Where Did the Time Go? : Part IX
By the time they reached the restaurant where they had their reservations, they found the parking lot empty and the doors locked. Apparently the management had decided the storm settling in over the Tri-Cities would not only keep most of their customers away, it would represent a danger to their employees as well. Ron said as much would be the case but Kim had put on her dress and when she did that, they were going out. Case closed.
Of course, she knew she must look the sight when they walked into the only sit-down service restaurant they found open. It was the same place Josh Mankey took her to on one of their only real dates, where Drakken and Shego had been lurking, trying to literally embarrass her to death.
If eight inches of snow had not already fallen outside she was sure anyone who saw her would die of laughter including Ron. She was wearing the tiny black dress alright, but she was also wearing black thermal pantyhose, along with a pair of leg-warmers she generally would never been seen with outside of an aerobics class. They were being used to not only keep her warm but to disguise the snow-boots she was wearing instead of strappy sandals. Over the top she was wearing a light sweater and her heaviest winter coat, allowing only about an inch of the dress itself to show.
Ron's outfit fared much better with his concessions to the storm. He arrived at the house on foot since his car couldn't get enough traction to get up the one hill he had to climb, so he was wearing snow boots as well. Only they tended to look a little better with a new pair of khaki cargo pant and his ski jacket went well with the black dress shirt and maroon tie he was wearing. Considering the knot was expertly tied and the length was perfect, she suspected he went directly to Rufus this time for help.
He looked like a handsome young man who had to go out in the snow and she looked like a street-tart trying to work in the blizzard. It was almost enough to make her wish she had taken her mother's suggestion of sitting home in front of the fireplace and making Smores. Only, that one little thing she had said to her mother while she was in the shower was starting to bother her more and more. It was a painful thing to bring up for both women, but using it as a weapon during what was turning into an argument? That was just plain mean and, as Ron would say, Wrongsick.
The restaurant was as empty as the parking lot outside. A trio of waitresses occupied one table and only one cook was visible in the kitchen. Not that it mattered much, the place was pretty much a glorified hamburger joint, the kind that put a burger and some fries on a real plate, brought it out to your table and charged you twice as much for it and made a big deal of refilling your glass with watery drinks.
All that aside, seeing the staff sitting there, essentially out in this weather for no more reason than their boss insisted the place stay open, made her feel even worse. With no customers to speak of there would be no tips and it was very likely they weren't even making enough money to put gas in their cars to get to work.
Leaving now wouldn't help them, though and it also meant going back home and apologizing to her mother. She wanted to do that, even needed to but at the moment she was not quite ready to face her and her only means of escape was her Friday night date with Ron.
He closed his cell phone and put it away. "Well, that's it. Every dance club that lets teens in is apparently closed. I even tried Bundy's"
Kim wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I'd want to go there anyway."
"Sorry, KP. Looks like dinner and a movie, if the theater's even open."
"Well," She leaned seductively on the table, "Maybe since there's not a lot of traffic we'll have some privacy in the mini-van after all."
Ron grinned goofily at her. The big problem with the van was it was a slightly older model and didn't have the fancy fold-down seats that had become common lately and like any 'family-style' minivan of its day, it was completely surrounded by large windows so the whole family unit could enjoy the panorama as they drove. That was fine when she was confined to the vehicle with her parents and her brothers (and quite often Ron as well) but for a young couple wishing to spend some time 'parking'… well, in most cases it didn't work too well.
"I just thought of something, KP." Ron said, picking at the yeast rolls that had been brought out as they waited for their burgers.
"What's that, Baby?" She asked, leaning on the table again and lightly batting her eyes at him.
He stopped for a moment and just stared at her. Even with the fuzzy sweater covering up most of that most wonderful dress, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"Uh, remember those films we saw in driver's ed a couple years ago?"
Kim pulled a face. "Yeah, what's 'Ghost Car' got to do with anything? You seemed to handle Mom's van just fine in the snow."
"Not that one," He shuddered slightly. The production values of the old film were terrible, but the real footage that had been interspersed with the acting would have made a Slasher film director proud. One scene in particular made him realize why Kim almost always got sick when she visited her brain-surgeon mother at work. "Later, after we got done with the testing."
"When most of us got done." Kim reminded him with a slight grin. Ron didn't manage to get his permit until very late in the course.
"Seventh time's the charm." He smiled back at her, mimicking a line from her favorite sitcom. "What I'm getting at, if we're gonna, you know…cuddle in the van, we're going to have to run the heater. It's already down to like twenty outside."
"Uh, huh. No big, we've got a full tank of gas. The heater could run for hours if it has to." She hooked her ankle around his, a gesture that lost a little of its impact with a slightly damp snow-boot.
"KP, the way the snow is coming down, we run the risk of it piling up against the exhaust. People have died from suffocation that way, and since I had to walk to your house I couldn't bring a blanket or anything."
