January and the Single Heart (7 page)

A bit stunned, Jan muttered, “I was in the …” She stopped talking and turned to leave.  Before she did, she put on a good front and smiled at Lou.  “Thanks anyway.”

“You could probably still catch him if, you know, you needed something.  He had a Friday ritual. He’d bu
y a new book for the weekend and then start it off reading the first few chapters over a drink at O’Brien’s.  Sometimes he’d have dinner there.  If you hurry, you could probably find him there.”

Jan’s eyes widened. “O’Brien
’s?  Three blocks down?”

“Yeah.  Just a thought.  You know
… he really really liked you.”

Jan headed back to her desk immediately.  She pulled her coat off the rack in the corner and grabbed her
purse and her briefcase.  She didn’t ask permission to leave early.  She didn’t say her goodbyes for the weekend.  She just bolted out the door, down the stairs to the lobby and out into the November mist.  She had no hat or umbrella and she didn’t care. 

She entered O’Brien
’s nine minutes later, her hair glistening wet, purse and briefcase still in hand.  Looking around, she spied Glen at the end of the bar sipping his drink, his head buried in a book.  She moved purposely through the room, past a crowded table with an overflow of bodies and to the end of the bar.  She knew what she was going to say.  Something very professional and sincere.  Something like ‘Glen, I missed you when you left and I felt it was important that I catch you and wish you luck in the future’.  She stopped to his left and he turned toward her with a surprised expression.

She was prepared but somehow, as she tried to open her mouth and say her lines, her mind went blank and in a meek and squeaky voice, she muttered “Hi.  I … uh … I heard you might be here.”

“Jan, you surprised me.  What are you doing here?”

“I missed you when you left and I felt … “, she trembled inside, “… I felt that I needed to tell you that I am sorry.  I’m sorry for the things I said and the way …
”

Glen interrupted her.  “No need.  Sit down.”  He motioned to the empty stool next to him.  “Tim, could we get a Chardonnay down here.”

“No, honestly, I can’t stay.  I … um… have to get back to the office.”  She waved off the bartender.

“It’s 4:
30 on a Friday.  Nothing’s going to happen.  Sit down and let’s talk.”  Glen turned the stool her way.

As Jan was about to speak, a waitress came by
, pointed at Glen and called out over the din, “Glen, your table is ready.”

Glen acknowledged and turned to Jan.  “Better yet, join me for dinner.  Please.”

Jan shook her head. “I can’t. I just wanted to apologize and tell you that it wasn’t fair what I did and I’m sorry and … and … I wish you luck.  I have to go.”

J
an turned around and immediately crashed into a server dropping both her purse and the briefcase.  Her purse spilled open and virtually everything inside flew out onto the tile floor.  She muttered something to herself and bent over to pick up her belongings.  Glen came over and tried to help but several others were there already and she quickly recovered.  When she had everything, she started to straighten up but a woman in a dark green blazer held out her hand to her.  She held the golden coin.  She gave an enigmatic smile and whispered, “I think this is yours and you still need it.”  Jan took it from her, said her thanks and placed it in her pocket.  Then, without looking back, she strode out the front door.

It was still misting and the wind was picking up.   She turned
left and walked down the street back to the office where she was parked, hunched over against the cold.  She turned the corner and went about twelve steps further and stopped dead in her tracks, causing other pedestrians to sidestep her and gaze back maddeningly. 
What did that woman say?  …and you still need it?  Why would she say it that way?  Still?  That doesn’t make any sense.  It was like she’d seen the coin before.  What the …

She stood as if transfixed in that spot for a few more moments and then,
shaking her head, she continued down the street to the next intersection.  As the light changed to WALK, she took two steps and then stopped forcing the other pedestrians to again evade her.  She turned around and stepped back up on the curb.  Standing in the rain, oblivious to all around her. 
This is where I normally fold my cards.  This is the time when I run for the exits. 
Rivulets of rain slipped down her cheeks.  She stood for a moment longer.
  Not this time!  I’m going back and this time I’ll make things happen.

W
ith a new determination, she turned around and walked back to the bar.  She entered and went to the spot where the woman in the green blazer had been sitting.  No one was there. Five empty schooners and a tip were still resting on the table. She asked a woman at a nearby table if she had seen her but she didn’t remember a woman in green. 

The waitress that had the table for Glen approached.  “Can I help you?”

Jan sputtered, “The woman that was here …”

The waitress interrupted her.  “They left a few minutes ago.  Did you change your mind about dinner?  I could take you back to Glen’s table.”

“No, I … you know his name?”

“Everybody here knows Glen.  He’s been coming here every Friday for four years.  Just him and his book of the week.  Nicest guy you could ever meet and never once has
he ever brought a date to share a meal with him.  I thought you’d be the first.”

Jan reached into her pocket and felt the face of the coin. 
Her fingers caressed it as they had a hundred times before.  She glanced back at the front door.  It was inviting.  It was the safe thing to do. 
Not this time
.  As she hesitated, the waitress touched her arm and mouthed, “Follow me.”

Jan approached from behind Glen
’s view and almost silently stepped to a spot next to him.  This time, with a stronger more confident voice she said what she wanted to say, “Hi.  You were right.  There’s no reason to go back to the office.  I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing here but … I think I am a little hungry if your offer still stands.”

Glen smiled broadly.  “Have a seat.  I was just about to order.  The Cod’s magnificent here.”

The waitress returned, pen in hand.  “Are you ready to order, Glen?”  She gave him a smile and a wink and suddenly Glen felt like a teenager out on his first date.  Embarrassed, but excited. 

“I’ll have a Caesar salad and the Cod and Marie, could you bring a bottle of that Chardonnay I really like? 

Marie nodded as Jan jumped in, “That sounds great.  I’ll have the same.”

