Jalen went home and took a quick shower before ironing his outfit for the night—a white crew neck shirt and blue denim jeans. The temperature outside was a warm but breezy sixty-five degrees on a Friday night in June, so he grabbed a dark brown blazer from his closet that matched his brown Salvatore Ferragamo Italian loafers and left the house. He lived just west of the I-94 expressway, so he hopped on and exited at the Torrence Avenue exit with Chili’s being only a few blocks away. When he arrived at the restaurant, he circled the lot to see if Lisa’s car was there, but she hadn’t gotten there yet. He then decided to park near the entrance and wait. His clock read 9:04 pm, so he patiently sat in his car while listening to the radio. Lisa came in the lot about five minutes later, and Jalen jumped out of his car holding the bouquet of flowers that he bought for her. She had changed into a black, tight-fitting dress that came just above the knee, and she also had on four-inch heels that made her almost eye-level in height to him as he stood about six foot two.
“Hey, Lisa, these are for you,” Jalen said, handing her the flowers.
“Wow, I love roses,” Lisa said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, and you look absolutely gorgeous.”
“And you look quite handsome yourself, Jalen.”
She placed the bouquet of roses on her back seat, and Jalen held both the front door and second door of the entrance for her as they stepped inside of the restaurant. The hostess then led them to a booth on the left side of the restaurant by the window.
“Do you come here often?” Jalen asked.
“Yeah, I suppose so,” Lisa answered. “I don’t know if coming here a couple of times a year qualifies as often, though.”
“I guess you’ve been here enough to know the menu somewhat.”
“Yes, I have.”
There was brief silence as they looked over their respective menus, and Lisa tried to break the ice by asking, “What do you do for a living, Jalen?”
“I’m glad you asked,” he answered. “I’m a mechanical engineer at Burns & McDonnell’s. Have you ever heard of it?”
“No, I can’t say that I have. So, what does a mechanical engineer do?”
“We design power-producing machines like electric generators or airplanes, or refrigeration and air-conditioning systems inside office buildings, for example.”
“That’s really impressive, Jalen.”
“Thank you.”
“Where did you go to school?”
“I went to NIU in DeKalb, and I graduated three years ago.”
“How old are you?”
“I’ll be twenty-seven in November. Why?”
“I usually don’t date guys my age, but I’ll make an exception this time because I see that you really have your stuff together.”
“Well, alright then,” he said with confidence. “I’m flattered.”
“And you should be,” she said coyly.
“How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“No, I don’t mind…I’m also twenty-six, but I turn twenty-seven on the twenty-fifth of this month.”
“And I turn twenty-seven on November fifteenth.”
Jalen then smiled and asked, “So, what type of older guys do you usually date?”
“I like ex-basketball players like you.”
“Oh really? And what makes you think that I played ball?”
“It’s the way you walk…ball players have a certain type of swag that I find irresistible, and you’re definitely a ball player.”
“Guilty as charged. I played the point for four years in college.”
“I thought so.”
“You like my swag, huh?”
“Yes, I’ve been checking you out, too.”
He paused briefly before asking, “What do you do at Chase Bank?”
“How did you know that I worked at Chase Bank?” she asked curiously.
“I saw you go inside the branch across the street from the Metra station a few times after we got off the train together, so I assumed that you worked there.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I’m a teller there, and I’ve been with them for five years.”
“That’s great. Maybe you can put in a good word for me when I decide to apply for a loan.”
“Do you bank with Chase?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why would you want to apply for a loan?”
“I plan on starting my own firm within the next five to seven years once I learn everything that there is to learn from my company.”
“You’re very ambitious, and I love that quality in a man. I’ll definitely put in a good word for you if I’m still there.”
“So, what are some of your goals, Lisa?”
“Well for starters, I want to finish school. I have my associate degree in Arts from South Suburban College, and I just got accepted at Roosevelt. I don’t know where I’m going to get the money to pay for my tuition without going into some serious debt, though.”
“I’m sure you’d qualify for some grants to help you in addition to your student loans.”
“I just started looking into some possible grants, so I hope your right.”
“I can help you with your research if you want.”
“I’d like that very much,” she smiled.
The server asked if they wanted something to drink. Lisa ordered a margarita, and Jalen ordered a sixteen-ounce Bud Light beer. They took a few minutes to decide what to order before the server came back to their table.
“Do you know what you want to order?” the server asked.
“Yes, I’ll have the chicken fajitas,” Lisa answered.
“And you, sir?”
“I’ll have a full slab of ribs with the sauce on the side,” Jalen answered.
“Okay.”
The server left the table and Lisa asked, “You don’t like barbeque sauce on your ribs?”
“No, I prefer them without the sauce, but I like a little sauce on my ribs when I dip them,” Jalen answered.”
“Interesting.”
“Did you grow up out here?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Yes, I’m from Hammond, Indiana,” she answered. “And you?”
“I grew up in Flossmoor, and I just bought my house in South Holland last year.”
“That’s great…I have an apartment in Calumet City.”
“So, you live near here?”
“Yes, the Sandridge Apartments complex.”
Lisa paused before asking, “So, do you have any brothers and sisters?”
“Yes, I’m the youngest of five siblings…two brothers and two sisters.”
“I always wished I had siblings.”
“An only child, huh?”
“Yep, just me and my mom growing up. Are your parents still together?”
“Yes, they’ve been married for thirty-five years.”
“You seem to have the perfect family, Jalen.”
“Nah, we’re far from that, I’m afraid. We’re a real-life family with real-life issues…”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything…”
“It’s okay…no family is perfect no matter how things may appear on the surface.”
“I agree.”
“Are your parents together?”
“No, I didn’t know my father growing up, and I had spoken to him for the first time in my life just recently.”
“Yeah?”
“Um hum. He ran into my mom at the Strack & Van Til grocery store three weeks ago, and he had her call me on her cell phone. I had been so angry at him for the longest time because I felt that he abandoned me and my mom.”
“Why did it take him so long to contact you?”
“Guilt, I suppose. He really didn’t say why he didn’t try to find us and apologized for not being in my life. Maybe he wants to make up for lost time, I guess, but I haven’t agreed to meet with him yet.”
“You haven’t seen him face-to-face?”
“No, we had only spoken on the phone once.”
“I’m so sorry, Lisa.”
“Thank you, but I’m okay.”
The server brought their food, and they ate while continuing to enjoy each other’s company. When they finished eating, Jalen paid the bill, and they stepped outside of the restaurant and continued their conversation.
“I’m not ready for this night to end,” Jalen stated earnestly. “When can we see each other again?”
“I don’t want the night to end just yet, either,” Lisa suggested. “Do you want to come to my place for a nightcap?”
“I would love to, but I have a cold bottle of wine that I bought just in case our date went well in my fridge.”
“I have wine too, and besides, my place is just down the street right off of 159th Street.”
“Okay, I’ll follow you.”