by Kim Pritekel
"And the rest?"
"Once I came back. I saw you, and I thought about it. I peck at it after work, sometimes writing things down while I’m at work, then coming home to see if they’ll fit into the existing piece." I grinned.
"Gee, and all this time I thought you were the consummate professional." She glared at me good-naturedly.
"Ha ha." She ate another bite of chicken, followed by a forkful of green beans. We both fell silent as we continued to eat. I wondered where Haley’s thoughts were, because I sure knew where mine were.
I had no idea that our friendship, and the ultimate deterioration of it when we were kids, meant that much to her. I guess I’d always figured she’d seen it as just one of those things. Pretty much how I’d seen it, for the most part. I mean, regardless if Haley would have come back into my life, she would have had a special place in my heart, whether I had realized it or not. She had begun the journey of self-understanding for an ill-equipped, young kid who was trying to walk on wobbly, inexperienced legs.
Through Haley, I had begun to question my true direction in life. Perhaps not my professional direction, but certainly that of my heart.
"So, are you enjoying your breast meat?"
I nodded with a grin. "I’ve always enjoyed breast meat." Haley looked at me, bite halfway to her mouth.
"Oh? Have you had breast meat often?"
"Eh, now and then, sure." Haley grinned, getting into the game.
"Do prefer white meat, or dark meat?"
"White meat, generally." I answered, sipping from my wine.
"Have you ever had dark meat?"
"I have." She looked at me, surprised.
"Really? And how is it different?"
I shrugged, cutting my chicken into smaller pieces.
"Different background, texture, and a different taste." I popped a bite into my mouth.
"Is that so?" I nodded.
"And you? Have you ever had dark meat?"
"No. I prefer white meat."
I looked at Haley for a moment, brows drawn, head low. "Haley, are you dark meat prejudiced?" she chuckled, shaking her head.
"Not at all. Everyone has their preference, right?" I grinned, nodding.
"Indeed." She began to butter a dinner roll, watching the progress of her knife. "So, Andi, who was your first piece of meat?"
I chuckled, cutting some more chicken.
"Well, it was the middle of my sophomore year in undergrad. Her name was Alecia. Alecia Haskell. She was a bit older than I was, and had already graduated from Carlton."
"How did you meet?"
"I used to go to this little whole-in-the-wall diner to study, and she was a half-owner of it. They were short on help one night so she had to cover, and we got to talking." I shrugged. "The rest is history."
"How long did it last?"
"Hmm," I sighed as I ate some green beans, thinking back. "I guess six months?"
"What happened?"
"Well, she got tired of me studying all the time. See, she was already past that part in her life, and had no patience for someone else who was trying to make their mark at school and in life."
"Ah, I see."
"Plus, I think she really just wanted someone who she could play like a puppet; you know, tell what to do, when, where and why." Haley looked at me strangely, her nose wrinkled in distaste.
"How on earth did you end up with someone like that?"
"Hey, I was just trying this whole woman thing out. I was impressed with her knowledge at first."
"Okay. Understandable. Then who?"
"Well, let’s see. Alecia, then I think it was Nina. But that was just a fling. There was no way I was interested in getting sucked into another relationship."
"What, were you two like fuck buddies, or something?" Haley grinned, finishing off the rest of her wine, and sitting back in her chair, an empty plate in front of her. I nodded.
"Essentially."
"How long?"
"Off and on for about a year. It just made things easy with school. No worries, no pressures, just fun when I wanted it. I think we actually only went out on three real dates. We both realized that we liked each other in bed far more than during the day." I chuckled at the thought. "I’m not real proud of that situation, and it definitely wouldn’t be something I’d tell Kendall about." We both smiled.
"Here honey, this is what’s called a fuck buddy." Haley teased, I laughed.
"Her mother would have my ass."
"Okay. So, after that year. And why did it end, anyway?"
"I graduated."
"Oh."
"Then there was Cassandra. The dark meat." I grinned, Haley nodded understanding while pouring herself, and me, some more wine. "She was probably one of the sweetest women I had ever met. We tried a relationship, but her parents hated me because I was white. It was a real mess, and didn’t last long at all. It was also her dog who killed Suki."
"Well, damn her." I chuckled.
"Yeah. After that it was Erin." I put my fork down, finished. I stood, grabbing my plate, and gathering up Haley’s dishes, walking to the kitchen. "How about you?" As I loaded the dishwasher, Haley began to tell her tale.
"Well, I didn’t date much at all for the first little bit that I was in school, actually, I had my first date at the beginning of my junior year."
"Why so long?" I asked as I cut us slices of my cheesecake.
"I don’t know. I think I had had enough of guys from high school, and sex, and the whole nine yards. I wanted to just concentrate on school, my friends and my family."
"That’s honorable." I headed back to the table with our dessert. "Here you go, madam."
"Thank you." I sat down, and glanced over at her. She was looking at the cheesecake, then looked up at me. "So, did you and Sara Lee have fun with this?"
"I’ll have you know, that is homemade from scratch." She pointed her fork at me.
"You made this? All by your lonesome?"
"Just me and Bunsen."
