Tag: short story

The days went by and they were much happier ones than all my days in the past. We met for coffee, dinner, lunch, movies, shopping, and any other reason I could come up with just to be with her. Before I knew it the summer had passed and Halloween was next. In our conversations we each shared the pressure coming from our parents to meet the other and for the families to meet. Some parents are subtle (not mine) and some are more direct (not hers). We tried to discuss the “event” but it always became a time of nervous laughing and exaggerations of the impact on everyone’s lives.

I am not sure why what happened on Halloween happened but I do know that Tess and I stood in the grips of a horrible monster and we were being held over a cliff to which we could not see the bottom. Honestly as I sit here trying to share with you the story I can feel the same emotions of that moment.  We would learn later just how desperate and resolved our parents were.

A couple days before Halloween I received a call from my mother, you KNOW how THOSE calls are.

“Hello honey how are you doing?”

“Um, fine mom I saw you and dad yesterday; nothing’s changed.”

“I know, I was just wondering if you will be over to pass candy out to the kids this year on Halloween.” Before I could answer, “You know how much that means to your father, it is you fellas ritual. He has dug up his glow in the dark vampire teeth and black top hat.” Whack – daggers one & two reach their mark.

“Actually mom I was going over to Tess’ this year and we were going to hand out candy at her apartment.”

“Oh, your father will be so disappointed…”

“Mom will you tell him, it will be much easier coming from you. You know how I feel about Tess…”

“Why don’t you two come over and hand out candy over here? Oh, that would be wonderful and your father won’t be disappointed and we can finally meet Tess.”

“Mom you know who Tess is, you go to the grocery store…”

“That is not the same, we can never talk. Why don’t you want us to officially meet her? Are you ashamed…” (No my mom is not a Catholic or Jewish mom. I understand that they are masters of the craft of using guilt to accomplish their wishes.)

“Mom stop you know I am not ashamed of you and dad. Gads – we are just taking things really slow, that’s all.”

“Slow? You guys are together just about every day. It would mean so much to your dad and me, please ask Tess.”

I was completely exasperated and I know that you definitely KNOW the feeling. When did the shoes get put on the other feet? I remember using the tears and eyes and limited vocabulary as a kid to guilt my parents into getting me baseball cards, candy, baseball hat, going to movies without their attendance, money to go to the store with a couple fellow outsiders at school. When exactly did the parents become the bearers of the guilt tool? Come to think of it when did they become the children? Knowing what I know and how this story ended when did it occur that we “protect” our parents from the truth? Watch out for them, making sure they are well, taking them to the doctor, exactly when did the roles get reversed? But I digress…

“Mom I am not going to ask Tess because she has really been looking forward to us doing this together at her place. I don’t want to make things awkward for her.”

Fine son” (the three-letter word that advertises dagger #3 is on its way) “I will tell your father. Don’t worry about us we will handle Halloween alone.” Bullseye.

The pregnant pause but I did not waver. “Thanks mom but I need to go now. Love u and tell dad I love him too.”

“We love you too, son.” Click – no that was not just the phone hanging up, it was also the sound of fourth dagger nailing its mark.

The rest of our evening went well, actually it went terrific. We laughed with each other about stories, coincidences, and the grandpa who came in to order – and I quote, “a cup of coffee”. He got the typical blitz of questions and terms and when the girl was finished he looked at her and said, “Yeah, I want a cup of coffee.” Of course we were not laughing at him, we were laughing at the girl behind the counter who refused to understand and translate what he wanted into her language. She expected him, in his 70s at least to change his expectations and language at that moment. The guy at the cappuccino machine told her to “ring up a short coffee of the day” and he got the coffee and handed it to the gentleman who thanked him, paid him, and sat down next to us picking at the newspaper someone left on the table. He could be anyone’s grandpa or father and we each knew that and I think that is when we each recognized we (her and I) had a connection.

