The next evening, Jimmy was at Clark's apartment watching Lee. Clark had
to meet one of his sources so the task of taking care of the girl was left
up to Jimmy. Jimmy didn't mind the job though, he had taken an instant
liking to the little girl after finding out that she too had a love for
photography. At first it had surprised him, but after a few hours spent
with her, nothing seemed so surprising after all.
Jimmy was in the kitchen cleaning up the mess they had made. Jimmy, not knowing what little girls ate, decided on ordering a large pepperoni pizza. Lee not only ate the two pieces that Jimmy had given her but she had also finished three more and still had room for a sundae with extra hot fudge and whipped cream. Jimmy was shocked to see her put so much away in her stomach and when he asked about it, Lee shrugged and commented on how her mommy could do the same thing. Jimmy laughed and now Lee was watching cartoons while he did the dishes.
The shrill ring of the phone made Jimmy almost drop the plate that he'd been drying. He dried his hands on the nearest dishtowel and answered the cordless phone. "Hello, Kent residence, Jimmy speaking," he said.
"Where's Clark?" a female voice demanded.
"Out doing a story. Who is this?"
"Chloe Sullivan. Do you, by any chance, know when Clark is going to be home?" Chloe asked, her voice a bit less harsh than before.
"No, is there something I can help you with?" Jimmy replied.
"Not unless you can help me kill Clark. I specifically told him not to leave Lee with anyone I didn't know and what does he do? He leaves my daughter, my own flesh and blood with you. I mean, I'm sure your nice and all but you happen to be a complete stranger to me. God, I can't believe I trusted him," Chloe babbled.
"Excuse me, I hate to interrupt your rant, but are you Lee's mother?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, I'm Jimmy, your daughter's baby-sitter. Lee's a great little girl, really fun to be around. You must be heck of a mother to have such a wonderful little girl. You know, she talks about you all the time. But, I am curious about one thing. Where's Lee's father?" Jimmy said.
"Fifteen feet deep in a cemetery in Boston."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry about it."
"What was his name?"
"Jay P. Quinton."
"The heir who died in that motorcycle accident. Wait, you're that Chloe Sullivan? The one who was to marry that guy?" Jimmy asked, totally shocked to the core.
"Yeah, I'm that Chloe Sullivan. How did you know?" she answered.
"Are you kidding? Did you know that your wedding was the event of the year in the entire country? God, all you needed to do was go outside your house and you could hear people whispering about it. That was all my parents would talk about at the dinner table when I would visit them. You guys were like the crowned prince and princess of this country. I mean, next to the Luthor fortune, the Quinton fortune is the largest there is," Jimmy exclaimed.
"Well, I guess it goes to someone else now."
"Wait a second, you don't get it? But you were engaged to the guy," Jimmy said.
"His mother didn't really approve of the marriage. I went to her house for Christmas dinner the year before Jay died and after a few rounds of eggnog, she called me a 'money-grubbing, gold-digging tramp' and I'm just using the PG version of the sentence. Lovely in-laws-to-be I had, huh?" Chloe confessed.
"I'm sorry. You know, for two people who have just met over the phone for the first time, we sure are telling each other a lot," Jimmy said.
"Actually, I'm the one who is telling a lot. You have yet to tell me anything about yourself," Chloe replied.
"Well, I work at the Daily Planet with Clark. I got roped into watching Lee just yesterday. I've never been married because I haven't found that right girl yet. I don't smoke, I rarely drink, and I've only tried weed once because a bud from college dared me to and it was the last time because I spent the rest of the night puking my guts out in the toilet. Anything else you want to know?" Jimmy told her.
"Yeah, did you know Lois?"
"Clark's lovely wife? Yeah, I knew her. She worked at the Planet and was Clark's partner in marriage and in reporting. It was a shame when she died," Jimmy answered.
"Yeah, don't I know it? Want to know a little known fact?" Chloe asked.
"Love to."
"Lois was my cousin."
"You're kidding. She never talked about you. Does Clark know that you two were related?"
