I really using a word with lust in it? Twice? Did he read into that? His eyebrows were sort of scrunched together. Not good.
“I have kind of a thing for flooring,” Archie said. “All these boards are reclaimed from an old house in Walterboro that was being torn down. They’re hand-hewed and pegged. You don’t see that anymore. They get waxed by hand twice a year. You know, for some guys it’s sports cars, although I wouldn’t mind a Lamborghini. For me? It’s flooring, which is also attainable.” He stopped and looked at me. “You might be the only person who ever noticed the patina.”
“Really?” I didn’t tell him about the car fund.
“Yeah. Come on. Let’s pull that cork.”
I followed him to the kitchen thinking I was really glad my remark didn’t win me a Dork of the Year trophy, because the minute the words left my mouth, I realized they sounded awkward. But that was another reason I liked Archie so well. He never made me feel like I was weird or something.
At first glance, his kitchen was way too sterile. I don’t mean too clean, I mean it didn’t have a soul. Hunter and Tyler were seated at the kitchen table doing homework. The only small appliances on the counter were a coffeemaker and a toaster. Other than those two things, the counters were bare. And there was no meal preparation in evidence. Were they having pizza again?
“Hey, Mith Holly!” Tyler said.
“Hey!” Hunter said, looking up. “You coming for supper?”
“No, no. Just stopping by for a moment,” I said.
“Here it is,” Archie said. “Shall I open it for you?”
“Gosh, thanks. Sure.”
I was glad he was opening the bottle instead of me. I’d never had a lot of luck with corks. But then, I’d never had many bottles. Wine was sort of new for me. I didn’t know much about it except that a glass took the edge off my annoyance when I was annoyed. Therefore, wine was a good thing. There was a popping sound and my visit was about to end.
“Would you like to share a glass with me?” I said.
I don’t even know where I found the nerve to ask him. The words just popped out of my mouth.
“Oh! That’s so nice of you to ask. But I’ve got to feed these rascals. It’s getting late for their supper.”
“Oh! Of course! What are y’all having? For dinner, I mean.”
“Well, I was going to, you know, go get a pizza.”
“Pizza,” I said and just looked at him as if to say, come on, bubba, can’t you do better than that?
“Why? What are you doing for dinner?” he asked.
This got the boys’ attention.
“Pork chops, stuffing, applesauce, braised carrots, and creamed spinach. There’s plenty. Pork chops were on sale, so I bought a slug of them.” I was trying to remember if I had another pie in the freezer and I thought I did. Maybe peach? “Give me like forty-five minutes?”
“Oh, we shouldn’t . . .” he said.
“Stuffing? Ah, come on, Dad! Please?” Tyler said, his hands folded in desperate prayer. “I can’t believe I’m saying thith, but I’m thick of pizza.”
“You are?” Archie said.
“I love pork chops,” Hunter said with a very sad face. “We haven’t had pork chops in years.” He slid to the floor and pretended to be unconscious from starvation, or maybe it was malnutrition.
“It’s fine,” I said. “Really!”
Archie looked at the faces of his little boys and saw that they were missing home-cooked meals.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll see you soon.”
“Great!”
I hurried home and threw dinner together in record time. The flowers were still fresh and I knew the unchipped plates were on top of the stack. The bacon sizzled in my cast-iron skillet, and I did indeed have a peach pie in the depths of the freezer. Soon our house smelled like bacon and fruit. What could be more mouthwatering?
Over dinner Archie said, “I haven’t had pork chops this good since my momma cooked them. I’m not kidding.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Would you like another one?”
“I sure would,” Hunter said.
“Me, too,” said Tyler.
Archie shot them a stern look and refilled my wineglass halfway. Wine with dinner made me feel very sophisticated.
“Please?” they said.
“Of course!” I said and passed the platter to them, followed by the applesauce and the spinach. “So, I got a job today.”
“You did?” Archie said, knowing without me saying a word that my taking a job was tantamount to a full-scale revolution. The QB was going to have a cow.