The doorbell rang, and Katy peeked through the peephole to compare what he was wearing. No reason not to take advantage of a little insurance that she was dressed appropriately. He was wearing a pair of well-fitting khakis with a navy blue dress shirt and a tie. It would fit well with her dressy sweater and casual jeans.
From what she could tell from the peephole, he looked quite handsome. Of course, as handsome as one could look when your head is twice the size as you body. Peepholes were good for that. She quickly wiped her damp palms on her jeans, and opened the door.
“Hey,” she smiled. The word hey seemed to be part of the universal dating code. It was a way of saying hello to someone without sounding too formal. Katy always hated the word, but she found herself using it with potential suitors.
“Hello, you look lovely.” Score one for Todd. He didn’t hey her back, and he complemented her appearance. It might have sounded forced by other men, but with him it sounded sweet and casual. He had a grace about him that drew Katy in. She also liked the fact that he thought for himself, and didn’t feel the need to repeat her casual hey.
“So, where are we headed?”
Todd smiled, “I thought that we would have pizza at La Bella Dona tonight.” Katy was pleased. La Bella Dona was the nicest of the pizza joints in town, and she loved their food. They had a house dressing there that was to die for. It was a nice night, and they decided to walk there.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Vito, the owner and manager took a quick double-take when he saw them together. He quickly looked down at Katy’s hand and noticed that her engagement ring was gone. He smiled graciously at her and then led them to her table.
It was both a blessing and a curse to live your whole life in the same town. It meant that, while you didn’t know everyone on a first name basis, you did tend to know a little about almost everyone. And they knew about you. It meant that people were always aware of some part of your personal business, even if they didn’t know your name.
In most situations, Katy found this bothersome, but tonight she found it comforting. It was like having dinner at home. She felt that she could relax in the restaurant, thereby allowing her to relax on the date. It was a type of home court advantage.
They sat, looked over the menu, and then placed their order. Katy wanted all vegetables on her pizza, so they got half veggie and half pepperoni. Before the salads arrived, Todd asked Katy, “Are you a vegetarian?”
Katy smiled, “No, I just like vegetables.” She liked the fact that Todd had taken into account what she would want, instead of just ordering for her. Men seemed to think that ordering for a woman was some true romantic gesture, but Katy always felt like it was a control thing. Why would a man order for a woman that he doesn’t really know? It was incredibly arrogant for him to assume that he would know what she would want.
Todd also scored points by ordering his half with pepperoni. He was obviously uncertain whether or not she was a vegetarian when he ordered, but he had the courage to order what he wanted on his pizza. She felt that that was a sign of strong character. Another sign of strong character was that Todd delved right in and asked her about herself.
“Well, I am a Nurse Practitioner. My specialty is obstetrics and gynecology.”
“Interesting. My father is an OB/GYN.” Todd scored many points with this one. He had not made the ridiculous joke that so many men make when they find out what she did for a living. He didn’t state that he was an amateur gynecologist. Men always feel the need to make that joke. It made Katy crazy. The joke was tacky and crude. It insulted her and her profession.
The worst part about the joke was that it was just plain tired. Almost every guy that she dated felt the need to make it. It was bad enough to try to be comical in such a crude way on a first date, could you at least do it without using a line from “St. Elmo’s Fire”. The movie wasn’t even that good. Why pay homage to it? Of course, most of the men thought that they had invented the joke themselves. They often acted quite proud of it.
She smiled at Todd, pleased that he had more class than most men, “I always knew that I wanted to work in women’s health. I guess that you could call it my calling.”
They continued to talk about Katy’s career during the salad course, which was excellent. As the salads disappeared, Katy started dreading the inevitable pizza situation. Katy had tempromandibular joint disorder, a jaw condition also known as TMJ. TMJ made biting into a slice of pizza mildly painful. That meant that Katy always ate her pizza with a knife and fork. Whenever she was forced to do so on a date, it always made for one of two awkward situations.
The first was that the man would see her using a knife and fork, assume that it was an etiquette thing and decide that he should use silverware, too. It drove Katy a little bit crazy. What bothered her about it was not that the guy noticed; she liked that part. It was the fact that the man knew so little about etiquette that he took his cues from her.
She never bothered to explain to him that it was actually proper etiquette to eat pizza with your hands, it wasn’t worth it. The other thing that bothered her about it was that the man always seemed to be a bit of a lemming when he just blindly followed her lead. She liked leaders, not followers.
The second awkward situation was the worse of the two. In that situation, her date would observe her eating pizza with silverware and look at her like she was a total freak. It was embarrassing for Katy. It also left her deciding whether or not she liked the guy enough to explain the situation, thus multiplying the embarrassment. The other option was to just let him think that she was strange.
She saved the latter option for the guys that she didn’t really have a strong interest in, or that she felt had proved themselves incompatible with Katy during the course of the date. Basically, that meant that she let the dorks and the jerks just think that she was a freak. It was easier that way.
