"Only every second."
"Honestly. You're going to knock 'em dead."
"Oh, now you're an honest guy? You just tried to mug me outside," she said as the waitress moseyed up to take our order.
The waitress looked at me funny after hearing I had just tried to mug her outside.
Necie smiled awkwardly at her. "No, it's an inside joke, you know – the one about the mugger walking into an Indian restaurant?"
"No," The waitress replied, without a bit of amusement in her voice.
I couldn't help but laugh at her.
Quickly changing the subject, Necie said, "Hmm—So can I get the Beef Vindaloo?"
While we waited for dinner, we chatted about some of the surgeries I had performed earlier that day. The conversation steered toward a particular surgery that involved removing pieces of sofa cushions from a gentleman's stomach, who had a strange addiction for eating furniture foam. I loved to talk about my work and found Necie to be a great sounding board since the gruesomeness never seemed to bother her or her appetite.
The unamused waitress came back, carrying a tray full of food and drinks.
"Thank you so much," Necie replied, trying to get back on the waitress' good side, but the waitress wanted nothing to do with her.
After the woman walked away, I said, "You know she probably spit in your food."
She shrugged and dug in. "Mmm, spit vindaloo," she said loudly.
"Shhh. I still wanna come here you know."
She covered her mouth with her hands, almost unable to keep the food from spraying out.
After dinner we headed up to the apartment where Monster was already waiting for us, purring at the door. I picked him up as I strolled in.
"Well, thank you for dinner. I needed that lil' pick me up," she said as she headed toward her room.
"It's the least I could do."
"It was the least you could do," she said, turning to pet Monster on the head.
I leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek, just as she was leaning in to give me one, and fortunately for me; we had our wires crossed, and our lips ended up pressed against one another, with Monster squished in the middle.
She pulled away, walking backwards as she spoke. "I uh—gotta—she didn't finish her sentence, though.
"You gotta what?'
She turned and slipped into the room without another word.
I could tell she was nervous. "Maybe it's finally happening," I whispered to Monster, as I scratched his ear and snuggled my nose into his fur.
"Purrr."
"I think so, too."
NAIL SHOP
NECIE
"Eeeek!" I screamed the minute my eyes opened, pounding my feet on the bed, pulling the white down comforter over my face, screaming into it. Getting to see Jay again didn't seem real until the moment I woke up and realized that in just a few hours, I could be face to face with the man I had always dreamed about. I was so giddy I could almost burst with excitement.
This must be what walking down the aisle must feel like.
Monster jumped on the bed and snuggled up to me. I grinned, pressing my nose to his, vigorously scratching his neck. I shot out of bed, dropping him on to the comforter without a second thought. He hissed at me, and I hissed back.
"You're not taking my joy today, sir," I said, running into the kitchen for some coffee.
Ben drifted into the kitchen. "I can't believe I didn't have to wake you up today. You must be excited."
"I am!"
"So what do we have on the agenda for the pre-reunion shenanigans?"
"A little of this, a little of that."
"It better be good since I took the entire day off to hang out with you."
"I told you not to take the day."
"What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment, and if you needed me to stand in, I wanted to be available."
"Benjamin, you really shouldn't have," I said, taking a sip of my coffee, savoring every drop.
BEN
I still felt awful after scaring her the night before, and with all the extra flirting flying around, I wouldn't be of any use at work today anyway.
"I made an appointment for the both of us to go to the nail shop and get my toes declawed. Watcha' think?" she asked, looking down at her wiggling toes.
I looked down and said, "That's a great idea, we don't need you sending people to the ER with lacerations from those daggers!"
She laughed. "You didn't have to agree with me."
I shrugged.
"I'm gonna get ready. Hurry up; I don't wanna be late. I can't miss this appointment," she said as she brushed by me, attempting to slap me on the arm.
I grabbed her wrist. "What did I tell you about playing games, little girl."
"Little girl? I've grown up, Benjamin. Perhaps you've noticed," she replied coyly as she traipsed away, swaying her hips.
"Oh, I've noticed."
She glanced over her shoulder and winked at me.
"I'm jumping in a cold shower now. Thanks a million," I yelled out toward her bedroom door.
Jesus, that woman is gonna be the death of me.
I made good on my word and jumped in a cold shower. There was no need to make the women at the nail shop blush.
A little less than twenty minutes later, she yelled, "Are you ready?"
"I'm comin', I'm comin'," I said, walking out of my room, slipping a black cardigan over my white V-neck undershirt.
"Well, don't you clean up nice?" she asked, eyeing me up and down.
"Make a note, sweetheart," I replied with a wink.
"It's been noted."
NECIE
We walked down the stairs and around the corner headed for my usual nail shop.
The sign above the door still hung the former owners' moniker, Al's Ribs & Wangs & Thangs. Taped underneath it was a small weathered cardboard sign that read:
Welcome to Yuki's Nail Salon
Our sign on order.
Will come soon!!!
I was pretty sure the cardboard sign had been there for at least the last five years I had been frequenting the establishment…but who was I to judge?
