“Don’t talk so much that you can’t learn a little. No one likes people who think they know everything.” Wise words they were, and Michelle applied them.
A few minutes after eight PM, Michelle looked up and saw that they stood in front of the last painting. Apprehension flooded her; she was about to go to dinner, with him… the man she’d watched walk by each day, the one she’d dreamed of, the unattainable man of her portrait; the man with the smile. However, unlike her fearful suspicions, William hadn’t rebuffed her; he sought her out and in lieu of the look of disgust she had once envisioned he had searched her eyes with interest and perhaps a little uncertainty.
William did not look uncertain now; he grinned and pointed towards the main entrance.
“Shall we?” he asked. Michelle thought they were the most beautiful words ever spoken. Nodding, she took his arm with a deep delight.
“Just for dinner...” she thought, “I can have a dear companion.”
At the coat check, she let William hold her overcoat for her. He, in turn, liked how his companion snuggled into its woolen depths; he was loath to cover up her form in such heavy layers but when Michelle put on her white hat and gloves, she looked so darling that the dim antechamber was brightened.
Outside, William signaled for a cab. Michelle tried not to look as excited as she felt; she loved riding in taxis. It was fun just being driven somewhere, let alone with a dashing acquaintance; it had been over a year since she’d been able to even think about taking one anywhere. William quietly observed her expression as the cab drew up.
“You’re all bubbly,” he said, smiling down at her. “You don’t even know where we’re going.” Michelle looked at him and smiled. Getting into the taxi, she scooted over so William could get in beside her.
“Oh, anywhere would be nice,” she replied, smiling at him. Then a thought occurred to her. “Except sushi,” she corrected, wrinkling her nose. William laughed.
“Good heavens… no,” he said, closing the taxi’s door. “At a party I may tolerate a bit of sushi, drowned out with a few tumblers of sake, but not by choice in this weather...” Michelle giggled a bit at his dismal tone.
“Ah, so you’ve been at a few ‘there’s-nothing-but-sushi’ parties,” she said. Grinning, William nodded.
“More than a few,” he commented. “For some reason most of Manhattan’s corporate party-planners are ardent fans of well-presented bits of raw fish.”
“Tonight kind of feels like hot soup and fresh bread night,” Michelle proposed, after a pause; she resisted the urge to lick her lips. Hunger had been building up in her since breakfast. William looked thoughtful.
“That suggestion is quite apropos,” he replied. “I know just the place.” He leaned forward and said something to the driver. Michelle didn’t catch it but the cab began edging into the traffic, despite some honks of protest from the vehicles behind.
Sitting beside one another the two felt oddly comfortable, even in saying nothing. William didn’t know if he’d ever met a more pleasant girl in his life. Glancing sideways at her, he watched as she sat serenely, hands folded in her lap; she looked out her window with rapt attention.
“How long have you lived in New York?” he asked, suddenly feeling curious. The investigative report he’d received on her did not include everything.
“Three years,” Michelle answered, turning to face him. William looked mildly surprised.
“You seem to enjoy the city like a tourist,” he remarked. Michelle’s eyes took on a doubtful look, as if she didn’t know what he meant by it. “It’s a compliment, Michelle,” William told her.
A slow smile spread over Michelle’s face.
“I wasn’t going to throw anything at you,” she replied, her eyes twinkling with mischief. William was very tempted to lean over and kiss her, she looked so attractive smiling. Michelle saw the intense look in his eyes and demurely dropped her gaze to her hands; her white gloves stood out nicely against the intense blue coat and its glinting buttons.
“This is pretty,” William commented, fingering the very edge of her coat sleeve. “Is it new?”
Michelle smiled to herself.
“If only he knew,” she thought. Looking sideways at William, she decided to tell him.
“Well, it is, to me,” she said. “It was twelve dollars at the Good Will..” The latter part she whispered conspiratorially. Her companion’s eyebrows rose slightly. “It had a tear and missing buttons,” Michelle continued. “All it needed was a proper dry-cleaning and a little TLC.”