Marie left and Glen and Jan looked over the table at each other self-consciously.  Finally, Jan volunteered, “I am really nervous.  I feel like an idiot.  I jumped to so many conclusions …”

Glen held his right hand up in the stop position. “It’s OK.  You’re going to pay a very high price for all those terrible things you said to me.”

Jan blinked. 
What did he just say?
  “Um, excuse me, what did …”

Glen cut her off, “You have to make it up to me.  I figure tonight’s dinner is a start.  But it hardly puts a dent in the penance I have in mind for you.  You’ll have to let me take you out to several more dinners at some of the finest restaurants in Seattle.  Then I was thinking I would have you over to my place where I would cook you a sumptuous meal or two, and by the way, it would you be nice if you reciprocated and made a dinner for me now and
then.  And you know, come to think of it, inviting me to Thanksgiving Dinner would be a nice touch too.”

Jan was laughing now.  “YOU can cook?”

“Three years ago, I won the Green Lake Bachelor Cook Off with my amazing Roasted Game Hen Soufflé.”

“Really?”

Glen smiled, “No, but I do enjoy making things up and seeing if people will believe me.  You’ll have to work on that gullibility problem.  I can help you with that as we continue your punishment with treks all over the wilderness.  In the spring I was thinking I would take you on my favorite hike which I like to call the Little Mount Si Death March.  That will help you get in shape for Big Mount Si in the summer.”

Marie returned with the salads and the wine and poured them each a glass.

As the waitress left, Jan looked at Glen carefully, making sure she was reading him correctly.  Then with a bit of a flair for the dramatic, she raised her glass in a toast, “Here is to punishment for the wicked.”

Glen laughed and toasted back.  “I’m just getting warmed up.  I will also make you sit and watch my favorite top 500 movies of all time in order, from worst to best.  You’ll be crying for mercy after that.”

Jan shook her head. “Sounds like it may take a long time before you forgive me.  Suppose I don’t want to go along with it?”

“You could stop at any time.  But if you quit before we’re done, then I’ll know your apology was not sincere. 
And of course, you wouldn’t want that.”

“No, I
certainly wouldn’t want to appear insincere.  But how are you going to pay for all these expensive dinners and trips?  You quit your job, remember.”

Glen pulled out a card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Jan.  She read it out loud, “
Glendon E. Bay, Chief Financial Officer, Donald McClaren Construction Company.  That was fast!  Sounds better than what you had, right?  How did that happen?”

“They offered me the position about six weeks ago.  I didn’t want to leave Grant because, well, there was this girl in the office that I had a crush on and I just thought the timing sucked.  But, funny how things turn out.  Pay is double what I had so now I can buy a house, get into debt like all the rest of America and maybe raise a family like a real adult.”

Jan looked him in the eyes.  “So, this girl, is she nice?’

Glen rubbed his chin.  “Hmmm, is she nice?  Well, she has her moments.  When she’s not mad at me, her other qualities shine through.  You see, she’s smart, quick with a quip, pretty, has curves in all the right places, competent, funny, sophisticated, brilliant at times, kind to her co-workers and underlings, easy to talk to, brave, straightforward, determined, pretty and she has a really
really good heart.”  He stopped while he was ahead.

Jan just stared at him.  “You said pretty twice.”

“I know.  Once didn’t seem like enough.”

Marie served their meal and left them mostly alone for the rest of the evening.  Other diners arrived, ate and departed while Jan and Glen continued talking.  They had two deserts each, swore they would never do that again, had several coffees, laughed and enjoyed the longest dinner and conversation
in the short history of O’Brien’s.  At 9:40, Glen paid the tab and they walked out and back to the parking lot at their building where their cars sat patiently but lonely in the dark. 

At her car, Jan turned and faced Glen.  “
I enjoyed that … it was an exquisite punishment.  Please sir, may I have another?”

Glen laughed. 
“A Dickens fan, huh?  Well, can I call you tomorrow?”

“You better.
”

“Good. Is say, 6:15 too early for you?  I was thinking we needed to get up and get a good start on a long hike.”

“Sure.  I’ll walk you into the ground, you amateur.”  They both smiled broadly.

Glen fidgeted for a moment.  Finally, he looked directly at her and, almost pleading, he
blurted, “Jan, I’m such a klutz at this but if I don’t kiss you tonight I am going to just explode.”

Jan hesitated but then remembered a line she once heard. 
“Where I come from you just do it.  You don’t stand around talking about it.”  And with that, she moved to him, meeting him halfway.  Their lips touched once, twice and then the third time, locked together until they both broke it off to come up for air. 

“One thousand four hundred eighty eight.” Glen
murmured quietly under his breath.

Jan looked at him wide-eyed.  “Nine hundred
seventy four.”

“Wow, I only thought accountants tracked weird stats.  Mine was how many days since I last
… well … sort of … kissed a girl.  What was yours?”

Jan gave him a mysterious smile.  “How many different guys I’ve kissed.  You’re number 9
74.”

A bit perturbed
and slightly disappointed, Glen asked, “Really?”

“No, but I enjoy making things up and seeing who is gullible
enough to believe it.  If you’re really nice, I might tell you someday what it really was.”  She was laughing as she got into her car.  Glen backed off to give her room and, smiling broadly, watched her as she drove off.

Jan and Glen spent 43 of the next 47 days together.  Having dinner, taking hikes, watching movies, visiting her parents on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and a totally bogus December 14
th
holiday that Jan made up and got Glen to believe in.  On January 11
th
, her birthday, Glen took her to Green Lake for a walk around.

They walked in silence for a while.  Glen seemed a bit moody so Jan was giving him some space.  As they neared the Bath House Theater, Jan said, “You don’t know it, but our story sort of started right here.”