Raincheck

For three weeks I would see Chelsea either driving away or pulling up in her car.....I would always wave and smile...There was always something very flirtatious about the way I was smiling at her and I'm sure she knew it. There were times when she would look back and catch me staring at her. I never tried to hide it...I would just smile or smirk and she would smile back.
Finally after a month of this...I called out to her....

"Hey, when are you going to let me make dinner for you?"

"Soon" she said.

"Soon? That's not an answer." I said.

"Sure it is.." she laughed.

"Well how about tonight?" I said.

"Tonight? For real?" she said.

"Yeah...Go on inside...get cleaned up...I gotta run to the market...I'll call you when I get back....
Oh yeah...what is your number?" I asked.

"My,aren't you slick...Why don't you give me your number and I'll call you when I think you're ready." she said.

I could see she was about playing and I wasn't....Still ,I gave her my number and I headed off to the market.

I fixed a nice marinara sauce with a lot of tomato base, green peppers, onions, red, yellow and orange peppers and a pinch of sugar and garlic...I had pasta cooking in one pot and was sauteeing
itlalian sausage in another pot. I had fresh cooked shrimp heating in yet another pan and was fixing a fresh salad.

The meal had been finished for close to an hour and the phone didn't ring....I waited for a half an hour and the phone still didn't ring...So i sat down and ate...I wasn't about to let good food go to waste and I also wasn't about to call her...She said she would call me. I finished the meal and washed the dishes and put away everything and still no call.

I sat on my steps and stared daggers at her house.....There was no sign of any activity....In fact, her car wasn't there! She had gone out. Stood me up and gone out!!! There were playas who still shook in their boots at the thought of making me this angry!



Finally, around midnight her white Nissan two door Altima drove up! She got out....She staggered a little bit..

"Wild night huh?" I said blandly....

She looked at me , then smiled then put her hand over her mouth like a petulant child who had forgotten to do her homework and was being questioned about it by a school teacher...

"Oh Walter...I forgot...I'm soo sorry...I took a shower and then took a nap....I got up around 9:30
and my girlfriend called and we went to Josie's ,had a few drinks and then we ate at Mabel Jenkins place. Can I get a raincheck?" she said.

"I'm afraid not..." I said without a trace of rancor...just matter of factly. She walked across the street and up to my steps then...

"Look I'm sorry I kind of stood you up.." she said.

"Kind of...You did stand me up." I said softly...she probably thought I was going to bellow or scream...but that wasn't my way..plus,I wasn't that invested in her to do so....I suppose I should have been a little upset, but I really wasn't...I was just stating facts.

"Well, can I at least see the inside of your house?" she asked.

"It's late..I don't think it would look right, you going in my house this time of night." I said and got up to walk inside. She probably wasn't used to a man turning his back to her either...

"Good Night Chelsea...maybe I'll show you around some other time....Can I get a raincheck?" I said , laughing and going inside my house...leaving her standing there.

(To be continued....)