Callie POV
May 16th
I was watching some old Sponge Bob cartoon in the living room, my feet were to the coffee table. A big bottle of Coca-Cola just next to the couch, hand reach away. Mom was upstairs getting ready for her blind date. She got home little after 5 and she then instantly started getting ready for the blind date, starting with a shower of course.
I had just reached for the bottle of Cola bottle on the ground, when a call came from the upstairs "Callie!"
"Yeah!?" I yell back up, loud enough so she would hear me. I open the Cola bottle quickly and take a quick sip
"Please come up!" came another yell from upstairs just second after I called her back. I put the Cola bottle on the coffee table and with quick step, I make my way upstairs, to the master bedroom
I peaked in mom's room and saw how mom was putting earrings in "Please zip me up" she said and then turned back to face the mirror
I walked in and with one quick hand move I zipped the dress up. The new black, high heels were placed out by the bed, the black purse was on the desk, next to her phone, keys, documents, some dollar bills and her credit card
Mom then turned sideways to see how she looks
That's when I notice she still has the wedding ring on "Mom, is it a good idea to go on a blind date with your wedding ring on?"
She extended her arm and looked to the ring. It was obvious she didn't want to take it off. I have never seen her take it off, now that I think about it. She doesn't say anything back, she just looks at the ring on her finger
"What necklace are you going to wear?" I ask trying to find a solution to the problem. Her right hand went to her neckline
"I didn't think I needed a necklace…" she says to me and then glances to the mirror, checking out the neckline of the dress
I walk to the small jewelry box she has and dig thought the box, looking for a necklace that could fit
"What are you looking for?" she asks me as she walks to bed and sits down
"This" I say and take out a very simple, silver necklace. It was a 24" long necklace, one that would go with her dress and it would be perfect for what I had in my mind. The necklace end, because of the length of it, would be hidden under the dress.
"Give me your ring" I say walking up to her as she was now putting on her heels
Mom looks at her wedding rings, she hesitates for a moment, but eventually she takes it off her finger and gives it to me. I put the ring on the necklace and then crawl on the bed behind mom and put it around her neck
"There…now you still have it with you" I say and moms hand goes up to the ring on the necklace instantly
"Thanks, honey" mom says getting a little emotional about it. I lean in and place a kiss on her cheek
"I will be downstairs" I say and jump down the bed and make my way back down to living room
Some 5 minutes later I heard the heels hitting the wooded floor, but I only looked up when mom spoke up
"Well?" she asked me as she now stood in the doorway
She was wearing the dark blue dress, along with the black high heels. Mom had some light make up on. She had the silver necklaces on and her earrings, which now were hidden under the hair that she has left as it is every day, freely falling over her shoulders. Her small black purse in her left hand.
"How do I look?" she asked giving me a full 360 turn
"You look perfect" I said as was looking at her. She really did look beautiful. Very worried and nervous, but still absolutely gorgeous.
"You think?" she asks and pulls slightly on the lower part of the dress
"I know" I say back confidently. I couldn't keep the big smile of my face.
"You have your phone?" she asks stepping in the room closer to me
"Yes!" I say and lift it up, it was just next to me on the couch
"The reservation is set to 7 PM, I think I could be away for some 2-3 hours…I am not sure. Don't quote me on that later. I will see how the date goes"
It turns out she had some dollar bills in her hand and she takes a step closer and hands it to me "Order something. Pizza, Chinese…whatever, okay?
I take the money and place it under the phone "Okay"
Mom watches me for a moment, but then takes her phone out and check the time
"I need to get going or I will be late. I will text you once I am heading back home" Mom said and placed the phone back in her purse. "Love you" she said and placed a kiss on my cheek
"Love you too. Have fun" I say back and watch her walk away. When she is at the doors, I call out stopping her "Mom!?"
She peeked back to the living room "Please be careful" I said worried
The same thing that happened to my mom, could happen to her - leave for a date night but never come back. It is a fear of my I guess. No one thinks they could crash the car or that someone could crash into them. It is the same with cancer, people tend to think that you are immune or something. But the truth is, horrible things can happen to all of us. Either you are good or bad person. No one is safe.
I will never make the same mistake I made 6 years ago. I learned my lesson. It was a harsh and cruel lesson, but that's life.
"I always am, honey" she said softly and blew me a kiss. "Wish me luck" she called back before she closed the doors behind
"Good luck! Bye!" I call after her and then turn to watch her walk to the car, through the living room window. She waves at me once she was by the car, unlocking it. I wave back at her and then she gets in and I watch her drive out a minute later
Amy POV
I drive up to the place – C-level Lounge. I have never ever been to this place before, I didn't even know this place existed. The restaurant looked full – it was Friday evening after all. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything else. There were so many people in there. I think I even saw few people waiting to get a table. There was a valet, so this place defiantly was fancy.
The valet had walked up to the car, he opens the doors for me and I step outside. I get the ticket and get the key to the valet, he then quickly drives away.
I walk to the sidewalk and for a moment I just stand outside the place, looking at it.
I was just on time. I had calculated the time to get here perfectly with the traffic and everything. It was just a minute over 7. And the minute over is because I was standing in front of the building, not moving.