"Probably not. See, Lois and I were never really that close. We probably had maybe three conversations the entire time she was alive. I didn't even go to the wedding or the funeral," Chloe said.
"Unbelievable. Well, I'm going to go now."
"It was nice talking to you. Oh, and make my daughter go to bed in like an hour. She's not supposed to be up past nine or she has nightmares and wakes you up for a story," Chloe said.
"Will do."
The two hung up the phone. Jimmy could see where Lee got her personality; it was pretty clear from the conversation that Jimmy had shared with her mother. He could also see why Clark would be so attached to that family. Jimmy sighed and went into the living room where he joined Lee in watching a rerun of an episode of Winnie the Pooh.
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
Clark arrived home close to midnight. Jimmy was asleep on the couch with the television still on. Clark came in and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Jimmy awoke with a startled expression on his face. He visibly relaxed when he saw Clark.
"Hey, buddy, it's getting late. I think you better stay on the couch tonight," Clark said.
"Yeah, sure, but I think there's something we need to discuss before I forget. Don't get mad when I ask this but, does Chloe ever remind you of someone you used to know?" Jimmy questioned.
"No, why, should she?"
"What I am trying to get at is, does Chloe ever remind you of Lois?"
"Of course not. Why are you asking me this?"
"Then at least tell me you knew Chloe and Lois were cousins."
"No they weren't. Where are you getting this information from anyway?"
"Straight from the horse's mouth herself, or however that saying goes."
"What?"
"Chloe called here tonight looking for you. We got to talking and she confessed to me about being Lois's cousin. She also said that you probably didn't know since they weren't that close to begin with. I guess she was right," Jimmy explained.
"I can't believe this. You mean I'm falling in love with a member of the same family?" Clark asked, his head in his hands.
"Yeah, but it's not as bad as it sounds. It's not like you ever fell out of love with Chloe, you just took a break for awhile," Jimmy reassured him.
"Did you know that in high school I never told her how I felt? Either I didn't have the nerve to or I was too hung up on some other girl and by the time I was finally ready to tell her, Chloe had to leave," Clark said, lifting his head to look at Jimmy.
"So, you were the emotional coward of the town."
"Excuse me?"
"Emotional coward. It's a name that my mother used to give people who couldn't admit their feelings to someone."
"I guess that sums me up quite nicely. I guess I'll see you tomorrow Jimmy. Thanks for watching Lee tonight," Clark said.
"Anytime Clark."
Jimmy got up and went over to the door. With one last look at Clark, Jimmy slipped out of the apartment.
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
"Chloe, your date is here!" Martha called from the front door.
Chloe looked at Jonathan who was finishing up dinner and asked, "Do you think she'll mind if I slipped out the back door and totally skipped this week's blind date?"
Jonathan chuckled. "I don't think Martha will mind but Pete and Lana will hunt you down for missing another date."
"I wish they wouldn't set me up so much."
"Chloe, they worry about you. Everything was going so well with Clark and then he disappeared. They just want to fix the slump you've been in," Jonathan said, trying to calm the girl he had come to known as a daughter.
"Things would have been so much easier if Clark had stayed. When he was here, they didn't fix me up because they didn't want Clark to interrogate the poor guy and scare him off," Chloe pointed out.
"Would it help if I interrogated this new guy like my son would?"
"No, they'd just try for next week," Chloe sighed. "Besides a six-foot- four man who appears to be my ex-boyfriend is more menacing than a father figure."
"Chloe, you don't want to keep your date waiting!" Martha called again.
"If she only knew how much I did. Maybe if he waits long enough, he'll leave," Chloe mumbled.
"Cheer up Chloe. If you want, I'll call you in the middle of your date with some farm emergency," Jonathan offered.
"Really? That would be great. Thanks, Jonathan," Chloe exclaimed, bending down to kiss him on the cheek. "How do I look, by the way?"
She poised to model her red turtleneck sweater, black skirt that ended just below her knees and black lace-up boots. Her hair was down and she wore minimal makeup.
