by G. A. Hauser
“Oh! And we want the crab artichoke dip, and…what else, Gavie?”
“I’d like—”
“The shrimp and calamari!” Trina said.
The waitress nodded and looked at Gavin with sympathy, as though he was a trod-on hubby. Gavin nodded. “That’s fine for now.”
“I’ll bring you your drinks and sour dough bread right away.”
She left.
Trina said, “She’s a bitch.”
“Really?” Gavin leaned on his elbows across the table.
“Meow.”
She laughed and checked her phone, setting near her on the table. “Why didn’t he call tonight?”
“Who knows the ways of straight men?”
“He’s a stupid jerk.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“He bought a two-tone Rolex from me yesterday.”
“Ah.” Trina met many men, including himself, while she worked the sales floor at the flagship store of one of the biggest jewelry chains on the west coast. It explained why she dripped with gold and pearls.
“He was so cute. He was wearing this fabulous designer suit. I fell in love.”
Gavin smiled wryly. He’d heard that nearly a dozen times before. The waitress approached with a tray. She placed a frosted glass and bottle of beer in front of Gavin, then set down Trina’s martini and a basket of warm bread and butter.
“Would you like water?”
“Sure,” Gavin said, noticing Trina giving the waitress the evil eye.
“Be right back.” The waitress left.
As he poured the beer into the glass, tilting it sideways to avoid a foamy head, he asked, “Why are you shooting darts at that woman?”
“She’s flirting with you.”
Gavin choked in his laugh, nearly spilling the beer. “You’re insane.”
“Stop. I hate when you belittle me.” She sipped her cocktail, leaving a red lipstick print on the rim.
“I’m not. You know I love you.” Gavin made a kissing noise at her. He brought the drink to his lips and took a taste. “Mm. Man, I needed that.”
“Hard day?”
“Yes.” Just as he was about to tell her about it, she said,
“Gavie…why didn’t he call me?”
“What did you guys talk about when he bought the Rollie from you?” He picked up a slice of the sour dough bread and buttered it. The warm bread melted the creamy better instantly. He stuffed half of it into his mouth. He was famished.
“We talked about his job at Boeing, how he came from Corvallis, Oregon, he was new in town. Blah, blah, blah.”
The deep sound of the ferry horn blasting made Gavin turn in his chair to look. The big leviathan of a boat was moving across the Sound to the peninsula. Since it was summertime, the sun was still high above the Olympic Mountain range. “We could have sat outside on the deck.”
“Too windy.” She turned up her nose and drank more from her glass.
“Did he make any promises when you exchanged numbers?”
“He said, ‘I’ll call you sometime.’”
Gavin arched an eyebrow. “Honey, that doesn’t sound promising.”
“I should text him.” She picked up her phone.
“What will you say?”
“Hi, what are you up to? Something like that.”
She used her thumbs to tap the tiny keys of her iPad. “I wrote,
‘hey, just wondering what you’re doing.’” She held up the phone to show him. “Hit send?”
“You know him better than I do.” He topped off the glass with the remainder of the beer.
She pushed a button and stared at it, setting it down beside her. “Think he’ll text back?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where’s the food? I’m so hungry.” She looked around for the waitress.
“Have some bread.”
“Will you butter it for me?”
“Sure.” He picked up a slice and spread butter into the soft center. “Here ya go.”
She leaned across the table. He fed her a bite and set the remainder on her bread plate.
“Why are you gay?”
“You’ve asked me that for nearly four years.”
“Did you ever tell me?”
“I don’t know why I’m gay.” He spotted a young man with a tray heading towards them.
“Artichoke dip and calamari?” the young man asked.
“Yes.” Gavin moved his beer aside.
The man set down the two plates as well as dishes and silverware. “And here’s your water.” He placed two glasses down for them. “Anything else?”
“I’d like another martini.”
“Okay. Another beer, sir?”
“Not just yet. Soon.” Gavin smiled.
The young man left.
