Kindergarten Baby: A Novel (12 page)

His father held his hands up, shaking them and grinning. “Ah, but this
was
good. This was better than good. God has chosen for you. Don’t you see that?”

Brad sighed. “Oh, please. Spare me the religion. It was just one of your calculated pranks that went awry. I’m just worried that after they thought about the awkward event of last night, they might have decided to forgo having dinner with me. And I really was looking forward to their company. I was looking forward to seeing both of them. They’re fun to be with, and they’re intelligent. They’re both teachers.”

Brad’s father sat quietly, then looked his son in the eye.
“Shtil vasser grobt tif
.
²
”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

Shrugging, he replied, “Oh, nothing. I just like to say it.”

A commotion arose in the hotel lobby, and a noisy, inquisitive crowd gathered in front of the massive stone fireplace.

“Should we call a doctor?”

“How long were they down there?”

“That one doesn’t look so good.”

Brad’s eyes widened when he heard Laura’s weak voice. “I’m fine. I’m fine,” she said. “I just need to warm up a little.”

Lindsey stood beside Laura in silence, shivering uncontrollably as other guests helped her out of the sweat-soaked coat and sweaters, then covered her with their coats and offered sips of warm drinks. Was it the noise, the thawing, the exhaustion, or the alcohol? No one knew for sure.

Brad and his father worked their way close to the women just in time to hear Lindsey say weakly, “I’m going to be sick.”

***

Just in time, her hero scooped her up and carried her off to the ladies room, where he continued his princely activities by carefully holding her hair back from her face as she vomited. His voice soothed her, told her everything would be all right, even said this awkward cleansing was, in fact, a good thing.

After the retching had ceased, the déjà vu set in. This was her second experience vomiting in the presence of a man, but the only other time it had been Anthony. The thought of that fateful day brought forth more bile, and the heaving continued. When she was done, Lindsey was overwhelmed again, this time with embarrassment. Here she was, in a compromising situation with a nice looking, obviously kind and strong stranger‌—‌in the ladies room!

“I’m so sorry,” she managed. She struggled to her feet, and he helped her reach the sink, where she rinsed her mouth out and splashed water on her face. “I don’t know what happened today. Everything went wrong.”

“No problem,” said the stranger. He gently dabbed at her face with a warm, damp towel. “Probably a good night’s sleep is all you need, but I do think you ought to be seen by a doctor.”

She smiled weakly. “Oh, I’m fine now. Really. In fact I’m supposed to have dinner in the El Tovar dining room with friends, so I should try to find them. Why don’t you join us?”

He looked slightly startled by her request, but she smiled, trying to persuade him.

“All right,” he said a bit reluctantly. “Thanks. But first, there’s one thing I need to know. And there’s one thing you need to know.”

“What do you need to know?”

“Your name. I insist on knowing the names of all the women I rescue.”

It was hard to read him, to figure out if he was being serious or just joking. “Lindsey,” she told him. “Lindsey Sommerfield. From Tucson. And what do I need to know?”

“My name,” he said, smiling. “Most people call me Emmett. Now, with introductions out of the way, and since you say you’re up to it, let’s have some dinner.”

But as soon as Lindsey took her first step, the ladies room went dark, as if she were falling down a deep, narrow rabbit hole. The circle of light at the end shrank as she slipped into an oblivious state of unconsciousness.

She awoke hours later, and the first thing she saw was Laura’s frowning expression. “You gave us quite a scare last night, Linds,” she said.

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry. None of it was your fault.” She grinned. “Besides, things turned out pretty good. Even great, don’t you think?”

“What are you talking about?” Lindsey asked. “What turned out great? All I remember is almost freezing to death, then throwing up in front of a perfect stranger.”

Laura filled in all the missing pieces, telling her how she’d gone off for dinner with Brad and his father while Lindsey had been carried to her room. She smiled.

“Emmett‌—‌your knight in sheepskin armor‌—‌kept vigil over you all night.”

Lindsey gasped. “He was here in our room?”