"You look beautiful Chloe."
"Thanks."
Martha came into the kitchen. "Come on, Chloe, you're being rude. Get out here," Martha ordered, taking poor Chloe's hand and practically dragging her into the living room. Chloe barely had the time to grab her purse and jacket as her date and her were pushed out the door. "Good-bye Chloe. Have a nice time but don't stay out too late," Martha said before closing the front door.
Chloe looked at her date and smiled awkwardly. She had to admit that he was a nice looking gentleman, in a pair of black trousers with a black well- fitting crew-neck sweater. He was tall, about six-foot-one, with a deep Mediterranean tan and aristocratic features. His jet-black hair was cut short and styled slightly spiky in the front and his chocolate eyes were locked on her hazel ones.
Her date took her by the elbow and led her to his car, a black Jaguar with tinted windows and black leather interior. He opened the door, waited for her to be in all the way, then closed the door before returning to his own side. Chloe looked at him with raised eyebrows as he started the car and drove out of the Kent driveway.
I guess chivalry isn't dead yet, she thought as they drove past the fields and into town. "I'm sorry, but I haven't caught your name just yet," Chloe said.
"Probably because I haven't told you. My name is Nicholas Wetherington and yours, I believe, is Chloe Sullivan. Am I correct?" he introduced himself in a very deep masculine voice.
"Yes. Where do you know Pete and Lana from?"
"I met Lana in one of my business classes. I was just passing through town and I was going to spend the night at their house but she suggested a blind date," Nicholas said.
"I bet she did," Chloe muttered. Then in a louder voice, "So, what do you do Nicholas?"
"Please, call me Nick. I am an investment banker based in New York. How about you?" he replied.
"I am a journalism teacher at the local high school and I-"
"That's great. I took a semester in college before I realized that journalism just wasn't for me and that I was best suited doing my father's work. I just wasn't into the whole getting into people's privacy thing," Nicholas said.
"That's not all journalism is. Maybe you were just-"
"We're here," Nicholas announced as he parked outside the Talon. "I hope you don't mind but Smallville doesn't have much in the way of dating places."
"We do pretty well here."
"I bet you do."
As he led her into the doors of the Talon and to a small table near the back, Chloe could not help but think of how long the evening was going to be.
As they drank their cappuccinos, Chloe tuned out the sound of Nicholas's voice. When they first sat down, Nicholas started talking about how great the city of New York happened to be. He paused only when the waitress came over to give his and Chloe's orders. He resumed speaking, moving onto the topic of how grueling his sixteen-hour-a-day job was. Chloe just nodded her head and made the appropriate noises at the appropriate times, praying that she would not fall asleep and not knowing what topic he was on at the time. She must have appeared interested because he never did stop talking unless he had to take a sip of coffee.
When the waitress came back to retrieve their cups and see if they wanted to order anything else, Chloe said, "Excuse me Nick, but I have to use the ladies' room. Please order me whatever you're having."
"Okay, Chloe, hurry back please."
"Don't bet on it," she muttered as she hurried to the bathroom. Once inside, Chloe realized that she had grabbed her purse but not her bag. She let out a string of curses before pulling out her cell phone and dialing Lana.
It rang twice before Lana answered it with a chipper "hello."
"Lana, what in heaven's name possessed you to set me up with Mr. Me?" she yelled.
"Chloe, who?"
"Mr. Me is a name you give men who only know how to talk about themselves. For the last hour or so I've been hearing about the ins and outs of investment banking and how great New York is. How could you do this to me?" Chloe yelled again.
"I'm sorry, I just thought that you two would have a good time. So, what are you going to do now?"
"I was going to sneak out but I forgot my jacket at the table."
"Where did you guys decide to sit?"
"One of the back tables."
"Okay, I'll get Pete to go there and tell you that there's some kind of emergency at home. How's that?"
"Thanks Lana."