When I had chances I took them – just to look at her. To see – – her.  As we talked and then later I get another chance, unobserved to see her, I began to see the real her. The beauty of her soul or spirit; I always get those two mixed up. I tried very hard to keep my feet out of my mouth or have coffee or anything else from dribbling out of my mouth. (Am I the only guy who worries about such things? Really – I have this whole list of things in my head that I keep check of: hands not too busy, not overly talking with my hands, nose clean, not spraying when talking, zipper zipped, hair without a cow-lick or worse, fingernails clean, where is my book bag, hands clean, focus on her eyes, notice her shoes and clothing, make sure no one is eavesdropping, don’t speak loudly, don’t mumble, don’t use non-words, and so on; but I digress…)

When it was time to call it an evening we got up and headed out. I offered to drive her home and she passed saying she would enjoy the quick walk. I looked at her not sure what to say and when I was about to say goodbye she said, “If you want you could walk me home.” I know for a brief couple seconds I had the deer in the headlight look on my face. I know it as sure as I know my name. “Sure” was all I could eek out of my mouth. I put my book bag in the trunk and made sure it was locked up tight and we proceeded to walk her home. The walk was pretty quick and we really didn’t speak much we just enjoyed the walk together. When we got to her place I stumbled and mumbled trying to say the perfect thing because this is one of “those” moments which is a test. “I had a great time tonight,” I said and shifted my weight to another foot.

“Me too” she said (she passed her test in my eyes).

 “Would you like to get together another time soon for maybe dinner or coffee?”

“Yes to both questions. I work tomorrow till 6 so you could meet me here at 6:30.“  

“Absolutely” I said and felt the need to flee before I made a mistake and ruined the evening.

“Okay, see you tomorrow” and she turned to walk away but then turned again toward me and gave me a peck on the cheek (The flee command was now aborted). I watched her walk up the steps and onto the porch and then we waved after she opened the door.

Settling down in our seats I got the wise idea to keep sipping my coffee thereby she would feel the need to start the conversation. Conniving?  Not at all, actually I surprised I had such a thought in complete clearness and on-time. You know what I mean, AFTER you said something stupid you realize you just said something stupid. Example, “ah, when are you expecting? Is it your first?” These are two questions that a man should NEVER allow to leave his lips. Guilty? My hand is up – been there, done that. I was not trying to be a crushing instrument to one’s self-esteem. (I will never forget the look on her face.)  See, now you know why me getting the “sipping idea” was such a break-through.

Ended up I did not need the sipping idea because we weren’t in our chairs thirty seconds when she looked over at me and said, “I love this song? You?”

I had not noticed it but I did not share that. I took another sip and this time tried to get my ears and mind to focus on the noise, I mean “music”. It sounded like something current. How do I know it was something current? Because I had never heard it before; current music fads were not something of interest to me. What came out of my mouth was, “Honestly, I have not heard it before. Is it new?” That question unleashed five minutes of information about what kind of music made Tess tick. She had to have named close to twenty bands and only one had I heard anything of – the Beatles. “What about you?” she said now putting me in the driver seat or better yet – you know the booth where the person sits waiting for someone to throw the ball and hit the target thereby dropping the chair sitter into the water? Chair sitter – me/ball – my answer.

“I like” (just be honest) “what some people consider classic rock as well as some of the 80s rock.” (Sip your coffee)

“Ok, so you like the Beatles then?” I nodded. “Would you name some of your favorite groups?”

“Um…”

“See, I really enjoy music and I think music can tell you a lot about a person.”

“Um” (Apparently coffee is just coffee; it is music that is not just music. What happened next I can only explain by saying I must really like Tess.) “Um, now I am intimidated,” I said with a bit of a chuckle. She laughed to which I guess that means I should be intimidated because she is analyzing my choices. “How about I show you my Zen and you can see the groups, because under all this pressure I am sure I will forget some groups that may impress you?” I took my Zen out of my pocket and handed it to her. (Gee that almost sounded like something TMI.)

She snatched it playfully (again with the innuendos) and scanned through the groups periodically saying things like “Oooh I love them”, “I have not heard anything by them” or “I have never heard of them”. I decided to play the analyzing game too by following up her audible clues with “what song, group are you referring to?”

