Andrew arrived at the office on time the next day, sober, and ready to work. But before he went to his cubicle, he stopped by Amanda's desk with a little gift.
"Oh, Andrew. Red roses? They're beautiful," she gushed.
"I know," Andrew replied. "I just thought I'd give you something to remind you of how much I love you."
"Oh, thank you," she replied, leaning forward to thank Andrew with a kiss. "I'll just find a vase and put them here on my desk . . .right after I answer this call."
As Amanda answered the telephone, Andrew turned to return to his work. He took only a few steps before running into Hector.
Hector looked Andrew over critically. "Hey, you made it in this morning."
"Listen, I'm not in the mood for your smart remarks. Or have you forgotten the last time."
Hector shifted his jaw, contemplatively. "No, but thanks for reminding me. I ought to have you charged with assault."
Andrew and Hector took a moment to stare each other down before Hector spoke again. "All I'm saying is, 'good job,'" he said cryptically before walking away. Andrew continued on his way, but not without taking a moment to glance over his shoulder.
"Mr. Townsend, Mr. Keller is on line one," Amanda spoke over the intercom to Arthur's office.
"Thanks, Amanda," Arthur replied, as the call was transferred over. "Arthur Townsend. What did you find out, Jerry?" Arthur listened intently as the man on the other line spoke, occasionally adding an "um hmm" or a "yes." As the conversation progressed his complexion started to pale and he sunk down into his chair.
"Are you sure?" he asked. When the reply came back it didn't raise his spirits. "I see. Thanks, Jerry." he ended the conversation and slowly set the receiver back on its hook.
The news he received wasn't what he was hoping to hear. What he needed now wasn't another problem to deal with.
When Lawrence walked into the lunch room at noon, Hector was already seated and invited Lawrence to join him.
"So I was talking to Eileen the other day and she mentioned she ran into you at the college. You didn't tell me you were going to school."
"Mr. Townsend suggested I take some business courses."
"Good for you," Hector replied. "You must be busy, working during the day, studying at night. It doesn't leave much time for fun, huh?"
"I'd rather be busy," Lawrence replied dryly.
"Yeah, but you've got to get out once in awhile. When's the last time you went out on a date?" Lawrence hesitated, but Hector didn't seem interested in waiting for an answer. "You know, I met a girl the other day, you might be interested in. If you want I can ask her out for you. Maybe you could double with Eileen and me."
"I can find my own dates," Lawrence said firmly.
Hector shrugged as he stood to leave. "Suit yourself."
Lawrence didn't really care what Hector, or anyone else for that matter, thought about his social life, but he couldn't help thinking that he might have a point. Before, he always thought he had a good reason for being kind of a loner, but the excuses he was giving himself now, somehow didn't seem good enough. He started wondering if he was having unrealistic expectations and if he would be better off moving on and giving something else a try.
Before his next class at night school, he decided to give it a try. When Lauren started talking to him after class he put a little effort into the conversation and to his surprise, Lauren didn't prove as annoying as he had thought.
When it was time to leave after class and he found himself keeping an eye out for Eileen, he quickly scolded himself for hoping to run into another man's girlfriend. Instead he turned to the door and saw Lauren on her way out.
"Lauren," he called out and she spun around. He cleared his throat. "I think class let out a little early today. Since there's some extra time, would you like to go out for a cup of coffee?"
Lauren looked a little confused as she considered the question. "Really, Lawrence? It sounds great, but I'm not really into coffee. I'd love to go out for a drink though. And I know just the place."
Lawrence was starting to have second thoughts, but it seemed too late to back out now, so he agreed.
"Isn't this place great!" Lauren shouted out over the blaring music on the jukebox and the voices of other people trying to be heard in the loud, crowded bar.
Lawrence could tell at first sight that this wasn't his kind of place. It was impossible to have a civilized conversation in the bar and what words he did pick up from Lauren only confirmed his suspicions that she was a total airhead. Unable to stand the noise and confusion a moment longer, he tried to tell Lauren that he was leaving. He wasn't sure she could hear what he was trying to say and when he finally left, she didn't seem to notice.
Lawrence went straight home, back to his shabby one room apartment, got ready for bed and settled down with a book to study a little before going to sleep.
He tried to put out of his mind what a nightmare that experiment had been. He knew better now and he told him that would be the last time he would let Hector influence his personal life.
If only that wasn't easier said than done.
No comments:
Post a Comment