Chloe hung up her phone and slipped it back into her purse. She made her way back to her table, finding that Nick was at the counter. She sighed in relief; thanking whatever deity she would not have to put up with him for much longer. Her relief was short-lived when Nick came back just seconds later with two cups of coffee in his hands.
"I didn't want to wait for the waitress to get our drinks so I got them while you were in the bathroom," Nick said smiling.
"Thank you," Chloe said politely.
"So, anyway, I was in Seattle last week to visit my parents. My mother was all like, 'Why don't you have a wife yet?' and my father ignored me practically the entire time I was there. Can you believe it? Parents treating their first-born like that. I couldn't wait ." Nicholas began to talk again. Chloe tuned him out and instead began to count how many seconds it was taking Pete to get there.
"Chloe? Chloe, oh my god, thank goodness I found you," Pete called out, getting her attention.
"What is it, Pete?"
"I hate to ruin your date but you have to get home now. Clark just brought Lee home. She's really sick and Clark doesn't know what to do," Pete lied.
"Excuse me, who is Lee?"
"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to mention that Lee is my five-year-old daughter. She's staying with her daddy for the week," Chloe commented casually, sticking the lie in for dramatic effect.
It worked. Nicholas visibly paled at the words. "You've been married? And you have a daughter?" he asked.
"No and yes. You see, Clark had wanted to get married when he found out I was with child but I refused to be tied down with just one man," Chloe continued to lie.
Pete, who was having a hard time keeping a straight face, quickly said, "Come on Chloe. Lee's really sick. The last time I saw her, Clark was holding back her pigtails as she wretched in the toilet."
"We better hurry. Nicholas, it was nice to meet you. I'll call you," Chloe said, standing and shaking his hand.
"I don't think I'll be in town for much longer so you really don't have to."
"Okay, if that's what you want. Come on Pete."
Chloe grabbed her purse and jacket and followed Pete outside to his parked car. When they were both safely inside and on their way home, they busted out laughing.
Chloe turned to Pete and asked, "So, do you think I just found Lee's new daddy?"
"Not even if you paid him a million dollars."
"I think I know why he's not married yet. Poor guy's afraid of losing his bachelor status."
"Nah, he's just afraid of having to hold back any girl's hair who isn't his date."
The two began to laugh again and that was all that could be heard inside the car.
Jimmy was in the kitchen cleaning up the mess they had made. Jimmy, not knowing what little girls ate, decided on ordering a large pepperoni pizza. Lee not only ate the two pieces that Jimmy had given her but she had also finished three more and still had room for a sundae with extra hot fudge and whipped cream. Jimmy was shocked to see her put so much away in her stomach and when he asked about it, Lee shrugged and commented on how her mommy could do the same thing. Jimmy laughed and now Lee was watching cartoons while he did the dishes.
The shrill ring of the phone made Jimmy almost drop the plate that he'd been drying. He dried his hands on the nearest dishtowel and answered the cordless phone. "Hello, Kent residence, Jimmy speaking," he said.
"Where's Clark?" a female voice demanded.
"Out doing a story. Who is this?"
"Chloe Sullivan. Do you, by any chance, know when Clark is going to be home?" Chloe asked, her voice a bit less harsh than before.
"No, is there something I can help you with?" Jimmy replied.
"Not unless you can help me kill Clark. I specifically told him not to leave Lee with anyone I didn't know and what does he do? He leaves my daughter, my own flesh and blood with you. I mean, I'm sure your nice and all but you happen to be a complete stranger to me. God, I can't believe I trusted him," Chloe babbled.
"Excuse me, I hate to interrupt your rant, but are you Lee's mother?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, I'm Jimmy, your daughter's baby-sitter. Lee's a great little girl, really fun to be around. You must be heck of a mother to have such a wonderful little girl. You know, she talks about you all the time. But, I am curious about one thing. Where's Lee's father?" Jimmy said.
"Fifteen feet deep in a cemetery in Boston."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry about it."
"What was his name?"
"Jay P. Quinton."
"The heir who died in that motorcycle accident. Wait, you're that Chloe Sullivan? The one who was to marry that guy?" Jimmy asked, totally shocked to the core.
