Chapter 10 - THE FIRST DINNER WITHOUT FEAR
Their first date took place in a small Italian restaurant near the river.
No private dining room.
No expensive spectacle.
Just a quiet table near the window.
Adrian arrived early.
Evelyn arrived twelve minutes late.
She was wearing a dark green dress and carrying a canvas bag.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Hospital?”
“Hospital.”
He smiled.
“Sit.”
She did.
For a while, they talked about ordinary things.
Food.
Music.
Books.
Evelyn's childhood.
Adrian's sister.
Eventually, she asked:
“Why do you always drive alone?”
Adrian went still.
Then he told her.
About Sofia.
The collision.
The promise.
The eight years of silence.
Evelyn listened without interrupting.
When he finished, she reached across the table.
“I'm sorry.”
He looked at her hand.
Then at her.
“Everyone says that.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
He waited.
She continued.
“But I mean it.”
His expression softened.
He took her hand.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Evelyn smiled faintly.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“Sofia sounds like someone I would have liked.”
Adrian's eyes filled.
“She would have liked you.”
May you like
Evelyn squeezed his hand.
And for the first time in eight years, Adrian allowed himself to remember his sister without immediately turning the memory into anger.
