Well - Part XV

“Hi Jim… are you back in town for awhile?”

“No… I’m just visiting…” Again, I probably should have rehearsed or at least thought through some of what I wanted to say. “So, how was your week…?”

“Quiet…pretty much same old same old… You?” She asked.

“The same. Hey I just wanted to thank you for last Saturday. I had a really good time…”

“Oh yes, me too. Umm I don’t want you to think that I do that a lot…”

“Me neither… Actually that was pretty much the only time that anything like that happened for me…” This isn’t even sounding convincing to me… I loathe myself at this point.

“Well, I’ve gotta be getting back to work here… See you around…”

Her comment and posture as she spun on her heels had the semblance of finality.

“Yes… Have a good night, I’m going to be moving along…”

“See ya…”

With my conscience somewhat cleared, I drove out of the parking lot and headed south to White Plains. I checked into a relatively cheap hotel and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

In the morning, I took a walk around the area of my hotel looking for a suitable place for breakfast and perhaps a scan of the Sunday Times. One of my favorite pastimes is to have a leisurely breakfast over the Sunday paper.

I hadn’t really finalized a plan for the evening with Cheryl after the meeting at the steakhouse that was pre-arranged and agreed to. As I went through the paper, I checked out the listings for the local clubs and the movie listings. I decided if the subject came up, I could suggest one of the offerings at the local Cineplex.

I decided to save money and wound up having breakfast at a fast food place about two blocks from the hotel. When I got back to the hotel, I ironed a fresh shirt and showered.
I called Cheryl just to confirm that we were still on and then checked out of the hotel prepared for my date with my first love.

I was still somewhat in awe that we had reconnected after all these years and was very hopeful that this might actually lead to a longer term relationship. I had to at least give this a whirl otherwise I’d always wonder “What if?”