"Yeah, I'm that Chloe Sullivan. How did you know?" she answered.
"Are you kidding? Did you know that your wedding was the event of the year in the entire country? God, all you needed to do was go outside your house and you could hear people whispering about it. That was all my parents would talk about at the dinner table when I would visit them. You guys were like the crowned prince and princess of this country. I mean, next to the Luthor fortune, the Quinton fortune is the largest there is," Jimmy exclaimed.
"Well, I guess it goes to someone else now."
"Wait a second, you don't get it? But you were engaged to the guy," Jimmy said.
"His mother didn't really approve of the marriage. I went to her house for Christmas dinner the year before Jay died and after a few rounds of eggnog, she called me a 'money-grubbing, gold-digging tramp' and I'm just using the PG version of the sentence. Lovely in-laws-to-be I had, huh?" Chloe confessed.
"I'm sorry. You know, for two people who have just met over the phone for the first time, we sure are telling each other a lot," Jimmy said.
"Actually, I'm the one who is telling a lot. You have yet to tell me anything about yourself," Chloe replied.
"Well, I work at the Daily Planet with Clark. I got roped into watching Lee just yesterday. I've never been married because I haven't found that right girl yet. I don't smoke, I rarely drink, and I've only tried weed once because a bud from college dared me to and it was the last time because I spent the rest of the night puking my guts out in the toilet. Anything else you want to know?" Jimmy told her.
"Yeah, did you know Lois?"
"Clark's lovely wife? Yeah, I knew her. She worked at the Planet and was Clark's partner in marriage and in reporting. It was a shame when she died," Jimmy answered.
"Yeah, don't I know it? Want to know a little known fact?" Chloe asked.
"Love to."
"Lois was my cousin."
"You're kidding. She never talked about you. Does Clark know that you two were related?"
"Probably not. See, Lois and I were never really that close. We probably had maybe three conversations the entire time she was alive. I didn't even go to the wedding or the funeral," Chloe said.
"Unbelievable. Well, I'm going to go now."
"It was nice talking to you. Oh, and make my daughter go to bed in like an hour. She's not supposed to be up past nine or she has nightmares and wakes you up for a story," Chloe said.
"Will do."
The two hung up the phone. Jimmy could see where Lee got her personality; it was pretty clear from the conversation that Jimmy had shared with her mother. He could also see why Clark would be so attached to that family. Jimmy sighed and went into the living room where he joined Lee in watching a rerun of an episode of Winnie the Pooh.
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
Clark arrived home close to midnight. Jimmy was asleep on the couch with the television still on. Clark came in and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Jimmy awoke with a startled expression on his face. He visibly relaxed when he saw Clark.
"Hey, buddy, it's getting late. I think you better stay on the couch tonight," Clark said.
"Yeah, sure, but I think there's something we need to discuss before I forget. Don't get mad when I ask this but, does Chloe ever remind you of someone you used to know?" Jimmy questioned.
"No, why, should she?"
"What I am trying to get at is, does Chloe ever remind you of Lois?"
"Of course not. Why are you asking me this?"
"Then at least tell me you knew Chloe and Lois were cousins."
"No they weren't. Where are you getting this information from anyway?"
"Straight from the horse's mouth herself, or however that saying goes."
"What?"
"Chloe called here tonight looking for you. We got to talking and she confessed to me about being Lois's cousin. She also said that you probably didn't know since they weren't that close to begin with. I guess she was right," Jimmy explained.
"I can't believe this. You mean I'm falling in love with a member of the same family?" Clark asked, his head in his hands.
"Yeah, but it's not as bad as it sounds. It's not like you ever fell out of love with Chloe, you just took a break for awhile," Jimmy reassured him.
"Did you know that in high school I never told her how I felt? Either I didn't have the nerve to or I was too hung up on some other girl and by the time I was finally ready to tell her, Chloe had to leave," Clark said, lifting his head to look at Jimmy.
"So, you were the emotional coward of the town."