As soon as we walked through the door, all the Asian women who worked there stopped what they were doing and gawked at Ben. One lady jumped up, leaving her customer soaking her hands in a bowl, and scurried quickly over to us. She was wearing a white smock and open toed shoes; each toenail painted with a different design.
With a huge grin on her face, and in her broken English, she said, "Ah, you hab such good husbun'. Not lot husbun' come to shop wit' waf."
I quickly looked a Ben with a smirk on my face. "Husband? No, no, he's not my husband. Pssssh," I said, wagging my finger in the lady's face.
BEN
I looked at Necie, a little hurt by how quickly she dismissed the notion that I could be her husband.
"What?" she asked innocently.
"Nothing," I replied, putting my hands in my pocket as I looked down at my shoes.
NECIE
Lisa, which was the name printed on her name tag, took Ben by the hand and helped him into a chair, even pulling his pant legs up for him. All the while, I was left standing at the door waiting for someone to hold my hand and guide me to a chair.
After a few moments, I attempted to garner some attention by raising my hand as one does in school, and asked, "Umm, excuse me, where do I sit?"
The woman helping Ben glared at me, then motioned to the chair next to him. I took that to mean there would be no special treatment for me. Not today. Not while Ben, the prime choice USDA slab of meat was sitting next to me.
Ben chuckled to himself as he watched me plop down on the chair next to him, rolling up my pant legs. Leaning back into the oversized massage chair, I flipped the switch to get the balls rotating over my back. I closed my eyes as soon as the rumbling of the chair started, the soothing motion lulling me to sleep.
The ladies cackled like hens all around Ben speaking with their very distinct a
ccents.
One woman asked, "Ah you so han'sum, how you no hab no waf?"
Another asked, "Ah you a'm sa' str'ng; I touch dem one tam' kay?"
"Umm, okay. Just one time," Ben said shyly.
I felt a jostling at my shoulder. "Help me," he whispered.
I opened my eyes and chuckled at him. "That's what you get for being so damn fine."
"Whatever, just do something," he said in a low whisper.
I smiled and took Ben's hand, twining my fingers with his. "Ladies just because I said he wasn't my husband, doesn't mean he isn't my boyfriend."
The ladies awkwardly apologized, and slunk away, looking mildly embarrassed. Ben looked down at our interlocked fingers, and squeezed my hand a little tighter, before shifting his gaze back to me. The smile we exchanged couldn't even be summed up in a thousand words.
"Thanks, sweets," he said, closing his eyes as he leaned back into the chair.
"Anything for you, my Prince," I replied as I received a relaxing foot massage from the manicurist. "Hey, you know I'm so glad you convinced me to go tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing those awful girls and showing them how much weight I've lost. Oh, and I can't forget Jay. I'd forgotten how much I'd loved him back then! I can't wait to see him again. Maybe we'll fall in love and get married! Then you'll finally be rid of me," I said smiling, still holding Ben's hand.
BEN
The words made my heart sink into my stomach, and I wanted nothing more than to get up and leave.
"Who's Jay again?" I asked, unclasping my hand from hers.
"Remember, I told you about him the night we were checking out my yearbook."
I was confused. I knew she mentioned Jay, and her high school crush on him, but I hadn't realized her sole reason for going to the reunion was to reconnect with him. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have pushed as hard to get her to go.
I was beyond hurt, and the fact I was sitting through a pedicure for the woman I loved so she could impress another man made me feel like a fool. I looked down at the lady massaging my legs, smiling awkwardly.
The thought of Necie with another man always bothered me, but I tried to push my feelings aside so she could be happy, never thinking she would meet the one—because I always thought I was the one.
I was stupid to assume she would eventually get tired of dating all those dead beats and realize I had been standing in front of her the whole time. Then the realization hit me—what if I'd just wasted a good majority of my life waiting for a woman I never had an actual chance with? What if she never saw me in that way?
She bent over to inspect her nail polish. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. If he does happen to show up, he probably won't even remember me," she said in passing.
I took a deep breath and, once again, set my jealousy aside. After all, I was still her best friend.
"I'm sure he'll remember you," I said.
She smiled and reached over to rub me on the arm. Instinctively, I shifted away from the armrest, planting my hand on my lap, away from her reach. There was no way I could be supportive in the way she needed me to be with her touching me like that.
Why does she keep sending me mixed signals?
Necie scraped some nail polish off the side of her toe, and said, "What do you think I should tell people I do for a living? I don't wanna tell them that I'm just a file clerk. How embarrassing! I was supposed to be the most likely to succeed for cryin' out loud, and what an awful title to make a kid have to live up to. That's like having a category called most likely to invent the cure for cancer, or most likely to discover the next planet. I mean, nothing short of a Nobel Peace Prize worthy achievement would even compare...just settin' us up for failure…must be the government trying to hold us down."
"Seriously, Necie? A government conspiracy? I don't even know why you care what they think about you. But if you want to tell them the truth, just say you got your degree in journalism, and you're still exploring your options. Or, if you want to lie you can always say you're married to a surgeon, named Ben, and you're a lady of leisure." I said laughing. "I've heard the other doctor's wives in my department boasting about being ladies of leisure, so it must be a real thing."
