My Texas Drought Part 2

“While you are here, would you like a tour of the place?”. I had done some decorating and was excited to show someone. Luke had really come along when I felt like I was going through a dating drought and a dating desert. I needed water. I needed an oasis. I was hoping he could be that, and wanted what was happening to be the start of something.

“I’d love the grand tour.”

“Well, this is obviously my kitchen.”

“Nice vintage looking blender, and breakfast station”.

“Thank you. I found them on Amazon”. He followed me to the living room.

“This is the living room. He walked to my fireplace mantel and looked at various pictures of me as a child with my parents and pictures of my Dad as a child. There was one of me and Dad in front of his restored barracuda, one of us shooting hoops, and one of me and my parents on prom night.

“You surely are your father’s daughter. You could have been his twin as a child”.

“My mom always would joke that I just needed a brush cut”. He then took in my various Pan’s Labyrinth, Twin Peaks, and art done by an artist known for doing creepy artwork.

“You like dark stuff, huh?”.

“I do.

“It’s cool”. I opened my bathroom door.

“This is my bathroom”. Then I opened the door to my guest room. This is my guestroom, but it is also my library/mini tribute to basketball.”

“Is this your Dad’s stuff?”.

“Yep, and my Grandpa’s. They have a long legacy of basketball back in my hometown.” Then I showed him my bedroom.

“Wow you are tidy”.

“Only because you caught me on a good day”.

“What are you writing in that composition book?”.

“Just some poetry”.

“Can I read it?”. I thought about the drought poem that may seem borderline pathetic. I handed him the book.

“Sure”. He brought it to the kitchen. “More tea?” I asked.

“Yes please”. I poured some and sat with him at the table. “This drought poem is beautiful. It would make a great song”.

“Really? You think so?”.

“I think so. This would be a good country song.”

“Wow. Thanks”.

“Do you want to work on it together?”.

“I don’t know much about song writing”.

“Well, that is where I come in. How about we get together tomorrow. I’ll grill us some dinner, and we will write a song”.

“That sounds good. What shall I bring to dinner”.

“Yourself and your ideas”.

“Ill bring some salsa and desert”.

“Ok. Deal”.

“I hope you like peanut butter because I think I am going to make a peanut butter desert.”

“Sounds good. Well, I should get going. I’ll see you tomorrow at five”. I walked him to the door, and he gave me a hug. Instead of pulling away or making it an awkward bro tap, I just let him hug me.

“Thanks for the flowers”, I said.

“You’re welcome. He turned to walk down the porch steps. He stopped. “Can I get your phone number? I know we live next door…..”he trailed off.

“Sure. It is good to have each other’s numbers in case of emergency”. “Mine is 716-585-8534.

“Great”. Then he sauntered off into the night. I then locked up for the night and got in bed. There was a text on my cell. “Night, Blue”. I added his number into my phone.

“Night, Luke”. I fell asleep feeling slightly optimistic that although the San Antonio drought was going strong, my personal drought was changing. I had a dream that night that felt so real. Luke and I were kissing in the rain. I woke up feeling disheartened that is was a dream and then curious as to what it would be like to kiss him. To get that curiosity out of my mind, I did a good 30-minute stationary bike ride and then took a shower and had a shower coffee. I left home and stopped to grab a smoothie on the way into the office. The meeting was quick and just to touch base about my interview with the artist, and go over my weekly column, and daily horoscopes that I wrote, and brainstorm some new ideas. After the meeting I grabbed a cup of coffee at the coffee shop near the Mexican restaurant where the interview was to take place and wrote some more poetry. When the interview time approached, I drove to the restaurant. The interview went well, and Reina, the artist invited me back to the gallery she had her work displayed at, to look around. I ended up buying a repurposed statue of Mary that you would find at a religious store and was really excited to display it somewhere at home. 

When I got home, I sat down to write the interview up, and work on my column and horoscopes. When it grew closer to 5, I stopped work, and whipped up the queso and salsa, and made peanut butter brownies from a mix. They were a recipe I had seen in Facebook. I put Reese’s cups pieces in the brownie batter as well as added melted peanut butter to the top of the brownies. When I was done with food preparations, I showered and put on a patchwork bohemian looking long sun dress. I put a stretchy head band on and braided my shoulder length hair. I grabbed my notebook, my chips and dips, and brownies, put them in a bag, and walked next door. I knocked on the door. Luke greeted me dressed in an Aztec printed button up collar shirt and black jeans. He was easy on the eyes. He was always easy on the eyes, but in his button up shirt he was more so.

“Come on in!”, He said. I followed him into his kitchen and put my jars of queso and salsa down along with the brownies.

“Would you like a beer or whiskey or something or a beer with a shooter of whiskey?”.

“What are you having.”

“Well, the kiddos gave me a run for my money today so I’m thinking a shot and a beer”.

“I’ll do the same”. He poured two shots from a bottle of Heaven’s Door, and opened two Lone Star’s.

“Cheers”, he said as we clinked glasses. We took the shots. Would you like a look around?”, He asked. 

“Sure”. His house had the same layout as mine. He had a music room with speakers and guitars and pedals. He had a bulletin bored in his music room with pictures on it. One was of him and a tall thin man with blue eyes and brown hair.

“Is that your Dad?”.

“It is. I was 6 there. We were at the rodeo”. I looked at another picture of him, sitting in the lap of a woman who could be a modern day, Josephine Baker.

“Is this a picture of you and your Mom?”.

“Yep. That’s my Mom.

“She’s really pretty”.

“People always tell her she looks like Josephine Baker”.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking”.

“So, are you ready to eat? I’m grilling up burgers, corn, and asparagus.

“I am”. He grabbed the dips I’d brought and paper bowls and towels. We went outside and set up on his picknick table. “What can I help with”.

“Nothing. Just relax. So how many burgers do you think you can eat, and do you want cheese?

“I think I can have one and yes please”.

“What about ears of corn?”

“I think I can have one of those too. Thanks”. Luke’s phone rang. He looked at it and didn’t answer it. It rang again. He didn’t answer it. It rang again.

“It’s my ex-girlfriend. Do you mind if I answer it?”.

“Go ahead”.

“Hello?”, He answered.

“Why would I have your Taylor Swift record? Is it possible you let someone borrow it?”

“No. I can certainly say I did not grab it by mistake in the move”.

“You are the one that cheated on me, so, maybe you lent it to the guy you were cheating on me with”.

“Look. I am pretty sure I have nothing of yours. I didn’t take anything of yours by mistake, all my things were in the music room and bedroom.

“Your constant calls and accusations and criticisms are not needed. We aren’t getting back together. The feedback you are giving me is for people who are getting back together. We aren’t. This isn’t productive to anything. If you keep calling and texting I will just block your number.” He hung up the phone.