Night on the Town

Night on the Town

It just wasn’t the same…. Everybody told us it would happen…. That after a year or so the heat would begin to fade. I was reminded of the song….

We got married in a fever,
Hotter than a pepper sprout
We been talking about Jackson
Ever since the fire went out

I guess I just never thought it would happen to Janet and I but I could see that it was…. Something was missing. It wasn’t all my fault but I had to accept some measure of responsibility. A marriage is only as strong as your willingness to nurture and invest in it. Then there was the baby. She takes up a lot of my wife’s attention… Woe is me…what’s to be done to remedy things ?, I thought to myself.

Janet was tired but I talked her into it. My parents agreed to keep Ellen for the weekend and we planned this little get together. It was to be a role playing exercise where we would meet somewhere and pretend we were meeting for the first time. We agreed to have our rendezvous at the Outback Steak house and see where matters went from there. I saw her sitting alone in a booth and walked up.

“Mind if I join you?” I inquired.

She glanced up with a look of dismay. “What am I, some sort of Geek magnet?”

Being rebuffed caught me off guard, “Sorry," I answered, "but I saw you sitting alone and something compelled me to ask…forgive me for intruding…" I started to turn away…

“Well since you mustered the nerve to ask, have a seat,” she said with a sigh of resignation.

“I’m not usually so forward and boldness has never been my long suit.”

“I was actually looking forward to a quiet evening alone…. Not really expecting anyone to come barging into my life….And Boldness isn’t exactly a quality in the lives of the men I’ve known… “

“Well I hope my company provides a pleasant and unexpected diversion.“ I sat down in the bench across from her and signaled the waiter. “The lady and I will be dining together, if you will be so good as to add a place setting.“ He nodded and returned quickly with a waitress and menu.

"Whatever prompted you to strike up an unsolicited conversation? Do I have “Lonely Woman” tattooed on my forehead?"

“I was intrigued and then compelled and then emboldened. There is something about you that is different and special. I knew if I let the opportunity slip past, I’d be regretting it for a long time.”

“So it was my sweet look and mysterious aura that drew you into my web…?”

“You are an attractive and very nice lady.”

“How do you know that….? We’ve hardly spoken and I could be a real bitch for all you know.”

That’s certainly not my impression, and I tend to be a good judge of character. My name is David Lawrence and yours?”

“Janet Newman. Do you use this line often… I’ve never encountered it before?”

“First time Janet, as I explained already, I saw you and felt a powerful desire to get to know you better.”

“Better in what regard?”

The waiter returned. " Are you ready to order?”

I looked over at Janet… "after you.”

“I’ll have the seafood delight with a light wine.”

“And you sir?”

“The Porterhouse, medium well with baked potato.”

“Salad Dressing…?”

“Oil and Vinegar,” said Janet smiling.

“French…”

"You were saying…?"

“And what was that…?“ I replied.

“How you wished to know me better and I inquired, "in what regard?”

“To learn more about you, know you better as a person, to spend some time conversing with a lovely woman.”

“And after you sweep me off my feet and I fall madly in love with you what then…?”

The salads arrived and we applied ourselves to the initial course.

“Hmmmm, good.”

“Indeed it is…”

“And so what is your end game for the evening. It seems to have started well for you.”

"Honestly I hadn’t thought much beyond where we are now… I 'm so delighted at getting this far that how the evening unfolds from here can go wherever chance leads it.”

“And where would you like that to be?”

I felt her hand reach beneath the table and begin stroking my knee. My breath made a sudden and noticeable intake. My fork dropped into the salad.

“I have a room booked in the hotel,” I stammered.

The waiter appeared with the main course. “Bon Appetite,” he said withdrawing quietly. We ate in silence neither daring to look at the other.

“You have designs on my body,” she said without looking up.

“What man wouldn’t,” I replied.

“And you plan to try luring me up to your room after dinner and have your way.”

“What are you, psychic?”

“I’m not taking birth control and tonight is a dangerous time of the month. “

“I’ve made provisions for safe sex... if it comes to that.”

“Sorry, Honey, its bareback or nothing and what if we do and I happen to get pregnant? Are you prepared to face the consequences of paternity? How’s that for a dash of cold water….?”

“Sobering but not enough to frighten me off…”

“...Will you grow tired of me, David?“

A song’s lyrics floated through my mind. “You ask me if there’ll come a time when I grow tired of you…”

“Never my love,” I answered.

“You won’t ever leave me?”

“I’ll always be here…”

She finished her meal looking up, her eyes glistening with that wistful look of invitation. I summoned the waiter and paid the bill. She took my arm, gathered her purse and overnight bag and we walked together to the elevator.

“I love you,” she whispered her head on my arm…

“And I love you,” I whispered as the door closed.