yet?"

"Will be there in another two minutes at this present velocity."

Rick just looked over at her like she lost her mind. Who talks like this.

"Kate, how long have you had this car?"

"Oh, um, forever I guess."

"Well, you must be the luckiest woman in the world then."

Rick was in thrown against the door as she made a hard left onto a side street and accelerated even faster. When she got to the end of the street all he saw was the car that was blocking their path driving down the cross street. She hung a hard right missing the car and pulling over to the curb. When Rick opens the door to get out all he can hear was the other driver who was just cut off calling her an idiot for doing so out his open window. Standing on the sidewalk just looking at the car he stepped out of Kate walks up and stands beside him.

"Rick are you alright?"

"I feel like I should kiss the ground."

The doorman opens the door and they both walk in. The wait for a table is about ten minutes so they sit at the bar and get comfortable. The bartender turns and hands them both two fingers of Scotch. Rick adds water to both their glasses and picks up his glass to toast the fact that he made it out to the restaurant alive. But he doesn't tell her that. He lifts his glass and she does the same. Rick takes a small sip of his Scotch and Kate who hasn't had alcohol in like forever, tasted the scotch and liking the taste upended the entire glass in one gulp. All he can do is look at her in awe.

"Wow, you can't get that anymore." Seeing the bartender Kate asks for another scotch but hold the water.

"Can't get it anymore? It's old but it's not that old." Rick says.

"Oh, I mean that I can't really afford…"

The maître d walks up between the two and asks if they're ready to order dinner. Kate who was still looking at the menu can't decide what she wants to eat so she has Rick do it for her.

"We'll have the filet of sole for two, tossed salad with Italian dressing."

The maître d nods acknowledging their order.

Kate nods to him telling him that he made the right choice for her.

"That's the first time I've ordered for a woman since the senior prom in high school.

"I don't mind Rick."

"Don't you Kate? I mean that doesn't happen that much anymore."

"Why?"

"Haven't you ever heard of equal rights? Women have become empowered and I think that they should be."

"So what, it's like a war between men and women if they're not empowered?"

"Actually it is."

"Who won?"

"I still think that war is still being fought on many fronts. But maybe we could call a truce for tonight?"

"I'd like that Rick."

Rick deciding to be a little bold has a question for Kate.

"Kate you're different from other women that I've known. You don't carry yourself like you're from this country."

Kate who needed not to reveal who she really was told him a little white lie.

"That's because I'm not from this country Rick."

"You're not? Where are you from?"

"I grew up abroad. In France. I'm from France. My father was posted there. He was a warrior."

"A soldier?" Rick said questioningly.

"That's right, a soldier, he was a soldier."

"Well, to friends then." Just as they finish clinking their glasses together the maître d came back and told them their table was ready. Kate downed the rest of her Scotch, picked up her purse and started walking towards the table. Rick just looked at her again and did the same with his Scotch. He left a tip for the bartender and walked to the table to meet Kate.

Sitting directly across from her he watches as she cuts up a piece of her salad. When he thinks she's going to eat it she stabbed it with the fork picks it up and looks at it wondering if it's safe to eat. He watches as she slowly guided her fork towards her mouth, opens her mouth and puts it in. The faces that she's making her something he remembers seeing on his niece when she didn't like food or when she loved it. She starts chewing with vigor apparently liking the salad. Before he knows it, she's done with half of her salad before he is. He notices that she's eating and smoking at the same time something he never did even when he did smoke. Because you can't enjoy one or the other at the same time.

"That's a really bad habit you got Kate."

"What habit is that Rick?"

"I've never seen anybody eat and spoke at the same time."

Kate looks at the cigarette she's smoking and decides that he's right. She throws it over the dividing wall and it lands somewhere where she doesn't know. She continues to push the salad around with her fork until she realizes that she's not in 3018 anymore and the cigarettes probably burning someone's tablecloth instead of being vaporized. She quickly gasps and covers her mouth with her hand.

"Shit, Rick where did it go?"

"You hear somebody screaming real soon you'll probably know where it is. Kate, you really have to quit smoking, the tobacco is turning your brain to mush."

Kate just looked at Rick and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Soon they were both laughing together eating their salad. During the dinner conversation, they had family talk, work talk, and personal lives talk. When they were finished with everything they decided to just be themselves and talk some more getting to know each other better.

"So, you never remarried never found a new girlfriend? Isn't that a little unusual? Kate asked.

Rick shook his head no.

"Is it? There are times when relationships just don't work out and I don't really have the time to invest in one. But there are times… Rick pauses for a second as he looks over at Kate.

"What?"

"When I wish I did things differentially. But my job always came first." Rick said sadly.

Kate knowing exactly what he means says,

"I know what you mean by Rick. That's how I feel about my job."

"Really? But I bet your job doesn't take you away in the middle of the night, keep you away from home months on end and if I was lucky enough to get back within their decent amount of time my apartment was usually empty of whoever I was seeing then. They just don't hang around Kate."

"Well, maybe you just didn't find the right girl."

"Maybe. Javi says I'm burning out, I don't know maybe I just gave up looking altogether. But I can tell you I was taking a lot of cold showers. When he said that Rick looks down not wanting her to know that is sex life is practically nonexistent. But she took it the wrong way.

"Rick it seems to me that you find it hard to talk about yourself."

"How can you say that we've been talking about me for the past two and a half hours. But you're right I can't… Rick paused looking right at her and he thinks she knows. He takes a chance and slides his hand into hers on the table."

…. open up emotionally? She said finishing his sentence.

"That's it. I'm no good at…"

"… expressing yourself" Kate finished.

Still looking into her eyes he smiled a little bit and said,

"I couldn't have said it better myself Kate. But what about you? Why aren't you married?"

"Rick nobody would want me because I can't have children."

"I'm sorry Kate. But that's not the only reason to get married. Any man who doesn't see who you are or could be doesn't deserve to be married to you."

"But Rick it would be for me because I do want children."

Kate wanted to leave here because this conversation was getting way too personal for her and she knew that she would slip up and give away who she really was. So, she suggested something to him.

"Rick I really like to get out of here. Where are you staying? Could I drive you?"

Rick was confused by the sudden change of subject and forgot actually where he was staying for a second since he had never been to the hotel yet.

"For a minute there I forgot where I was staying. I haven't even seen the room yet."

"Well, I was going to ask you if it's nice."

"Well Kate if you want, you can come up and take a look."

Kate lifted their joined hands, gave him a wink and pulled him to the exit of the restaurant….