Sometime Soon (27 page)

“Did he take the T there?”

“I don’t know,” she laughs.
“Probably.”

“Any luck with the wedding
invitations?”

“Well, we know what we
don’t
want, but apparently we have to visit at least ten more places to find what we
do
want. Do you want to come? We’re going to a few this weekend.”

“I’d love to, but I think I have to
wash my hair.”

“Very funny. You know you can’t
avoid dress shopping for much longer. I was thinking that you’d look good in
puce. All the other bridesmaids like it, too.

“Puce. Isn’t that red?”

“Yeah, a dark red.”

“Why can’t they just call it dark
red.”

“Because they call it puce.”

“Whatever,” I sigh.

“Well, when the invitations are
settled, the dresses are next. So be prepared. I know you’d love to chat for
hours and hours, but I’ve got to run.”

As I replace the receiver, I hear a
loud snorting sound coming from Nate’s cubicle. I turn to see his head down on
the desk, his mouth hanging open, and the noise which I now know to be snoring,
sounds again. I really wish I had someone with which to share this Kodak
moment, but I don’t want to get Nate in trouble. Instead, I take a picture with
my cell phone to lord over him later, before I heartlessly shake him back into
consciousness.

I leave the office early and pick
up a salad for dinner on the way home. It’s time to start eating a bit
healthier, especially if I have to go dress shopping soon. Tiger attacks the
brown paper takeout bag when I drop it onto the kitchen table. All kinds of
interesting smells are emanating from it. But when I withdraw the container and
opened the lid, Tiger takes one more sniff and jumps off the table. A salad is
hardly the chicken or tuna meal he was hoping for. It isn’t all that appealing
to me either.

I make quick work of the salad, and
I’m just cleaning up when my phone rings. I’m hoping it’s Katie finally, but it
isn’t. It’s David Rose.

“I’ve got a surprise,” he tells me
after I say hello.

“Oh? What is it?”

“Do you like live music?” he asks,
sounding excited.

“Sure.”

“Well, I got tickets to see Steely
Dan at The Pavilion on Friday night. How does that sound?”

Steely Dan? I’m not a fan. Which is
not surprising since their average fans are probably somewhere in their forties
and fifties. “That sounds nice,” I reply, trying to inject some enthusiasm into
my voice. Shouldn’t he have checked with me first? Although, I suppose he could
ask someone else if I wasn’t interested. And I have to give him high marks for
effort when it comes to date planning.

“Do you like them?” he asks,
seeming to sense something.

“Umm, I don’t really know their
music that well. But it’s always fun to see a concert, especially outside at
The Pavilion.” The Pavilion is a huge outdoor tent set up in downtown Boston
right on the waterfront.

“I know. I think it will be really
fun.”

“Definitely,” I agree. I really
don’t believe I have any romantic interest in David, but I don’t have the heart
to say so. He’s so eager and enthusiastic.

“What happened to your closing?” I
ask

“That’s still happening, but the
concert doesn’t start until nine, so I’ll be able to make it. We should
probably meet around eight-thirty or so.”

“Meet?” I ask.

“Yeah. We could meet right outside
the entrance. Do you know where it is?”

“Yes,” I answer hesitantly, unable
to staunch my exasperation. The fact is, if he was going to drive there, he’d
have to go right by my house. Actually, if I took the train, we’d be riding the
same rail line there. Of course, I wouldn’t take the T because I don’t want to
come home late at night by myself on the train. Since there’s no parking at my
local stop, that also means walking home from the station. I could drive to
another stop that has parking, I suppose, but why can’t he just drive in? It
couldn’t be easier to do. The Pavilion has a huge free parking lot for concert
goers. I’m debating whether or not to say anything when he continues with his
plans.

“And afterwards we could go to this
bakery I heard about and get some dessert.”

“David,” I begin, “how about
driving in?”

“What?” he asks.

“Well, I live right on your way to
The Pavilion, and they have plenty of free parking there. So, why don’t we just
drive?”

“Oh,” he says, sounding surprised.
“Isn’t the train easier?”

“No. Not for me.”

“Oh,” he repeats. I can tell that
I’ve thrown him with this driving concept. “Well, you could go ahead and drive
in,” he suggests.

