With a crafty smile, Cory announced, “Look Meg, it appears your door prize is here.”
My attention now on Cory, I asked, “Door prize... what... you got me a date?”
She shrugged innocently. “You and Brian split. Consider this your parting gift.”
Charlotte interrupted, “Meg, remember last week when we watched that old college movie?” She continued without my answer. “Do you remember your answer to ‘I want’? Well, here’s your chance to be totally outrageous.” She nudged my arm. “Shaming your family is completely optional.”
Cory said, “I tried to find a man who was more ‘able’ than anyone you’ve ever known and this is the one I came up with.” Eyeing him up, she added, “I think you’ll be pleased.”
As he approached, I recognized him as the waiter from Sal Latinos. I’m not sure, but I think my mouth hung open for several seconds, before I blurted, “Its Popeye!”
Cory spoke with confidence. “Desirable, excitable, wantable, and of course, the obvious ‘able’ I mentioned at the café—like, the perfect man to rebound with.”
“Oh my God you guys. I was tongue-tied when I saw him at the café, how the hell am I supposed to talk to...” I instinctively covered my face with my hands. “Christ, he’s coming this way.”
I wanted to dive under a table or drown in my screwdriver, but instead, I downed it and motioned to our waiter for another.
Charlotte laughed, “Take it easy, Meg. We’re only teasing you. He isn’t here as your escort...” she hesitated, “...exactly.”
Cory gave Charlotte a fixed stare, and quickly said, “He’s like, a supervisor... yeah, that’s right, he supervises the waiters... he works at the same agency.”
I knew a line when I heard one, but before I could question her, Gram tapped my shoulder.
“Who’s that strapping young fellow?” I shrugged, as she continued, “Whoever he is, I wouldn’t mind seeing him in one of those little, neon crotch panties... whew.”
Gram had a strong grip on my shoulder in an attempt to steady herself, as the good-looking waiter from the cafe stopped in front of our table. I felt the color drain from my face when he took one of my sweaty hands in his and leaned over the table, kissing my right cheek.
His scent was intoxicating and before he backed away, he whispered, “I hope you’ll save a dance for me”, which caused my breath to catch in my throat. As he turned to leave, he offered the sexiest smile I had ever seen, which I returned with a thunderstruck stare. Once again, this gorgeous specimen of a man attempted to connect with me and I fell apart.
I wasn’t able to speak until he had disappeared into the blanket of women, and when I did, all I could say was, “What is it about that guy. Every time he’s around I make a fool of myself.”
Charlotte joked, “You are consistent, I’ll give you that.”
“Seriously, a dozen handsome men in G-strings kissed me and... nothing. All this guy has to do is smile and I turn to pudding.”
“Don’t ignore the signs, child. They’re there for a reason.” Gram spoke quite seriously considering the amount of vodka she had surely consumed by this time of day.
The untamed part of me that had been lacking in the areas of love and lovemaking wanted to tackle the hard-bodied waiter and let nature run its course, but sadly, the conservative part of me that boasted prudence and practicality would win.
Cory set her drink on the table in front of me, and teased, “Here you go, drink up. After a few more of these, we’ll have to peel you off him like skin off a banana.”
I lowered my head in an attempt to conceal the blush my smile couldn’t hide. When I glanced up, I spotted a waiter headed in our direction, carrying a large tray covered with dinner plates.
Thankful for the distraction, I finished Cory’s drink and said, “Great—dinner. I’m starved.”
While we ate, we talked about how clever the party idea was and caught up with some of the girls from college. Holly now had four children and a husband she couldn’t give away, while Heather Greene had three ex-husbands and continued to enjoy ‘paid relations’ with each of them. Dawn had promised Cory she would attend but had not shown up and petite Fran was now anything but petite.
Slowly and with the help of several drinks, I eased into the comfortable, good-humored mood the girls had promised would come. I can’t say I actually saw the waiter from Sal’s staring at me, but somehow, I could feel his eyes resting on me as heavily as the alcohol on my senses. Each time I looked in his direction I caught his eyes darting away from me, or was I just imagining that? Either way, against my wishes, my attention belonged to him.