Thursday Night at Shere's

All in all... a great night.

(sorry I wasn't online Sarah)

When I rushed home, Mom was there with the boys. I rushed inside, wondering what was going on. I didn't expect them to be there. Mom informed me that Lisa had to stay at work late due to a few workers being out and she wouldn't get the boys until 7. Mom couldn't keep them because she had a workshop at 6. There was no one else but me....

So Mom rushed out. Being a wise turltette, I had the spaghetti sauce simmering in the slow cooker all day, which the boys could smell and both said "I want spaghetti for supper." It was around 5:45 and I knew Seth wouldn't be there til 7, so I cooked some noodles and got the boys their supper. While they ate, I freshened up.

At 6:15, they finished their supper and I was surprised to see that they somehow missed their mouths and got spaghetti sauce all over themselves. Bath time. We were singing silly songs when the phone rang at 6:30... it was Seth and he was an hour early! He thought it would take longer to get to my house. Guess where he was calling from.. the driveway. He apologized. I told him it was ok and that I had the nephews for another 30 mins, if he didn't mind noisy boys, he could come on in.

My brother who knows me very well, could tell I was upset over how the evening was turning out. He volunteered to talk to Seth while I finished bathing the boys. Seth came in...holding a bouquet of cut flowers and a bottle of wine. My brother teased me later about how I blushed. I introduced them and left them to converse about...sports.

It never occurred to me that I should prepare the nephews for a new face. Most of the time I keep my dates from meeting my family. The boys were only familiar with Doug, who brought his daughter over often. So there's William, in the bathtub and he says, "Who is it Aunt Sherrie? Doug?"

"No, sweetie. It's my new friend. His name is Seth."

"Is he my friend too?"

"Umm, I hope so." I didn't know what to say.

He said, "I'm ready to get out." I dried him off, dressed him and before I could comb his wet hair, he bolted down the hall into the den saying, "Hi Sed, you're my friend. I have on Spiderman shorts. Look. Hey Uncle John, we have a new friend. This is Sed."

I heard Seth laugh and a conversation began. I lost most of it because at that moment, Ben got soapy water in both eyes and began to cry. It took a while to calm him and get the eyes unsoaped. He hurried out of the water and got dressed. Ben hung onto my hand. He is shy around strangers. When we walked into the kitchen, William had Seth's hand, pulling him to the fridge. He said, "I want to show you something." He noticed me and said, "Aunt Sherrie, it's Seth not Sed." I laughed at him.

Then he turned to Seth and said, "Look at the pictures of Sportacus that me and my friend Aunt Sherrie colored. We stayed inside the lines." (We had colored them a few nights ago and William had proudly stuck them to the fridge.) Not long after that the boys left with their Mom who was in a very foul mood for having to work late. She was polite to Seth and I know it killed her to smile, but she managed it.

After they left, my brother said to Seth. "You've just seen the difference between night and day." He was referring to my sister (night) and me (day). He went back to his room.

I felt disravled. Seth complimented me though. He helped me with the finishing touches on the meal and we ate at the table. I couldn't help but admire the flowers (I shoule take a photo of them). The wine was nice, a merlot. Dinner must have been great. Seth ate two plates of spaghetti.

While we watched Survivor and CSI, we talked a lot. I'm surprised we kept up with the shows. One thing he said that really cracked me up was about the first time he saw me.

"When Javie and I walked into the room, you surveyed me from head to toe and back to head. Raised your left eyebrow and dismissed me. You dismissed me. No woman, hell, no man for that matter has ever dismissed me. I thought "Who does this young chick think she is?" It was the reason I went in search of you at B &N. I knew you were a woman worth getting aquainted with."

I did dismiss him. I thought he was too young.

I'll say this about the rest of the evening. We felt right together. When he kissed, it was a kiss that caused shivers, a kiss that affected us both...a kiss that raised a large...and I mean large lump in his pants.

Over these last few years, I've learned to let things happen as they happen...to not worry about next week or next month or next year...to not try to cage feelings or expectations but to enjoy them as they come along and appreciate the moments. Seth is a soldier and not just any soldier but a Fort Bragg soldier. I'll make sure we both enjoy the moments.

When he left he said, "I like your nephews. Cute boys. And your brother. He's cool even if he's a Redskin and Duke fan. That sister of yours... phew, she could bend metal with her eyes." He laughed.

I laughed and asked, "And me?"

His good night kiss said it all.