William liked seeing the more animated side of his guest and was rather moved by her pride in taking a cast-off coat and making it whole again.
“I’m impressed,” he said. Michelle caught the look in his eyes and saw he meant his words. A little bit of her pink dress peeked out beyond the coat sleeve. William drew his finger across it. “The dress too?” he asked, looking down at her face. He as rewarded by a deep blush from his guest, visible even in the darkness of the cab. Michelle nodded, dumbly; the flutter of William’s touch on her sleeve affected even her breathing.
“Wow...” she thought, as he continued to finger her sleeve. “He’s only touching my sleeve...”
“It’s lovely,” William said, interrupting her thoughts. Michelle willed herself not to blush again; she failed.
“Thank you,” she said, softly; she looked at his perfectly tailored, black wool coat. “You are always so well-dressed,” she accoladed, shyly. “You must shop at the Good Will, too.” William chuckled.
“Perhaps I should start,” he mused, not removing his hand from Michelle’s sleeve. “I must admit, you pull it off,” he continued. “No one would guess second hand; you’ve quite put your own little touches into it.” He fingered one of the silver buttons on her sleeve.
Michelle resisted the urge to throw her arms around William’s neck and kiss his face in gratitude for his compliments. Instead, she gave him a sweet smile and a soft 'thank you'. After a moment, something caused her to remember the elegant woman who'd accompanied William the last time she saw him... the day she'd yelled at him. Michelle looked up at William, a sudden look of concern filling her eyes.
“Your mother...” she began,“I hope she wasn’t offended by my behavior, you know that day... at my old corner.” William patted her arm, leaning a little closer to her.
“Please do not worry about it,” he said. “My mother was merely concerned about you. She hoped you were alright.” Michelle’s eyes held a far-away look.
“I don’t know what she must think of me,” she returned her voice a little sad. “She was so lovely.” William smiled.
“Ironically, she thought the same thing about you,” he said, his hand still on her sleeve. “You know, Michelle… if my mother had not been with me, I would have chased after you.”
His voice dropped lower as he spoke; Michelle met his gaze. The intense look was back in his deep, blue eyes. Michelle was suddenly very aware of how small the cab was, and how close she sat to this man, about whom she had entertained many a romantic notion. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her chin, slightly.
“I doubt you’d have caught me,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound too prim. William grinned; it was the smile of an over-confident teenager.
“Really?” he murmured. “It seems that I have caught up to you just fine.” Michelle’s eyes widened, then she scowled a little.
“Touché,” she assented. William chuckled, patting her gloved hand.
“I am very glad you agreed to come out with me,” he said. Looking into her eyes, William wondered if he should share some of his thoughts out loud. “After all...” he thought, “what good is this night if it’s wasted in shallow chatter?” She didn’t seem the type for that anyhow. William figured if he let her into his mind a little she’d either run away screaming or stick it out. He decided it was worth the risk.
“When I first saw you sitting on the sidewalk,” he began, sitting up a little more, “I was intrigu
ed by your eyes, looking up from under that hat of yours.” A small smile graced Michelle’s lips, and William felt encouraged to go on. “I looked for you every day after that, but you never came back,” he continued, shifting in his seat a little.
Michelle searched William’s eyes carefully, as if weighing each one of his words. She swallowed her; this was all very interesting information. If William felt such freedom to communicate, she did not object to learning more of his thoughts.
William found it difficult to concentrate on his little ‘confession’ when Michelle’s clear, beautiful eyes were delving so deeply into his. He didn’t see any dark things in them... just the honest and pure thoughts of youth. The orchard-picnic vision popped up again as they rode along in the cab and even though William wanted to re-play it in his mind, he forced himself to keep talking.
“Even my mother asked about you,” he continued. “I cannot express my relief in seeing you again, tonight.” He looked into Michelle’s eyes fearlessly. This time William did not stop his hand from lifting up; softly, he tucked a stray piece of her hair back behind her ear.
