"What now?" I barked when Alex's annoying ringtone sounded. "Can't we have one night alone?"
His eyes flashed with anger but I wasn't sure if it was for the phone interruption or me. "I have to take this," he muttered as he stood and moved away from the bar.
As I slowly shook my head, the bartender Mike, who had introduced himself earlier, came down. "Can I get you another Dirty Martini?" he asked flashing a toothful grin that seemed to set off his blue eyes.
I smiled meekly, not wanting to ruin his evening too. "If I have another, you may have to scrape me off the floor," I joked.
"That's my job, scrape them then send them on their way. It would be my pleasure to scrape you," he replied with a wink.
I felt my cheeks flush with color, thinking that in my younger days, I surely would have giggled and said, "You can scrape me any time," but now, being a 48 year old divorced mother of kids his age, I settled for, "Okay, one more."
"You got it. Three olives, right?"
"You're good. Remembering customers must be a big part of this job."
As he chilled a fresh stem glass and added ice to the shaker glass, he said, matter-of-factly, "Not everyone, but I remember the ladies... especially the attractive ones." Before I could be flattered, he added, "Like I remember the first time you and your husband came in. You ordered a Gin & Tonic with a splash of lime juice."
My eyes widened. "That's right! I can't believe you remembered that. It was so long ago."
Mike shrugged as he added Gin and Vermouth. "Like I said, I have an eye for the classy ladies."
"Thank you, that's very sweet of you to say, but you got one thing wrong: Alex is just an acquaintance. In fact, tonight was supposed to be a reconciliation of sorts. A last chance, if you get my drift. But, based on his constant phone calls he's getting, his job is way more important to him than I am."
Mike stabbed the olives on a spear and poured my drink, looking directly into my green eyes. "Then, your 'acquaintance' is an ass-hole. Oh, sorry, I really shouldn't be expressing my opinions."
I tried not to show my school girl embarrassment. "That's okay. I've called him that, and worse."
I saw Mike look past me, and saw Alex approaching. "Well, whatever happens, I hope everything works out for you."
"Thanks, me too."
Alex had a glum expression as he slid in beside me, watching Mike move off to service another customer. "Listen, something came up at work. They need me there right away."
The look I gave him said it all.
"Listen, this was a mistake. What we had was over a long time ago," I began, knowing this speech would eventually be necessary. "Our priorities are too different. It's nobody's fault, Alex. We're just different people."
His non-response told me he had come to the same conclusion. "I'll drive you home."
"That won't be necessary. I just got another drink, and I'll call a car service."
He eyed me warily. "Are you sure? This neighborhood can get a little rough."
"Don't worry about me. I'll call from here and wait for the driver to pull out front. Nobody will bother me in here. This is too nice of a restaurant."
He rose and came in for a kiss, which I averted by giving him my cheek. "We had some great times, Carrie."
"Yes, we did," I responded, without adding, "but they were few and far between, and a long time ago."
He tossed a hundred on the bar and said, "That should cover the tab and your cab fare," to which I added a crooked smile and nod, and he was gone.
I felt a strange sense of relief. Sure, here I sat, 48, slim, too tall for many men at 5'10, all alone with no prospects, sipping another Martini. Since Alex and I broke up, I'd come into a small inheritance and, after giving each off the kids a few thousand to spend as they pleased, took the remainder and had breast augmentation. Not a major boob job, but I added a cup size to 38C. I also joined a gym that supposedly had many single male members. Unfortunately, most weren't interested in females, but I worked out a few times a week, losing some tummy flab and getting fit.
I also had a make-over, getting a coloring that brightened my light brown hair, added a few blonde streaks, and they taught me current techniques for makeup. All in all, I thought I looked pretty good for my age and the fact that I had 29 and 27 year old kids, and one grand-daughter.
My friends and the kids all complimented me, but there weren't many single men beating down my door; The few who did wound up being married and on the prowl.
Now, here I sat, in a high-class steak house, dressed in a tight black cocktail dress and heels. Since Alex was 6'2", he was one of the few men I could get away with wearing heels without towering over my date. Although heels gave my butt more definition, I didn't want to alienate any prospective new friends.
I idly sipped my drink, listening to the Jazz piped into the bar area, when I had the feeling I was being watched. Sure enough, down the end of the bar, Mike was working the water spots out of a glass with a white towel as he smiled down at me.
I smiled back, despite not feeling very joyous, and he made his way down. "Is everything okay?"