The Paradiso

The fog hanging over the area of the city near the beach faded back to normal in a few hours. I had been shopping at a nearby grocery store for some tasty foods, such as a shrimp boat that had a fresh slice of lemon and a red cocktail sauce included in it and fragrant cheese and poppy seed bread rolls. I didn't forget to add the tea and coffee. On the way back home I remembered how we exchanged telephone numbers when we, a strange dark and older man and myself, an older lady had met in the fog that was in the air at the beach a few days before. I looked up the number he gave to me on a scrap of paper that I still had, and called the man up on my cell phone as I was leaving the market. The phone rang through and as the man said hello, I reminded him of the chance meeting with me on the foggy morning at the beach. He asked me if I could meet him somewhere close by, The Paradiso Bar. I had been by there myself recently and knew where it was located. He said fine and he would meet me at the bar later this evening. I replied fine and hung up on the call on my cell phone. I arrived home with the groceries, and went to put some makeup on, and a change of clothes for later. Then I called a taxi cab to drive me to The Paradiso Bar to meet my friend from the beach a few days ago. After a while the taxi cab appeared outside of my apartment and I went to see if he had stopped by The Paradiso Bar as he said he would. The taxi cab had arrived at the bar and I got out in front of the door which was opened to accept visitors. It was early in the evening. I walked in and he was seated at the bar as he said he would. He smiled over at me in the doorway, and I walked over to him and said hello. He said you're the girl from the beach, have a seat. I thanked him and sat down next to him at the bar. How did you get here, he asked. I took a taxi cab, I answered. Oh, I drive a car, he said. I can give you a ride home later, if you want. Yes that's fine, I said. I you familiar with this area, he asked. Not really that much, I said. You said your name is Evelyn, I believe, he said. Yes, I replied to the man. We sat there over a bar drink or two, enjoying each other's company. Finally as he was going to leave, he invited me to his car and offered to drive me home. I agreed. We walked out to his car he had parked nearby the bar. That's an interesting name for a bar, The Paradiso, the man said. Yes, I replied, amused. We got into the car and soon the doors slammed. I smiled at Gene. I think I enjoyed being with him. He drove away from the bar. Using my directions he drove around slowly, looking for my apartment to let me out there. As the evening drew to a close he reached out to give me a kiss in the car. He decided he wanted to drive around for a while. Why not, I said, it's still early in the evening. He found an early evening restaurant and offered to stop there for me. Alright, I said. He drove into the parking lot of a restaurant and parked his car. He escorted me into the restaurant. After some snacks and coffee we laughed and talked about things. Not about anything important. After a while he drove me home. He called me on the phone when he returned back home. We talked a little and he said goodnight. I answered him the same and hung up on the phone. It was a most pleasant evening all in all. He saved me the trouble of taking a taxi back from The Paradiso Bar.