Kim's face slumped down against her fists. "Oh snap." She said softly, realizing he was right. "Okay what about your place?"
He shook his head resolutely. "Dad was lighting the fireplace as I left. They're expecting me to be out of the house all evening. Believe me, we do not want to go back there right now!"
"You mean they're…"
"LaLaLaLa." Ron started singing, clamping his hands over his ears.
"O…kay." She said, leaning back from the table as their waitress brought their burgers
Kim looked from her burger to her fries, then to the chocolate shake sitting there between them. She knew she was going to regret this, considering Ron's cast-iron stomach, but she had to ask.
"Ronnie, what is the most embarrassing thing you like to eat?"
He gave her the funniest look. "Is this some kind of weird 'is Ron like Mankey' thing?"
She dropped her chin into her palms again. She didn't run right to her room and start the virtual spill into her online diary, she was instantly on the phone with Ron and he knew almost every detail of that evening as well as she did. It didn't even occur to her that night she had to share it with the most important person in her world, one who had in fact saved her life that night.
"Yes it is, Ron. I don't really have any bad memories about Josh and it was a good question." She leaned across the table and whispered. "You already knew my answer to that question anyway."
"Well, yeah, I guess I'm one of only two people on this planet that would actually eat something like that. Hmmm. I don't get embarrassed so…" He looked up at the ceiling, tapping his cheek like he was deep in thought. Finally he held out his hands. "I can think of a lot of stuff I'd eat that would gross some people out, but embarrassing? I can't think of anything. Oh, wait, how about the happy-face breakfast at the pancake place. You know, the one that makes a smiley face out of the bacon on a pancake?"
Kim absently dipped a French fry into the milkshake. "Okay, smarty-pants, though the last time we ate there you got an omelet the size of Denver and managed to polish off most of mine as well."
"Yeah, we've got to eat there again sometime. How about after church Sunday?"
"Okay, though I'm going to make you get the happy-face." She picked up her burger and took as big a bite as she was able to, which obviously paled in comparison to Ron's capabilities. She had no doubt he could stuff the entire sandwich in his mouth at once, though she would probably disown him if he did that, empty restaurant or not. "I was reading a quiz in one of my magazines last night and it got me to thinking. Just how well do you know me?"
"Um, KP, in thirteen years we've been apart maybe four months, tops. I know you better than you know your brothers."
"Well, let's see if I can remember some of the questions. There were some stupid ones in there, like what color my eyes are."
Ron laughed slightly. "Somebody sitting on the far side of the gym knows what color your eyes are."
"Yeah, like I said, that question was kind of stupid but there were others, ones you might not have thought too much about, things you might take for granted."
"I can't ever take you for granted." He said, taking about a third of his burger out in one bite.
"What's my favorite color?"
"Pink." He said easily.
"Oh, really. Are you so sure. I wore a green top almost constantly Sophomore year."
"Well, that's true, but at home in the bottom of my chest-of-drawers there are five pairs of pink…"
"Okay, you got me there." Her eyes narrowed at him a bit. "Though I have to wonder why you're going through my drawer."
"Can I plead the fifth?"
Kim crossed her arms and gave him a mock-serious face. "No." She said, glaring across the table at him.
"Okay. Mom makes me do your laundry you leave at the house since we've been dating just in case you left something there I wouldn't want her to see. After that pair…"
"Whoa, you're right, she's right, let's leave it there." Fortunately she knew Ron's mother had never seen that particular pair of panties. It was bad enough who did.
"Next question." She said. "What's my favorite flavor of ice cream?"
"Are you sure all the questions aren't dumb? Edy's Fudge Ripple, and when you can't get that, then it's the cheap stuff in the little plastic cups."
"Favorite TV show?"
"Pals, though I'd bet Agony County is a close second."
"Favorite song?"
"Could it Be? Come on, KP, these are all easy."
"Favorite band?"
"Uh, I dunno. Oh Boyz? You're not that big on music."
"Ah, got you on one. Oh Boyz is yours, I liked them for about a week and then when I met those spoiled party boys…"
"Then what is it? You don't even have a CD player in your room except for your computer."
Kim pulled her Kimmunicator out of her purse and punched a few buttons. Who needed an expensive MP3 player when you could tie into Wade's mainframe and his massive collection of downloaded tunes. Say the Word started softly playing.
"She's not really a band, more of a solo artist." Ron said.
Kim shrugged. "She was playing when we had our first real kiss, she was there on our first real date, so I think she counts."
"Okay, now all the same questions about me." Ron said, polishing off the last of his burger and hungrily eyeing hers.
Kim raised and eyebrow at him and picked her food up for another big bite. She was hungry too.
"Well?" He prompted.
"Red." She said finally.