Todd didn’t seem to be a dork or a jerk, so Katy spent most of the salad course answering his questions about her aloud and worrying about the pizza issue silently. Do or die time finally came and the pizza arrived. Katy grabbed her knife and her fork and dreaded Todd’s response.
Todd watched her cut a piece of pizza and take a bite. Then he picked up his slice with his hands and smiled. Just before he took his first bite, he asked, “TMJ?”
“Yes,” Katy responded, flabbergasted by the statement, “How did you know?”
“My sister has it. She eats her pizza the same way. She also cuts her corn off of the cob and pulls fried chicken apart with her fingers before eating it.”
“Same here,” Katy smiled, grateful not to have to explain. She also realized that an opportunity to learn more about Todd had just presented itself. “So, you have a sister?”
“I have three.”
“Any brothers?”
“Nope.” He smiled. “I have three sisters, a mom, and a dad. My dad was always on call for work, out a lot with deliveries and emergencies. So it was usually just me and the ladies. Probably had a lot to do with why I hate sports.”
Katy laughed, “So, where do you fall in the lineup?”
“Youngest.”
“Wow, I bet you played dress-up a lot.”
Todd laughed as well, “Let’s just say that I had plenty of time to get in touch with my feminine side growing up.” Todd was warm and funny. Score two more points for Todd.
He used the conversation as a segue to ask her about her family. Katy explained about being an only child. She also talked a great deal about Claudette, Lindsey, and Jasmine, and how they had served her well as siblings over the years. It was like she had three older sisters as well.
After the pizza, but before dessert, Todd’s cell phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call outside. Normally, Katy was offended when her dates took cell phone calls. With Todd, he handled it with such class that it didn’t bother her.
He simply explained that it was work and that he had to take it. Then he stepped just outside the restaurant door. Katy thought that it was very respectful to her as well as to the other patrons. She liked that.
The rest of the date went well. Todd had opened every door for Katy, and the conversation flowed easily. Most of the conversation had focused on Katy, he seemed to continue to steer it back to her, which led her to believe that he was seriously interested in her and what she had to say. He walked her home at the end of the evening, and they held hands the whole way. It was sweet and romantic.
When they got to her door, he leaned in for the kiss. Katy felt a wave of excitement. He kissed her warmly, on the forehead. She again was amazed at how excited she felt over just a kiss on the forehead, but she was also disappointed that he didn’t plant one solidly on her lips.
Katy was tempted to invite him in, but she had already painted herself into a corner on that one. She couldn’t ask him in for coffee, she had already told him that she didn’t like coffee. It had served her well for turning their date into dinner, but it left her no wiggle room for extending their evening.
She scanned her brain for ideas. She could invite him in for a drink, but all that she had was Alan’s second-hand vodka. Something about that just seemed wrong. That also ruled out inviting him in for a “night cap”. She wouldn’t have done that anyway, it was so 1978, right along with asking him “What’s your sign?” She had no other brilliant ideas, so she was left saying goodnight to him at the door.
She lamented the lost opportunity, but how do you say Do you want to come in and talk some more? I’ve spent a whole evening with you, and don’t know a thing about you. That would be pathetic. Or even more embarrassing I’ve had such a nice time with you that I’m not ready for the night to end. He would either find that clingy or consider it a proposition. Neither option was she prepared for.
Todd left with a promise to call her soon, and Katy went in to relax. She made herself a cocoa and sat in her easy chair. Cocoa
She imagined herself in a pink baby doll dress with a huge bow in her hair and an exponentially more huge lollipop in her hand saying, “Mr. Mulcahy, would you like to come in for a cocoa with me and my dollies?” The image was like a psychedelic Shirley Temple. Katy laughed out loud at herself.
She sat and read for a while, while sipping her cocoa. As interesting as a good Patricia Cornwell novel was, she had difficulty concentrating on the plot. She was missing the details as well. She was running over her date with Todd in her mind.
The way that he was truly interested in what she was saying was refreshing. The fact that he didn’t feel the need to dominate the conversation was charming. She loved the fact that he felt comfortable complementing her and that he was confident enough to tell her about his sisters and his “feminine side” without shame.
She laughed a little when she thought that this might be his way of letting her know that he was a closet cross-dresser. She knew that it was silly, but it was amusing to think about. She was most drawn to the sweetness of his holding her hand, kissing her forehead, and not assuming that just because he bought dinner she should sleep with him. All in all, it had been a wonderfully romantic night.
It wasn’t until she was in bed, almost asleep, that the horrible thought hit her. Maybe Todd didn’t take his important call outside out of respect for her. Maybe it wasn’t out of respect for the other patrons. Maybe the important cell phone call was one that he didn’t want her to hear. Maybe it was a call from his wife.
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