Summer Love - Part Two

I got off work at two, changed clothes and headed to the Wagon Wheel for a beer.  Today was a real bear as far as customers went.  Todd, my boss, said we did just a little over five grand between breakfast and lunch, and for a Monday, that’s busy, especially since I’m the only cook.

After three beers, I decided to stop by the Fun Center and check out Nancy.  Walking three doors down from the Wagon Wheel, I went inside and faced all sorts of flashing lights and sounds coming from all the different games, as well as music blasting rock and roll through speakers I couldn’t see.

The place looked more like a disco joint than a video arcade.  Flashing lights from the ceiling and walls; strobe lights placed here and there as you walked from one area to the next, pinball and video games lined along two walls, with another fifty or more taking center stage in the middle of the room.  If I were doing drugs, I’d have sworn I was on an LSD-Disco-Light-In-My-Face-High.

Looking around, I spotted one booth and watched as three people waited in line to get change.  None of the three were kids.  I suddenly didn’t feel out of place, or was that out of touch?

I couldn’t help but smile while I stood in line.  Nancy seemed so business-like.  I pulled a dollar out of my pocket and waited for my turn to get change.

Nancy’s head was lowered as I was finally next and slid my dollar under a glass partition.

“Can I help you?”

“I’d like four quarters and your phone number.”

“Excuse me.”  Her head shot upward.  “Oh, hi there.  So you made it over here.”

“I figure it makes good public relations.  You see me at work; it’s only fair I get to see you do your thing.”

“What I do and what you do are entirely not at all related.  I don’t near as hard as you do, but the kids who come in here, along with these machines constantly making noise can give me one hell of a headache.  Drives me crazy at times.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second.  On top of that, you have to put up with strange men asking for your phone number in the middle of the day at the same time.”

She flashed her smile again and about that time, a small slender man walked into her booth.

“Nancy, let me get the totals and cash from you.”

“Okay, Sid.  Oh, Sid, this is Bill.  He works at the Sunrise Gardens across the street.  Bill, my boss, Sid.  The other English muffin,” she winked.

We acknowledged each other with a nod from our heads, but I thought I saw something defensive in his eyes.  Maybe it was imagination, but he had the look of a jealous man or that overbearing look of an over-protective father.  Nancy looked older than him, so scratch the last idea.

“Here are your quarters, Bill.  I have to close the booth for about twenty minutes, I’ll talk with you later.”  She still smiled that smile that could stop a person dead in their tracks.

“Sure thing.”  I took my quarters, smiled back, tuned and wandered over to a video game, slipped a quarter in the slot and stared at the screen as I watched two yellow things chasing after one another, then followed by two other colored balls.  I had no clue what to do.

I felt the same way about Nancy.  I wasn’t sure if I should really pursue her or not, or if she was just being friendly.  Besides, we’ve only just met, give it some time.

After I put my last quarter in the machine of a game called, Pac-Man, which I was starting to get the hang of and (don’t tell anyone) really starting to like; I finished with a score of 116,340.  Not shabby.  There was another one identical to it to my left and I noticed the score on that one.  I realized I had a long way to go before I could be considered great yet alone good.  Right now, I sucked.  That other machine’s score?  996,970.

I went back to her booth as I spotted Sid walking away.  I pulled another dollar out of my pocket.

Nancy sat there, smiling at me.

“You’re getting hooked, aren’t you?”

“The game?  Maybe.  You?  Possibly.  I smiled right back at her.

“I don’t mean to pry, but I got the impression that Sid is a little more than your boss.”

“You are quick.  Picked up on that right away, huh?”

“It was just something in the way he looked at me that said he’s more than your boss.”

“There is, but you wouldn’t understand.  Then again, maybe you would.  I’m going home shortly, Bill.  You’ll have to excuse me while I get ready to check out for the next shift.  See you again, I hope.”

A younger girl with a name tag pressed onto her blouse in big letters, ANNA, was waiting for Nancy to finish up.

“Sure you will.  And you know where to find me.”  I knew I had a look of perplexity about me, because Nancy looked at me and winked again.

“Don’t let Sid’s look or appearances get to you.  I would like to see you again.  We’ll talk sometime, okay?”

“Okay-fine.  Take care.”

We smiled at one another, then Nancy pulled her cashier curtain down, and both her and ANNA, were hidden from view.  The changing of the “video-queens” was about to take place.

