Red Light, Green Light

There wasn’t much traffic on the streets. A few people making their last run to the grocery store for whatever supplies they could still find on the shelves. Otherwise, it seemed most of the town was settling in & shutting down for the next few days. It seemed foolish to be sitting at an empty intersection waiting for the light to turn green, but there they were.

Leah was not one to take chances, even when it was extremely unlikely that an officer was lying in wait just hoping to give out one more ticket. Neither was there much chance that another vehicle would come barreling through the intersection. The roads were empty as far as the eye could see. But Leah was proud of her driving record & she wasn’t about to risk developing bad habits just because no one else was around.

Perry didn’t mind. He was with her.

She had offered to drive the two of them to the restaurant. Perry wasn’t completely sure what the dictates of modern chivalry or proper first date etiquette were, but he was fairly certain they didn’t include him taking charge of everything. So, he had accepted.

Being alone with her in the car did present some problems, however. Afterall, what does one say going out on a first date in the shadow of a monstrous storm after what had just happened in the office? He wanted to understand but didn’t want to pry. So, instead he gave directions she didn’t need & made stupid jokes like, “I think I see a parking space over there.” Duh.

Leah was having trouble, too. She felt she needed to explain herself but that she couldn’t do it in the car, at least not while driving. It would have to wait until the restaurant, no matter how embarrassed she felt right now. So, she accepted his navigating & winced with his attempts at humor.

Great start to a first date, right? But it was better than what was about to come, of that she was certain.

There was only one other car out front. She left a space between them as she parked. They both got out of the vehicle at the same time, though he did rush to open the restaurant’s door for her. She could tell he was nervous, even with as upset as she was. She thought, “This is going to be fun,” & almost started to cry again.

She also sensed that he wanted to hold her chair for her, but their host beat him to it. The waiter poured water as they perused the menu. He asked if he could bring them further libation & Perry asked what he would recommend.

“That depends upon what you’re planning to eat,” he answered, at which point he dropped all pretense at formality. He took hold of one side of Perry’s menu &, looking over his shoulder, began describing all the epicurean delights that awaited, if only they dared to ask. Leah & Perry looked at each other & began to laugh. The waiter continued performing his one-man-show for them until they finally settled upon what they wanted, then he rushed off to place their order & grab the appropriate wine.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Leah was already feeling better & Perry’s nervousness seemed to have dissipated. She wiped her hands on her jeans for no apparent reason as Perry leaned forward placing his elbows on the table & resting his chin on his folded hands.

“So,” Perry began just as Leah looked up & started to say, “I…,” which caused them to start laughing again.

“Please, what were you going to say?” he finally asked, not quite finished with his mirth over their verbal collision.

She took a moment to compose herself, then began, “I need to explain to you what happened back there at the office. In the other room…, what Corbin had said to me was…, well…, he asked me out for coffee.”

“Right after I had asked you out here?” Perry responded slowly, as though trying to understand the sequence of events & how they had transpired.

“Exactly, not even ten minutes later. After four & a half years working with him & six months with you…, what can I say? Two great guys who have never even hinted that they ever once thought about me outside of the office ask me out on the same day, right before we’re supposed to get this terrible blizzard, not even ten minutes apart from one another. The sheer absurdity of it all made me start laughing!”

“And…?”

“And I could see, the moment I started, that he thought I was laughing at him. But I wasn’t. It was just the situation!”

“So, what did you do?”

“I tried to stop, but I couldn’t, even as I felt I was going to cry. So, I turned, covered my mouth & ran out the door. Oh Perry, it was awful! I feel just terrible & don’t know what to do.” Tears began rolling down her cheeks again.

Perry had to look away. If he watched her cry, he knew that he would fall apart. He tried to resurrect in his mind’s eye what he had seen through the door.

“I guess that would explain how he looked when I saw him behind you.”

“How did he look?” she asked.

“Awful. Just awful.”

They sat there for a while, Perry staring down at the table in front of him, Leah looking to him for any sign of what to do. The waiter had noticed they were in the middle of some drama & so had waited for an appropriate moment to bring the wine. This was that moment. He abandoned his schtick, poured a taste for each of them to ensure it was what they wanted, then filled their glasses a little more generously than he probably should have, thinking, “Perhaps it will help take the edge off & ease the tension.”

Leah took a sip, then, keeping her eyes on the wine, asked, “So what do you think I should do?”