Horrible thoughts were flying around in my head. What if he has already left? Or worse, what if he is never going to show up? What if I will be stood up? What are the chances of him actually waiting for me?
I take a calming breath in, my heart was beating fast, and my knees were shaking a bit. I was very nervous. My palms were starting to get sweaty. I hope I won't start to sweat like a pig.
"It is just one date" I say to myself, to keep myself calm. Finally after a minute of just standing outside, I slowly make my way in the restaurant.
I walk up to the man behind the small desk "Good evening and welcome to C-level Lounge. Do you have a reservation?" he asks me kindly
"Um...yes" I get out nervous "I am having dinner with Lloyd Keller" he checked the book in front of him
"Yes, he is already waiting for you. Please follow me" The waitress says and I follow him inside the big hall
The place looked even better inside. It had this calm and romantic music quietly playing in the background. The place was decorated very nicely. I kept looking around, wondering to what table he will take me. We were walking to the far end of the room. There was a bar at the side of the room, few people were sitting at it, sipping some cocktails, talking.
This places seemed oddly calm and quiet for how many people were in here. Everyone was dressed smart, almost all woman were wearing dresses. Guys were wearing suit.
The waitress slowed down at a table for two at the end of the room, by the big window that overlooked the downtown of San Diego. A man stood up when I was up to the table. Once he was standing up, he buttoned his suit button and smiled at me shyly.
The waitress places two menus on the table "I will come back shortly to take your orders" he says
"Thank you" both me and my blind date say at the same time. The waitress just gives us a small nod and a smile and then walks away.
Now I was left standing at the table with my date. My palms sweat some more.
Lloyd was average height man, Caucasian guy. He had wide shoulders and he most definitely was fit. Buff. He had black, short hair and he was clean shaved. He had cologne that was kind of sweet, but didn't make me feel sick. Thankfully he hadn't overused it. He had a strong jaw line and I think he had blue eyes. I couldn't really tell in this lighting. His light color suit thou didn't really fit him well. The pants looked an inch too short, but sleeves of jacket inch too long. The jacket around his shoulders looked too tight, but around waist too loose.
"Hi, you look beautiful" He says awkwardly first and smiled at me. Add to his description a nice smile.
"Thank you" I say and look down to my dress, then back up to him "You look handsome as well" I reply back in the same awkward manner
He then walks around the table "Let me-" he pulls the chair back a bit for me to sit down
"Thank you" I somehow have a feeling this date is going to be filled with awkward silences and weird talks and lots of nice gestures from both of us
He then walks around the table, back to where he sat before. He sits down as I place my purse in my lap
"So…I hope you are Amy Scott" he says and chuckles awkwardly "Otherwise this will be more awkward that it already is" he laughs softly
"Yes, I am. And I agree about the awkwardness. Reminds me of my prom actually" I smile at him
"Oh, I…ordered us a red wine. I hope it is okay with you. Do you drink wine?" he asks as he rubs his palms together, sign of nervousness
"Um, yes, I do. Thank you. I hope not a bottle, I still need to get back home"
He once again smiles "Not a bottle. Just a glass. I need to get back home after the dinner too"
"This is-" I look around the room "- a nice place. Have you even been here before?"
"Twice. Once when this place first opened. Which was some years ago and then, if I remember correctly, 2 years back"
"Well, you sure know how to pick a place. I have never been here before, but I already like it here" I reply still taking in how great this place looked. It had a nice atmosphere. Like Callie read, romantic atmosphere.
"We should probably chose our meals, the waitress said he would come back soon" he says handing me one of the menus
"Yes, please. I am starving. I haven't eaten anything since lunch at 12" I say as I open the menu
"I got a little snack before I got here. The dishes aren't too big." He whispers at me as he leans over the table
When he leans back, he adds "Well, for a guy like me they are pretty small actually. I have never understood the dishes when they bring you food that you can eat in like two small bites" he jokes once more
"So, um…how do you know Hernandez?" He asks me as we both look at the menu, trying to decide what to order
"I met him once I transferred to the precinct. It was my first day. He gave me bandages for my paper cut" I said as I looked up from the menu
"Desk duty…oh, I remember those days" he chips in
If he is going to brag about him being in SWAT more than 5 times while we are on this date, I will dump his ass right then and there.
"They weren't like skin color bandages" I continue the story "He had like, the bandages with the cartoon characters. For kids. I think there was a Bugs Bunny on and the Tasmanian devil. That's how I found out he had 2 little girls"
"Tough cop with kid bandages on her fingers. Too bad I missed that view. Not going to lie, I would probably have shared a laugh or two about the kids bandages too." he said after he laughed lightly
"Oh, the burglar that I arrest like 2 hours later that day was laughing about it too" I quickly chip in before we both again concentrate back on the menu
So far so good - I think to myself as I smile back at him - let's see what the rest of the evening will bring
AN:How do you think the date will go? Will Amy hit it off with him or will they crash and burn?
P.S. You will have to be patient for some Callie & Stef(it is coming). Good news, there will be some Callie & Lena and Callie & Jude in the next chapter. Hope that helps with the wait :)