Jake Roberts pulled into the parking lot behind Choy's Chinese restaurant in Missoula, Montana about 7:30 Friday evening. It was a pleasant April evening, rare in spring in western Montana. He parked his bright red Corvette in a spot near the back entrance and strode leisurely inside. Choy's was a fairly large place for a college town. It was also semi-expensive. Jake's family had a lot of money so he had a generous allowance. The Chinese lady, Mrs. Chung, who ran the place, escorted him to his usual table.
"We have new waitress," She smiled. "You see her, you like her. I send her over here."
He started to protest, but then thought better of it. He knew it was useless to argue with the little Chinese woman. He had tried it before and it didn't work.
As Jake settled into his seat, a vision of total loveliness and beauty appeared in front of him. She was oriental. She was perfect.
The vision asked, "May I take your order, sir?" Jake couldn't answer. His throat had slammed shut and he had started to sweat. "Sir?" inquired the vision.
Jake had never been outgoing. In fact, he was extremely shy, especially around the opposite sex. That's why he was still a virgin. It embarrassed him to think that he had never loved a lady, but those were the facts. Now he was confronted with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. His brain crumbled.
Finally he croaked, "I'd like some egg foo yung, and some kung pao chicken, please."
She continued to query him about soup, salad and the usual accoutrements. She wrote it all onto her pad and swept away toward the kitchen.
Jake was now a shambles. He could not think about anything but the girl. He knew he would have to shake this feeling. He was a math major with a 4.0 GPA. He couldn't let this rattle him.
The next day, he went back to Choy's. He knew he had to find out more about the girl. Mrs. Chung greeted him at the door again. She was smiling from ear to ear. Jake knew that she knew he was hooked. "So, you like Julie a little." She said. Jake smiled. "Maybe you like her a lot?"
"Is she working today?" asked Jake.
"She be here in two more hours." Mrs. Chung replied. Jake didn't think he could wait that long, but on the other hand, he was scared and shaking.
"I'll be back." Jake stated and walked out to his 'Vette.
Two and a half hours later, Jake returned to Choy's. He came in through the rear entrance again and was again greeted by Mrs. Chung.
"I think you maybe like Julie a lot. She cherry girl. You no hurt her!" Mrs. Chung admonished.
"I think of her all the time. It's your fault for hiring a goddess." exclaimed Jake as he sat down. Soon Julie was standing in front of Jake's table. Once again he felt the constriction in his throat. He couldn't speak.
"Is something wrong, sir?" Julie asked.
Summoning up all his courage, Jake said, "No, no, nothing's wrong. It's just that I've never seen a girl like you before."
"Is something wrong with me? Should I get you a different waitress?"
"No!! Absolutely not!" Jake almost shouted. He was having a very difficult time talking to her. "Can I ask you your name?" Jake asked meekly.
"Sure, it is Julie Trang. My family is Vietnamese." She replied.
"Although I've only seen you a couple of times, I would really like to get to know you better." Jake begged.
"Well," she responded, "This is awfully fast. What would you want to do?"
"There is a frat party Saturday night. Would you go with me?"
"I don't know about that. I've never been to a frat party, but I have heard some bad things about them."
"What you have heard probably has some truth to it," Jake admitted. "But I would take good care of you. I would have you home early and we could leave any time you want."
"OK" she said. "But I have to warn you, I'm not much of a party animal."
"Neither am I." vowed Jake. "I only go because I'm a frat brother. I seldom stay at one of these things much past 8:30 or 9:00. We could go get something to eat after we leave."
"Won't you have to come back to the frat house to sleep?" she asked.
"No, I've got my own house. Dad insisted that I join the frat. I made him give me a house before I agreed to it."
"Wow!! Is daddy loaded?"
"Yeah, he's got mega bucks. But he really is a nice guy and he came by all of it honestly. I'll pick you about 6:30. That way, we won't be there very long. Just long enough for me to become the envy of the entire frat." He smiled.
The week dragged by with the alacrity of a snail with polio. Finally Saturday evening arrived. It was chilly out as is typical of spring time Montana weather. Jake burned rubber almost all the way to Julie's house. When he got there, he rang the bell. Julie answered the door and invited him inside.
Suddenly it was more chilly inside Jake than outside. He was nervous. Very nervous. He stepped inside and she escorted him to the front room. Her mother and father were introduced and greeted him openly. They seemed like a nice couple and expressed some concern about the frat party.
"It'll be alright." Jake assured them. "I promise not to let anything bad happen to her."
"We understand you are an amateur boxer." Julie's father said.
"Yeah, but it is just a hobby. I'm really not good enough to turn pro or even get into the Olympic circuit. After I graduate, that will be a thing of the past."
Her father grinned broadly and said, "We don't know much about you, but you look like you can take care of our daughter."
The longer Jake talked to them, the better he liked them. "Just between us, sir, I think your daughter is the sweetest, nicest, most beautiful girl I have ever met and frankly, I want to get to know her and her family much better. I'm not a playboy or someone who chases women. In fact, your daughter is the first date I have had in two years. I'm not going to hurt her or try to take advantage of her."
The old man smiled and said, "I appreciate your honesty. We want to know you better too, but first, have a good time this evening and bring her back to us."
"You can be sure I will Mr. Trang." He took her arm and walked her out to the car.
