Joe took her hand and squeezed it. “Well, then. It’s time you did go out, don’t you think? A girl as pretty as you shouldn’t be shut up in a house all day and night.” He bounced her hand up and down a few times to get her attention.
She looked into his eyes and saw only sincerity.
“Let me take you out and show you a good time. I promise, you won’t regret it.”
“You sure about that?” she said, smiling tremulously, trying not to hate herself for it.
“Absolutely,” he said, squeezing her hand one more time before letting it go and starting the car. “First stop, a surprise. And then out to dinner. After, you can choose what we do - a movie or whatever you want.”
“Okay. I can handle that.” I think. She was hoping it was the truth; it felt like it was. Now she just needed her badly bruised and battered ego to go along with the plan.
“What’s the surprise?” she asked.
“Now if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore, would it?” He smiled, as he looked out the windshield, negotiating the small streets that led out of the neighborhood and into the city.
Aimee stared at him in profile, taking in the view of his strong jaw and full lips. She wondered how a guy this gorgeous and who seemed this nice could possibly be single at their age. He probably had a checkered past. Maybe he has an ex-wife. Or two. Or three!
“What is your little mind concocting over there?” he asked, good naturedly.
“Nothing. Much.”
“I’m serious, you can call my mother. Here … I’ll dial it for you.” He picked up his phone and started pressing buttons.
Aimee grabbed it away from him. “Joe! No! Don’t call your mother! Are you crazy?” She looked down at it, trying to figure out how to shut it off. Then she heard a voice coming from it … an older lady’s voice.
“Hello? Joe? Is that you?”
A huge grin split his face. “Hi, Ma!” he said loudly.
Aimee was frantically pressing buttons, whispering, “Oh my god, I can’t believe you actually called your mother. How do I shut this thing off?”
The voice came out over the speakerphone next. “Why are you pressing all those …,” BEEP! BEEP! “… buttons? Stop that, you’re giving me a headache.”
Aimee’s fingers froze, the phone hanging in her hand, held out at arm’s length in between her and Joe.
“Yeah, sorry about that. Listen, Mom … I need you to do me a favor and vouch for me.”
“For what? Are you in trouble again? I told Mrs. Malkovitch twenty-five years ago, and every year since then - it wasn’t you who colored her poodle’s hair pink with Kool-aid. She’s not going to let it go, Joe, no matter how many times I vouch for you. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to do.”
“Yeah, I know. It was Lolo Pancetti. That’s not what I’m talking about. I have a girl here with me, and she’s a little nervous about going out on a date with me, so I thought maybe you could tell her I’m a good guy.”
“Lolo? I should’ve known. That kid was always doing stuff like that and blaming you. Wait a minute … you’ve got a girl with you right now?” Her voice perked up. “Who is she? Put her on.”
Aimee’s eyes felt like they were going to fall out of her head, they were bugging so bad. She shook her head as fast as she could, whispering, “No, no, no, no …,” but Joe wasn’t listening.
“She’s on right now. You’re on speaker. Her name’s Aimee.”
“Aimee? Hello, hon. This is Estelle. I’m Joseph’s mother. I can vouch for him. He’s a nice boy. I raised him to be a gentleman. If he doesn’t hold your doors open for you, you call me back, okay, sweetie? … Can she hear me? Can you hear me, Aimee? Hello?!”
Aimee couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, Mrs. … Joe’s mom.” Joe’s last name had escaped her, making her feel like a complete nincompoop in front of his mother, of all people. “Joe opened my doors for me already. He seems … nice.” She mouthed the words, ‘I’m going to kill you’ at Joe who just shrugged, as if it wasn’t his fault. Aimee could see a devilish grin just below the surface of his calm demeanor. She was willing to bet it wasn’t Lolo whatever-his-name-is who had turned that poodle pink.
“One thing about my Joey, though, you gotta watch for this, is that he is very picky about his work. Everything is just so, with Joseph … always has been. He won’t cut corners, and he doesn’t let anyone get away with any shenanigans. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing, but don’t ask him to fix any speeding tickets for you, because he just won’t do it. Not even for his own mother.”