"A lady of leisure, huh?"
"Oh, by the way, I have three surgeries tomorrow, so I probably won't be up when you get home from the reunion. But I want to hear all the details when I get home from work—especially if anything happens with Jay."
"Do you really wanna hear about a bunch of twenty-seven-year-olds clawing tooth and nail trying to impress each other?"
"Of course, I sat here through a pedicure, and I'm quite confident I was almost violated by at least three of the four women in here. I think I deserve to know what happens."
The ladies slid paper flip flops onto our feet when they finished and then angled a fan toward our toes to help them dry.
"Oh no," Necie yelled, staring at the clock on the wall.
"What?"
"I think my claws needed more work than I thought. I'm late," she said, jumping out of her chair.
"Wait for me!" I yelled, handing the manicurist four twenty-dollar bills as I flew out of my chair, trying to catch up to Necie.
"Hurry up, Ben," she hollered as she shuffled her feet, making her way out of the door.
I followed close behind as we ran down the street, but the paper flip flops were making it hard for me to keep up.
NECIE
By the time we got back to the apartment, I was already running about an hour behind schedule. Scrambling around my room, I rushed around, trying to get myself in tip-top shape.
"Mr. Murphy strikes again," I shouted frantically.
"Damn you, Mr. Murphy," Ben chanted as he ran out of the bathroom, almost tripping over Monster.
He was carrying my deodorant, lotion, razor, and some liquid in an unmarked travel bottle I couldn't even remember concocting.
"Don't kill the cat, I'm not that late," I said, trying to shave my legs and put on deodorant at the same time.
Unfortunately, in the rush, I ended up cutting a slice of skin off my shin, which resembled a thin slice of turkey from a deli slicer.
"Ahhh! I cut myself," I hollered as I flung the piece of skin into Ben's face almost hitting him in the eye.
"Man, get that outta my face," he shrieked, slapping my hand away.
The piece of skin fell on the ground, and Monster ran over to smell it. "Monster, no! Don't eat that," I scolded, shooing him away.
"Throw it away. That's gross," Ben said, cringing at the sight of it.
"What kind of surgeon are you?" I asked. "I'm sure you see worse every day."
"I'm the professional kind, and no I haven't. That was nasty." He laughed, wagging his finger at me.
"Whatever! Can you brush my hair while I finish shaving?"
"Brush your hair? Like you said, I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker."
I whipped my arm behind me, attempting to smack Ben's leg, but I missed.
"Abuser!"
"Shhh. Just brush. Brush like the wind," I urged him, waving the brush in his face.
He tried to brush my hair as best he could, fumbling and yanking at my head while I attempted to apply mascara.
"For a surgeon, brushing hair is obviously out of your wheelhouse."
Viciously, he raked the brush through a tangle.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say something?"
"Funny, Ben. Funny!"
"Ok, I think I've done all I can do," he said, laying the brush on the counter before he stepped away.
"You're probably right. I'll take it from here," I replied, waving him off as I began to apply eye shadow.
"Ok, I'll be right outside. Don't hesitate to call if you need me to bring in the power tools."
"Okay, keep talkin'. You better sleep with one eye open from now on," I joked, frantically trying to finish brushing my hair while running a straightener through it.
All the while, memories of how my clown hair used
to invite hateful comments came flooding back, but tonight would be different; my hair would be different. No one would be able to say one bad thing about it.
I was snapped out of my flashback by the smell of burning hair. My eyes widened when I saw what I had done in the mirror.
"I burned off my ends!"
The right side of my top layer was an inch shorter than the other. I dropped my hands down to my sides, slouching in defeat.
"You did what?" Ben yelled from outside the door.
I shook my head. "Never mind," I yelled back, screaming silently at the ceiling to let out my frustration.
Breathe. Breathe.
I composed myself and continued finishing up my hair and make-up. Once finished, I bandaged up the gash on my leg then slipped on my beautiful dress which still fit like a glove.
I took one last look in the mirror, smudging my black, smoky, eye shadow one last time, finishing off the look with a clear lip gloss to keep it simple.
I cracked the door open and peeked out. "Close your eyes."
Ben closed his eyes and stood from the bed.
I opened the door the rest of the way and stepped out, readjusting my hair and dress, before I said, "Okay, I'm ready. What do you think?"
BEN
I opened my eyes slowly, focusing in on the beauty that stood before me. I had no witty remark or funny one-liner. I was dumbfounded, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.
"That bad?" she asked with a frown.
"I mean—you were beautiful before…"
"Yeah?"
"But you look like a dream, standing in front of me right now," I said, holding back the urge to take her in my arms and press my lips to hers.
"Just stunning," I added.
"Aww, you're so sweet, friend."
The word friend snapped me out of my daze.
Friend? Friend! There goes that damn word again. Why can't she see me as anything more than just her damn friend?
"Hmmmm…friend," I murmured under my breath as I watched her twirl in front of the full-length mirror.
"Did you say something?"
"Oh, nothing, I hope you have a lot of fun….friend," I quickly replied, unable to contain the added sarcasm that crept into my tone.
The Want Ad: A Sweet Romance Page 3
