CHAPTER 4
I get to Bogart’s a little late, hoping that she would have given up and gone home. Assume that I got in a car accident and would be unable to move or eat anything unless it came through a tube. But she was waiting right there at the host stand in a very pretty light blue dress. She looked very attractive and her long blonde hair was up, and looked like it had made home to a hundred different bobby pins. She had really taken her time to look good for tonight, whereas I just threw on a button down shirt with wrinkles and a pair of dark khakis. I looked like I was about to go hiking and she looked like she was about to go to homecoming.
“Hey, I was worried you had gotten caught up for a minute there.” She stands up and the dress goes down to just above her knees.
“Sorry, I had to run by the store on the way from class to pick up some milk. Long fucking line.” Lie number one.
“It’s okay. Our table is ready. I didn’t want you to have to wander around looking for me. Might’ve taken you forever.” The host picks up two menus and we follow her to a booth.
“Thanks. You look great by the way.” Truth number one.
“Thank you. I didn’t want you to think I dress like a slob. Jesus. What I was wearing at the party…”
“I can’t remember what you were wearing. But I’m sure you looked good.” Lie number two. She looked like a farmer, wearing overalls. One of the main reasons I thought she would look like bad tonight.
“Oh, I had on these stupid overalls my friend had gotten and told me if I wore them, they would buy me dinner. So I did, and I still haven’t gotten the dinner. But I did look like a boy.”
“I remember now. You did look a little funny, now that you mention it.”
“So, why did you choose Bogart’s? I would’ve imagined you for a more laid back kind of guy. Some place where they sing for little kids birthdays and stuff.”
“Oh, no. I hate those places. I like it for the food, but mainly because of the artwork and who it’s named after.” I point to different pieces of art done by students of Humphrey Bogart.
“Who was it named after?”
“Humphrey Bogart. The actor. He was in a bunch of movies.” I say.
“Right. Right. I’m terrible with names. Especially actors. He was in Casablanca, no? And The Maltese Falcon.”
“Yeah. You had me worried there for a second.”
“No, I’m big on movies. But I can’t remember names for the life of me. Some mornings I wake up and forget my roommate’s name. If it wasn’t written on her bedroom door, I probably would’ve forgotten by now.”
“Are you and your roommate not close?” Small talk.
“No, it’s not that. She just has a crazy schedule. She’s pre-med, so she’s up until four in the morning studying most nights. Other nights she’s just sleeping. So I never really see her. Unless it’s to pay rent. Who do you live with?”
“Just me and Patrick. Sarah has her own place, but she spends most of her time there.”
“How are you two doing tonight?” The waiter says, catching me by surprise. I was actually beginning to enjoy the conversation, surprisingly.
“We’re doing well. How are you doing?”
“Very well. Very well. My name is Mark, and I will be taking care of you. Can I get you started off with something to drink, maybe an appetizer?”
“I’ll just have water. And a basket of fries actually.” She looks like she weighs a hundred pounds. I won’t be surprised if the fries are all she eats.
“And for you, sir?”
“Just a Coke, thank you.”
“Ah, very well. I will be back with your drinks in just a moment.” He walks away and Ashley is smiling.
“I like him. He’s very polite.” “They do work on tips.” She laughs.
“What’s your major? You’re a senior right?”
“Yeah. I’m a Psych major. So, when I graduate, the job offers will be rolling in. What about you?”
“Senior. English major. I think you and I are in the same boat.”
“You don’t want to be a teacher?”
“No, once I’m done with school, I’m done with it. On top of that, putting up with little shitheads everyday doesn’t sound like a good job.”
“What are you going to do when you graduate then?”
“I’m not sure. I guess just travel for a year, and then live on the streets. My parents are rich, so they pay for everything. They said as long as I graduate, that they’d take care of me. Probably just get a job working at my dad’s company.”
The waiter sets down our drinks, but sees that we’re in the middle of a conversation, so he just bows a little and walks away.
“What does he do?”
“Oh, he’s got a construction company. Probably just make me his secretary or whatever. I’d get paid well. Be miserable doing it though. It’s what my mom does for him now. What do your parents do?”
“They’re retired.” Lie number three.
“What did they used to do?”
“I can’t really remember. Something to do with computers. Who knows? I guess you’re close with your parents then?”
“Not really. No. My dad used to beat my mom when I was a kid. My sister and I were scared to death of him. He would come home drunk almost every night. It wasn’t until my sister died that he sobered up.”
“How did she die, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“She was driving, just gotten her license actually. Drunk driver slammed into the driver’s side. Killed her instantly. Killed the drunk driver too. Tore my dad to pieces. He’s really mellowed out. Become a better dad. He still has his faults though. We all do. Even after we reform. Become better people. Everyone has their demons.”
“Shit. I’m really sorry to hear that. Shit. I didn’t expect it to be something like that. I thought it might’ve been a disease she had or something. Cancer, whatever. But, fuck. Excuse my language.” We see the waiter walk up to our table just as I finish my sentence. He sets the basket of fries down between us, and two plates.
