John weaved his way through the crowd and was relieved to find that William had secured a small table in the corner. "What's up with our bar?"
William shrugged, "A work party or something."
Their regular cocktail waitress made her way over and asked John if he would like his usual martini. After gratefully accepting her offer, John inquired about William's favorite topic. "So how are things with Tracy?"
"Things are going very well," William said. "We're going to Albany this weekend and I'll be meeting her family."
"Taking the train?"
William nodded and waited as the waitress placed John's martini on the table and exchanged pleasantries with him. He thought about the slip of paper Tracy had left on his desk. She wouldn't reveal the details of her conversation with Amy, but the Zen-like doodle and the words "obsequious" and "panache" drawn in a circle gave him a clue as to what transpired. He listened as John talked about his upcoming trip to London before asking, "So, would you like to see Amy again?"
John shook his head and laughed, "Oh yeah, sure. You must think I need my ego smashed." John noticed that William wasn't smiling. "You're serious? She's not interested in me. No big deal, it was a fun evening. She was a good sport after she had a few drinks in her, but we obviously are not compatible."
"I'm not sure I agree. Besides, she said we could give you her number, but only if you asked for it."
"She wants me to have her number, huh?" John ran his hand through his hair. This was unexpected.
"She wants you to ask for it."
John's sipped his drink while William remained silent. John was also silent and in thought, but then noticed William staring at him expectantly. "Oh, I gotta ask for it... Okay." His tone became wheedling. "William, may I pleeeeeease have Amy's number?"
"Do you want it?"
"Oh my god, are you on your period? Give me her damn number already."
William took out his phone and texted it, and resisted the urge to give too much input on how to conduct himself.
"Cool. I'll be gone for a few days, but I'll see if she wants to do something next weekend."
William nodded and stroked his beard, obviously about to say something.
"What?"
"Oh nothing. It's just that... I hope you will consider a different approach with Amy."
"Different from my usual charm?" John winked and flashed a cocky grin.
"Yes, exactly. She seems to value a level of authenticity that I know you are capable of but you don't show many people. Can you just remember that when you call her?"
John jokingly mimicked William's intellectual nod, raised an eyebrow, and tried to think of a smart-ass comeback, but then he remembered Amy's big chocolate-drop eyes and lush full lips and sighed, "Okay, I'll hand her my naked soul and let her kick the shit out of it."
"Good. I was hoping you'd say that." William lifted his glass for a toast.
Leaving the bar, the men headed in opposite directions and John decided to head home on foot. It wasn't far, but he was usually too rushed for time to walk. He thought about the turn of events that had occurred as he weaved through the pedestrian traffic towards the river. He hadn't really expected to see Amy again and his disappointment was short-lived, but now he had her phone number and the potential was unsettling. He knew Amy was not impressed by money, possibly even turned off by it, but what did impress Amy? And did he even care?
Then there was the matter of William's uncustomary pushiness. Was it just underhanded self-interest, the convenience of two friends dating two friends? William had never pushed him towards any woman before and even steered him away from a previous girlfriend's friend. Perhaps he should have mentioned to him that he was planning to see Sarah this weekend in London.
The sun was low and blocked by buildings, making it seem darker than it really was as he made his way to the Hudson. It was unusual for him not to take the most direct path to his destination, but he wasn't ready to go home yet. There were droves of runners and walkers along the river and he wondered if Amy ever ran that route. He could see the sun now, low on the horizon and playing off cumulus clouds, creating a remarkable spectacle of cascading pink, yellow, and blue tones. The lighting was spectacular, reminiscent of a Hudson River School painting. John decided to take a photo with his phone and momentarily regretted not having his SLR camera with him. He took several photos, including one of an old man sitting on a bench in front of a tree in fall foliage. He sat down next to the man and felt unusually introspective and gregarious at the same time. He looked at the half-dozen photos he had snapped, then leaned towards the man and said, "Look at this: have you ever seen anything this beautiful?"
"Of course I have. I was sitting right here looking at the same view when you took that photo," the old man answered crankily.
John laughed, "Yes, that's true."
The man seemed to instantly regret his rudeness and offered, "Amazing what can be done with phones these days."
"Yes. Yes it is amazing, isn't it?" John put his back in his jacket pocket and felt its weight against his chest.
* * * * *
Amy waited until she was seated on the subway to take out a stack of papers and check her phone. She saw another text from Keith asking more questions about what she might like to do on Saturday night.
Can't he just plan the date?
she wondered.
He's the one who's from here
.
