Around three in the afternoon, I called the number that Chandra had left me. I figured I would get Madison's answer machine but after the sixth ring, a sleepy voice said, "Hello?"
"Madison?" I ventured.
"Yes. Who is this?" She asked.
"I'm Randy. We met last night. Chandra left me this number so I could get my phone number to her." I explained.
There was a sleepy laugh, "Oh yeah, the guy with his hands full. What's the number?"
I gave her my number and then said, "Ok, I'll get off here and let you get back to sleep."
"What time is it?" She asked softly.
"A little after three o'clock." I answered.
"Good, I can sleep another couple of hours before I have to go meet Chandra," she said before she hung up.
I was grinning like a fool as I headed to the bathroom and the shower. Visions and memories of Chandra from the night before danced through my memory.
*****
By seven, I still had not heard from Chandra, so I decided to go get something to eat. I ate at the burger joint across the highway from the bar I had been in last night. As I left the burger stand, I started to go across the street and have a couple of beers but decided I needed to rest, as I had to work the next day.
*****
I was flipping through the cable guide on the TV when the phone rang. "Hello," I said into the receiver.
"Chandra stood me up and it's all your fault." I heard a voice say.
"Madison?" I asked.
There was a laugh on the other end of the line. "Yes. What did you do to my girlfriend? She's as rung out as an old dishtowel. I've never seen her so worn out, she could hardly hold her eyes open when I went by to pick her up."
I chuckled and said, "It was a long night, and we didn't get to sleep until late. Being a gentleman, that's about all I can tell you."
"Good, she's needed someone nice to wear her little ass out. Now, do you have a friend who can do the same for me?" She asked and then laughed.
Chuckling again I replied, "Sorry, the guy I work with is happily married and I don't know very many people around here and none that I can think of would be what you'd want to mess with. Most of the guys I work around are married and the ones that are single are a bunch of assholes and losers for the most part."
She sighed and said, "The story of my life." Then she laughed.
After a few seconds she asked, "What are you doing tonight? Since you're responsible for knocking my running buddy's lights out, I think the least you can do is come keep me company."
I grinned at the thought of her needing company, more than likely she was fighting them off with a stick. "I find it hard to believe that you really need me for company."
She laughed and said, "Ok, you got me. I'm curious about you and Chandra. I've never seen her leave any place with a total stranger, even if you are a, shall we say, older guy and good looking."
I had to laugh at that before I replied, "Older yes but good looking, I don't think so. Worn out is more like it. Especially after last night." I muttered the last part to myself or at least I thought I did.
Madison was laughing her ass off for a minute or two. I chuckled to myself, shook my head, and just waited until she settled down.
When she did, she said, "Come on, come down to the bar and keep me company. There's no one in here that's not an idiot or an asshole. If you don't then I'm going to have to go home and pout."
I laughed at that mental picture and replied, "Well, we can't have that now, can we. I guess I could drink a beer or two. Ok, you talked me into it but remember it's your fault when Chandra chews both our ass's out."
Madison giggled and said, "But I love it so much when she chews on my ass, I come like crazy." She laughed and added, "I'll see you in a few minutes, right?"
I shook my head and said, "Yeah, I'm headed out the door."
*****
The night before I had been dressed up. Tonight, I was wearing a pair of overalls and a sweatshirt, my normal work clothes.
Madison was sitting at the same place at the bar that I had seen her the night before. She had on a short black skirt and a long sleeved white blouse with the tails tied together to leave her belly bare. She grinned broadly when she saw me and stood up to give me a hug.
"Sorry about the way I'm dressed," I said. "I wasn't planning on going out tonight, I was going to stay in and rest, I have to be at work early."
With the grin still in place she replied, "I like your Bubba outfit, it fits you in a weird way. Bubba with a pony tail, that's an interesting mix." She stood next to me as I ordered a beer.
When the bartender brought it, Madison asked, "You want to sit at the bar or move to a table? I noticed you were at a table last night."
"I prefer a table, that way I can stretch out my old legs," I said with a grin.
As we moved to the table in the corner where I had sat last night, Madison said, "You play up the old man thing but you're not that old."
I chuckled and replied as we sat down, "I'm thirty years older than you are."
She looked at me closely and said, "No way."
I chuckled and said, "Ok, I lied, it's only twenty nine years if you're the same age as Chandra."
"You sure don't look your age," she said. "I figured you for your mid forties. You really are a dirty old man, aren't you?" She ended with a laugh.
I grinned and said, "Just working on the age Mam, just working on the age. I've got the rest of it down pat by now." I paused a second and then added, "Actually I'm a pretty good guy, you're as safe around me as you really want to be. I hate to admit that and if you tell anyone, I'll deny it. I wouldn't want to tarnish my bad reputation, you know."
She laughed and then nodded, "I think I believe you about that." She sat looking at me for a moment and then grinned. With a twinkle in her eye she asked, "I take it that Chandra didn't want to be safe?"
I frowned and cocked my head to one side as I answered, "That comes under the heading of a gentleman never talks about the ladies in his life. You may be her best friend but until she tells me it's all right, I'm keeping my mouth shut." I grinned and then added, "See I can be a good guy, just don't twist my arm too hard, I can't stand pain." I ended with a chuckle.
Grinning back at me, she reached over and laid her hand on my thigh, "If I twist something, it won't be your arm, believe me. I know a much more effective way of getting what I want, or making you talk for that matter."
I chuckled and said, "I'll just bet you do."
She chuckled and took a sip of her beer but she left her hand were it was. I placed my hand on top of hers and asked, "What's this, a reminder for me to be a good boy or a threat to make me be bad?"
She looked at me for a long second or two and then replied, "I haven't decided yet. I'm still trying to figure out if you're what you seem to be. If you are then that's a scary thought. I've never met anyone that was exactly what they seemed to be."
She paused again and then went on. "When I saw you carrying Chandra around, I was a little shocked and thought it was a joke. When you carried her out the door and you two didn't come back, I was.... Well, I felt like I had missed something. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I was jealous. Chandra has been my friend forever and we always do everything together but I've never felt that way where she was concerned, not ever."
She paused again and looked at me for a long minute and then she took a little halting breath and cocked her head to one side, "Why the hell am I telling you all this? I don't even talk to people I know really well like this, except for Chandra. There's something here, I really don't understand."
As she sat there just looking at me, I shrugged and said, "Maybe I'm a good listener, maybe I have an honest face and people trust me. I don't know. Chandra said she felt like she had known me forever or that I was someone she had been waiting for and she did not understand it either. I sure don't. It happens to me from time to time. Sometimes, I think I must have a very old spirit or something like that."
After another long pause, Madison nodded and moved her chair over closer to me. She put her hand back on my thigh and said, "I think I understand what she meant, and it explains what I'm feeling. I also understand why she left with you, you are a nice guy, and you are what you seem to be. I've gotten so used to the plastic people, as I call them. You know the ones, they try to be all things to all people, and they are never themselves. It's all just so much bullshit and it drives me crazy."
I nodded and stretched my legs out, as I got relaxed. "I'm a people watcher from way back and I know exactly what you mean. Finding people who are not afraid to be themselves is hard. I've wondered if they just don't know who they really are or just afraid of rejection, no confidence in they're own selves."
She grinned at me and then chuckled, "Damn, I think the shit is getting deep. What a novelty, a man that actually thinks. That makes you something special by itself. I've often wonder the same thing myself, a lot of people would be much better off as themselves than whatever part they are playing most of the time."