“Have you two decided on what you’d like to eat, or are you still deciding?”
“I know what I want. I’ll have the salmon, with the side of asparagus” She says.
“Excellent choice. And for you sir?”
“I’ll take the prime rib, rare, with a side of mashed potatoes.”
“Two very excellent choices. The chef will be very pleased to hear your orders.”
“Thank you” we both say, simultaneously, then she knocks on the wooden part of the booth.
“Jinx. Owe me a Coke.” I laugh, look at her, and then I slide my glass of Coke over to her. She laughs, the waiter laughs, and I laugh too.
The night is going much better than I thought. She’s funny. And the more she talks, the more I seemingly become shyer and shyer. Which is unusual, I’m never shy. It’s actually one of the few things I can honestly be proud of. Patrick once said if I ever met the president, that I would probably just shake his hand, say “Nice to meet you” and go on about my day. But now, at dinner with this girl who I had no interest in before, I’m growing more and more aware of how pretty she is, and how much personality she has.
“Are you going to get something to drink?” She says
“I’m not much of a drinker actually. But if you’re getting something, I’ll get something too.”
We are both almost done with our meal, and the waiter stops by to pick up our plates. I order a whiskey sour, and she orders a long island. I’m beginning to wonder, where she wants this night to end up. People usually don’t drink on Thursday nights…on the first date, with someone they just met at a party a week ago. So the thought runs through my mind, that maybe she’s just a slut. Maybe that’s the only reason she wanted to go out tonight. To have someone to fuck before she went to bed. But then I think, I would’ve done the same thing two years ago, so if that’s all she wants to do, then we’ll do that, and that’ll be it. But a part of me, a very small part of me, wants it to be more than just that. I wouldn’t mind going on a second date with this girl, and maybe a third, depending on how much of her I can stand. She drinks the long island slow, and I sip at the whiskey sour even slower.
“So why didn’t you text me after I gave you my number?” She asks.
“I thought Patrick told you my phone was broken.” Lie number four.
“He did, but I didn’t buy it.”
“Then why’d you ask when I saw you at lunch today?”
“To see what you’d say. To see if you’d go along with his lie.”
“Well, you caught me.” My face turns red.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be embarrassed. But I would like to know why you didn’t text me. What about me turned you off so much?”
“It wasn’t you. I just got out of a relationship a couple months ago. Stirred me up a bit, made me not want to date anyone.”
“What happened?” She takes a long pull of her drink.
“She cheated on me. We only dated for three months, but I don’t know. It kind of threw me off. Made me realize how shitty people can be.”
“Not everyone is like your ex-girlfriend. Same is true for ex-boyfriends. If I went by that code, I’d be a fucking nun already.”
“What did he do?”
“Cheated on me. Hit me a couple of times. Stole from me. The usual shitty behavior of a supreme asshole.”
“Wow. How did you bounce back after that?”
“I had his dumbass arrested. He got a year in jail. Dumb fucker. I didn’t date anyone for a while after that either. Kind of like you. Only, worse, I guess.”
“Just a little.”
“But you realize that not everyone’s like that. Most of them are. Well, maybe not most, but a good number of them. And then you look for the ones who aren’t like that. Which is why I’m at dinner with you, right now, a little tipsy, but happy.”
I get the check and I tip the waiter seventy percent and we walk outside. It’s about eight thirty or so, when we get to our cars, parked just a block away. She latches on to my arm like it’s about to fall off, and I hold onto her like she’s about to float away. Under a streetlight, she stops, and kisses me on the cheek and I kiss her back. And then we kiss for what feels like five minutes, but it could’ve been an hour. Then we get to our cars, and we just hug, and we kiss a little while we’re hugging, but for once in a long time, I feel good again. I feel like she’s actually true to her word.
“What are you doing this weekend?” She says, still holding on to my hips.
“I’m going to a party with Patrick and Sarah Saturday night. I’m dragging them there.”
“Shit. I was going to say, my friend’s band is playing Saturday night, and thought maybe you’d want to go. But never mind I guess.” She looks down at her feet, and I put my finger on her chin and kiss her.
“I’ll be free Sunday night, and I promise, I will see you then. Wherever you want to go, we’ll go.”
“Can we go fishing?”
“Ha, yes. We can go fishing. I don’t’ know where, but I’ll find a place and that’s what we’ll do with our Sunday night.”
“Maybe we can go fishing, then we can go to dinner and then see a movie, or something.”
“That sounds wonderful.” We kiss again, and she unlatches herself from me.
“Have fun at the party. I’ll text you tomorrow maybe. Make sure you’re still down for fishing.”
“I’m always down for fishing. Fishing for fish, fishing for luggage, fishing for money, really anything I can catch.”
I smile, and she gets in her car and waves goodbye, and I check my phone to see that both Patrick and Sarah have overloaded it with texts asking how the night went. One from my friend Josh, who wanted to go out drinking tonight. I close my phone and just sit in the car for a minute and relax.