"Well, I’m not so sure I want to eat anything that has Bunsen’s seal of approval on it."
"Yeah, well his only contribution was licking the crumbs off the floor." She chuckled, and bent down to sniff the cheesecake. I watched, fascinated.
"Cyanide doesn’t have a smell,"
"Would you just eat the damn thing?"
Haley grinned, and cut a bite with her fork. With one last sniff, she stuck it in her mouth, her jaw moving as she swished it around in her mouth, as if she were tasting a fine wine. Then, without a breath, she lunged at the cheesecake.
Shaking my head in amusement, I began to eat my own dessert.
"So, continue."
"Oh, yeah. This is excellent, by the way, Andi. Generally I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin anything, but you can make this for me anytime." I laughed.
"Great. I’ll be your personal dessert maker."
"Hey, works for me." She took another bite, chewing slowly before continuing with her list. "So, in my junior year I met Kevin."
"How did that go?"
"It didn’t. I mean, we dated for a while, I’d say maybe a year, but he was really just an ass. I was his token girlfriend, you know? Just some eye candy for his friends to be jealous of. Certainly not a meaningful relationship."
Having finished the cheesecake, Haley licked her finger and began to pick up all the little crumbs left on the plate.
"Um, Haley? There is more cheesecake, you know?" She looked up at me, a smile immediately coming to her face. "Want more?" She nodded, grinning like an adorable little idiot as she did. Chuckling at her antics, I grabbed her plate, and headed to the kitchen.
"Then after graduation, I had no intention of dating for a little while. I think Kevin had ruined that for me. Maybe that’s why I had been so drawn to Lonnie." I set the plate in front of her.
"What do you mean? His pureness of heart?" She nodded.
"Yeah. He was just so nice and sweet, and so completely opposite of Kevin. I really think I had
to get the last bit of high school out of my system with him, you know? He was so much like Brad it was scary."
"Ew."
"Tell me about it. Anyway, you know the story behind Lonnie. After that whole fiasco, I met Isaac, who I actually still see from time to time. Well, when I was in California, anyway. Neither of us were looking for anyone to date, but if something comes up and we need a date, like the holidays, or something, we’d give each other a buzz."
I sat back in my chair, completely stuffed now, and wondering how on earth Haley was eating that second piece of dessert.
We talked more about our lives through the years, and then I helped her clean things up. It was late, and I was stuffed and tired.
It was nearly midnight by time I got home. I unlocked the door, a smile of contentment on my face. How was it that I enjoyed my time with Haley no matter what it was that we did? We could sit on the couch, neither of us saying a word, watching TV or a movie or something, and I felt at peace, and happy. Never in my life had I experienced that.
Except with her.
I headed toward Bunsen’s room, opening the door to let him out so I could take him out to go to the bathroom outside.
"Hello, boy. How are you?" I picked up his excited, wiggling body, trying to hug him as he snorted in excitement. "Come on, big guy. You need to poop." I carried him over to the backdoor, and let him out.
As I headed toward my bedroom to get ready for bed, I passed the stereo, seeing a Linda Eder CD laying on top. I turned the power on, and loaded the disk, standing there as her voice came through the speakers, loud and clear, full of beauty and talent. Without a thought, my hand went to the track button, and I pushed it until I got to song number twelve.
The slow, sensual tones of "Unusual Way" began, Linda humming with it.
In a very unusual way, one time I needed you.
In a very unusual way, you were my friend.
Maybe it lasted a day,
Maybe it lasted an hour.
But somehow it will never end.
In a very unusual way, I think I’m in love with you.
In a very unusual way, I want to cry.
Something inside me goes weak,
Something inside me surrenders.
You’re the reason why,
You’re the reason why.
You don’t know what you do to me,
You don’t have a clue.
You can’t tell what it’s like to be me,
Looking at you.
It scares me so,
That I can hardly speak.
In a very unusual way, I owe what I am to you.
When at times it appears I won’t stay,
I’d never go.
Special to me in my life,
Since the first day that I met you.
How could I ever forget you,
Once you had touched my soul.
In a very unusual way,
You made me whole.
My eyes closed, I listened to those words, felt them to my very soul, and for just a moment, I thought I might cry.
Turning the stereo off, I let the dog in, turned out all the lights, and went to bed.
* * *
I pulled on my long leather jacket, knowing I’d need it tonight. It was early December, and winter was upon us with a vengeance. We had thirty-six inches of the white stuff fall within the last week, and I was loving every minute of it.
Pulling my gloves on, I closed the door to my house, and headed toward my Jeep to go pick Haley up.
It was her thirty-first birthday, and I really hoped she’d like what I had planned for her. It wasn’t a big party like she’d done for me, but then this wasn’t a milestone birthday for her, either. Plus, I had to admit selfishly, I wanted tonight just to be us.
The last few weeks had gone so quickly, as holidays tend to do. I had gone to my mom’s house for Thanksgiving, and Haley and her family had had their own dinner that I had helped Haley prepare, at her house. She didn’t want her mother to have to take on that burden when she had so much to go already with her father’s failing health. Tim Corregan was getting worse, but I kept telling Haley to keep hope.
