"Hello."
"Oh, hi...hi there...this is..."
"Hang on...one sec please..." Phone noises, noises of a dog, a door closing. More dog noises.
I was sweating.
"OK. Sorry for that. Who is this please?"
"Oh, Hi. I'm...well, is this Tom? I don't know if you remember me but this is Randy. From the other..."
"Randy?"
"Yeah, Randy. From the other night? At Cafe Noir?"
"Oh? What night? Did you really say, 'Randy'?"
"Yes. 'Randy'. Hi Tom. Is this...is this a good time? I could call back later if you..."
"Nah. It's OK. Gimme a sec." His hand must have gone over the receiver. I heard muffled commands being issued to the dog. Then he was back. "OK, then. Thanks. What can I do for you?"
"Well, it's...uuuuh... I'm...if you remember us...I'm Carolyn's husband..the one..."
"Ummmm. Carolyn? Maybe. I'm not sure."
"We had some drinks Thursday night at Cafe Noir."
"Did we now? Carolyn. Oh wait. The pretty one? The one in the blue dress?"
"Yeah. That's her. We talked and, well, you two danced a bit."
"Yeah."
"And...uhhh...well we had drinks, you know the three of us...drinks together...and..."
"Yes. OK. And you are...?"
"Randy."
He laughed. "No, I got that...Are you the bald one?"
"Bald? Why, no." Why would I be bald? "I mean no sir. Not bald. Carolyn's husband. Medium height? Dark hair? Gray suit with the red tie? Remember you said you liked the tie?"
For some reason it upset me that he thought I might be bald. Made me sweat a little bit more.
"Well, OK, I guess. Randy. Carolyn. Blue dress. Drinks. What's up?" I heard him chuckle.
"Well...it's kind of hard to...well, you know you two danced..."
"OK."
"Actually danced quite a bit. Maybe 2 fast and 4 or 5 slow dances?"
"OK."
"She really liked it. I think you did too, you know, I mean the dancing. And, later, I mean when we got home...Or actually in the car on the way..."
"Yes?" It sounded the slightest bit testy, like he was pissed I wasn't getting to the point.
"Well, she told me you two had talked."
There was no response at the other end. I went on.
"And, well, she, Carolyn, told me what you said and..."
"What was that?"
"I said she told me what you said, you know, when you two were dancing."
He laughed again, back to finding this funny.
"No, I meant what was that thing I supposedly said to her? What did she tell you in the car?"
"Aah. Yeah, right. Ummm...Well, about the two of you...I guess...getting together again..."
"Hmmmm. OK. I guess. She did seem like a really pretty girl...least if I got the right one in mind." Another chuckle.
"Yes sir. And you...I mean...well she told me...that you wanted ...that I should..."
"That you should what?"
"Well, that I should be the one to make the call...you know...back to you."
"And this call...?"
"Yes. Yes sir. This is the call."
"OK. I guess. What again are you calling for?"
"Well, for Carolyn. About you two getting together."
"I see. And you're her what? Her husband?"
"Yes sir. Randy. Carolyn's husband."
No response.
"And if...if you two are going to get together...that I should make some arrangements with you."
"OK. Arrangements like what?"
"Ummm...well like where and when, and if you need anything or me to do anything. Or maybe you want, like a certain outfit or whatever. That's what I think she wants, is what she told me you said to do."
"I see. So do you have something specific in mind?"
"Well, yes sir. She and I. Well we were talking last night..."
"Ummm. Hang on." More sounds of a dog, yelps and small barks. Then the words "Down...Good boy...There's your pill in there...Eat it up...Good boy!"
"OK. I'm back. Ummmm, so where are you now...Ran...?"
"Yes sir. Randy."
"Where are you now Randy?"
"I'm at work sir. My law office. I think I gave you my card...you know at the Cafe?"
Sounds of the phone held to his shoulder I think. He must have been fishing out the card.
"Aha. Now I've got it. Randy James Epstein, Esq. That you?"
"Yes sir."
"So you're at the office?"
"Yes sir."
"Wembley Rd? Law office?"
"Yessir."
"And Carolyn? Where's she? She there with you?"
"Oh, no, sir. She doesn't...well she's doing her undergrad work at the U. She's at class right now."
"Hmmm. I wonder. Would have thought she'd want to be there with you. Hear you ask."
"Yes sir. I can see that. But you'd have to know Carolyn. She said she'd be too nervous. Embarrassed. That you'd said for me to do it and never said she had to be there."
"True enough. But what about you? Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Yes sir." Sweat was dripping from me know sitting there at the desk. I was thankful my next appointment was still 2 hours off.
"Ever done a call like this before?"
"No sir."
He gave a small chuckle and switched gears. "OK then. Carolyn's in college? A lot younger than you I guess...it's coming back to me. The girl in the blue dress. And you, the husband must be what? Forty? Forty-five?"
"Well, ummm, no sir. Actually she's not that much younger. See I'm just 29 and she's 25. But she put off college for me till I got my degree and so...she's there now...but just a sophomore...and..."
"Hmmm. I can't picture it. You I mean. Twenty-nine? And you're sure you're not bald?"
This time I knew he was just joshing me, but answer respectfully. "Yessir. Full head of hair, actually it's kind of thick. Twenty-Nine."
"Well, no matter. I think I've got her though. Yeah. Twenty-five? Nice age for a girl. Still limber, haha. Decent tits too. Knows her body and her mind. Knows what she needs. Knows what she needs to give up to get it. Ripe, don't you think?"
"Ummm. Yessir. I do. Carolyn is... well I don't want to brag but I think she's gorgeous."
"OK. I got it. Your stories seem to go on forever. Remind me what were we talking about?"
"Ummm. I guess you must have told her that I, that it should be me, you know, who called."
"OK."
"So we were talking last night and it's like, we were just wondering if, like, this Friday night or even Saturday night would ..."
"Let me look." More sounds of fumbling, this time on his phone.
"Ahhh. No. My brother and his wife are in town. Can't. Sorry."
"Ahhh. OK. I guess I should just...I don't know...let me talk to her, or could Sunday work?"
"Sunday? Maybe. Yeah, it could. Afternoon thing? Evening?"
"Either works for us. Whatever is best for you."
"Us? I thought it was about me being together with Carolyn?"
"Oh. Yes sir. It is. I just...you know, wondered if I could...I mean if you wanted..."
"Well. Let's slow down and get this straight."
"Yes sir."
"You are asking me to get together with Carolyn. Right?"
"Yessir."
"And why? Why would I be getting together with her?"
"Ummm...she...you know...what you two talked about? She said..."
"She said what?"