"Excuse me?"
"Emotional coward. It's a name that my mother used to give people who couldn't admit their feelings to someone."
"I guess that sums me up quite nicely. I guess I'll see you tomorrow Jimmy. Thanks for watching Lee tonight," Clark said.
"Anytime Clark."
Jimmy got up and went over to the door. With one last look at Clark, Jimmy slipped out of the apartment.
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
"Chloe, your date is here!" Martha called from the front door.
Chloe looked at Jonathan who was finishing up dinner and asked, "Do you think she'll mind if I slipped out the back door and totally skipped this week's blind date?"
Jonathan chuckled. "I don't think Martha will mind but Pete and Lana will hunt you down for missing another date."
"I wish they wouldn't set me up so much."
"Chloe, they worry about you. Everything was going so well with Clark and then he disappeared. They just want to fix the slump you've been in," Jonathan said, trying to calm the girl he had come to known as a daughter.
"Things would have been so much easier if Clark had stayed. When he was here, they didn't fix me up because they didn't want Clark to interrogate the poor guy and scare him off," Chloe pointed out.
"Would it help if I interrogated this new guy like my son would?"
"No, they'd just try for next week," Chloe sighed. "Besides a six-foot- four man who appears to be my ex-boyfriend is more menacing than a father figure."
"Chloe, you don't want to keep your date waiting!" Martha called again.
"If she only knew how much I did. Maybe if he waits long enough, he'll leave," Chloe mumbled.
"Cheer up Chloe. If you want, I'll call you in the middle of your date with some farm emergency," Jonathan offered.
"Really? That would be great. Thanks, Jonathan," Chloe exclaimed, bending down to kiss him on the cheek. "How do I look, by the way?"
She poised to model her red turtleneck sweater, black skirt that ended just below her knees and black lace-up boots. Her hair was down and she wore minimal makeup.
"You look beautiful Chloe."
"Thanks."
Martha came into the kitchen. "Come on, Chloe, you're being rude. Get out here," Martha ordered, taking poor Chloe's hand and practically dragging her into the living room. Chloe barely had the time to grab her purse and jacket as her date and her were pushed out the door. "Good-bye Chloe. Have a nice time but don't stay out too late," Martha said before closing the front door.
Chloe looked at her date and smiled awkwardly. She had to admit that he was a nice looking gentleman, in a pair of black trousers with a black well- fitting crew-neck sweater. He was tall, about six-foot-one, with a deep Mediterranean tan and aristocratic features. His jet-black hair was cut short and styled slightly spiky in the front and his chocolate eyes were locked on her hazel ones.
Her date took her by the elbow and led her to his car, a black Jaguar with tinted windows and black leather interior. He opened the door, waited for her to be in all the way, then closed the door before returning to his own side. Chloe looked at him with raised eyebrows as he started the car and drove out of the Kent driveway.
I guess chivalry isn't dead yet, she thought as they drove past the fields and into town. "I'm sorry, but I haven't caught your name just yet," Chloe said.
"Probably because I haven't told you. My name is Nicholas Wetherington and yours, I believe, is Chloe Sullivan. Am I correct?" he introduced himself in a very deep masculine voice.
"Yes. Where do you know Pete and Lana from?"
"I met Lana in one of my business classes. I was just passing through town and I was going to spend the night at their house but she suggested a blind date," Nicholas said.
"I bet she did," Chloe muttered. Then in a louder voice, "So, what do you do Nicholas?"
"Please, call me Nick. I am an investment banker based in New York. How about you?" he replied.
"I am a journalism teacher at the local high school and I-"
"That's great. I took a semester in college before I realized that journalism just wasn't for me and that I was best suited doing my father's work. I just wasn't into the whole getting into people's privacy thing," Nicholas said.
"That's not all journalism is. Maybe you were just-"
"We're here," Nicholas announced as he parked outside the Talon. "I hope you don't mind but Smallville doesn't have much in the way of dating places."
"We do pretty well here."
"I bet you do."
