Valentine's Day, part 2
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Chapter 7
Paddy's Pub was a popular Irish tavern, located a bit down the way on Columbia Pike. With a laid back, spirited style, the place was always buzzing, always cheerful and always welcoming.
The tiny, dark wood interior had a cozy feel, with lots of nooks, crannies and Irish knickknacks. Tiny round tables were heavily sprinkled throughout, making it difficult to walk about. A beautifully carved wooden counter centered the pub, with rows and rows of Irish and Scottish beers or whiskeys shelved behind it.
And business was booming on Valentine's Day.
Paddy the owner instantly recognized Amanda from Mary O'Donnell's description. She was shown a private booth in the corner, with an open view of the front door.
After taking a seat, Amanda carefully placed her wrapped Valentine cookie on the table and looked around the boisterous room. But disappointingly, no one seemed to be wearing a jacket with a red folded handkerchief square stuffed in its pocket.
A menu was presented to her and she spent the time nervously half glancing at the menu and half looking up.
Maybe The Match-up won't even come, she morosely thought as she looked up from the menu, or worse, maybe he had arrived early, took a look at me, and immediately left...
No, she determined, I MUST be optimistic! Mr. Match is probably a little late because-
-she never finished her thought because as she discreetly viewed the door, who should she see entering the pub but LEE!
Oh no! She immediately scooted down in her seat and used the menu to shield her face.
What is Lee doing here? Amanda anxiously internalized, I must not be seen! Did he know I'd be meeting my date here?
Slowly peeking around the menu to check if he left, her nerves sparked in sudden alarm when she saw he had spotted her and was staring directly at her.
Nooooo! She could practically see his dimples from across the room as he headed her way.
Hoping she had been mistaken, she quickly ducked behind the security of the menu. But she scrunched her face in annoyance when she heard approaching footsteps.
No, no, n-
"-Afternoon, Amanda," she heard him say from the other side of the menu.
She froze and considered her options. She must get him to leave immediately. Bravely lowering the menu, she straighten herself.
"Hello, Lee," she greeted, casually putting the menu aside. Then with a voice as sweet as molasses, she stated, "How pleasant you're here... please leave."
Lee hid his grin and gestured towards the empty seat, "Mind if I sit down?"
"What!?" Amanda panicked, "Didn't you hear me? I actually DO mind if you sit d-"
Too late, he sat.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Then he looked around, "The place is really buzzing today, isn't it? No seats anywhere! Good thing I found this one!"
Amanda was indignant with his brazenness; the gloves were off.
"Lee! I can't be seen with you here!"
He looked surprised, "Why not? You're seen with me everywhere else!" He looked about again, "I hope we can get some service... I'm really thirsty now...how about you?"
Then he turned and held up his index finger, intent on catching the eye of the waitress, to make an order.
It had all happened so fast; Amanda was aghast.
"What are you doing? I didn't ask for service! And don't you DARE order anything!" she insisted, "Just...just straighten yourself all the way up to an upright position and leave!"
He seemed to be almost enjoying himself as he answered, "I would, but all this searching for a seat made me thirsty!"
Amanda was thoroughly frustrated, but as she stared at the blue pocket-square in his jacket pocket, she couldn't help wishing the handkerchief was red instead of blue.
By now the waitress arrived with her order pad.
"I'll have a Guinness," Lee nonchalantly ordered, as he turned towards a flustered Amanda, "Amanda? What'll you have?"
"I do NOT want-"
He leaned and whispered to her, "Amanda, they'll kick you out if you don't order anything!"
"Fine!" she stated through gritted teeth and then faked a smile to the waitress, "I'll take a Chardonnay, extra dry, please."
The waitress put one hand on her hip,"You're kidding, right?"
When Amanda looked confused, Lee whispered, "Amanda, we're in an Irish pub on a celebratory day!" Then he gave the waitress his most charming smile and put up two fingers, "Two pints of Guinness, please, and we'll be ordering the food later."
"Coming up, Honey," the waitress stated and turned to leave.
Once they were alone again, Lee casually asked, "See any appetizers you'd like on the menu?"
Amanda pounced on him, "Forget about the appetizers! You are NOT eating anything here, because you are NOT staying here!"
"But they have the best Shamrock dip!" Lee argued, as he comfortably leaned back.
"But you KNOW I'm expecting my date any moment now!"
"But I thought you told me it wasn't..." he used finger quotes, 'a date'?"
"Oh, for heaven's sake! Lee!"
"Relax, Amanda," Lee stated and decided he would tell her the truth now, "And before you continue to get all upset with me, there's something I've got to tell you..."
But Amanda was beyond indignant.
"No! You need to listen and answer MY question!" she countered, "Did you follow me here?" she accusingly asked.
Maybe he should wait until she's calmed down a bit.
"What?" he looked offended, "Certainly not! I have better things to do than follow you and your little heart surgeon around!"
Amanda looked baffled, "My heart surgeon? I never told you that was his profession!"
"Didn't you say you were going to give your heart to him?" Lee reminded her.
"You KNOW what I meant when I said that!" snapped Amanda, "And that just PROVES you're the least romantic person I know!"
Amanda was expecting to hear more arguments from Lee, but when she looked at his face, she noted his eyes saddened while his lips were turned downward.
"You're right, Amanda, I probably am the least romantic person you know," he glumly confessed.
