He opens the door.
The bar is blessedly cool and completely shielded from the sun. It is smokey and dark, the way they used to be in the States not so long ago. There is a welcoming air there and he guesses that tourists and their money keep the place afloat.
A hostess asks him if he'd like a seat at the bar with a grin that had been carefully cultivated to be just the right amount of inviting. But when he describes The Girl in the way she instructedโA green skirt, hair put upโher eyes dim and smile falls. Instead she gives he guesses a nod in response and asks him to follow.
When our hero sees her, lounging the booth like a lord on their throne, he smiles despite his earlier resolve. She is much more conservatively dressed tonight, the skirt nearly reaching her ankles. The top, a much looser blouse than the dress, pretty and purple and compliments her eyes like it was dyed with her in mind. And indeed, her hair is done up, with a pencil through the bun.
The hostess asks what he'd like to drink in English, but gets cut off. The Girl says something in Arabicโour hero supposes, it could just be some local language he doesn't know the name ofโand finishes with a "merci." The hostess gives our hero a look, and he is not sure what she's trying to convey, but she's saying it strongly, and tries to express it for another few seconds before moving away.
"Last night you interrupted to get the waitstaff to speak English. Tonight the opposite?" He asks.
"Oh, My Mister. Last night you needed to hear. To be aware. Tonight you very much do not. Tonight you would do well to disquiet that strong mind. The less you know, the more like a pleasant dream it will be." She shrugs, she smiles, she tilts her head from side to side.
"Are you intoxicated?"
"Oh yes, very much so. From the moment you arrived. From the moment I heard you in your room. From the moment I woke as I woke thinking of you."
It's only then that he realizes there was no drink in front of her. No book, no phone-nothing. Just the woman and the cloth in the semi-round booth in the back corner of the room. He wonders how she kept herself entertained, if she had been there for long. She must have spoken with the hostess for him to get that reaction, but what did she say?
"You're wheels are turning. The exact opposite of what I had hoped." She tisks and offers a small smile. There is no lilt in her voice tonight. No girlish glee. She is controlled and measured as he typically is. Even her arms haven't moved and it's only this far into the web that he realizes she made no effort to greet or touch him.
"I'm trying to figure you out."
"I am very happy. Hah, done. And so quickly."
He laughs and she smiles more. "I'm not used to this kind of treatment."
"No, I imagine not. You told me once that women will often fawn over you too much and then grow cold. Do you remember?"
"I do."
She nods, like it is sad, like it is just another thing in life you lose in time. "Do you ever wonder why that is? If it's you? If it's something you're doing? A pattern you're seeking? Is it even happening at all? Maybe you start to drive them away when you want to be done with them? Maybe you are very cruel, beneath your surface. This monster you speak of? Maybe it deludes you. You only think the women enjoy it. That they said as much. Maybe, maybe, maybe."
"Why are you saying this?"
"Mmm, I made myself a promise, long ago. That if I should ever break every rule and see you I would not be one of those girls. That you would remember me differently."
"Do you think what you've told me will make me remember you differently?"
She laughs then, and it's honest. She shifts, ever so slightly, her shoulders rolling as she does. "Don't trust me, My Mister. Or do. But you agreed at the start, before the start, that you'd have to give yourself up for me this trip. That you'd have to let me make the rules. You've been good about it so far. Don't break such a wonderful streak. I will make you very, very happy. You have my word on this."
The hostess returns with a beer bottle and a chilled glass. She opens, pours, and bows her head in serviceโthen departs without a sound.
"What you have there Mister? Well, it's about the best beer in the world. The world just doesn't even know it exists yet. I fear what will happen once they do. It is so very hard to keep something sacred in the face of temptation." She brings her arms down and lowers them beneath the table. Then she brings the rich, vibrant table cloth up and folds it in itself.
"You're not having anything?"