Tess had never heard of groups like Thin Lizzy, Roger Waters, Triumph, or Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. CHA! She did exclaim “Freebird!” which made me laugh. I was surprised though because she seemed to have heard of a lot of my favorite groups’ names but just did not know the music. She passed the Zen back to me and said, “Ok my turn” (yet again with innuendos!).

This was horrifying because I was completely clueless. Most of the groups names sounded more like the title of a poem or short story. If it was not for the couple songs by the Beatles on her iPod I would not have known anything she was listening to. The whole time scanning I was “umming” and when I handed it back to her I said “Beatles!” She laughed. What was now going through my head was is there a huge age difference between us? I did not see how that was possible but I could not get my head around the huge disconnect on my part about the music end on my part (or her part – depending how you would look at it).

(You can calm yourself I know the adage that you never ask a woman how old she is.)

“So when did you graduate from high school?” is what I said. I know, I know.

She said, “2001, how about you?”

“1999 but it seems like so much longer. Did you graduate from around here?”

“Yes, Princeton – you?”

“Me too!” Finally I got a question right.

 Let me get to the date. I will skip past the fretting, worry, stress, anxiety, and giddiness. What does that say about me – four negatives to one positive? Truth I guess.

I went to café and did not order anything. I found two squishy chairs where we could sit comfortably and plopped. What does that say about cafés – eighteen hard chairs to four squishy comfortable ones? They want customer turnover.

I sat and tried not to look anxious which always presents a problem. Fidgety and anxious, good companions like peanut butter and jelly and the vanilla filling with the chocolate cookies of an Oreo. What does that say about me – food descriptors? Or better yet, not thinking of the right word I wanted to use right there?

I did not have to wait long (thank God) after five minutes of fidgetiness she arrived. (Can you hear the angelic choir and feel the beam of light upon your face?) Instead of showing my keen awareness to her fashion sense and presence I will summarize it with one word; she looked – adorable. She saw me (waving like an Arnold Horseshack) and smiled and politely waved back. I put my jacket in my seat and my backpack in hers – should I do that the other way around?

“Hi”

“Hi Tess”

“Did you order yet?

“No, I was waiting to place my order when you did. Um,” (brain don’t fail me now) “what are you going to have?” as we walked to the register.

“My favorite, Chai Tea Latte w/skim milk; you?”

“Well,..”

“What can I get for you today?” said a caffeine hyped employee whose face was studded, pierced, tattooed, and dyed.  I made the gentlemanly gesture of lady’s first and Tess told her what she wanted and then they both looked at me. Now this should have been the easiest question for me to answer this evening but my mind began analyzing my selection for faux pas.

Tall dark roast means – what? I like things strong? I think I will impress her with my strong coffee choice? She likes tea maybe I should order something tea? My eyes darting back and forth over the panels looking for tea – heck – even where her drink was listed. No, that will be like I am trying to imitate her so I should order the dark roast, but that is simple and she will think I am simple…

“Hey!” said another employee who is usually here when I order. “You in for your usual?” Sigh, “Yes” I said with relief, God had thrown me a life-line. The employee at the register looked at what he picked up and where he went and then rang in the tall dark roast. “That will be $4.50” I fumbled around inside my wallet trying to get my debit card.

“Here it is” I said as I handed it to the cashier; Tess had walked down to the end waiting for her drink. With the financial part of the transaction over I looked again at Tess and this time when I saw her my heart skipped a beat. She was standing watching the guy fix her drink and they were chatting, she of course had a smile on her face and once again Heaven’s light highlighted her presence for all to notice (or maybe just me). I was past anxious and past nervous, I was now in the panic zone. Just when I thought to myself what am I gonna do – she looked over at me and smiled and waved me over to her. I melted but at least I poured down the floor in her direction.

I laid in bed, my mind spinning, my eyes closed, and the world going on as it does not concerned in the least with me, my family, or peers. In my mind’s eye I kept seeing Tess which was not helping me go to sleep. My body as a whole was letting me know it needed to recharge if I expected to make it through tomorrow. [My ears/mind rings at night. No, actually it rings all the time but I am more aware of it at night when I lie down in bed for sleep. I think that is part of the reason why I sleep with a fan in the doorway. I am allowing the fans hum to drown out my ears ringing. But I digress…]

My mind decided this was the perfect time to replay each item of interest from the day. If it would do that while I slept at least I would get the sleep but my mind’s timing didn’t care.