“We need to call him, make sure he’s okay.”

“Do you have his number?”

“He was the first friend I made in this town, he’s my best friend. He’s on speed dial.”

Perry hit Corbin’s number & listened to it ring. It went to voicemail. “He’s not answering. But don’t worry. He’s probably just indisposed. We’ll call again in a few minutes.”

“You’ll let me talk to him when he answers, won’t you? I have to talk to him, tell him how sorry I am.”

“Of course. Absolutely.”

They tried again before their food came. Voicemail. Every five minutes as they ate, they dialed. Each time it went to voicemail.

When they were finished, the waiter brought out a pair of doggie bags filled with a variety of desserts. “Otherwise, they’ll go to waste,” he told them.

Perry reached for his wallet, but the waiter waved him off. “It’s on the house. Be careful driving home. The drizzle has already started. Be safe.”

“Won’t you get in trouble with the manager?” Perry asked.

“I own the place,” he replied. “Already sent everyone else home. But you’d better go. I’ve gotta check on the family upstairs.”

Perry said, “Thanks. The food was wonderful & the service impeccable.” Before they left, he slipped two twenties from his wallet & slid them under his plate. He had no idea that Leah had done the same thing just moments before.

Walking out the door they were surprised by how quickly the temperature had dropped. The sidewalks were already slick. As she opened her car door, she looked over at him & asked, “Where do you live?”

“It’s just a few miles out of town, no big deal. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“I’m not offering to drive you there, if that’s what you think,” Leah replied, rolling her eyes. “But I’m worried about what happens if I take you back to your car & the storm gets worse. I’m not driving back there. I’ve got a spare room. You’re coming with me.”

“Be careful what you ask for,” Perry thought to himself, “‘cause you just might get it. But it’s not gonna be like in your dreams. This could be a long next few days.”

~~~~~~~~~~

He tried Corbin’s number again in the car, but no luck.

By the time they got to the house, the slush was building up. The drizzle had turned to rain had turned to sleet had turned to snow. He almost fell trying to help her get to the door. She laughed, unlocked the door & they both went inside where she showed him his room, the bathroom & the living room with the tv.

She hadn’t thought about his having no change of clothes or toiletries along. It wasn’t like he was going to fit in a pair of her jeans, either, though she did have an extra toothbrush he could borrow. No way she was going to let him use her razor, though she could probably blackmail him if she could get a picture of him using pink. She guessed he was going to have to prove to her what kind of hair he could grow over the next few days.

After the tour, rules & negotiations, they went to the living room, tried the tv, decided the poor reception wasn’t worth it, & he sat down in a chair while she settled in on the couch. He decided it was time to ask the question that had been on his mind since the moment he’d learned about Corbin asking her out.

“So how long have you & Corbin known each other?” He’d forgotten about her reference to the four & a half years. He’d have been wrong if he’d assumed it anyway.

“Longer than he’s aware,” she replied. “He thinks we first met when he came to work in our office. He doesn’t remember that we also went to school together. I was a year ahead of him, a speech major working in the theater department. I met him on his first day, something he might’ve remembered if she hadn’t wandered into his path.”

“This I gotta hear. Tell me more.”

“We’d set up our table for freshman orientation, hoping to catch some students who might be interested in a little stagecraft. He wasn’t the first to stop by, but for me he certainly was the most memorable. He had a casual kind of charm, told corny jokes (let’s face it, he never met a pun he didn’t love), & before I knew it, I found myself dreaming about what kind of babies we might make together.”

“So, what happened?”

“She happened, walked right up behind him, got him stuttering, took the pencil from his hand, signed up, chatted with us for a few minutes while he stood there with his tongue hanging out, then turned to him & finished him off. The moment she got her claws into him, he never saw anyone else. I remember him picking a pear from the tree under which we were sitting & giving it to her. Anyway, he never saw me again for the rest of our three years together, even though we worked on several of the same shows.”

“What happened with her?”

“If I recall correctly, they moved in together. But by the time he walked into our office, she was out of the picture. I never learned what became of her.”

She leaned forward far enough to touch him on the knee. “I don’t want to make you feel bad, talking about him like this. You’re a great guy. It’s just, I’ve had a crush on him for the past twelve years.”

“Damn the luck,” he thought to himself. “And he just happened to notice her today.”