I had gotten off work and realized that I really didn't have anything at home to make for dinner. Not being in the mood for anything fastfood-related, I decided to swing by the Chilis/Applebees/TGIF place that was on my way. It would be pretty quick and I could use a beer or two after the day I had.
I walked right by the hostess and sat down at the bar. Even before I picked up the menu, I saw a very familiar looking woman a half dozen stools away. She looked backed at me and smiled so she must have known who I was. I nodded and scanned the menu as I tried to figure out where I knew her from.
Ah-ha, Jeff's party last summer. Kevin's date, Sheila or Sheena, maybe Sharon. Real meek and shy girl, as I remembered. Anyway, I had seen Kevin the previous week and he mentioned that he was getting ready for a business trip to Orlando. He was a nice enough guy too, but for some reason I just didn't like him, hard to put my finger on why.
I took a second and got into The Mode, then I slid down a few stools closer.
"Sheena, right?"
"Sheila actually, but very close ****. I didn't think you would remember me".
We ordered and started talking back and forth. She worked in a daycare, she was supposed to meet a girlfriend there but she had just called to say she wasn't going to make it..... and she was still dating Kevin.
"You are? Huh. That's weird."
"Why is that weird?" she asked.
"Oh, I don't know. It's just that I was talking to him last week and for some reason I got the impression that he was going down to Florida this week to meet up with a girl he dated in college".
Her jaw dropped open just for a second until she was able to compose herself.
"Uh, no. He is in Orlando this week, but it's for work. He said he's meeting some new client down there".
"Geez, I don't know how I got so mixed up. I must have got him confused with someone else".
With the seed of doubt planted, I went to work on her.
I asked how they were getting along, what they did over the holidays, was he calling her while he was out of town, etc etc. After five minutes, she ordered a shot. After ten minutes she started talking about how she didn't trust him and how he doesn't treat her as well as he should.
Another shot. Then another. Then another.
Now that she really wasn't in any condition to drive, I offered to take her home.
"But what about my car? I can't just leave it here" she said.
"No no. Don't worry about it. I'll swing by and pick you up in the morning on the way to work and you can get it then".
I took her home and walked her inside to make sure she got there ok.
"Thank you so much for taking care of me tonight. You're a great friend" she said as she gave me a friendly hug. Without letting go of each other, we backed off a bit. She leaned back in and we kissed.
I left a couple hours later. After I went into work the next morning, I realized that I had completely forgotten about her and her car. Oopsy. I heard later that she and Kevin broke up but I never heard why. She tried to call me a few times after that but thanks to caller ID, I haven't talked to her since.