Instant regret filled Amanda's heart.
How could she have been so rude?
"Wait! No..." Amanda backed down as her expression turned apologetic, "Look, I'm sorry, Lee, for that last comment. That was uncalled for and so unlike me."
And once again while watching his handsome face, Amanda had wished Lee had been her Valentine's date instead, even if he was being annoying.
By now, the waitress had returned with two mugs of beer.
Lee reached over and took a swig of his beer. He noticed Amanda had not reached for her drink, but left it untouched.
"Aren't you going to drink?" he asked.
"I'm not thirsty," Amanda sulked.
"I don't blame you... I gave you no choice in drinks to order, did I?" he empathized, "But don't worry, I can remedy that..." he told her as he began to lift his hand to signal the waitress again.
"No! There's no need to do that!" Amanda insisted, as she quickly reached for his hand to pull it back down.
The instant their hands touched, they felt that familiar tingling sensation going down their spines as a warmth engulfed both of them.
And the air was throbbing with some unexpressed emotions.
Amanda quickly removed her hand and sat back down.
"Um, Lee, you don't need to call her over; just let it be, Lee."
"You've said my name twice," he pointedly stated, "Am I really making you that nervous?"
"What? No!"
Then to convince him, she grabbed her mug and took a big chug.
And her throat immediately burned as she began coughing "Nervous? (Cough!) Me? No way!(Cough! Cough!)"
The little scene made Lee smile.
He leaned in to make his point, "Amanda, believe me, the last thing I want to do is ruin your Valentine's Day."
Amanda had regret written all over her face, "No, you didn't ruin it, Lee, it's just..." she heaved a sigh, "...the reason why I'm hesitant to have you here is that if my Valentine Match shows up and you're still here, he would feel as if he didn't measure up...to you," she reluctantly admitted.
Oh God. This was no longer a fun joke, Lee concluded. Guilt stabbed at his heart.
He needed to tell her.
"Amanda-"
"Hmmmm?"
Her eyes were large and luminous. The open way she was looking at him caused his body to tighten with longing.
"I..." he felt his heart thundering, "Amanda, I need to tell you something and you might not be happy with what I have to say."
Amanda turned understanding eyes at him as she squared her shoulder. This was important and she was preparing herself for the worse news possible.
"I'm listening," she stated, totally forgetting about her Valentine date.
"Okay... Now, I know you didn't want anything like flowers or chocolates for Valentine's Day-"
"-Lee, what does that have to do with-"
"-Please, Amanda, you said you'd listen. This is already difficult enough for me."
Surprised, Amanda sat back and complied, "Alright..."
He continued, "...but I truly wanted to give you a gift on Valentine's Day."
"Really?" Amanda began to look around for signs of a gift.
"Yes," Lee stated as he gazed intently at her, "but it's not a gift you can see or even touch. This gift, Amanda, is a gift from the heart."
Then she watched in astonishment as Lee sat up and cleared his throat. He had been rehearsing this 'gift' for two days and he hoped he got it right. Taking a deep breath he began:
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As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
Devoted to you am I
My gladful heart is yours to own,
'Til all the seas gone dry...
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Lee breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn't made a mistake. When he timidly glanced Amanda's way, he hoped he wouldn't find her laughing.
Instead, Amanda was speechless, her mind felt numb.
The clinking of glasses, the blaring of the portable TV, and the cacophony of voices had all dissolved away. Amanda was only aware of the ecstatic stillness of being with him.
Then out of nowhere, mental little clues descended upon her: Lee saying it was a 'grand' morning...His wishing her luck at the cleaners...his showing up today...the reciting of an Irish Valentine poem.…
Oh my gosh!
The pieces fell into place; it all made sense to her now.
She could swear she heard the ticking of the clock on the wall as her astonished eyes engaged with his waiting ones.
"The Matchmaker," she whispered with reverence.
She watched in awe as Lee slowly reached over to remove his blue handkerchief from his outside jacket pocket. A vivid red handkerchief peeked out from that very same jacket pocket.
"The Matchmaker," he simply acknowledged.
She had so many questions, "But, Lee, how did-"
Lee stopped her questioning by wordlessly reaching over to place his hand over hers, causing her heart to begin beating erratically.
"Amanda," he began, in a gentler tone she didn't recognize, "Every year, I have a problem finding the right person for this special day, and this year I figured it would be the same. But it wasn't, and I learned something..."
Amanda swallowed hard, her eyes unblinking, "What's that?"
Lee's gaze never wavered, "I learned that I didn't need to find the right person for Valentine's Day...I needed to BE that right person on this day," he disclosed, as he squeezed her hand, "I hope you'll accept my apology, my poem, and this simple lunch as your Valentine's gift...and, more importantly, I hope you'll accept me as your Valentine..." his green eyes regarded her steadily, "Amanda King, will you be my Valentine?"
She choked at the heartfelt words, her mind in a daze.
And she realized that Lee Stetson was the most romantic man she knew.
Meanwhile, Lee was patiently waiting for her response.
So she gently placed her hand on top of her cellophane-wrapped cookie, "And my answer is..." she slid the heart-shaped cookie his way, "...here is me, giving my Valentine's heart to you!"
And as Lee gratefully accepted Amanda's heart, he silently thanked The Matchmaker for helping to find his perfect match on Valentine's Day.
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