“This date is already better than my worst first date.” Snickering, I look down at the menu. “So, what’s good here?”
“This is a story I think I need to hear,” he says as he looks at the specials on the back of the menu. “These are some of my favorites...the lamb chops, the ginger-glazed Mahi Mahi, and the crab-stuffed filet mignon.”
I groan. Those were the same three dishes calling my name. “I don’t know how to choose. I wish my stomach was big enough for all three.”
“How do you like your steak?”
“Medium rare, on the rare side.”
“What about wine? Red? A Malbec?”
I nod in agreement. He calls over the sommelier and orders a couple glasses of the Malbec. He motions for the server to come back for our order.
“Hi Andrew, thanks for waiting on us tonight.” Raising the menu, he orders, “We’re going to mix it up with a ‘create your own’ platter. We’ll take one crab-stuffed filet, medium rare, and one of the ginger-glazed Mahi-Mahi.” He looks at me. “Why don’t we each pick a side and share those, too?”
“Hmmm, how about the parmesan risotto?”
“Great. We’ll take one parmesan risotto and one grilled asparagus. And two lamb chops. Not the entire dish, just the chops. And a few plates so we can split everything,” he says as he finishes ordering. “All good with you?”
“I don’t have to choose?”
“No, you don’t have to choose.” He gives me a brief, serious look before he grins.
“It’s all good for me. I’m not sure if I can eat that much, but I can’t wait to taste it all.”
He nods and turns back to Andrew. “Thanks, that will be all for now.” Turning back to me, he takes my hand. “Now, tell me about the worst first date.”
Shaking my head, I laugh as I tell him about my first date in college. “I had been crushing on this guy, Rob, in school. Every day, I’d flirt with him in biology. Finally, he asked me out. I spent all day getting my nails done, my hair blown out, and picking out the perfect outfit. He was about twenty minutes late picking me up, but he came to the door. When we get out to his car, he opens the back door for me to get in. Confused, I look in the front and notice a woman sitting in the driver’s seat. I get in the car, and he slides in behind me. He tells me to ignore the woman in the front seat, as that’s just his mom. He explains that he doesn’t have a driver’s license, but he asked her to drive us on our date. I’m almost dying at this point. We are in college, and his mom is driving us on our date?! I’m not sure what to think at this point, but I decide to make the most of it.”
Lev’s eyes widen. “Seriously?”
“Wait, it gets better. Or worse. We get to the restaurant, and his mom sits at the table with us! I introduce myself, and just as I begin to ask her questions, Rob reaches out and taps me on my arm to tell me I’m supposed to ignore her. How do you ignore someone sitting right there? She orders dinner for herself, so at least she is not sitting there doing nothing, but it’s so weird. At this point, I don’t know what to do. Rob, however, doesn’t seem to have the same problem, as he spends the entire dinner talking about himself. I basically mimic his mom and just sit there silently eating. Finally, we finish dinner, and Rob turns to his mom and tells her we will be outside while she pays the bill!” I am almost crying with laughter as I think about it. “We get to the car, and Rob asks where I want to go next. I tell him I have to work in the morning and need to get to bed early. While his mom is driving me home, he tries to kiss me in the back seat! I tell him no, and when we get back to the dorm, he refuses to walk me to my door. He’s pissed because I didn’t kiss him. OMG, it was literally the worst date ever.”
Lev is full-out laughing in horror at this story. “How old were you?”
“We were sophomores in college. Can you believe it?” I tell him, wiping tears from my eyes. “That was my worst first date ever. Nobody has ever topped it.”
“Well, I’ll try for one of your best first dates, since the award for worst is taken,” he replies, laughing.
Our food arrives, and we dig into the feast. Putting a little portion of everything on my plate, I start with the lamb chop first. It’s incredible, juicy, perfectly cooked. Delicious.
We talk about the practice and whether I’m enjoying Montana. I tell him about getting lost on the roads, my aversion to the frigid weather, and how despite all that I can see how people would love living here. It’s beautiful, there’s room to breathe, and it feels like a place where I can make genuine friends.
“Sarah tells me you moved here three years ago. With Shaw, Lowell, and Thayer?” I bite into the fish.
“We were all in the Army together and became as close as brothers. Well, Lowell and I were already close, because we grew up together in Chicago. When we were both twelve years old, we were placed in the same foster home. The couple was older. The man was a retired Army sergeant, and the lady was a housewife. Their only son, who had also been in the military, had died, and they didn’t have any family left. They wanted to foster a couple of kids, and the City placed Lowell and me with them. It turned out to be the best day of both our lives.” He smiles as he looks back. “When Lowell and I turned eighteen, we joined the Army. Even though Lowell was smart enough to get a scholarship to any school, he didn’t want me joining the Army without him,” he says as he shrugs. “For the first six years, we took unique paths, but we both rose through the ranks. When we were offered positions with a special operations force, we took it and made sure our assignment was to the same unit. That’s where we met Shaw and Thayer.” He pauses for a second as the server comes by to check on us.
“I would like another glass of wine, please.”
“Yes, ma’am. Lev, would you like another glass?” Andrew asks.
“No, I’m driving. Please refill my water, though?” Lev asks him.
Grabbing a pitcher, Andrew refills the water and goes to order my wine.
“You were in a special operations force? Like the SEALs?”
“SEALs are a Navy special operations force. We were in the Army, but yes,” he replies.
