“Yes, my mom mentioned it.”
“I’m also a lawyer and work in the city.”
“What type of law do you practice?”
“Divorce law.”
Abby hadn’t been prepared for that answer. It left her speechless.
“No, I didn’t represent myself, but I did get a discount rate.”
“Convenient, I guess,” she replied. “Do you have any children?”
“No. We weren’t married long enough.”
“How long were you married?”
“A little more than six months.”
Not knowing what to say to that, Abby replied, “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Now I have you.”
That sentence caused a shiver to inch down her spine.
As the waiter brought their entrees, the room lights dimmed and the play began with a loud gunshot followed by a scream off to the left somewhere. Abby nearly jumped out of her chair. She hadn’t been prepared for that, either.
The play, a black comedy about a husband who contemplates leaving his wife and opening a fast-food restaurant, lasted for about an hour-and-a-half. During that entire time, Arnold watched Abby more than the show. He was starting to creep her out. It was time to end the date.
“I certainly enjoyed that, didn’t you?” Arnold said as the house lights came up.
That was strange of him to say, since he’d been watching her the entire time. “Yes, it was fun, except…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid I’ve developed a headache and need to go home.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“That’s too bad. The night’s still young and I had a great place to take you.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I need to lie down.”
Reluctantly, Arnold led Abby outside toward the car. As he helped her inside, he asked, “Are you sure you want to go home?”
How many more times did he want to hear the same thing? “Positive.”
“Would you like me to rub your forehead when we get back to your place?” Arnold asked. “It helps my mother feel better when she gets a headache.”
“No, thank you. I just want to go to sleep.”
“Did you hit your head or anything–I mean do you have a concussion? I’d be glad to stay around and make sure you’re okay. When one of the moving men dropped a portable TV on my brother’s head, he got a whopper of a concussion, so I know what to do.”
“That’s okay, thanks. I wasn’t hit in the head. It’s just a headache that I don’t want to become a migraine. The best remedy for that is sleep.”
Abby couldn’t wait to get out of his car. If she never saw him again it would be too soon. All the way to her apartment he chatted away. He was giving her a real headache.
“Did your mother tell you that I moved back into my mother’s house for the time being?”
“No. She didn’t mention it.”
“That way I will be able to stop by the store and say hi.”
“Don’t bother. I can’t talk while I’m working. I’d hate for you to make the trip for nothing.”
“Just saying hello would make my day.”
Abby cringed when she heard that. She was going to have to make a clean break with this guy. “Arnold, you’re a nice guy, but I don’t think this is going to work out between us.”
“How can you say that? I think we’re just perfect for each other.”
“You can’t possibly think that. We hardly know one another.”
“I know all I need to know about you.”
Oh boy. “No. It’s probably best if we don’t see one another again. Thank you, for dinner and the show,” she said, opening the car door.
“Wait!” he said, trying to stop her.
Abby scrambled out of the car and was halfway to the apartment before he caught up to her.
“I’m serious, Arnold. I don’t want to go out with you ever again,” she said, opening her door. Blocking him with an outstretched arm, she squeezed into her apartment and slammed the door, locking it.
Abby hated to make him feel bad, but he was getting on her nerves, aside from the fact he was definitely hard of hearing. She watched through the peephole as Arnold walked slowly back to his car and got inside. Abby didn’t start breathing normally again until she heard him restart the car and drive away.
That was definitely her very last blind date. Even though it was late, she decided to call her mother to prevent her from calling at some ungodly hour in the morning to hear all about the date with Arnold. She also wanted to get it over with.
Her mother picked up on the first ring. Had she been sitting and staring at the phone, willing it to ring?
“Hi, Mom. I know it’s late, but I thought you might want to know what happened with Arnold tonight.”
“Isn’t it early for you to be home already? You do know that you no longer have a curfew, don’t you?”
“I wanted to end the date early.”
“Are you sick?”
“No–not unless you consider being sick of Arnold.”
“I don’t understand, Abby.”
“There’s nothing to understand. I just didn’t like Arnold.”
“But why? He’s such a handsome man.”
“Mom, you know you can’t judge a book by its cover–”
“Sure you can. I do it all the time. I always read the back cover of the book and if I don’t like what I read, I don’t buy it.”
Abby sighed. “That’s not what I meant, Mom.”
“Abby, you’re not–I mean–you do like men, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. I just don’t like one man–Arnold.”
“What will I tell Mrs. Blackman?”
“Nothing. Arnold will tell her for you. He’s living at home now.”
“I just don’t know…”
“Well, I do. No more blind dates. They don’t work. Now, goodnight, Mother.”
Chapter 4
The following day, the phone rang around ten o’clock in the morning. Abby glanced at the caller ID. The name Blackman glared at her. She groaned. Her brain told her hand to pick up the receiver and speak to Arnold. Unfortunately, her hand mutinied and went on strike. Her other hand, not being a scab, wouldn’t get involved and cross the picket line.
After the third ring, the answering machine picked up the call. She listened to the message.
“Abby, this is Arnold. I’m calling to see how you feel. Hopefully, you are still sleeping and not dead. I’ll try back later. Oh, yeah, in case you don’t know, this is Arnold.”
Abby buried her head under her pillow. Unbelievable. What a terrific start to the day. What else could go wrong?
The