“He likes you.” Trina scooped up the dip and loaded it on top of a chunk of toasted bread.
“He’s not gay.”
“Aren’t all waiters?”
“Trina…behave.” Gavin served himself a little of each appetizer.
“Ask him out. I think he likes you.”
“I am not asking him out. He’s not gay.”
“How do you know if you don’t ask?”
“He was wearing a wedding ring.”
“Oh.”
Gavin ate a bite of food and moaned. “Good choice.”
“Mm. Love it.” She nibbled the bread and topping. “He didn’t text back yet.” She glanced at her phone.
“He will. Give the man a second.”
“But it only takes a second.” She picked up her phone. “You think he got it?”
“You’re the expert on trapping men. You’re like honey and they’re a bunch of flies.” He gulped his beer, indeed craving another.
“Ew. I hate bugs.”
The blonde waitress brought a fresh martini to the table.
“Here you go.”
“What happened to the cute guy?” Trina asked as the woman took her empty glass.
“Who?”
“Trina…” Gavin said to the waitress, “Never mind. Another beer when you have a chance, please?”
“Sure. Be right back.”
When the waitress left, Gavin shook his head at Trina. “He’s straight and married. And I don’t need help finding a date.”
Trina finished chewing and stared at him.
“What?” Gavin tilted his head.
“Have you ever gone on a date?”
“Yes!” He looked around, lowering his voice. “I go out. I don’t always give you the news flash, but I date.”
“When?”
“When?”
Trina ate another bite of food, waiting for his answer. Gavin was slightly unnerved he had to think about it. Trina’s phone hummed. She dropped her slice of artichoke dip on bread to her plate, wiped her hands and picked it up excitedly. “It’s him!”
While Trina read her message, busy tapping one back, Gavin wondered…when had been his last date?
The new job was so consuming, he couldn’t recall. All winter, through the high winds and occasionally the snow, which was rare for their wet city, he’d worked overtime, through nights and weekends, making sure the citizens had power.
Trina made a squealing noise of excitement and Gavin figured his evening with Trina would end once she nailed her latest man down for a time.
The waitress brought over his fresh beer. “How’s the food?”
she asked.
“Very good.” Gavin glanced at Trina who was absorbed in her own world.
“Anything else I can get you?”
“Not at the moment, thanks.”
The waitress left and Gavin finished the last sip of his first beer, pouring the second into a cold glass. He scooted his chair sideways and gazed out at the distant ferry boat, with its backdrop of a mountain range capped with snow.
Trina said, “I’m meeting him at seven at Wild Ginger.” She slid the food plates closer to Gavin. “I can’t eat any more.
We’re going to have dinner.” She wriggled in her seat and looked as though she was a champagne bottle about to pop.
“What’s his name?” Gavin asked though he didn’t really care.
“Toby. How cute is that? I love it.” She gulped her martini down, checking her Cartier watch.
“Do you want to go home and ‘freshen up’ before your big date?”
“Yes. You mind? Oh, Gavie…you’re so sweet. Thank you so much!” She picked up her phone and stuck it into her purse. Before she rushed off, she kissed Gavin’s cheek. “I smudged you!” She laughed as she left.
Gavin stared at his full beer, the empty martini glass with the red lipstick on it, and the plates of leftover food. He stood and moved to the seat Trina had been sitting in so he could gaze out at the view. Absently he rubbed at the spot where she had kissed him, then used a napkin to wipe off the red lipstick.
~
The phone woke him out of a dead sleep.
Gavin checked the time, seeing it was nearing one a.m. He picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”
“He didn’t kiss me goodnight!”
“Huh?” Gavin tried to get his brain to function.
“Gavie! We had a great time…we talked for hours. I thought he would kiss me goodnight.”
Rubbing his forehead, Gavin said, “How many drinks have you had? You sound toasted.”
“Why didn’t he kiss me, Gavie?” she whined.
“I think he’s just being polite. You know, taking it slow.”
