I sat listening in (mute buttons are wonderful things). She was really into role playing. "I'm going to pretend to be Betty. I'll even use her first name." I listened to her talk to the guys whose letters she liked: one guy was so angry about his marriage failing, he was a lousy prospect.
"I want a good time" Tina told me after talking to him, "not baggage".
A few men talked about looking for the "right woman". That made us both uncomfortable. She just wanted dates, not a long term commitment.
In the end there were three "possibles."
The black guy, Paul, was a manufacturing manager, he had been divorced for three years, and was going to be transferred out of state in a month - that was a definite advantage. He seemed a bit crude to me, but that wasn't a problem for Tina. She was looking for 'different' guys. Different from me.
Phil sounded like a nerd - a CPA of all things, but there was something about him that appealed to Tina. He had never been married. "Just playing the field, meeting some wonderful people" he said. Sounds like a loser. Maybe I AM a little prejudiced there.
Joseph was a cop. He'd been divorced three times, he said, and decided he'd rather be a cop than be married, but he still liked to be around women. "So long as you weren't kidding about not wanting to get serious, we could have a good time" he claimed.
By the end of the evening, she had set up a "let's meet for a drink" date with Paul and "dinner at Marybelle's", a nice restaurant, with (loser) Phil, the CPA.
Joseph, the cop, had an interesting line. He soon established that Tina (AKA Betty) had just separated. "Look, I know how hard separation is. I've gone through it three times. Cops don't make good husbands, I guess, at least this one doesn't. Anyhow, you have to start somewhere. I don't want a serious relationship, and your ad says you don't, either. Meet me for a cup of coffee or something, we'll talk, and we'll be able to figure out if we even want to see each other any more."
Joseph had some other advantages as far as I was concerned. He lived in Queens - 60 miles away. That, in the jargon of singles here, makes him "geographically undesirable". He's just too far away. Any dates would be casual - and infrequent. No chance of, shall we say, 'romantic entanglements'.
Tina agreed. "OK - where?"
No, it wasn't at Dunkin Donuts, smartass. They agreed to meet at the Candlelight Diner, a few miles from Northport, the next evening after Joseph finished his shift.
"That was pretty quick work" I told Tina when she hung up.
"We only have three weeks left, honey" she reminded me. I'd like to get a couple of dates in before it's too late."
We were both as excited as teenagers the next day, as Tina drove off on her first date, for a cup of coffee!
She didn't return for two hours!
That's a lot of coffee in anyone's book.
"What happened?" I demanded to know.
"We just sat and talked, and drank coffee. He's really pretty nice, and you know, maybe I might just develop a thing for men in uniforms."
"Are you going to see him again? Did he try to make a date or anything?"
"Yeah, he did. We're going to eat dinner there tomorrow - is that all right?"
"You mean, at the diner?"
"Yeah - big deal, isn't it? But Joseph says he has to be careful where he goes when he's in his blue bag - that's what he calls his uniform. He offered to take me to dinner someplace else over the weekend when he'd be off duty, but, you know, this seemed like a good idea, so. . ."
"Is this like going to be your first real date with him?"
"Bob, what are you doing? Keeping score or something? I don't think so; I think we can count tonight as a first date."
"Oh." I wasn't really sure just how I felt about that. Kind of excited, but kind of scared, too. The water here was getting deep really fast.
At bed time, Tina rolled to me, wanting to be held, wanting loving and romance. "Bob, I'm glad we're doing this. Thank you." she said.
"Is Joseph someone you might, you know. . ."
"I don't know. I feel safe with him, though, he's not aggressive or anything the way I'd expect a cop to be. . ."
By then I had her nightgown pulled up to her waist, and rolled onto her, erect, horny.
Imagining Joseph doing the same.
Man, do I need therapy.
We started. "I wonder," she said, "if I could really do. . . .you know, this with someone else. . ."
And just a couple of minutes later, still under me, actually moving with me, she murmured, in a small voice. . .
" . .yeah, yes, I think I could. . ."
The next night after her dinner she came home, eyes glistening. "He wanted a good night kiss - he kissed me in the parking lot! And he hugged me really tight, and even though he had on his uniform, I could tell, I could tell. . ."
"Tell what!"
"I think he had an erection! He held me tight against him, honey, and I'm pretty sure felt it! I think he's big!"
She talked about dinner, almost a fork by fork description but honestly, my mind was elsewhere. Joseph's job took a lot out of him, he told her. His wives, all three of them, felt he was more married to it than to them. "'And they were right,"' Tina repeated what he told her, and she reminded him that she sure didn't want a serious relationship so soon after separating, and besides, she was going to move away soon anyhow.
"Even so, he wants me to eat with him again tomorrow," she told me, and I agreed. Is that OK?"
Three dates in three nights!
That's THREE. The magic number as I recall.
"Sure!" I agreed.
Hey, why not? That *is* what I wanted after all.
Isn't it?
The special phone line rang early the next evening. "Betty, we had a sort of an emergency, and I'm working until 9 tonight. I'm sorry," he said.
"That's ok. I can meet you then," Tina offered.
"That's kind of a problem. I'll still be stuck in my uniform, and I wanted to get home and change, and take you out to a nice place. I'm really disappointed 'cause I'd really like to see you again." I remembered he lived a long way away - he wasn't going to drive all the way home, and back out here again.
"Uh, Betty, look don't think I'm too forward or anything, but maybe I could maybe order a pizza and bring some beer over to your place?"
Tina paused, exchanged startled glances with me, and then without prompting, said "Ok. Sure. Yeah, I like that idea."
She gave him directions to her 'apartment.'
"I hope it's ok to bring him here. I think so. This is all so new to me. I'm a little scared. I'm glad you'll be watching, though," she said to me. That evening she, wearing a simple button down the front dress and sensible loafers, went down to assume her role. "Wish me luck!"
.
"I'm sorry you'll be moving away" were the first words he uttered when Tina let him in. "I think you're kind of special, and I wanted to get to know you better."
He was in his full patrol uniform. "I gotta get rid of some of this stuff."
His coat come off, and his equipment belt. Tie off, shirt opened at the neck.
He opened the bag he brought with him, and pulled out two Stouts. "I hope you don't mind."
She took one of the beers, and just as it was being opened our front door bell rang. I got on a robe - yes, I was naked on our bed, watching channel 30 - to find the pizza guy there.
"It must be my tenant who ordered that," I said, pointing him toward the path around to the apartment.
I was back in the bedroom in time to see Joseph paying for the pizza, and apologizing to the delivery man. "Yeah", the guy was saying, "it's only after 9 and I think your landlord was already in bed. I must have disturbed him."
'Betty' can be wicked, sometimes. She went to the phone, and dialed our number!
"Mr. Barnes, it's Betty downstairs." she said to me. "I'm sorry about the pizza delivery confusion. The delivery guy didn't disturb you, did he? I know you must have been in bed."
I made some noises in the phone, and she, turned, smiling, towards the HAVC vents so that Joseph couldn't see, stuck her tongue out at me, and hung up!
They were soon sitting on the sofa, beer, pizza, and napkins occupying them.
"Some fancy date, huh, Betty?"
"Joseph, it's different, and kind of fun. I'm glad you came."