I roll my eyes, watching as Tiger
jumps into the kitchen sink, bends his head down below the kitchen faucet and
begins to lap at the drips. “Actually, I can’t get into that lot without a
concert ticket to show them.”

“Well, maybe I could get the ticket
to you before Friday.”
I sigh, losing patience. “Wouldn’t it just be easier for you to drive? I know
the way. I can direct you.” I suppose I could offer to pick him up and drive,
but it’s out of my way to do that, and I don’t really want to offer to drive.

“Well, why can’t you take the
train?” he asks.

Now I’m getting angry. “Because
there is no parking at the station near me and I would either have to drive to
another station hoping to find a spot or walk home alone from the station
nearby.”

“Well, how far is it from your
station? Could you take a cab?”

I sigh and roll my eyes at no one
again.

I hear him breathe into the phone.
I listen, saying nothing; not sure what to say at this point. Finally, he
speaks again. “Look, if I put the ticket in the mail today, you should get it
by Friday.”

I don’t know why I can’t just let
this go. “David, you do have a car, right?”

“Right,” he answers hesitantly.

“How are you ever going to learn
your way around the city if you never drive it? I promise you, it’s a very
quick and easy ride from my house. Boston roads can be scary. I completely
understand your reluctance. But how about giving it try?”

“I’m not scared to drive,” he
stutters.

Oops. “I’m not saying you’re
scared.”

“That’s what you implied.”

“Um, well, I’m sorry if I implied
that.” I’m backpedaling now.
“You didn’t mind driving yourself into Boston the last time we went out.”

“Well, actually, it did occur to me
that it would have been nice to have been picked up at my house. When someone
asks me out, picking me up and driving me there is usually part of it.”

He makes some noise into the phone
that could be laughing but comes out more like a harsh bark. “That’s why you’re
still single,” he says. “When I first saw you, I wondered why you didn’t have a
husband or a boyfriend, but now it’s pretty clear.”

“What?” I sputter.

“Well, you own your own home and
you have as good a job as I do, and yet you want to be completely catered to
and waited on. Well, you can’t have it both ways.”

“Huh?” I mumble. I can’t form a
coherent response. I’m completely taken aback. My total appall is rendering me
speechless.

It’s silent from his end now, too.
But he’s still there. I can hear him breathing. I’m just about to hang up when
he finally breaks the strained silence. “Look,” he begins, his voice calmer
now. “Let’s just meet there, okay?”

Now I’m the one barking out a
laugh. “No,” I say. “I don’t think so.” Then I hang up the phone and throw it
onto the couch--feeling the need to get that conversation as far away from me
as possible.

I don’t know how long I stand there
staring at my phone lying sideways on the cushion. Will he call back? Surely
not. My throat starts to feel tight and the tears begin to brim, blurring my
vision. No one has ever said anything like to me before. The men I’m meeting
are just getting worse and worse. This was the worst one yet. I’m never dating
again. This is just too much.

Feeling violated somehow, I wipe
away my tears and finish cleaning the kitchen. Then I change out of my work
clothes and into sweats and a T-shirt. Next I search the kitchen for sweets,
finding none, finding nearly nothing in fact, I settle on the couch with Tiger
and my phone, trying to calm myself a bit more before calling Laura. When I
open the phone and see David’s number listed under recent calls, I start
deleting all evidence of him in my phone. I wanted to rid myself of him
completely.

When my phone rings in my hand, I
startle, causing Tiger to leap off my lap and the phone to fall from my hand.
What if it’s David again? I pick it up and cautiously peer at the caller ID. To
my relief it’s Katie.

“Hey,” I say, looking forward to
hearing a friendly voice.

“Is this Andy?” an unfamiliar
woman’s voice asks.

“Yes.”

“This is Katie’s mother. I wanted
to let you know that Katie got your messages, but she isn’t really up to
talking right now.”

I sit up straighter. “Why? What’s
going on? Is the baby okay?”

“Everything is fine with the baby.”
“Thank goodness,” I sigh with relief.

“Wait a minute Andy, Katie is here
now. She says she’ll talk to you. Hold on one minute.”

I wait, wondering what’s happened.

“Andy?” Katie’s voice comes on the
line.

