Richie’s Day Without End 2
Richie took Rosemary back to her room after she was released. He checked her room again and found a bottle of sleeping pills in her purse and flushed them down the toilet. He stayed with her until she was asleep and then he headed back for The Glen. He was of half a mind to go out and see Dom and even went so far as riding by his house but he thought better of it. That was something she needed to handle not him.
He stopped in Andy’s and had a bite to eat and then went upstairs took a shower and fell on his bed for an hour. He didn’t sleep there was too much on his mind to sleep. Libby…he was a little afraid she was trying to turn a friendship into something else, last night had been a date no matter how you looked at it. You didn’t go dancing with your buddies and she’d been dressed to kill, no jeans last night. He wasn’t sure how he was going to handle that situation, he didn’t want to hurt her.
And then Rosemary, he ran his hand over his face and beat his pillow up behind his head. He’d like to shake some sense into her Dom needed to know he had a kid, he’d give her a little time and if she didn’t come clean with him, he might step in there. He glanced at his watch, it was nearly 5:00. He sat up on the side of the bed.
Nonnie…
Nonnie locked up her shop and went in the back to the bathroom and ran a hand trough her hair and dabbed on a bit of lip gloss. She changed into the silk blouse she’d brought with her and tucked it into the long soft suede skirt she had on and adjusted the wide belt. “What are you doing, you silly woman?” she asked the woman in the mirror.
Richie was in the Tavern nursing a drink when she came in, he’d been watching the door from the end of the bar and moved out to greet her.
“Hey Nonnie,” he kissed her cheek. She smelled like her shop, expensive, mysterious.
“Richie.” She smiled up at him.
Richie ordered her drink and found them a table. “How are ya, have a prosperous day?” he asked taking a seat.
“I did, I sold a large wardrobe…pays my rent. How about you did you get out to see that house you were talking about?”
“Uh no, something came up and I had to cancel so it’s rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Um maybe you’d ride out with me and have a look it’s not far from here.”
“You mean now?”
“After you finish your drink, there’s no hurry we still got an hour or so of daylight.”
“It’s a little soon don’t you think, I mean we haven’t shared a meal yet and already you’re showing me real estate,” she was teasing him and smiled at the thought process she saw move through is eyes.
“You don’t have to, I just thought…”
“I’d love to see it Richie, I’m sure you must be tired of living in a single room.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Plans have been drawn up and improvements approved for my own flat above my shop so I will be working with the sounds of construction above my head for awhile, I’ll have to turn up the music in my shop.”
“I like that music you play in your shop.”
“The CD’s are for sale you know, I’ll bring you one.”
They finished their drinks and he drove her out to the house he might be interested in. It was a contemporary house, two story with a large screened porch that ran the length of the house. The second story was the main living area with a den and storage area downstairs, another room they saw through a window could be a bedroom or office. A paved patio as long as the screened porch above it looked out onto a sloping lawn bordered with shrubs and trees.
“It’s a nice house Richie, plenty of room it looks like.”
“Yeah, three bedrooms up on the main level, lounge and kitchen and eating area, three bathrooms. It might need updating I think it’s worth looking at the inside don’t you?”
“Yes and it sits out here all by its self.”
Richie wasn’t looking at the house any longer he was looking at her, the breeze had her hair blowing about her face, “we probably should um…”
“Have you booked a table?”
“No, you don’t need to where I thought we might go…just a little Italian restaurant.”
“Hmm, like the one in New Jersey that you liked so well?” she moved closer to him.
“Yeah, kinda,” he wasn’t sure who moved first but she was in his arms and he was kissing her, when he came up for air, “you have no idea what you do to me.” He felt light headed.
“I don’t want to know, don’t tell me.”
He looked down the back garden, “are you hungry?”
“I’m starving, let’s go find your little restaurant.”
He took her to Coffs and they entered the little family owned warm friendly place that smelled like home to him.
“But you’re not Italian.” Nonnie said sipping her wine.
“No but I grew up in the neighborhood, all my friends were I used to go over and the whole house would smell like pasta fazouli . I loved it.”
“What did your home smell like?”
“I dunno, nothing, heh, old gym shoes and catcher mitts.”
Nonnie smiled, “You know I hardly remember my home with my parents, it seems like I never really began living until I moved in with Uncle Stephen. Life became exciting, he treated me as an adult not a kid. I guess home with him meant incense sticks burning, he liked that smell. The food here is really good.”
“Yeah almost like New Jersey. Are you still in charge of the rest of the evening?”
“Oh yes, that was the deal if I remember.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I want to go to the beach,” she played with her food, “I know a nice little spot that’s secluded and I often go there by myself at night and swim naked in the ocean.” She looked up and met his eyes.
“You want to go swimming tonight?”
“I don’t know, I’m not sure I’m ready to swim with you.”
“Maybe I’ll change your mind.”
Nonnie smiled and picked up her wine glass, “and maybe you won’t.”