I walked out of the neon-dark, video-disco parlor into a still brightly sun-filled day that made my eyes hurt.

Walking back to my apartment four blocks away, I was thinking all the way home that she really liked me.  I knew it was only one day, but what a day.

Of course the other thing I thought about was her and Sid.  I had a funny feeling something was going on between those them that wasn’t right.  What that was, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something didn’t feel right.  I had a feeling if I kept seeing Nancy, I’d find out soon enough.

*********

“Anna, after you empty all the machines into this bag, just bring it over here.”  Nancy was walking Anna around, explaining what she had to do one hour prior to closing time.  Nancy then brought her to Sid’s office door and right next to it was a lift-up door, similar to a doggy-door.

“When you lock the front doors at closing time, take the bag and push it through here, then lock up and go home.  Pretty simple.

“So empty them all?  No counting?”

“Nope.  That’s Sid’s job.  First thing in the morning, he makes the count with a coin machine that also puts them in a plastic wrapper of forty coins each.  Then he makes a quick run to the bank and then back here.  Trust me, Anna, this gig is a no-brainer.”

“Seems like it.”

“Nancy,” called out Sid.  “You ready to go?”

She looked at Sid.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

**********

The next few days were busy ones for both Nancy and I, as well as Linda, my partner in kitchen grease.  Seemed like everyone in the world came in to eat.  We broke sales records every day.

There was a conference convention in town.  Real Estate Management Brokers were flooding the city.  It’s good business, more money for us.  Just less time in seeing Nancy, though I did every morning.  Two English muffins, like clockwork.

This Thursday morning was no different.

She walked in bright and early, looking as sharp as she always does.  Like always, she ordered her English muffins.

As she made her way down to my end of the line where I would hand her order to her, she said, “Thanks, Bill.  Oh, before I forget, I won’t be in tomorrow.  I’m going to Sacramento tomorrow for the weekend.  Going to visit some friends I haven’t seen in a while.”

“Have fun, just do me a favor and be safe.  Sacramento is a decent city, but they do have their share of crime up there, almost as bad as here.  Whatever you do, just come back in one piece.  That’s the way I want to see you come Monday.”

“So I can’t leave an arm or leg with my friends,” she laughed.  “Seriously, I’ll be fine.  I won’t get back into Frisco until late Sunday night, but fear not, my fearless protector, I’ll be just fine.”

“Okay, but still … be careful.”

“You, too.  I’ll miss you.  Bye!”

Her words weren’t lost on me.  I watched her walk away, her brisk yet sensual walk caused me to forget about the eggs I had on the grill until Linda poked me in the side.

“I thought they were supposed to be over-easy, not straight up and hard.”

“Damn.  Sorry, Linda.  Won’t take me a minute to do another one.”

“You go, lover-boy.”

I looked over at her and she was grinning from ear to ear.  For a brief flash, I thought I saw something in her eyes that said; oh hell, no way.  But she is a beautiful woman.  A little chunky but beautiful.  But we work together.  I have a firm rule of not dating the help.  Never a good idea.

Getting my head back on track, it was back to doing what I do best.  The rest of the day was the same as the ones gone by; all work and busy.

I was never so glad to see Friday show up.  Between Linda and a part-timer, Alicia, and myself, we had the place spit-shined and all polished up, ready to be opened come Monday morning so we could do it all over again.  The convention wouldn’t be over for another week.

Alicia had a family reunion to attend.  Linda’s sister and brother-in-law were in town with their two little ones, so everyone had places to go, people to see except me.  Somewhere in Sacramento, Nancy was having fun.

My weekend started in the Wagon Wheel for a few beers.  Friday is generally the roughest day of the week, followed by Monday.  For some reason, it was tougher knowing I wouldn’t get to see Nancy.

Early afternoon is the best time to be in the Wagon Wheel.  It isn’t crowded, semi-quiet except for an occasional song coming from the jukebox playing sixties music, and you would always see the same regulars sitting in the same chairs, drinking the same drinks, telling almost the same stories every day to anyone who would listen.

Usually, Larry, the bartender, who puts me in mind of the bartender Jackie Gleason use to play on his show, would be behind the bar singing or humming a tune or telling stories or a few jokes.  Larry had a million to share so he never told the same one twice; at least not since I’ve been going there, and that’s been three years.  This time, a woman who looked to be thirty-five to forty, pleasant to look at, with short brown hair, was working in his place.  I went to my usual stool at the bar and watched as she walked over to me.

