The night that I visited Evelyn at the café, I received a letter that was slipped under my front door. Her beautifully intricate cursive was printed on the front of the envelope and it instantly peaked my already excited mind for our day together that was to be soon. And according to her letter, she was free the next day. Her request was different from what I had expected, but at the same time it was what I anticipated her request to be like.
I woke the next morning to the sun shining faintly through my window. My clock had said it was nine thirty which meant that I had exactly ten hours before I was to meet her at her home and take her to the place of her choice. Tonight was to be the night.
I put on a clean pair of swamp-green trousers and braces and a crisp, white button-up to start my day off right. Then I brewed a warm cup of black coffee I picked up from the store and after finishing the last drop I left the building to meet the boys at the pub.
I walked in the warm sun and under the soft cover of clouds craving that same feeling in the fields that first morning on the way to Philly. I figured that maybe one day I could take her there and allow her to experience it for herself. We could experience it together. I think she'd like that.
Ten minutes later, I had finally walked through the doors of the pub and arrived to see my friends sitting down at a table already chugging their mugs of beer down. Henry was the first to acknowledge my arrival since he was the one who stopped drinking first out of the three of them.
"I was wondering when we were gonna see your love-sick face this morning. Today's the day, Ad. It's time to show us the man you are," he said boldly.
"Correction! Gentle-man, my dear Henry. Adam, here needs to show the amazing Evelyn that he can be a true gentleman for the night," Thomas added.
"I'm pretty sure I can do that, guys. Some faith would be nice since this is only the second time I've done this," I admitted unashamed.
"Why Adam, how in God's name could you hide such a crucial life experience from us, your compadres? Your friends? Your battle brothers?" Edwin dramatically asked. His charisma was admirable, but in times like these, it was wasted on men like us who see right through the charm and the hidden drama queen inside of him. We'd never take him seriously this way.
"Does it really seem that important to you?" I asked condescendingly.
"Well, now that he's brought it up, I wanna know. So spill O'Connel. What happened the first time you approached an object of your affection?" Thomas inquired on behalf of the three of them. I sighed in exasperation and finally decided that it didn't hurt to admit my failure. The past is the past. We can only look forward to the future.
"I was sixteen years old. There was a girl in my neighborhood who I'd had my eye on for a little while named Annie. She wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she was cute, so I took a chance on her. I ended up like most of the guys in my neighborhood all head over heels for the prettiest doll on the street, but she wasn't really interested in any of them. One of my pals convinced me to try asking her out for a night out on the town, and I did. I went right up to her one day and just said, 'You know we've been talking for a little while, and I think you're pretty swell. Do you wanna go out on a date?'" I stopped right there while my memory was slowly processing the ending of the story.
"And then?" Edwin asked.
"She said yes. And then the next day I learned that she already had made plans with another man on the same day and did it with another man just that morning."
"Oo. Harsh, man. Sorry 'bout that," Henry said.
"It's alright. Past is past." I lifted up my mug that Henry had brought over in the middle of my story. "Here's to a better love life in the future."
"Cheers!" We said in unison hitting our mugs together as the brothers and comrades we are. This little bretheren we formed was my safety net. When the darkness of the day pulls me in, I can count on these three brave, ridiculous fools to pull me out. That's all you could ever ask for as a soldier.
"So quick question, Ad," Thomas asked. "What exactly are you both doing tonight?"
"I'm not exactly sure. I told her that it was her choice, but she hasn't said anything to me yet."
"She’s cruel, Ad,” Edwin said in exasperation. “Well, at least tell me that you’re not going out like that,” he said motioning to my typical everyday wear. I didn’t see anything wrong with my regular attire, but it seemed to offend Edwin that I would wear casual clothes to a date I know nothing of.
“What’s wrong with this? I think I look fine,” I defended.
“No. Ed’s right. You need to change,” Thomas said in agreement with Ed. “You don’t know what you’re doing on this date, so you gotta be prepared for anything. I’m going over to your place and picking your clothes. No objections.” I was outvoted three to one on the account of my clothes. A few hours later, after walking through the pub, Tom came to my loft and immediately head straight to my wardrobe throwing clothes onto my bed without a second look at them. He forced me to change right on the spot and called the other guys in to be the final judges. I came out with khaki trousers, a white dress-shirt, and a dark brown blazer. He even threw in a fedora I received from my mother a few years ago. To my surprise, none of them rejected. Instead, they nodded their heads in agreement and wished my luck on this date. And then I was on my way to her home using the address she had written in one of her letters to me.
I slowly but surely found my way through the streets of Philly and in front of a large building with many windows and one door. The brick building was two stories high and three of the windows had balconies under them. On the balcony right in the middle, a figure stood resting her arms on the rail and looking out at the now dark Philadelphia at seven in the evening. From the long dark hair that blew behind her to the thin stature of her body, I knew it was her.
“How long were you planning on staying up there?!” I shouted up to her. She looked down from the top story and smiled at me. No night sky could dim her smile from my vision. It was a sight that could be seen anywhere. A sight that could even make the darkest of places brighter as if the sun had shone through cracks in pitch black room.
“How long were you planning on making me wait?!” She shouted back. “You’re five minutes late!”
“Better late than never, wouldn’t you agree?” I heard her laugh at my comment and watched as she escaped through the window and quickly made her way downstairs and through the door of the building. When she stepped into the light of the street lamps, I had a better look at her outfit and saw the beauty that was Evelyn Hayes in a blue dress with sleeves that stopped at her elbow and a long skirt that stretched to her ankles. A grey blazer was hung on her arm and her black heels heightened her enough, so her head was right under my chin. She was beautiful.
“Alright, you ready?” She asked.
“Only if you tell me where we’re going.”
“We’re going dancing.”
“Dancing?”
“Why not dancing? A good looking man like you doesn’t know how to dance?” Her smart response had me thinking for a moment.
“Did you just call me ‘good looking?’” I asked with a small smirk on my face. My question changed her expression from sly and smooth to surprised and embarrassed in a second. Even in the dim light I could see the red of her cheeks become slightly more vibrant than the second before.
“It was just an expression,” she responded nervously keeping her eyes to the ground and twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Her nervousness made me warm inside. It was a sign that maybe tonight would not become a second failure of mine. I took the hand that wasn’t fiddling with her hair, and she immediately stopped what she was doing and looked up at me.
“I don’t mind,” I said sweetly. Then lifting her hand towards my lips, I placed a small kiss upon her knuckles and watched as she closed her eyes whilst my lips touched her soft hand. I lowered her hand from my lips, and she opened her eyes once again. “Are you ready?” I asked. She smiled the smile that brightened the night and gave a small nod of her head. And to my surprise, she fixed the grip I had on her hand, so she in turn could hold mine more firmly.
“I’m almost one hundred percent sure that I should be the one asking that question, but that’s ok. You’ll just have to be prepared either way.”