“He sure was, and he was wonderful. First he sent for a doctor, just to make sure you were all right. Then he got you tucked into bed—”

“Oh my gosh. How did he…‌I mean, I’m wearing pajamas now, so—”

“Lindsey, you’re blushing!” She chuckled. “I assure you, he was a total gentleman, and I helped. A lot, actually. Anyway, then he built a fire and sat next to you the whole time. He was still here when I got back from dinner. It doesn’t get much better than that, Lindsey, not even in one of your fairy tales.”

Lindsey shook her head, confused. “I must have really been out of it, because the only thing I remember between the throwing up and right now is a dream oddly similar to the story of
Emmett Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas
.”

“Well, Emmett’s definitely not an otter,” said Laura, and they both laughed. “He is a writer. A travel writer. He goes all over the world visiting and writing about tourist attractions.”

“So he’s here working?”

“Yep. That’s why he was on the trail. He was going to stay at and write about a Phantom Ranch winter, got halfway there and realized he’d grabbed the wrong pack before getting on the mule. Without his notebooks, pens, pencils, mini-recorder, and all that stuff, he felt it was a waste of time. So he headed back up the trail on foot to return another day. You know the rest. It was fate that brought the two of you together.”

“Maybe,” Lindsey thought out loud. “And was it fate that placed Brad in your bed the night before?”

“Definitely not! It was his dad.”

“What?”

“Yeah. It was his dad’s doing. And I have to admit, I don’t mind the old man’s meddling one bit. Brad’s terrific. A perfect vacation fling.”

Breakfast was the first order of the day, so they headed down to the Bright Angel dining room to feast upon golden pancakes and fluffy scrambled eggs. They decided to spend a leisurely day sightseeing the easy way, so Lindsey got her bus tour after all. They took the forty-six mile roundtrip tour to Desert View, and with not a cloud in the sky, they were able to see San Francisco Peaks, Painted Desert, and the Colorado River, complete with a covering of sparkling snow, enhanced by the bright sunlight.

“It all seems too fantastic to be real,” Lindsey said softly, staring at the vastness. “I feel like I’m at Disneyland, looking at some manmade creation designed to trick my eyes. To think that this is all real is too, too awesome.”

It was a pleasant, laid back day, with no rushing, no snowstorms, no men, and no rescues. Just a relaxing day of sightseeing and book buying at every gift shop they came upon. It was difficult to pass up a good book of just about any kind.

“You know,” Laura said as they came out of one store, laden with books, “we could probably buy these books right in Tucson.”

“Yes, I know. But it wouldn’t be the same. Besides, these are for my class. After we’re done with the fairy tale unit, I think we’ll study geology.” She shrugged. “Okay. Rocks and dirt. But what study of rocks and dirt would be complete without some information about our breathtaking Grand Canyon?”

When they got back to the room, there was a note from Brad taped to the door. He requested the pleasure of their company for dinner in the Arizona Steakhouse.

“It says to leave a message at the desk if we can’t make it. Otherwise he’ll see us at eight,” read Lindsey. “It also says that he took the liberty of inviting our new friend, Emmett. He hopes we don’t mind. Do we mind?”

“I don’t if you don’t,” Laura replied.

“No. As a matter of fact, I’d like him to see me with my head out of the toilet. Our initial meeting was…‌well, let’s just say it left a lot to be desired.”

The women arrived right on time, and the men were waiting to pull out the ladies’ chairs for them. Once they were all settled, Brad poured them each a glass of wine, then raised his own.

“A toast,” he announced. “To new friends…‌and safe hikes.”

“Hear, hear!” his dinner companions answered.

Dinner went without a hitch. Brad orchestrated the evening beautifully, with just the right amount of conversation and wine. Justin, the waiter, was more like entertainment than food service, and he kept them all laughing. Emmett, the hero of the day, spoke very little, but he was polite and obviously still concerned about Lindsey’s well-being.

Lindsey liked what she saw. Emmett was a good-looking, mature man who flirted subtly with her. If he’d come on strong, she’d have run, but he didn’t, so she didn’t. She was curious about him, and all she could come up with was that he was different. Almost old-fashioned. A rare kind of man‌—‌the type that would have asked her father for permission to marry her.

Her father had been dead for sixteen years. Her mother, too, for that matter. She tried never to think about her parentless childhood, because it opened up a floodgate of sadness.
No! Not tonight!
She was finally having a good time, and she was determined to fight those sad memories so she could live in this delightful moment.