“Hi.  What’ll you have?”

“Hello, yourself.  Miller-Lite.  Where’s Larry?”

“He went to Denver early this morning.  He got a phone call that his sister died in her sleep.”

“It was Elaine, wasn’t it?  He would mention her name now and then.  She was his favorite.”  She walked away, grabbed a glass, and slid open a cold bar lid, pulled out a can of beer, pertly walking back.

“It was her.  Elaine’s been sick now, oh, I’d say close to a year.  She had a heart attack which left her partially paralyzed back then.  Larry’s been going back there every other weekend since.  Here’s your beer.  That’ll be a buck-fifty.”

I handed her two singles.  “Keep the change.”

She walked to the register, rang up the price, placed the money inside, closed the register and walked back over to me.

“First time I’ve seen you in here.”

Pouring my beer, I said, “Makes us even.”

“I work nights as a rule.  Since his sister died, I told Larry not to worry.  I like Larry, so I’m covering his shift as well as mine.”

“That explains it then.  As a rule, I never come in at night or on weekends.”

Someone two bar-stools over motioned for another beer and she walked away to open a Bud for the guy.  I noticed her butt, just a little too big for the rest of her body but for the most part, she wasn’t bad looking.  She looked like a woman who knew what to do with a man, and to him.  She also looked like the kind of woman that didn’t take much lip from one either.  It takes a certain breed of person to be a bartender I imagined, because you get all kinds of people coming in and out.

Thinking about Nancy, she kind of struck me the same way; only Nancy wasn’t around.

The bartender came back to face me again,

“My name is Dianne.  What’s yours?”

“Bill.  I work across the street at the Gardens.  I cook there.  As long as no one dies from my cooking, I know I’ll always have a job.”  I sipped my beer, smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Well, Chef Bill; are you married, have a girlfriend, or anything like that?”

“Okay.  As to being married; never have and maybe never will.  I’m only twenty-six.  If I ever do get married, I figure I have a few years left to enjoy being single.  As far as a girlfriends goes, no one at the moment, but you never know when that’ll change.  Right now, let’s say they are too expensive.  And no, in case you are wondering, I’m not gay either.”

“Since about half the city is, that’s good to hear.  If you can take a hint, I’m a cheap date.  Just try me and find out.”  She smiled at me with her eyes, winked and went back to doing her job, wiping down the bar, serving drinks, washing glasses, and restocking beer in the cooler.

I continued sipping my beer, knowing exactly what she meant.  I wasn’t quite sure if she was serious, but she did look pretty good, and I was never one for turning down an opportunity when it presented itself.  The only difference were our ages.  She had a good ten, maybe fifteen years on me.  What the hell, if it didn’t bother her, who was I to complain.

Another hour and two beers later, I stood away from the bar and waved at Dianne.  She was all smiles.

“Leaving so soon?”

“It’s been a long day, and an even longer week.  I’ve been up since four this morning and I need to get home and shower off the eggs, bacon and burger grease that’s sticking to me.”

“If you want, you can come back tonight.  I close up at one, and you could come over to my place and take another shower, that is, if you’re interested.”

She was serious.

“I just might do that.  If I’m not back, say by midnight, can I get a rain check?”

“Anytime, Bill.”

I waved goodbye, turned and went outside and squinted my eyes to readjust to the daylight.  Stretching a little, I turned left, walked the four blocks to my apartment.  First thing I did was strip down, hit the shower for about thirty minutes, and then shaved.

Dressing in only my boxer’s for the time being, I went into the kitchen, popped a TV dinner in the oven I hate to make a meal from scratch for just me), popped open a Pepsi and turned on the tube to catch the nightly news.

While eating my macaroni and cheese, I decided to take Dianne up on her offer.  Secretly, I wished to hell it would have been Nancy, but one can’t have everything.

Nancy and I haven’t any commitments, or any alone time, yet alone any meaningful one-on-one conversations yet.

From Friday night until Sunday night, I had one hell of a session with Dianne.  I found out she was forty-seven, which impressed me that she looked as good as she did.  She made love like she was twenty, and once away from the bar and back at her place, sex was all she had on her mind.  The woman couldn’t get enough.  She made me feel good, yet, every now and then when I would look at her, I would see Nancy’s face.

I started to think I was hooked on that woman.  Monday morning couldn’t get here quick enough for me.  I wanted to see Nancy again.

Yeah, I’m hooked.