“And what did you do?”
“Eh, we surveilled stuff, demolished stuff, checked out places in advance so other teams knew what to expect – that sort of thing. Nothing exciting.”
“Oh. OK.” He’s lying. Either he was the king of understatement, or he preferred not to discuss certain topics in great detail. It didn’t bother her. After all, they’d just met, and she couldn’t tell if he’d grasped she was interested in him. “But how did you go from - um - master petite chef officer to processing pension claims?”
Carson shook his head. “Master chief petty officer.”
“Yeah, that.”
An anguished look crossed his features for just a second. “Well, I had been in the Navy for 16 years, and I just decided it was time to get out, try something new.” Again, Katie felt he was holding something back, or at least glossing over the truth. It was his tone. He had a way of speaking too quickly when answering certain questions. “So, almost three years ago I got a more stable and sedate job, one with regular hours and a desk and an office. And here I am.”
“And here we are,” she corrected. “What’s fun to do in Delaware?”
“Talking to me might be the highlight. No, there’s more than you might think. The beaches in Lewes and Rehoboth are great. And Wilmington has some nice restaurants. Plus, you’ve got Philadelphia and Atlantic City kinda close. Are you into racing?”
“Horses?”
“No, cars. Auto racing.”
“Not my style.”
“OK, so Dover Downs won’t interest you. They have a couple of big races each year.”
“I’ve heard of that. Are you a fan?” she asked.
“Eh. I’ve been to a race, but it’s kind of boring for me. I do admire the skill of those guys, being able to drive cars at 200 miles an hour.”
“I guess.” She paused to assess her lunch partner. He was polite, but not over-the-top. That was the Navy, she figured. She didn’t know too many military men, but the ones she’d met had good manners, especially those who’d been in for a while. It was nice, but Carson remained a closed book to her. Yes, the outside was pleasing, but her ex-husband had been nice-looking too, and that had been the Titanic of relationships. She had to pry open his cover and read the first couple of pages.
“Tell me something else,” she prodded. “All I know is you were kind of a big deal in the Navy for a long time, and then you quit and moved here and took a job that, from what I can tell, is as boring as watching grass grow.”
“Are you always this direct?” He sounded flabbergasted.
“I’m sorry. I’m a little pushy at times. My father told me it’s because I’m an only child.”
“Sounds like a smart man. What does your mother say?”
Katie felt the familiar pang of a distant loss. “Mom died when I was eight.”
Carson closed his eyes, and Katie could feel his regret at asking the question. “I’m sorry about that. That must have been very tough.”
“It was,” she agreed, “but it was a long time ago.”
His pensive look made her think Carson felt more than just sympathy. In a second, he shook it off. “What did you do back up in Vermont? Wait, let me guess. You were a ski instructor?”
Katie giggled. “No, but I am pretty good. I was involved with the family business but, after a few things happened, I realized it was a mistake just like my marriage.”
“I hope it was a good decision for you. And I’m sorry if I’m prying into your personal life.”
Katie gave him a reassuring smile. “You’re not prying. I’m pretty happy. I made a few bad decisions, but I’ve fixed most of them and I’m working on making a fresh start for myself.”
Carson nodded approval. “That’s great. We’ve all made mistakes; some of them real doozies.” He paused. “I have a saying: ‘You can’t change your past, but you can affect your future.’ It looks like you’re doing just that.”
“That’s good advice,” she told him with a smile.
He waved off the compliment. “Eh, the sun shines on every dog’s ass once in a while.”
“What?!” Katie had never heard such a statement; she wasn’t sure she’d heard Carson correctly.
“Sorry,” he responded. “It’s a saying I learned in the Navy. It just means that everyone gets lucky once in a while.”
“Oh, OK. I get it now.” Something occurred to her. “Don’t think I don’t know what you just did over the last couple of minutes.”
“What?” He looked as innocent as a small child standing next to the cookie jar with crumbs all over his cheeks.
She wagged an accusing finger at him. “You got me talking about myself when I wanted to learn more about you. Very crafty.”
Carson didn’t deny her accusation. Instead, he just arched his eyebrows very quickly. In that brief moment, Katie saw what might have been a tiny spark of playful shenanigans in those otherwise pained eyes. This man grew more interesting as they talked. He wasn’t just a closed book. He was a book in another language, a riddle in a safe in a locked room in Fort Knox.
She had to know more.
***
Post-lunch fatigue was a real problem for Carson in the afternoon session. The vapid stares and sagging jaws he saw indicated most of the class was down a few IQ points as well. Carson sympathized, but he didn’t have anything to learn. They did.
He was pleased he knew the material, because he couldn’t concentrate with Katie running around in his head. No matter how hard he fixated on the fascinating fields and