“Hi. What’s going on?”

She clears her throat and coughs.
“It’s Mike.”

“What about him?”

“I found out that he’s seeing
someone else.”

“Someone else?” Not Bryn, I think.
It can’t be.

“He told me so himself after his new
girlfriend answered his phone. They’re living together.”

“New girlfriend?”

She sniffles.

“Who is she?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” She sniffles again
and then she blows her nose. “He must have been with her when he was with me.
You don’t just move in with someone else so quickly. And it’s not Bryn. I know
that much.”

I can’t believe it. Mike has been
juggling three women at one time, if you count Bryn. This is Katie’s worst case
scenario. Her husband’s cheating is what broke up her marriage. “I’m so sorry,”
I say lamely.

“I’m really going to be alone,” she
whispers. “I’m going to be a single parent. I can’t believe it.”

I can hear the complete terror in
her voice. I want to say something comforting. “It seems like your folks are
being supportive.” I offer.
“They are. They’re being great. Of course, my dad wants to hunt Mike down and
kill him.”

“There’s no question of him paying
you some kind of support, is there?”

“Oh god. I haven’t even thought
about that.” She starts crying in earnest now. Her mother comes back on the
line. “We’re going to hang up now, Andy. Katie appreciates your calling.”

“Please tell her that I’m here if
she needs anything.”

“Thank you. I will.”

I sit in my living room and watch
out my window as the sun sets. Sensing my mood, Tiger curls up on the couch
beside me, keeping me silent company.

I finally call Laura just after
nine, hoping that any wedding invitation shopping is finished for the night.

“We didn’t go tonight,” Laura tells
me after answering. “But we’ve got appointments every other night this week.
Hey, did David call you yet?”

With that, I relate to her the
fateful conversation with David, surprised to find myself getting choked up
again at the retelling.

“I can’t believe he said that,” she
repeats for about the fourth time, referring to the ‘wanting to have it both
ways’ and ‘now I know why you’re still single’ comments.

“Do you think I made too much of
the driving?” I ask her, second guessing everything I said to David.

“No,” she says firmly. “Even if you
had, he had no business saying those things to you. He was way out of line. I’m
so sorry, Andy. This is all my fault. I had no idea that such a jerk was hiding
inside such a seemingly polite and normal guy. Next time I’ll do better.”

“You think there’s going to be a
next time?” I ask incredulously.

“Hey, don’t judge my matchmaking
skills by one loser.”

“He’s the only person you’ve ever
matched me up with. Besides, I’m done dating. I’ve had enough.”

“Don’t start that again,” Laura
warns.

“Hey, if I needed more evidence to
show me that it just isn’t worth it, Katie called in tears tonight.”

“Why?”

“She found out that Mike is living
with his new girlfriend.”

“What?” Laura exclaims. “You mean
Bryn?”

“Not Bryn. Someone else. Katie
thinks that he must have been seeing this woman for a while.”

“Wow. That’s awful. This can’t be a
complete surprise to Katie though.”

“I’m pretty sure it was,” I say. “I
know you think that somehow Katie is unconsciously seeking out jerks because of
some insecurities of her own. But those jerks should not be so easy to find!”

To my surprise, Laura starts to
laugh.

“I’m serious.”

“I know. I know,” she replies, a
smile in her voice. “But you can’t be so pessimistic because of what Mike did
to Katie. He is not someone you would have ever given the time of day to. And
David is my fault. So, you can count him out, too. There are good ones out
there. I found Jonathan.”

“Hmm,” I grumble, noncommittally.

“I am really sorry for Katie."

“She’ll be fine. She’s probably
better off without him.”

“I can’t argue with that.”  

“Anyway,” I yawn loudly, not
bothering to cover the phone. “It’s been a long day. I’m going to bed.”

“Don’t worry, Andy. Your time is
coming.”

“Goodnight Laura.”

I wake up the next morning
wondering if I’d imagined those phone calls from last night, but knowing I
haven’t. It feels good to go through my morning routine, stopping for my large
coffee on the way to work, and even seeing Joan’s placid face as I walk past
and she calls out “early today” which I am. I haven’t slept very well;
therefore I’ve gotten an early start this morning, eager to get out of the
house.