that it wasn’t at all my style. I hated dresses and I hated shoes. And more than that, I hated to pretend to be something I wasn’t. But Robert was trying to show me a good time here, so I had to at least try for him.
“So, how is work going?” I asked.
“Well, working as a divorce lawyer can get rather annoying. The hours suck and the clients can be even worse, but I accomplished what I wanted.”
Funny, I didn’t remember him ever telling me that his goals were to be rich and do a job he hated for the rest of his life.
“How are you liking working with my brother? Is it too boring for you?”
“No, it’s actually great. I mean, we had a rough start, but I really enjoy my job. And the babka he brings me on occasion makes it all worth it,” I smiled.
“Maybe I should get you to come be my secretary.”
I shuddered. The thought of working in the city, constantly surrounded by thousands of people was my nightmare. I liked that I didn’t deal with a lot of people. I liked living in a small town and going home to my house, even if it was a piece of shit. There were no neighbors for miles around and nobody to bother me. And I liked knowing everyone in town. It was comforting. I couldn’t imagine ever truly knowing anyone here.
“I can’t imagine ever leaving Eric. He’s a great boss.”
“Well, I’m sure I could find him a good replacement. I could be a great boss, and then I could see you all the time.”
I pulled my hand away and shook my head. “I’m pretty sure that would be a relationship killer.”
“Maybe,” he said with a grin.
We steered clear of talking about his work or mine for the rest of dinner. There were so many courses that came out, each of them more exotic than the last. But when the actual dinner plate came out, I stared at it suspiciously.
“What?” Robert asked.
“Where’s the rest of it?” I whispered-hissed.
I stared down at the food on my plate that could only be the size of half my palm. There was no way that would fill me up. And after the last course of snails, which I didn’t eat, I desperately needed something filling.
“Do you think they could make me a steak or some pasta?” I whispered.
He chuckled slightly. “Anna, this isn’t the place to order pasta.”
“Not even in tiny portions? I could order seven or eight portions and then maybe I wouldn’t be hungry.”
His face fell and he tossed his napkin on the table. “I’m sorry. I just thought this would be a new experience.”
God, I felt like a bitch. “No, I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting this.” I picked up my fork and knife and cut the portion in half, taking one of the two bites into my mouth. I chewed slowly, trying to understand the texture of this particular food. It was weird and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“I think you’ll like this one,” he said, taking a bite of his own. “This is actual meat.”
“What is it?”
“Beef tongue.”
I stopped chewing and felt the bile rise in my throat. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Beef tongue.”
I shuffled the food around in my mouth and shook my head, sure I had still heard him wrong. “Not like…and actual tongue, though, right?”
He laughed. “Yes, like cow tongue.”
I gagged, just barely grabbing my napkin before I spit it out. “Why would you let me eat that?” I whisper-hissed, trying not to draw more attention to us.
“Anna, life is about experiencing new things.”
“Steak, yes. Apple fritters and cream cheese, definitely. Cow tongue? Are you kidding me?”
He sighed and held his hand up for the check. “Look, I’m sorry. I thought it would be something fun we could try together. Let’s just go dancing.”
“Am I going to have to try some ancient Indian dance?” I asked sarcastically.
“Maybe we should just go home. I just wanted a nice night with you. I’m sorry.”
I sighed. “Is it normal dancing?”
“Of course it is.”
I laughed slightly. “Okay, but there’d better be alcohol.”
“I promise.”
Robert
Well, that was a bust. Honestly, I had never been to the restaurant before, but I thought it would be something to explore together. I imagined us trying out the different foods and laughing, but that hadn’t happened. Anna had been acting strange ever since she got out of the shower today. I didn’t know what the hell I had done wrong. Everything seemed