Michelle had never wanted to be kissed so much in her life; she was blissfully drowning in the cobalt waters of William’s eyes. She watched his gaze drop to her mouth; momentarily, her lungs stopped working. William leaned a little towards her.
The cab abruptly halted, tossing both passengers forward, then back against the seat.
“Bloody hell!” William exclaimed. He turned to Michelle, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?” he asked,; he almost broke out laughing. Michelle’s hat had slid forward over her eyes in the most comical fashion; she pushed it back off her face, her eyes wide. Seeing William’s face, she relaxed.
“I forgot about that aspect of taxi-rides,” she said.
The little window between the driver and backseat slid open.
“That’ll be $32.50,” the driver spat out; his hand reached through the window, the gloved fingers snapping expectantly. William's brow darkened; he’d been this close to tasting Michelle’s lips when they were so rudely interrupted. The driver’s attitude was typical of ‘cabbies’. William handed the money over and helped his guest out of the cab. The taxi sped off immediately, tires squealing.
Offering Michelle his arm, William led her towards a small, white staircase.
“Oh, how pleasant this looks...” Michelle breathed. The short staircase before them was lit with lanterns that had candles inside; they led up to a wide, red door with the name 'Marie’s' emblazoned upon it in large, scrolling, gold lettering.
“It is,” William agreed, smiling at her awed reaction. “This is my favorite spot for a quiet dinner.” Michelle nodded; she was grateful just to be out with him; a fast-food place would have been alright but this was a nice surprise.
The restaurant looked small but immaculately clean. There were no tables; semi-circle booths hugged the dark, fabric-covered walls ending with a long bar at the far end of the room. The room boasted deep shades of rich red, black damask upholstery and soft, glowing candles; dark-clad waiters drifted through the cozy space like black swans on a midnight lake. A myriad of pleasant scents drifted in the warm air, above all the sublime scent of fresh-baked bread. The maitre d’ nodded at William and without a word escorted them to a nearby booth.
“I guess you do come here often,” Michelle said, removing her coat; she scooted into the booth, trying to do so daintily. William slipped in next to her, secretly pleased that the small booth gave him a legitimate excuse to sit as close to Michelle as possible.
“Yes, well… working as much as I do, dinners at home are not conducive to deadlines. This place is close and quiet.”
“One needs some quiet,” Michelle agreed. “Even in New York.” William smiled.
“Especially here,” he said.
Laying his coat beside him on the seat, William turned to his date; she was glowing again in her pink dress. He especially liked her long hair; it looked touchable and soft. She wore simple jewelry and just a little makeup; she appeared to be just herself, nothing more or less. His scrutiny was not lost on Michelle; she pretended to occupy herself with folding her coat and laying it next to her on the booth seat.
They ended up ordering clam chowder and fresh rolls. While they waited for the food, William amused Michelle with stories of his childhood in London.
“... Yes, I was a little ripper,” he said, smiling. “The fire department came out and everything. We were only having our own little Bonfire Night… didn’t mean for the whole field to go ablaze.” Michelle giggled softly at her companion’s admission of youthful--albeit unintentional--arson.
“I bet your mother has a bunch of stories to tell about you,” she said. William narrowed his eyes at her.
“Don’t even joke about that; she’d go on all day,” he stated. “I don’t suppose you did anything bad as a child, eh?”
“Well, I never set anything on fire, but I did play a few pranks...” Michelle confessed, absently re-folding the table napkin.
Interested, William set his elbows on the table ad leaned forward a little.
“Do tell,” he murmured; his eyes held a strange gleam.
“Uh... alright.” William’s expression made Michelle a little uneasy but she plunged into her story regardless, hoping to amuse him. “There were a few but the best one was getting back at a group of preppy girls, after they had their jock boyfriends toss me and my friend Leah into the school dumpster a few times.” William’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Now, why would they do a thing like that?” he inquired. “Come on... what did you do to get them mad?”