Everyday I was at work I was getting closer and closer to something that could possibly be useful to MS sufferers everywhere. I just hoped it would work out.
I looked at the clock in the dashboard, relieved to see that I was on time. Work had gone over today, and I had only thirty minutes to get ready once I got home. My hair was still slightly damp, but I knew it would dry at the restaurant. I was taking her to her favorite place in the world to eat, Landlocked Sea. According to Haley they had the best crab cakes anywhere this side of Maine.
I slowly made my way down the driveway. I hadn’t shoveled off yet, and nearly had to put the Jeep in 4-wheel drive. But, finally I was on my way, and feeling good about what I had planned.
The drive to her place took a bit longer than usual, so I tried to hurry as fast as I could. I had a schedule to keep.
I reached my hand out, knocked on the door, which was opened immediately.
"Damn. Were you waiting by the door?" I asked with a grin. Haley smiled.
"Well, you know."
"So, anyway. Hi!" My smile was huge, pretty much from ear to ear.
"Hello. Aren’t you the happy clam?" Haley asked, a matching smile on her face. I nodded.
"Yup." I looked at her, noting the thick sweater, black khakis and peacoat. "You look nice and warm."
"I am. Per your orders. So, what’s on your mind, Miss Andi?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. Come on."
Haley pulled her door shut, and followed me to the Jeep. As we drove, we were both silent, but when Haley got the notion of where we were headed, she began to perk up.
"Wait, wait, are we, is it," I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. "It is!" I smiled over at her.
"Well, it is your favorite place to eat."
"Oh, yeah? And how do you know that?"
"A little birdie told me." I parked and pulled the emergency break.
"And what was this little birdie’s name?" Haley put her hand on my back as we walked to the building, our breath coming out in white puffs.
"Um, Tweety?" She grinned at me, her hand rubbing small circles in my back. The contact felt good. I never saw myself as much for affection, but like so many things, that had changed.
I opened the door to the restaurant, and we were met with a lobby loaded with people waiting for tables on a Friday night.
"Oh my god." Haley muttered.
"No worries." I headed up to the hostess, told her my name, and with a bright smile, she called for the waitress that had been put aside especially for us. The young girl led us toward the back of the place to a more isolated, quiet table. I smiled as I saw the balloons that had been put up all around it, tied to the chairs and the table leg.
"Oh, Andi." I heard chuckled behind me. "No one knows it’s a birthday or anything." I grinned back at her.
We were seated, and our waitress smiled as us both. "What can I get you ladies to drink?"
"Well," Haley glanced at me. "Since I’m not the one driving, I’ll have a glass of white."
"Okay. And for you, ma’am?"
"A virgin strawberry daiquiri."
"Good choices. I’ll be right back." I watched her hurry through the maze of tables toward the kitchen, then turned to Haley, who was already looking at me.
"This is really nice, Andi." I sat back in the comfortable chair, and grinned.
"I’m glad you like it."
We sat in silence for a moment. I stared at the candle that was lit in the center of our table, watching as the flame bounced around from the unfelt movement of air currents.
"You do know what they say, don’t you?" I looked up at Haley, her voice surprising me.
"What’s that?"
"The way to a woman’s heart is her stomach?"
"I thought that was a man’s heart?"
She shrugged, sitting ba
ck in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.
"Well, true, but I’m known as quite the food slut." I chuckled.
"Is that so?"
"That is so."
"Here you are, ladies." The waitress sat a huge frozen drink in front of me, and a glass of wine in front of Haley. "Are you ready to order yet?" I looked at Haley.
"I’d like the crab cakes, please."
"Alright. What kind of vegetable did you want with that?"
"New potatoes, please."
"Ma’am?" She turned to me.
"The smoked salmon, please."
"Okay. Coming right up." She smiled sweetly, and left us again.
"Nice girl." Haley said, watching her as she hurried away.
"Yes." I agreed. "I would never want to a waitress. Hard work."
"No, kidding. I did it very briefly in college." I looked at Haley.
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah. It sucked."
"I bet you were good at it, though." I grabbed my drink, thankful that I didn’t get one with alcohol in it. With the sheer size of this thing, I would have been under the table halfway through it.
"Eh, I did okay." She shrugged. "Tips were always decent." Haley sipped from her wine.
"Why did you only do it briefly?"
"Because it sucked." I laughed. "And because my scholarship came through, you know, the living expenses."
"Oh, I see how it is. You try to make this seem so pitiful, when you only needed to do it briefly." I stirred my drink with the straw, taking the little plastic sword out of it, biting the pieces of fruit off of it.
"Yeah, but is sounds better the pitiful way."
I shook my head, chuckling. "You, my friend, are a nut."
"Here you are, ladies." The waitress brought our salads, covered with the yummy house dressing.
There was silence as we both dug into the food. I, for one, hadn’t eaten all day, save for the bagel I’d grabbed earlier in the morning. And as for Haley, who I knew had eaten a well-balanced breakfast, as well as lunch, she was just a food slut.
"I love their salad." Haley hummed, happily munching on her greens.
I glanced at my watch. Must keep on schedule.
