More Than Friends by Beverly Farr

 
     
    MORE THAN FRIENDS
     
     
    Carrie shivered as she walked into the dimly
lit restaurant, grateful to be out of the cold rain. She looked
around for her co-workers from the Accounting department and was
surprised to see only Josh, sitting on a long wooden bench in the
reception area. “Hi. Have you been waiting long?”
    “Just a few minutes.”
    Carrie nodded. She sat down beside him to
wait for the others. On Friday nights, a group of them usually went
out to eat – sometimes there were as many as eight or as few as
four. They went to different restaurants, trying to keep within a
mile or two radius from the office. “Have you eaten here before?”
she asked.
    “No.”
    “Neither have I.” From the décor, it looked
like a basic steak and chicken place with overpriced appetizers.
She could hear what sounded like pop dance music in the background,
but at least there weren’t large screens showing sports. It was
irritating to try to talk to a guy and realize that instead of
gazing deeply into your eyes, he was surreptitiously watching a
football game over your shoulder.
    She glanced at Josh. She didn’t know him
very well. He was new at work. Tall. Quiet. She said, “I think
Julie’s got family visiting this weekend.”
    “And Eric had to pick up his truck at the
shop. I don’t know what happened to Dave.”
    “Or Lisa.” Lisa was her closest friend at
work. They usually brought their lunches and chatted in the break
room. She pulled out her phone and gave her a quick text. Where
R U?
    A few minutes later, the reply came. Home. Feeling sick.
    She sighed. It made sense. Lisa had been
coughing all day.
    “Something wrong?” Josh asked.
    “No,” she said. “But I think it may be just
the two of us tonight.”
    Josh smiled. He had a great smile. “Do you
mind?”
    “No, of course not,” she said quickly, not
wanting to give offense. It might be a little awkward, but she
didn’t mind. Besides, it was Friday night, she was tired after a
long work week, and she’d been looking forward to spending time
with friends and eating something she didn’t cook.
    “Are you ready to be seated?” the front
receptionist asked, looking at both of them.
    “Yes,” Carrie said.
    They followed a waiter to a table in a dark
corner. Very romantic, Carrie thought wryly, noting the candles
flickering on the table. She glanced at Josh to see his reaction,
but he was already scanning the menu.
    Carrie looked at her menu. Just as she
expected: steak, roast chicken or shrimp, salads, sides, soups, and
a dozen high fat appetizers. “Everything looks good,” she said.
    He glanced up briefly. “No sushi?”
    “Would you prefer that?”
    “No, I just noticed that the past two weeks
we’ve eaten at Asian restaurants.”
    “That’s Dave’s favorite.” Dave was a big
boisterous guy who always had an amusing story to tell.
    Josh nodded but didn’t say anything
more.
    Carrie looked back at the menu. She had a
feeling that it was going to be a very long evening unless someone
started talking. They placed their orders – separate checks – and
waited silently.
    Suddenly Josh laughed.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “You. Me. Us. Do you want to play twenty
questions or I-Spy?”
    Carrie laughed, too, and relaxed, no longer
nervous. “I don’t care what we talk about, as long as it isn’t
work.”
    Josh leaned forward. “Okay, tell me about
yourself. What’s your favorite movie?”
    “New or old?”
    “Doesn’t matter.”
    “I like romantic movies. Comedies or drama,
but my favorite is Roman Holiday .”
    “I haven’t seen that.”
    “It’s a classic with Gregory Peck and Audrey
Hepburn.”
    “She was skinny, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “What’s it about?”
    “A European princess runs away for a few
days and winds up in a journalist’s apartment. He’s trying to get a
story, but falls in love instead.”
    “And they live happily ever after.”
    “No. At the end, they nobly say good-bye to
each other.”
    Josh