"Really? What makes you think that?" he said, smiling as he took a long draw on the milkshake they were sharing.
"You wear a red jersey all the time. I figure it must be your favorite color."
"Guess again." He said, his look starting to get a little smug.
"Auburn?"
"Oh, I like that color really good." He reached across the table and lightly stoked a lock of her hair. "Try again."
"Okay, Ron, I'm stumped. Don't tell me it's black." She pulled the shoulder of her sweater down slightly so he could see the strap of her dress.
"Pink." He said finally.
"Ron, that's sweet, but you don't have to say your favorite color is the same as mine."
"Really, KP, it's pink. Has been since, oh, not long after we turned fifteen, when I found out you had on pink with a big red heart printed on it."
Kim blushed crimson, then flushed with a bit of anger. "You mean what I was wearing when we switched brains?"
Ron just nodded sheepishly.
"You said you didn't look." Kim whispered across the table.
"Um, KP, I'm a guy, I couldn't help it. We both had to change clothes and I wasn't exactly in familiar territory there…and you have that big dressing mirror in your room."
"I didn't look." She said, crossing her arms and her legs.
"Bull snap." He said, laughing slightly.
"I swear to you, Ron. I just closed my eyes and pretended I was putting my own clothes on. I so didn't want to see that."
"So that's how you ended up getting me caught in my zipper." His grin got impossibly wider.
"That hurt!" she squeaked.
"How do you think I felt when we got our own bodies back. Okay, next question. What's my favorite flavor of ice cream?"
"I'm still tweaked about you eyeballing my body like that."
"You don't know, do you." It was his turn to rest his chin on his fist, narrowing his eyes at her.
"I do too. It's chocolate."
Ron shook his head. "That's just what we get together since we both like it. It's butter pecan."
"Ron, that's old-people ice cream. Since when do you like that?"
"Since it's the only other flavor besides Fudge Ripple in your freezer. I can't help it, I like it."
"Humph. Your favorite band is Oh Boyz, your favorite show is The Fearless Ferret and your favorite song better be Could it Be."
"Well, I am kind of partial to Hello Hello Hello." He said, rolling his eyes, until Kim kicked him lightly under the table.
About that moment their waitress came back to their table. "Hey, I'm really sorry, but the manager has decided to close up. It's getting pretty bad outside."
"That's cool. Ron said. "You want a to-go box KP?"
"Uh, no thanks." She eyed the remains of her burger and fries. There really wasn't enough left to save.
"The boss said your dinner is on the house since she's closing up." There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. No bill pretty much meant no tip.
"Hang on." Ron pulled his battered wallet out and pulled out a small stack of bills. "Do me a favor, split this with the rest of the girls and the cook for me." He handed her the whole stack. There were at least three twenties there, along with some smaller bills.
"Ron, that was sweet." Kim said as he helped her back into her coat.
He shrugged. "That's probably the only tip they got all night. Nobody else came in here the whole time we were here and I'm willing to bet that manager was going to dock them for the rest of their schedule, not that they're paid much to begin with. Besides, maybe they'll remember us the next time we come in here."
Their waitress hadn't been half kidding. The snow was coming down so thick they could barely see three feet in front of them. They had been in there an hour and a half and the van was already completely covered, though the high angles had kept all the windows clear. Kim reached into her purse and handed the keys to Ron. It took him a few minutes, fumbling in his gloves to get the key into the ice-crusted lock, but he was finally able to get her door open for her.
The driver's side door was in even worse shape. Kim unlocked it for him and helped push it open as he pulled on the handle, the door finally opening with an audible crunch where the water that had melted earlier had re-frozen in the seals.
The moment he got the door shut she grabbed him for a very passionate kiss.
"Uh, you know what, KP." He said when it ended. "I think I just gave her our movie budget." He pulled his wallet out and displayed the empty fold. "Think they'll take my ATM card?"
"I don't think the theater is open right now." She said, nodding toward the storm raging outside of the little minivan.
"So, what do we do then?"
She pulled him in for another kiss. It didn't last as long as the first but it was clear it was going to be only one of many. "Why don't you make sure the exhaust pipe is clear and start the engine up." She said softly before kissing him again.
The door crunched again, though more softly this time as he went around the back of the van and swept a small drift away from the tail-pipe. Once the engine was running it would melt anything back there, as long as the wind didn't start drifting the snow into piles.
Kim proceeded to warm him back up when he got back in. Finally he turned back to the steering wheel and turned the key. Even though his lips and most of his face was warm, he was quickly starting to shiver and he knew she couldn't be warm even with the extra layers she had on.
Nothing happened. He turned it again, giving the gas a light pat. The dome lights had come on when they got in, so he knew the battery should be okay.
He turned it a third time. The engine wasn't even cranking.
"Oh boy." They both muttered.
Neither of them thought to call 'jinx.'
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