The Second Time Around

It had been such a dreary week.

Gail was not in the mood to walk to work because of the possibility of rainy weather.

She chose to drive the short distance to the building. 

As she entered the garage and found a parking place, thoughts of her sister and the marital issues she was experiencing raced through her head.

Bang!

The forward movement of her body toward the driving wheel jolted her out of her trance and brought her back to the present moment.

It was fortunate that it was not sufficient to activate her airbag, but it was enough to startle her.

“Damn crap,” she said out loud as she opened the door to have a better view of the moron who had crashed into the rear of her car.

“Sorry, sorry. I wasn’t watching. Distracted,” the man said as he exited and stared at the two cars that were now joined together.

His front bumper to her rear bumper.

She realized that there was no harm done and quickly calmed down.

It was obvious that he was uncomfortable as he opened the top button of his shirt. “I realize I surprised you, and since there’s no damage, would you mind if I offered you dinner for your trouble?” he inquired.

For some reason, his presence jogged something in her memory.

She had a feeling —something about his jagged facial features aroused a click of —a strong emotion that was not pleasant.

He repeated, “Is it okay if I treat you to dinner as a gesture of goodwill?”

It was difficult for Gail to determine what was wrong as she stood there. 

There was a profound sense of discomfort involved.

She remained perfectly still for some inexplicable reason.

In spite of her seeming lack of resolve, he persisted.

“What say you to tomorrow night at the Italian place across the street from here? Six, okay?”

As she shifted her weight from foot to foot, Gail pondered the absurdity of her uncharacteristic aversion.

Dammit, she thought.

She urged herself to stop acting like a teenager and responded by saying, “That would be excellent.”

“Good,” and with an offhand wave, he returned to his car and drove it to a further parking spot.

                       *****

Throughout the day, Gail could not shake the feeling that she recognized him from somewhere.

It eluded her, though.

But, she ruminated, a complimentary dinner was not to be dismissed.

Also, it could just be enough to stimulate her memory enough to remember him.

They had not even exchanged their names!

                                           *****

Gail chose her outfit carefully with the understanding that this would lead to nothing more than a pleasant chat, a nice dinner, and a farewell.

She wore a green satiny blouse and her favorite, comfortable black jeans.

She gathered her shoulder-length hair into a ponytail and secured it with a green scrunchie.

Initially, she slipped into black open-toe heels but soon discarded them for her black pumps. 

A black raincoat wrapped around her —and she was ready. 

She took a deep breath before she locked her door and stepped out, anticipating that her time away would be brief and that maybe the puzzle might be solved.

                       *****

He was there first, and the maitre de seated them.

He assisted her in removing her coat, then took a seat across from her. 

All the while, he appeared somewhat embarrassed. 

His eyes refused to meet hers. 

“Oh, by the way, I’m Tony,” he said at the same time as he extended his hand across the table.

As she took it, “Gail,” she said as her eyes landed on his manicured nails and the absence of a wedding band.

They each placed their own orders for their dinners.  

Gail confessed to herself that the banter they engaged in was enjoyable.

He was a pleasant fellow, and his smile appeared sincere.

If they had crossed paths previously, he seemed unaware of it, but it was something that continued to tickle Gail’s brain.

Where and how, and why?

                          *****

After both of them decided not to have dessert and had their dishes taken away, they sat awkwardly, unsure of what to do next.

“My friends Trish and Will are having—.”

Gail jumped, and everything clicked into place.

Trish and Will?

Oh my God!

She knew!

She slid her chair back and quickly got to her feet, “You — you. You were the one,” and vaulted out of the restaurant.

“Shit.” 

She had left her phone on the table.

She hurried back inside to find Tony standing, and as she reached for the phone, he intervened by placing his hand over it.

“Wait. I’m confused. What do you mean by I’m the one and—.”

“Well, I’ll be damned! You really don’t remember, do you?”

She was so confused that she sat down. 

At first, Tony stood, unsure, and took his hand from her phone and sat. 