As he led her into the doors of the Talon and to a small table near the back, Chloe could not help but think of how long the evening was going to be.
As they drank their cappuccinos, Chloe tuned out the sound of Nicholas's voice. When they first sat down, Nicholas started talking about how great the city of New York happened to be. He paused only when the waitress came over to give his and Chloe's orders. He resumed speaking, moving onto the topic of how grueling his sixteen-hour-a-day job was. Chloe just nodded her head and made the appropriate noises at the appropriate times, praying that she would not fall asleep and not knowing what topic he was on at the time. She must have appeared interested because he never did stop talking unless he had to take a sip of coffee.
When the waitress came back to retrieve their cups and see if they wanted to order anything else, Chloe said, "Excuse me Nick, but I have to use the ladies' room. Please order me whatever you're having."
"Okay, Chloe, hurry back please."
"Don't bet on it," she muttered as she hurried to the bathroom. Once inside, Chloe realized that she had grabbed her purse but not her bag. She let out a string of curses before pulling out her cell phone and dialing Lana.
It rang twice before Lana answered it with a chipper "hello."
"Lana, what in heaven's name possessed you to set me up with Mr. Me?" she yelled.
"Chloe, who?"
"Mr. Me is a name you give men who only know how to talk about themselves. For the last hour or so I've been hearing about the ins and outs of investment banking and how great New York is. How could you do this to me?" Chloe yelled again.
"I'm sorry, I just thought that you two would have a good time. So, what are you going to do now?"
"I was going to sneak out but I forgot my jacket at the table."
"Where did you guys decide to sit?"
"One of the back tables."
"Okay, I'll get Pete to go there and tell you that there's some kind of emergency at home. How's that?"
"Thanks Lana."
Chloe hung up her phone and slipped it back into her purse. She made her way back to her table, finding that Nick was at the counter. She sighed in relief; thanking whatever deity she would not have to put up with him for much longer. Her relief was short-lived when Nick came back just seconds later with two cups of coffee in his hands.
"I didn't want to wait for the waitress to get our drinks so I got them while you were in the bathroom," Nick said smiling.
"Thank you," Chloe said politely.
"So, anyway, I was in Seattle last week to visit my parents. My mother was all like, 'Why don't you have a wife yet?' and my father ignored me practically the entire time I was there. Can you believe it? Parents treating their first-born like that. I couldn't wait ." Nicholas began to talk again. Chloe tuned him out and instead began to count how many seconds it was taking Pete to get there.
"Chloe? Chloe, oh my god, thank goodness I found you," Pete called out, getting her attention.
"What is it, Pete?"
"I hate to ruin your date but you have to get home now. Clark just brought Lee home. She's really sick and Clark doesn't know what to do," Pete lied.
"Excuse me, who is Lee?"
"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to mention that Lee is my five-year-old daughter. She's staying with her daddy for the week," Chloe commented casually, sticking the lie in for dramatic effect.
It worked. Nicholas visibly paled at the words. "You've been married? And you have a daughter?" he asked.
"No and yes. You see, Clark had wanted to get married when he found out I was with child but I refused to be tied down with just one man," Chloe continued to lie.
Pete, who was having a hard time keeping a straight face, quickly said, "Come on Chloe. Lee's really sick. The last time I saw her, Clark was holding back her pigtails as she wretched in the toilet."
"We better hurry. Nicholas, it was nice to meet you. I'll call you," Chloe said, standing and shaking his hand.
"I don't think I'll be in town for much longer so you really don't have to."
"Okay, if that's what you want. Come on Pete."
Chloe grabbed her purse and jacket and followed Pete outside to his parked car. When they were both safely inside and on their way home, they busted out laughing.
Chloe turned to Pete and asked, "So, do you think I just found Lee's new daddy?"
"Not even if you paid him a million dollars."
"I think I know why he's not married yet. Poor guy's afraid of losing his bachelor status."
"Nah, he's just afraid of having to hold back any girl's hair who isn't his date."
The two began to laugh again and that was all that could be heard inside the car.