“Well idiot how much coffee did you consume today?”

“More than usual.”

“That is an understatement. Let’s see if we can count the cups…”

“No, no, that is not necessary…”

“2 pots worth at IHOP…”

“Shut up! I need to sleep…”

“I am only processing because of the level of caffeine intake today – that is not my fault…”

“Ok, ok, I am sorry…”

“You should be – then you still had to stop for a venti size bold coffee at …”

“For the love of God please stop – I need sleep….”

“9:09 you filled up your mug at the break station…”

“I am not listening anymore, I need to sleep. Goodnight.”

“11:42 mug refill after your lunch…”

“What can I do? Peaceful thoughts, yeah, babbling brook…”

“I gotta go to the bathroom”

“Oh for…”

“Again, not my mind fault, how much did you drink today?”

So I got up, went to the bathroom and bypassed the bedroom and all of its noise and sat in the living room and turned on the television. I looked at the onscreen guide and found a NCIS repeat and turned it on. Now I had some friends in the room to outnumber my mind. (Why does boss always give Abbey a kiss on the cheek? Sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen or at least some probie will come in and now knowing how the team works report it to HR. You and I know you do not want to be involved with HR. But I digress…)

I watched and quietly sneaked off to sleep.

Sitting at a cast iron patio table, I placed my ice water on the napkin and lifted my bag up to lay it on the table as well. In front of me was a small pink envelope with my name neatly written on it.  I picked it up and for the first time noticed that the contents were, well, firm. It didn’t want to bend but it was still very light. I summoned up the courage to open the envelope and while looking around to see if anyone was watching me I placed my fingers on the contents to slip them out.

Sitting at a place like a coffee shop or for the swanky – café – one can enjoy some interesting people watching. I must confess this is something I enjoy. Next to me was what appeared to be a mother and her adult daughter, very little of a generation gap seemed to exist among them. Both wearing jeans and patterned blouse, each with their cell phones sitting on the table in front of them. Both talking – not the typical parent-child dialogue, but [yes I eavesdrop too] about why each of them enjoyed the movie Ironman with Robert Downey Jr.  But I digress…

Looking at the contents I saw a Starbucks card and a post it note. The card was for a complimentary tall brewed coffee and across the post-it note were the words:

Wed 6 p.m.?

-Tess

I gulped, sweated, rubbed my eyes, looked around [for the camera], and nervously looked at the note again. Sigh, it was not an illusion. Okay, thinking, actually trying to think while screaming inside my head “Yeah!”; which of course makes it hard to think. Alright, think, yes – today is Tuesday. Oh my! So we meet tomorrow! I shifted in my seat again looking for the camera and now the TV show host to be approaching me – laughing. Nothing. Okay, okay, how do I say yes to her? Is it okay now to look her on Peoplefinder and show up at her door? Nah, maybe just being here tomorrow is supposed to be how I answer. That makes sense but I have to be sure. Epiphany! I got up quickly, jumped in my car and headed to the grocery store. I was fortunate to not get pulled over because I would have been a nervous babbling goof. I took a sheet of paper from pad in my pocket and wrote:

Yes Tess!

Not having envelopes I ran into the store and purchased a package of the small thank you cards and ran to the register. It was Lois and there was a couple people in front of me. She looked up, saw me, and smiled. I beamed back to her. I made use of the time in line, opening the package taking an envelope from the package, I wrote her name across the front and placed my note in side. Sealed it and was greeted by the words, “That was quick,” she smiled, “forget something?” I processed what she said and simply beamed back to her. She took my cash and I said, “Lois, would you?” Lois interrupted me with “Sure hon, I’ll make sure she gets it tomorrow morning or if she stops in tonight.” “Thanks” plus more beaming and I hurriedly fled the store.