Gail slid the phone closer to her and cocked her head, “You really don’t remember, do you?”

He tossed his head to indicate that he knew nothing, and he seemed so uneasy that she felt bad for him.

Well, maybe not.

“Okay. Let me tell you how I know you and what went wrong. But it isn’t going to be nice.”

“Lay it on because, Gail, I’m prepared to apologize immediately if I did something bad.”

Gail leaned forward.

“You better do more than that, you —” she inhaled, “It was about six years ago, and I was invited to join my roommate Carol at her friend’s house for a get-together. I had just broken up with a guy, and Carol decided I needed some distraction.”

Gail could tell Tony was nervous by the fact that he couldn’t keep his hands still.

He fiddled with the paper napkin that had been left behind and twitched in his seat.  

“I was really enjoying myself when there was a knock at the door, and two men entered the apartment. It was obvious that one of them was quite intoxicated, and the other had him securely held around the waist.”

The identity of the drunken individual started to sink in for Tony, and he glanced up in horror.

“As they were being led inside, this inebriated man abruptly turned away, stumbled forward, and threw up — all over me.” 

“Oh God. That was me, I presume!”

“Yes, it was. And there you were, face down on the floor. While I stumbled back in complete yuckiness, somebody, I don’t know who, picked you up and dragged your unconscious self into Trish’s sister’s room.”

Gail waited and observed Tony as he processed it all.

“Oh, hell. I’m so, so sorry, but I don’t remember that night. Or should I say I don’t remember that part of it? How do I make it up to you?”

Gail giggled in response, “You don’t. Trish gave me a robe and dropped my clothes in the washing machine, and Will, in case you don’t remember, was the one you came in with, drove me home.”

She sat back in her chair, feeling satisfied as she watched Tony’s face go through all the emotions.

“What a mess,” and there was a faint blush on his face.

Gail felt a bit of satisfaction as she watched Tony wriggle in discomfort in his seat.

It seemed as though Tony had shrunk in size as all of it came into his head.

“Gail. Let me tell you that I fully don’t remember — you know — doing that to you. I was so— but—. Oh shit!”

Just as Gail was ready to rise, Tony reached out, put his hand on hers, and murmured, “With my deepest confession of guilt, but would you mind if I explained why that transpired?”

She stopped because she felt she owed him that, at least.

“Go ahead.” 

“ That day, I had received the news that I had flunked out of college. No matter why now. But even though I knew it was inevitable because of my grades, it was the shock of seeing it on paper. I needed someone’s shoulder to cry on before going to my parents to tell them, and it happened that Will, who I knew from college, was nearby.”

Tony paused for a moment to take a deep breath and reflect.

“We went to a bar with the intention of getting a few drinks, but it, no I, got out of hand, I guess. I’m not one for drinking more than two beers, but this time it was hard whiskey and so—who knows,” as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Afterward Will told me that I was so far gone he didn’t want to leave me. He knew that another classmate, Trish, had an apartment across the street and decided that he’d take me there and then —. I don’t know. I don’t know. But I do recall waking up in a bedroom I didn’t recognize and Trish giving me coffee after coffee until I could get on my own feet. Will picked me up later in the morning and drove me to my place. No mention was made of my — doing that to you. So—that’s all.”

As they sat in silence, Gail took in the information that Tony had shared.

It seemed he really was sincere about not recalling any of that night, and so —what was she to say?

“By the way,” Tony spoke first, “ I guess it was the best thing that happened to me and to Will. Oh,” raising his hand,” not the drunkenness, mind you. As you know, Will continued to see Trish, and they’re now married. But I discovered my love for math, and I’m now a teacher at high school level. I’m attending night classes, and my goal is to become a professor and teach at the college level.”

“Tony. Why—” Why not take this someplace else where we can talk more?”

“Do you really want to do this?” at the same time as he stood, reached into his pocket, opened his wallet, and dropped the cash tip.

“Why not,” she laughed,” You’ve thrown up on me and banged into my car! What other damage can you do?”