“I wanted a kiss. You should see how cute he is with his little wire framed glasses. He’s really hot. He wore a suit and tie, and his new watch. Gavie, he really is the one.”
“The one?” Gavin groaned. He’d heard that at least a dozen times before. “Are you going to see him again?”
“He said he’d call me. Maybe tonight. It’s Saturday now.”
“If he gives you his whole weekend, he likes you.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. Guys don’t do that usually. At least they don’t in the rom-coms I’ve seen. You remember He’s Just Not That Into You?”
“Why didn’t he kiss me? I even leaned closer, you know?
When he said goodbye, he said, ‘I had a nice time. I’ll call you.’
Do you think he likes me?”
“Yes.” Gavin yawned and rolled to his side, cupping the phone against his ear. He was used to Trina calling at all hours. Sometimes she’d ask him for a ride home from a bar when she drank too much.
“He’s so sweet, Gavie. He’s only twenty-nine and he’s already a big-wig over at Boeing. His nails are manicured and clean.”
Gavin tried to see his hands in the darkness. He doubted his nails would pass Trina’s inspection they were so chewed up from his job.
“He’s just moved here from Corvallis. Gavie, I want to get him before some blonde bimbo does.”
Gavin smiled to himself. “You will. Trust me.”
“You think so?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you, Gavie. I’m sorry I woke you. Why are you in bed? You should be out at the gay bars.”
“Yeah, right. That’s my style, isn’t it?” Gavin coughed in a laugh.
“How will you meet your Mr. Right?”
“I have no idea.”
“If Toby doesn’t call me, are you free later today?”
“I’m on call at work, but I think the weatherman said sunny or partly sunny this weekend. I doubt we’ll get a huge power outage, but you never know.”
“Come shopping with me at Bellevue Square. We can have lunch there.”
Gavin groaned at the prospect. Shopping with Trina was an all day affair.
“Please? I want to talk more about my date with Toby to see what you think.”
“Let me get some errands done in the morning. I need to go to the gym, food shop…you know.”
“How about one? I can pick you up if you want, though I’d rather have you drive there.”
“I can drive. Let me call you once I get things done.”
“Okay, Gavie. Kiss kiss!”
“Goodnight, Trina.” Gavin tried to find the phone cradle in the dark. He knocked something off his nightstand and cursed, finally getting the phone into the right spot. Rolling over, curling into his pillow, he imagined the scene with Trina and her new conquest. Each new man she met that had dating potential, Trina asked Gavin to appraise for her. Sometimes it was done covertly. He would spy on them at her request, and give his feedback later on with his score from one to ten.
Gavin didn’t mind. It was slightly amusing in a macabre sense. And Ms. Yamagachi didn’t care what he thought anyway. He never failed to give them all a ten plus rating. And if he were to judge each man by looks alone, he wasn’t lying.
Gavin tried to close his eyes again. The zoo was active at night and he was across the street from a small convenient shop as well. Loud vibrating music from opened car windows reverberated in his bedroom. Summer was here.
He put the pillow over his head and sighed.
Chapter 3
Gavin parked his car in Trina’s driveway at her home on Queen Anne. Her split level house was atop one of the hilly spots overlooking Ballard and the Fremont district. He knew the neighborhood well from many downed power lines taken out by windstorms and the older trees.
Before he knocked he stood on her front lawn, which was elevated from the driveway and sidewalk out front. A retaining wall of cement surrounded each of the properties on the block. Gavin took in the view. From her spot on the street he could see the southern tip of Lake Union as well as the Aurora Bridge. He hoped after becoming a journeyman in his job, he could afford to upscale. Home prices in Seattle seemed to be in a bubble. While the rest of the country was selling foreclosures for half their value, Rain City held its ground like a stubborn waterlogged goat.
He spun on his heels to walk to her front door, ringing the bell. A barking sound surprised him. Trina didn’t own a dog, but her mother did. Gavin had met it once when he had dinner with Trina’s family ages ago.
