It was raining hard that night as I got out of my truck. Pulling the coat over my head, I ran across the gravel parking lot, up the wooden steps, seeking refuge under the foyer. Taking off my jacket, I proceeded to shake it dry, trying to avoid soaking the woman taking the two-dollar cover at the door.
I was early, so it was not too crowded. It was possible that the rain would keep all but the die-hard two-steppers from going out. Scanning the dance floor for familiar faces, and finding none, I made my way past the pool table and ordered something from the bar. As I waited for my Calistoga water with lime, the pool table sat quietly, waiting for some poor soul to feed it. Tipping the bartender, I walked over to the table.
I set down my drink and reached into my pocket, pulling up a handful of change; grabbed two quarters and put the rest back. Placing the coins into the empty slots, with a steady push and pull, the balls dropped loudly into place, the noise bouncing off the walls in the empty room. Placing the cue ball behind the line and wide to the right, I chalked up a 20-ounce cue and stroked it into the cue ball. The cue ball hit the formation and careened against a couple rails. Lots of smoke and no fire, all the balls were still on the table. I looked for my first choice, solids, and started to clear the table, one solid at a time.
I was shooting for the six-ball when a nice looking cinnamon brunette asked if she could play. I thought about it for a second and decided that two could play as well as one, so I said sure, no problem. I finished my last couple shots and she racked up for the next game. As I placed the cue ball to break, she asked me how old I was. I was amused. "You want to know how old I am? Don't you want to know my name first?" I asked.
I broke open the rack and knocked in one of each. Choosing to go with solids, I pocketed a couple before heading back to our conversation.
"Ok, fair enough, then", she said. "What is your name?"
"I'm 36." I answered. "Are you gonna shoot pool, or what?"
As I aimed for another shot, I couldn't keep my eyes from looking at her as she searched for a different cue stick. Unable to concentrate, I miscued and scratched.
She came back to the table, empty-handed and announced, "All of those cues are shit, how about sharing yours?"
Not something I would normally do, as I am superstitious with my pool playing habits, I reluctantly agreed to share my cue stick. "Oh, by the way, I don't usually let, uh, perfect strangers use my cue, so how 'bout you telling me your name?"
She reached for my pool stick, brushing ever so slightly against my arm and whispered her name as Brenda.
Brenda went to the table and aimed for the ball. Shooting too hard, she miscued the cue ball and sent it directly to the side pocket. As she handed me back the cue, I noticed how warm her rich brown eyes were. They shone like a mid-summer starlight.
"Your turn", she reminded me. I found myself wanting her. I tried to focus on the game but it was no use. I just hit the eight ball into the corner pocket, with three solids still left on the table. We played a couple more games before there were any other challengers. She bought the next round; I had switched to a non-alcoholic beer and she had another draft. While waiting for her to return, I lit up a smoke and watched her interact with the cute female bartender, the same one who had served me earlier. Brenda had a quick smile, yet it was not phony. By the time she got back, I was waiting for her to shoot. Knowing that we now had others waiting to play, we ended up playing a marathon game. Simple shots went astray, complicated shots were completed, only to scratch the cue ball.
Finally, our game was over. I won. She picked up her drink and walked towards the dance floor. Business had picked up and Brenda wanted to see if her friends had shown up yet. My heart was not into playing any more pool. The new player won the game. Walking away from the pool table, I sought out my new pool-playing friend. I found her leaning against the rail. Walking up behind her, I hooked my pinky around her belt loop and sadly told her that I had lost.
We talked for a while and watched everyone dance, mostly the two-step, although some couples were dancing to their own rhythm. All the while, I was racking my brain trying to remember her name.
Finally, I admitted to her that for the life of me, I couldn't remember her name. She looked at me, hesitating a few seconds, and told me.
I asked her if that was really her name and we, both laughed. I was glad she understood, especially since she was the one who wanted to know my age before my name.
"It's a good thing you told me because I would have run through the alphabet a long time looking for that name."
