Nick was somewhat frozen after Jennifer left. She had kissed him. He had kissed her back. And for lack of a better term, it had been…magical.
He smiled to himself. He probably looked a fool, but he didn't care. He was a mess from his run and he was standing in the middle of his house beside a table with two abandoned cups of tea and he was smiling like an idiot.
Well, there was a lot to do today if he was going to take Jen out tomorrow, so Nick shook himself back to reality and cleaned up the teacups. He went upstairs to take a quick shower, just enough to rinse off and put on some sturdier clothes. He was going to finish that dining table today. It had been in his mind to do when he woke up, but suddenly it seemed extremely important.
With his jeans and work boots and ratty pullover, Nick got his goggles and gloves and sander out. The table was mostly constructed, and he'd put the legs on it about a month ago. It just had to be sanded and stained and it would be done. Now was the time for it.
He was quite proud of this table, actually. Nick had built bits and pieces of this house himself, sourcing materials from wherever he could get them, taking his time doing it all exactly the way he wanted. But this table was special. He'd been bird watching in the woods about two years ago and, not too far from where he'd first met Jennifer, actually, he had found a recently felled tree. It was enormous with a trunk about three feet wide and it must have been about thirty feet tall when it was standing. He had noticed a sharp slash of burn, evidence of perhaps a lightning strike from the storm the week prior. But it was otherwise in good shape. Nick had gone to get his chainsaw and cut a thick slab of the tree trunk and hauled it to the back of the ute. He'd barely been able to half-drag and half-carry it, but he'd managed. And once it was home, he had cut it down to size and stripped the bark and was left with the most beautiful natural wood slab, complete with dark graining and live edges.
And today, finally, it would be finished. He set everything up, plugging in the electric sander and getting it all ready, putting on all his protective equipment. Safety was important in any sort of construction job. His dad taught him that when he was little. But it was even more important living and working alone, knowing that no one would be there to call the ambos if you lost a finger and passed out from blood loss. And so Nick was very careful. So careful, in fact, that he triple-checked everything before setting to work. And as he did, he noticed that something seemed off. He couldn't tell what it was. Maybe nothing. But it felt…different.
Nick shook himself again. He was probably just distracted still from that strange conversation and amazing kiss with Jennifer. He needed to focus. He lifted the sander and switched it on and let the electric hum drown out his other thoughts.
Only there was something else. That thing he'd noticed before, it was stronger now. It was almost like a ringing in his ears. Probably just the equipment. The sander hadn't been used in a while. That was it. He tried to ignore it and press on.
But that thing wouldn't go away. It wasn't bad, just…it was something. He turned off the sander and tried to listen for it again. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. It was faint when everything was quiet like this. It almost sounded like singing.
Well that was just silly. There wasn't a sound coming from anywhere. He went to the windows and it only got fainter. Only when he was right by the table could he hear it. Almost as if the wood was…singing.
Nick refused to contemplate that insane notion. He turned the sander back on and got back to work. He was going to finish this bloody table. He had to. The wood wanted him to. Its song got louder as it begged for its glory to be revealed.
He almost dropped the sander on his foot. What was he thinking!? He had to stop. He had to get a grip on himself. But now that he'd had that thought, that ridiculous thought that the wood was signing to him to finish the table, it somehow didn't seem as crazy. Nick bent down and brushed off the dust from where he'd sanded the table so far and got as close to it as he could, till his ear was pressed to it. And there it was. Singing. Like a choir of heavenly angels. No words. Not even a melody. Just beautiful singing. And somehow, Nick knew what it meant. He was supposed to finish the table.
And so he did. He let the crescendo of singing wash over him as he sanded the rest of the table, accepting the song and following its call. He then cleaned off the dust and poured the oil stain over it, changing the setting on the sander so he could buff it all in. And within just a couple hours, it was finally done. And the wood's song thanked him.
Nick knew he must be going mad but he was so pleased with how beautiful his table was that he didn't much care yet. He cleaned everything up and put his materials away and went back upstairs to take a full proper shower. He had dust in his ears and all in his hair.
Later, he cooked himself something simple but nice for dinner and ate it at his new dining table. The song was still there but not as noticeable as before. The wood was happy, and so was Nick. Afterward, he watched a bit of telly until it was time to head to bed.
He barely slept that night. That dream he'd had, the one where he was flying with Jennifer through the woods? It was back. Only this time it was different. As soon as he woke up, he couldn't remember anything about it. But he tossed and turned all night, not knowing what was happening.
All through the next day, Nick was tired and distracted and in a foul mood because of it. Dunny tried teasing him and Nick just let him. That wasn't any fun for Duncan, of course, so he gave up. "What is with you, mate?" he asked, realizing his friend's disinterest.
"I dunno. Feeling a bit off today. Maybe I'm nervous," he realized aloud. It was not something that usually happened to Nick, but maybe that's what it was. And maybe because it rarely happened, he hadn't recognized it.
"Nervous for what?"
Nick gave a soft smile. He couldn't help it. Because it was something to smile about. "I'm taking Jennifer out to dinner tonight."
"That woman you met in the woods?"
"Yeah."
"That's great. Good on you. Where are you taking her?"
"I thought Dominic's is good for a first date," Nick replied.
Duncan smiled approvingly. "Very good on you."
Nick knew what he was doing. Dominic's was just about the fanciest place either of them could afford. It wasn't ritzy by any means, but it had linen tablecloths and the wine list had more than just 'red' and 'white' as the only options. It was the sort of place where Duncan used to take his ex-fiancée, Claire, for their anniversary. Duncan had only been there once, to celebrate his mum's fiftieth birthday. Much nicer than where Nick would normally take a woman for a first date. But Jennifer was special, and he wanted her to feel special.
He was in a better mood as he went home. He was a bit nervous, not quite knowing what to expect from the evening, but he was excited. He'd get to spend a whole evening with Jennifer, talking to her and learning more about her and just being with her. And he couldn't wait.
Just as he finished showering and shaving and tying his tie in the mirror, the doorbell rang. As he hurried down the stairs to answer the door, Nick briefly wondered if he should have gotten flowers for her. But that would have really only made sense if he'd picked her up at her place, if he could have given them to her and she could have put them in a vase or something. It didn't really have the same effect if she was meeting him at his. Probably best he didn't get her flowers, all in all.
"Hi," he greeted warmly, inviting her inside.
She smiled radiantly. Nick watched her walk and was in utter awe. Jennifer was wearing a beautiful dress. She always seemed to be in a beautiful dress, something sparkling and floral, but this was different. Unlike the others that were long and flowing, this one had a stiff sort of skirt. It was shorter in the front, showing off her golden, toned legs and reached to her ankles in the back. The fabric was shiny but not in the glittering way he was used to. It was white with what looked like pink watercolor flowers all over it. It reached up to her neck but exposed her shoulders and arms and a large portion of her back. Her slim waist was accentuated by the way the dress was cut and Nick could not believe how beautiful she was.
"That dress is really lovely," he said, realizing he was just staring at her stupidly.
"Thanks," she replied. "I got it just for tonight. I hope it's appropriate for wherever we're going."
"It is," he assured her. "Let me just get my wallet and keys, and we can head out."
She nodded and waited patiently for him to return. When he did, she said, "You finished that table."
"Yeah, yesterday," he answered. He wasn't going to go into the mental breakdown it had caused him.
Jennifer smiled gently. "It's beautiful. It's very happy."
Before he could ask her what the hell she meant by that, she crossed towards him and got up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly.
"Shall we go?" she whispered.
Nick nodded, leading her out front to his car. The table and its happiness was forgotten.