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As soon as Cara crossed the threshold of the entrance to the famous Lola Bistro, she was startled by the shriek of her best friend Lucy Eckert’s voice.
“Carebear! I missed you so much!” Lucy, who had been waiting near the hostess station, exclaimed as she met Cara with a big hug.
“Lucy, oh my god I missed you, too!” Cara replied, squeezing her friend.
“Cara, I have so much to tell you, and from what I understand you do too...” Lucy smirked.
Lucy Eckert was a petite girl with strawberry blonde hair. Though she was raised by hippies and attended perhaps the most liberal college in the country, Lucy never let herself be pigeonholed. One day she would dress like she was on her way to Woodstock, the next she would rock one of the latest trends. She didn’t care what anyone thought of her, and that’s what Cara admired most.
“You have no idea, and I cannot wait to hear all about Spain!” Cara answered.
A female hostess approached the two friends and interrupted their mini-reunion.
“Excuse, me, Miss Knox? Your table is ready, please follow me,” the lady said as she gestured towards the dining room area.
Lucy gave Cara, who was just as puzzled as she, a look. The hostess picked up on this and informed them that a Mr. Madison had arranged everything for their reservation that evening, including the bill.
“I guess I don’t need to use my gift card, after all,” Lucy mused.
Cara, not sure what to say, just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
The trio passed three empty table before entering a small area near the kitchen. All six of the tables, in what was apparently a VIP section of the restaurant, had a direct view of the kitchen.
“Here you are, ladies. You will be dining tonight at one of our ‘Chef’s Tables’ where you will have a lovely view of our extremely talented kitchen staff as they prepare your meal. Please enjoy,” the lady said as she placed two menus down and signaled for a busboy to remove the extra place settings while another poured them water.
“Okay, tell me about Spain,” Cara said as they were seated.
“Forget Spain, Cara. First, I need to know about this Mr. Madison. I heard you were dating some baseball guy, and for the record, I’m so glad you dumped that loser, Kenny.”
“Well, his name is Cooper, and I’m still apparently learning that he’s full of surprises,” Cara said as she gestured to their VIP table.
“You must be doing something right… Did I see you get dropped off out front? I thought the president was in town before you stepped out of that monstrosity of a car.”
Cara laughed and during the appetizer and salad portion of the meal went on to tell Lucy all about Cooper Madison, how they met, and what had transpired over the past week.
“Now, tell me about Spain,” Cara insisted as they were served their main course, which was a delicious bacon wrapped Sturgeon with creamed spinach, parsnips, and apples.
“Well, let’s just say that I not only fell in love with Barcelona, but I also fell in love there, too.”
“What’s his name? Tell me everything.”
“Alejandro… he was a senior in my creative writing class at Universidad de Barcelona,” Lucy said, making sure to emphasize the pronunciation of her Spanish beau’s name.
“Oooh, I love that name. Go on…”
“Well, despite being absolutely gorgeous, Alejandro was also an amazing writer - in both English and Spanish - and he was well-versed in the language of love, too…” Lucy said with a sly smile.
“Isn’t that a prerequisite if your name is Alejandro?” Cara joked, emphasizing his name.
“Girl, he should teach a class… but, even more, I fell absolutely in love with him. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced, and I probably never will again,” Lucy’s tone changed and her eyes began to water.
“What happened?” Cara asked.
“He broke my heart just as quickly as he stole it. Before I left he told me it would never work since his life was in Spain and I had to return home. I told him I’d stay, Cara. I told him I’d throw everything away to be with him… but, it turns out, that wasn’t what he wanted.”
“Oh Lucy, I’m so sorry…”