“Can I get you anything else?” asked Justin. “We’ve got dessert specials that no human has ever been able to turn down.”

“Well, I’m afraid I’m going to be the first to ruin your persuasive dessert record, because I’m on the wagon. The dessert wagon, that is. No dessert for me,” Laura said matter-of-factly.

“Don’t look now, my dear friend, but that infamous dessert wagon is fast approaching,” Lindsey said, laughing.

The waiter definitely had a gift when it came to “gab.” He made chocolate pudding sound fit for a king, and the vanilla ice cream worthy of presidential gatherings. He was so entertaining; they didn’t want him to stop. “I know you lovely ladies are probably watching your…‌health, and you guys, well, you aren’t into fancy desserts.”

“You got that right,” said Brad and Emmett together.

Four slices of Grand Canyon Cheesecake later, Justin returned with the bill.

“Here, let me get that,” Emmett said softly.

“Sorry, pal.” Brad intervened, grabbing the check. “This dinner was my invention; therefore, I demand the honor of impressing the women.”

Emmett’s laughter twinkled in his eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t want to deprive you of that opportunity. The next one’s on me.”

“Hey, you guys like to dance?” Justin asked when he returned with the credit card receipt. “There’s gonna to be a kick-ass band over in the vehicle maintenance building, and it should be starting up any minute. It’s sort of an underground event. Just ‘Park’ people‌—‌the cool ones‌—‌and invited guests. Just say ‘The Frog sent us’ to the guy at the door, and he’ll let you right in.”

Brad grabbed Laura’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “We’re in. Let’s go cut a rug with the ‘cool’ people.” They dashed out into the cold, snowy night, leaving Lindsey and Emmett alone together.

Lindsey felt a twinge of anxiety. She was alone, in unfamiliar surroundings, with a man she barely knew. No longer could she tell herself this was just a group of people having dinner. Was this a date? She didn’t know. Brad had set up the whole thing, which meant Emmett might have simply come along for the ride because he had nothing better to do, or even worse, because he was merely hungry. Or had Emmett asked Brad to help him set up the evening so he could get to know Lindsey better? Perhaps he was pursuing her. She had no idea. He seemed nice, but he was at least ten years older than she was. She’d never dated an older man before.

Emmett broke the silence. “Well, I have some writing to do, an article I need to finish so I can email—”

“And I have some reading to do,” interrupted Lindsey. All at once she was relieved, and yet she was disappointed at the same time. “There’s so much reading and planning involved in creating a thematic unit that it’s not possible to do it all during official work hours. And I’ve learned never to read something to the kids unless I have read it first, since something inappropriate could come up,” Lindsey rambled, feeling like an awkward, inexperienced teenager.

“May I walk you to your room?”

Lindsey nodded, and they headed back.

As Lindsey unlocked the huge, hand carved wooden door, she thanked him for seeing her home. “It was a nice dinner, don’t you think?”

He hesitated, then reached for her hand. “You know, Lindsey, it was a very nice dinner. And I’ve been thinking, well, that a sweet lady like you deserves more attention. Sorry I’ve been so out of it tonight. I was just preoccupied with my article. But I want to make it up to you. Join me for a nightcap at the El Tovar Bar? I promise I’ll escort you right back here whenever you wish. What do you say?”

She couldn’t hold back her smile, and she gladly let him lead her to the bar. She enjoyed every minute of her time with Emmett, and it wasn’t just the two glasses of wine at dinner and the snifter of warm Grand Marnier that followed. When it was time for the bar to close up, Emmett and Lindsey were the last two people to leave. Emmett escorted her home as promised, but the desk clerk stopped her on the way through the lodge.

“I’ve got a message from your friend,” he told her, holding out a piece of paper. “She said it was important.”

The note was from Laura, though the handwriting was barely recognizable, let alone readable. Apparently, she’d had a few cocktails.

“Is everything all right?” Emmett asked. “What did she say?”

“Well, I
think
the note says,
‘Don’t wait up. I hope you are having as much fun as I am. See you in the morning. Laura.’”

“I’d say she and Brad hit it off very nicely. Looks like you don’t have a cabin mate this evening,” Emmett said, chuckling.