Here is June’s Faith Chapter 9. I hope you enjoy! Here is a link to the previous chapters: https://messageinstanza.com/category/stories/
Chapter 9. Cloudy Bay ChardonnayÂ
Jimmy was such a gentleman. He opened the car and the restaurant door for June. He even pulled the seat out and motioned for June to sit before the waiter had a chance to. They gracefully sat down and Jimmy spoke, “I bet they make better clam chowder than Kroger’s does,” he smirked. June always appreciated how Jimmy knew how to make a new situation more comfortable with humor.
He wore a white tie with black stripes and a blue blazer. He was looking sharp, June quietly thought to herself. The she quickly assessed her attire to see if it matched his. She wore a simple yet elegant black dress with a black and white gemstone necklace that sparkled slightly. She could see in the reflection of her water glass that her makeup looked perfect.
“You seem deep in thought about something June. What is it?”
“Oh, just taking in my surroundings,” June softly spoke.
The waiter came with a wine menu. The tall and slender waiter spoke with poise that seemed to resonate with the classy but sophisticated atmosphere of the restaurant. He read the specials and asked if they would like to see the wine list.
June thought a chardonnay would be perfect. She ordered a chardonnay on the cheaper side and after she did this, Jimmy lifted his pointer finger slightly in the air and said to the waiter, “That won’t be necessary, we will both have the Cloudy Bay Chardonnay on me.”
“What?” June said.
“Don’t worry, the wine is on me, June.” Jimmy smiled at June.
“Well, thank you,” June blushed.
June and Jimmy started with small talk, like the weather, then moved into work and family history, and by the end of the meal they were laughing and talking about everything under the sun.
She found out Jimmy was raised in South Carolina. Once a southern and always a southern, even he relocated to Boston. He worked for manufacturing companies but he loved the simplicity of working at Kroger’s. He was the youngest of four boys. They had a rocky upbringing but now all the siblings get along well. His parents separated when he was young and it always left a gaping hole in his soul. He never found his father, even as an adult. The year he tried to find him he found out he had died of stomach cancer. Their conversations went on and on. June found herself very much at ease talking with Jimmy.
June was cracking up at the table, not paying attention if she was disturbing the people around her. “You are scared of lizards? What? I would’ve never taken you as a guy scared of something so small that won’t even hurt you.”
Jimmy went on, “Well, let me tell you why,” he couldn’t get the words out easily because he was laughing and amused at the thought of being terrified of something so tiny. “One time when I went to the Petco, I was probably 10 or 11, my back faced one of the lizard cages and I was talking to my older brother and a potential girlfriend at the time and I noticed all of a sudden they were laughing at me! Apparently, the lizard came through a small crack in the cage and crawled on to my hand touching the cage and climbed into the back of my shirt. I completely freaked and they just stood there laughing at me. “Get it off me! Get it off me!” I kept yelling but they didn’t do anything for a moment. They wanted to bask in this glorious moment for themselves. Needless to say, my then-potential girlfriend bonded with my brother over this moment and they started going out shortly after this. And she chewed me out at school to her girlfriends, calling me a coward. That was the year I lost any love for lizards and any potential girlfriends in junior high school. And an older brother more concerned about himself,” Jimmy chuckled. Then they both cracked up.
June said, “What a story. I could be a potential girlfriend who doesn’t mind a man afraid of lizards.” Those words just slipped out of June’s mouth. Her jaw dropped. In moments of excitement and new opportunities she had no filter.
Jimmy smiled. “I would like that.”
Let me know what you think and stay tuned for Chapter 10. 🙂