“It was more like what we didn’t do,” Michelle told him, giving a half-smile. “Leah and I pulled some of the best grades and were two of the few ‘girl geeks’, I guess. The ‘leader’ of the preppy girls was, ah… a girl of ill repute, so to speak. Too much time at parties and not enough actual studying.”
“I see,” William said. “She didn’t like you and your friend?”
“Not quite,” Michelle said, titling her head a little. “We were not in her set, so I doubt she’d ever have noticed us, until she wanted us to sell her some term papers.”
“I gather you said ‘no’,” William said, grinning.
“Correct,” Michelle returned, with a smile. “Apparently the problem was that since we wouldn’t sell her the papers, no one else would, either.”
“So, the little witches had their jock boyfriends put pressure on you, eh?” William asked. Nodding, Michelle laughed inwardly at William’s pronunciation of ‘witches’; his ‘w’ sounded almost non-existent.
“Exactly,” she answered, putting her hands in her lap.
“What did you do about it?” William asked; he enjoyed seeing Michelle more enlivened; it was visible proof that the young woman was growing more comfortable around him. Honestly, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d so enjoyed someone’s company.
“Well, we waited until after P.E.--when ‘the witches’ were showering--” Michelle was saying. “... and no, it’s nothing perverted, William.” She paused, looking narrowly at her companion. Wiping the knowing grin off his face, William feigned innocence.
“Why would you assume...”
“Well, you are male…” Michelle said, plaintively. William snorted and motioned for her to continue. “Anyway, Leah and I each grabbed a CO2 fire extinguisher and spent a glorious half minute freezing all their clothing solid.”
At this, William’s eyebrows shot up, a smile creeping over his face.
“Why, you little minx,” he said, admiringly. Michelle shrugged.
“They deserved it,” she said. “They never should have messed with kids who received A’s in Chemistry.” William chuckled, nodding his head.
“Sounds like fun,” he said, catching Michelle’s eye.
“It was,” she said, sighing a little. “You could hear the screams all the way to the quad.”
Rubbing his chin thoughtful
ly, William watched his date smile at the table; she appeared lost in youthful memories.
“I think that is one of the best pranks I have ever heard of,” he stated. All of the sudden, his stomach rumbled; William’s face reddened a little; to her credit Michelle pretended she hadn’t heard. “Service is a little slow,” William joked, rubbing the back of his neck. Michelle gave him a smile.
“I bet the food is worth the wait,” she said, gently. Something in Michelle’s voice put William at ease. Sinking back comfortably against the booth, he looked at her.
“It is,” said he. “Like so many things.” Michelle bit her lip and looked away; William's gaze was so intense she felt warmed through, like being slowly dipped in melted chocolate. Michelle fiddled with the tablecloth and steered her mind away from that whole realm.
William watched her for a moment, and then cleared his throat.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Michelle,” said he. A wave of nervousness welled up in his companion at these words. Michelle forced herself to look up at William despite her trepidation; she’d long realized it was best to face questions with bravery, even if one did not feel it. “That portrait you drew of me... had you been watching me long?” William continued. Michelle swallowed, forcing herself to keep eye contact with her companion.
“Not really watching, per say...” she managed, feeling a blush creep up her neck. “You just walked by at the same, exact time. I really only saw you for a few seconds each day… walking in the one direction, but never back.” Smiling at the young woman’s uncertain tone, William switched his gaze to the vase on the table.
“I see. Well, I go to lunch and then I walk around the block back to work. Exercise, you know,” he explained, looking over at Michelle again. “You drew that picture of me just from that?”
Michelle looked at him with mild surprise.
“Oh, no…” she said, firmly. “There was this one little boy. He ran into you one day.” Her smile returned as she watched William’s eyebrows draw together in puzzlement.
Draw Me A Picture Page 5