From where he was standing he heard her scolding the pooch.
“Pepper! No!” The door opened and a tiny Shih Tzu, looking like a black and white mop, snuffled his shoes.
“Hi, Gaviee!” Trina sang enthusiastically as she did each time they met. He was glad she was happy to see him.
“Hello, lady.” He hugged her, getting a lipstick kiss on the cheek. “Isn’t he your mom’s dog?” He knelt down to pet the dog as he rubbed at a mark he knew was on his cheek from her lipstick peck.
“Yes. He’s Mom’s. She and Dad are going out of town overnight and she didn’t want him alone.” She addressed the dog, “Pepper, come get a cookie.”
Gavin closed the door behind him as Trina shook a box of dog biscuits in the kitchen and the dog wagged its tiny white fluffy tail.
While she was busy, he took the time to inspect her home, which changed each time he was there, which wasn’t often. Usually when he picked her up she was ready at the door. A few new pieces of artwork were hanging on the wall, and a flamboyant blue and clear hand-blown glass vase was on her coffee table. Trina constantly moved her furniture around, or had it moved for her by her many men, seemingly never happy with the set up.
The house was uncluttered, sparsely furnished, with white walls and unobtrusive pastel print fabric on a chair and matching sofa, a boxy television was on a low stand, and in the corner of the room was a metallic handmade globe which threw off many colored lights, like a fiber optic lamp. Trina’s tastes were eclectic, and she favored artwork from trendy up and coming artists and loathed television.
“Every time I come here you have something new.”
She appeared harried and not her usual composed self. He checked his watch. He wasn’t early, but right on time. To give her the moment she needed to get herself together, he sat on the slightly hard sofa and picked up a Glamour Magazine to browse.
“You want anything?” she yelled fr
om somewhere in the house.
“I’m good. I figured we’d eat later.” He got hit with a perfume ad in the magazine and quickly turned the page to rid the odor.
“Why didn’t he kiss me!”
Gavin smiled, realizing that was why she was still moping.
“He’s a gentleman.”
She entered the room, putting on dark red lipstick, holding the compact mirror. Seeing her footwear, Gavin could only wonder how she managed to balance on heels all day long. Of course she was dressed to the nines in black slacks and a black and white striped satin top, while he wore his blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a Harley Davidson decal on the chest. “Should I have worn a suit?”
She put the cap on her lipstick and whacked his shoulder.
“You always look good.”
“I do?” He watched her leave the room.
“Yes!”
“Huh.”
Pepper stood by the sofa, staring at him with two black button eyes and a little black button nose.
“Does he need to go out before we leave?” Gavin asked.
“He just did.” She slung her black Fendi purse over her shoulder. “Is it still sunny out?”
“For the moment.” He closed the magazine and stood.
“I never know what to wear. I hate Seattle.”
“You always know what to wear, and you love Seattle.” He followed her to the front door.
“Sit!” She pointed to the dog. He obeyed, tongue hanging out of his mouth. “Let’s go. I have to set the alarm. Go.”
Gavin stepped outside and gave the sky a close inspection. Clouds were forming over the mountain range, but that didn’t necessarily mean rain. Though it usually did.
The tones of an alarm key-code were heard, then Trina closed the door, using a key to lock a dead bolt. She exhaled loudly and stuffed her keys into her purse, putting on a pair of sunglasses that made her look like a Japanese Jackie Onassis.
He held out his elbow to her, and she hooked it instantly.
“You should wear flats. We’re just headed to the mall.”
“Bite your tongue!” She huffed in disgust. “Flats. I wear flats when I clean house, not go out.”
“Don’t your feet hurt in those?” He opened the car door for her.
“No. I’m used to it.”
He closed the door and walked to the driver’s side. She flipped down the visor for the mirror and rubbed lipstick off her teeth. “You need a new car. I want to get a BMW. What do you think of Beamers, Gavie?” She folded the visor up again and put her seatbelt on. “What year is this jalopy?”