scene from "Lather": MEETING SHELBY

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We met at her parent's place. In the fall. They were having a dinner party and my friend Gail suggested I come along. She was driving, and the drinks were free.

“Maybe you can meet her daughter. She is absolutely gorgeous,” Gail said, driving her BMW.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said staring out the window. Something loveable would be nice in my life right about now. Even if it’s just a fling, does it matter?

I didn’t wear a tie and my shirt was tucked in. Casual.

Gail knocked on the door and a 50-year-old answered the door. She greeted me and said her name was Winona and there’s wine in the kitchen. I introduced myself, but I had to get to that wine. It was the only thing that would help me talk without having anxiety. I met about five middle aged guests. Everyone had a drink in their hand. Then I saw her, Winona’s daughter, the only child of the home, the beautiful, tall, intellectual blossom. I learned not to stare in my college days when I would literally use all my eye power to gaze into the soul of someone. I still had a stare and in this case, I couldn’t stop. She had such a presence in the room that was lovable. Everyone adored her and I was sipping on a red wine. I swished the wine around, smelled it and then took a sip. She was standing right in front of me.

“I’m Shelby,” she leaned in to shake my hand.

I shook her hand and smiled. “I’m, not supposed to be drinking wine.”

She laughed, “Neither am I. But when you have a party like this, half the ladies obsess about wine. I drink Mateusz. Sweet.”

I looked at my glass. Almost empty.

“Let me get that for you,” she smiled.

As she went to get a glass, I see a man about my age 26-27 and he’s joined Shelby in the kitchen. I could hear them talking and a part of my impulse guided me to join them. They seemed to be arguing. I walked in and said the first thing in my mind.

“Is there any water?” I had to cool down the situation.

“Yeah there’s some Evian in the fridge. Bottom shelf beside the broccoli. I opened the bottle and took a small sip. The man’s name was Leon. He looked as if he was angry with Shelby, something silly and she winked at me.

“Am I interrupting something?” I said.

“Mind your own business, man,” Leon said, terror in his eyes.

They couldn’t have been fighting about anything too important. Shelby had a dry smile on her face. As if the whole thing was just some joke and Leon shouldn’t be taken seriously. He left the kitchen, mumbling something under his breath about “going to his car.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s a speed freak and a total asshole. Everything revolves around his car and fighting. We’re just ‘seeing’ each other anyways. He spends half his life in the gym and no job.” Shelby admitted.

“Well,” I didn’t know what to say, “I’m a writer, I guess. I read a lot. The job is what I make of it, I love stories and I work on many. It’s my thing.”

She smiled, “So you dream. Finally, someone who can dream. I’m not going to stand that asshole anymore, and there’s something about you that that’s fun. A sense of adventure.”

“I don’t stay still for long,” I laugh, “I’m just making my goals happen. I need to know that I can make it through life on my instinct and knowledge. What are you reading right now?”

“Oh, ya know,” she made a thinking face, “mostly literature, bold Russian epics.”

“So, like Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy?” I said.

She nodded.

She’s an existential baby. I haven’t read anything like that though, mostly fiction. I read fiction so I can write fiction, makes sense. She took my hand and led me to the basement, her room and she started kissing my neck. I have never met a girl that was so forward sexually. She kissed my neck and my ear and she sat on the bed. We just lay on the bed, French kissing. Then all of a sudden something tears at my leg.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Leon said, with terror in his eyes. “Get your fucking hands off of my girl.”

“I’m not your girl, Leo. I never was and I never will be. You’re an idiot, get off him.” Shelby raised her voice.

Leon let go of me and raised a fist. I closed my eyes and heard Shelby scream. She kicked him in the nuts and slapped him in the face. She got in his face and spoke her mind.

“I’ve had enough of this bullshit. Just leave, leave and don’t come back. Forget the month we had and just leave me alone. Never look at this fucking house ever again,” she said, looking in his eyes.

What a dragon, I thought.

Leon got up and hunkered up the stairs, defeated.

She lay on the bed and looked at me, “You gonna finish what you started?”

I started laughing. She started giggling and I knew it. I knew this was the woman I would be with, the woman that I would marry, the love

I would adore.

We made out more on the bed and her limits were set, knowing the possibility of a future happenstance. We walked to the kitchen and I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was getting long and I had lipstick all over my mouth. I told her that I would be back. I went to the washroom and cleaned off all the lipstick on my mouth. I closed the door and walked into the back yard. She was on the patio smoking. I asked for a cigarette.

“They’re Dhjarum Blacks. Clove cigarettes. Do you dare?” she asked.

“Of course, I used to smoke those in college. Tasty.” I answered.

She opened the pack and I picked one. She handed me her Zippo. If you’re going to smoke, you might as well smoke professionally. I took a drag and the taste of clove engulfed my senses. The kretek crackled. I haven’t had a kretek in a while. My phone alarm went off, meaning it was the night before a deadline. I was working on a piece about a new novel that hit shelves at the end of the week. I didn’t quite finish the book yet, and with this deadline, I had to be sure to criticize it.

“I have to leave. I’m sorry, I have a deadline.” I told her. I was waiting for her to ask me out on a date.

“Do you need a ride?” she asked.

“Are you good?” I asked.

“Yup, I’ll take my mom’s car. It’s not a Rolls Royce, but it gets our family around.” Shelby smiled in my eyes.

“Works for me” I said.

We walked out of the house saying our goodbyes. I waved off Gail and Winona. They were kissing Shelby on the cheek. And I left with a smile on my face.

Shelby grabbed my hand as we left the house and she unlocked the car.

She gave me a peck on the cheek. We sat in the car and she put her hand on my thigh. This couldn’t get any better than this. Again, making out. She never asked me what my story was about and I rather not tell her. We arrived at my apartment and I was going to ask her if she would like to come upstairs for a drink but than I realized how sex would affect the situation if I really wanted to be with her. I directed her and she stopped perpendicular to my door. I kissed her and she smiled. My phone was dead so I found a receipt in my pocket and my trusty Sharpie and asked for her number. She wrote it down and folded it.

“If you really want it you have to promise me something,” she said.

“Which is?” I asked.

“You promise to be the man that I always kiss goodnight,” she smiled.

Wow, she’s thinking like I am. I took the number and looked in her eyes, kissed her and said “I promise.” And she laughed and drove away. I promised with all my heart, forever and I promise, til death do us part.

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