LITMIR.BIZ

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offend anyone or make me look silly. Besides, it’s my style. Esposito was right, just be myself!”

      The only thing different Charlie did this time was to splash on a little cologne. He had purchased a bottle of an expensive Armani cologne. That was way beyond his usual behavior. He was usually content to buy the Aqua Velva at Rexall’s. If he really wanted to put on a smell, he would buy some Old Spice, his father’s favorite. He didn’t know if Gina would even notice, but he just thought that he should use something a little more sophisticated and expensive than the usual fare. “Jeez, I hope I don’t smell like a French whore!” He thought. He also secretly hoped that he had not purchased a scent that was designed for the homosexual market. He didn’t know much about men’s perfumes or colognes and the sales girl had told him that women liked this fragrance. He felt like a high school kid who had purchased his first bottle of English Leather.

      So, with the fragrance of Armani on his face, Charlie drove to Philly. He pulled up to the parking garage instead of leaving his car on the street and walked into the trattoria. It was almost 9 on the dot and he was surprised to see Gina already there with a few friends. She saw Charlie coming through the door and waved to him to join her table. Charlie was elated to see her again but a bit disappointed that she was with a crowd. He walked over to her table and she got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He wasn’t ready for that and he turned crimson. “Hmmm, don’t you smell good! I hope that’s for me!” He turned even a brighter red for just a moment.

      “Charlie, let me introduce my friends. This is Bob and his wife Emily. Bob is an architect and is working on a project for the municipal housing authority. They want a higher quality housing unit for the projects and Bob has some interesting designs. Emily is a painter still waiting for her first big exposition. But I like her style. The guy sitting across from you is Frankie. He’s a banker but he coaches one of the CYO league teams at the school where I volunteer, so, don’t hold it against him that he works for a bank.” Charlie laughed, “Nice to meet all of you. I look forward to our evening.”

      “Whoa, Charlie” Gina said, “You better talk to everybody fast because you and I are going out for dinner – alone, unless you would rather sit here and talk.”

      “Jeez, you put me in a tight spot Gina. I have to choose? Your friends look like great people but how can I refuse to go out with you alone?”

      “Nice going, Charlie” Gina said “You got through that one OK.” She laughed. She turned to Emily, “Emily, I have to powder my nose before I leave, let’s hit the powder room.” Gina and Emily got up and headed for the ladies’ room.

      “So you are the guy Gina has been telling us about, huh?” Bob said. “You wiggled out of that dilemma pretty well. You an attorney?”

      “No, I work in finance for the Shaw Corporation. But thanks anyway. Gina gave me a real Hobson’s choice there.”

      “Well I thought you handled it pretty well. Gina said a lot of nice things about you. She’s a very special person you know. I don’t think she has a mean bone in her body. I’ve never seen anyone who does volunteer work do as much as she does. You’d think she was getting paid for it!”

      “Well, maybe she is.” said Charlie. “Money is not the only way we get paid in life. Sometimes knowing that we helped someone is a form of payment.”

      “Well said” added Frankie, “I think Gina is that kind of person. Besides, the one thing she doesn’t need is money.”

      Bob shot Frankie a quick glance that said “Shut up, Frankie.” Charlie saw it but did not react. He wouldn’t have followed up on the comment anyway, but Bob could not have known that. He was impressed by Bob’s loyalty to Gina.

      Frankie quickly changed the subject and said, “Yeah, Gina spoke well of you. She thinks you are a nice guy – which is pretty important in Gina’s lexicon.”

      Charlie was flattered. He had not expected Gina to be talking about him to her friends but then he remembered that he had talked about Gina to Joey Esposito. “Thanks, Frankie. I will try to keep it that way.”

      “Good idea” said Bob and then laughed.

      Emily and Gina returned from the ladies’ room. It didn’t look like either had powdered her nose and Charlie figured there was some girl talk going on. When Charlie stood to pull Gina’s chair she said, “OK, Charlie Mullins, you had your chance to hold a conversation. Now you belong to me. Let’s have some dinner!”

      Charlie did not want to seem rude so he said, much against his real feelings, “Why don’t you guys join us? You’re Gina’s friends and it will be a nice evening.” He stood there hoping that no one would accept the invitation. To his relief Emily said, “Thanks Charlie, that’s generous of you, but we have already made plans. We were only here to have a quick cocktail with Gina. We’re on our way now, so you guys enjoy yourselves! Nice to meet you, Charlie.”

      Relieved that he would have Gina to himself for the evening, Charlie responded, “Same here, have a good evening.” as he and Gina headed for the door to flag a cab.

      * * * * *

      Over dinner Gina and Charlie continued the “getting-to-know-you” phase of their relationship. Gina talked about her volunteer work and Charlie about his job. They were now beyond the preliminary stuff and were learning about what each believes to be important. They discussed values, attitudes, things they liked, things they didn’t like, people they thought were interesting, people they thought were boring. Gina laughed easily at Charlie’s stories about Fred Perkins. “Poor man,” she said, “he must be really frustrated and angry, not to mention insecure.” She complimented Charlie on how he handled Fred and laughed at the incidents he described. She told Charlie about the children she worked with and the community projects she was putting together. Charlie was amazed at her tremendous energy and drive. She was planning an exhibition for Emily and was waiting only for her to have enough paintings to put on display. Next week she was promoting a book signing for a photographer who had put together an anthology of photos of Philadelphia landmarks. “Why don’t you come to the signing, Charlie? You’ll enjoy the people who will be there. The photographer, Jerry, is really talented and has an encyclopedic knowledge of Philly.” The evening passed far more quickly than Charlie wished. They were the last couple to leave the restaurant and the waiters stood patiently by while they finished their espressos. Charlie noticed that none of the waiters started clearing off tables as they tended to do when they wanted to tell you it was time to leave. Gina appeared to have an almost hypnotic effect on people and as long as she was around, no one wanted her to leave, so the waiters just stood there until Charlie finally settled the bill and they left the restaurant.

      “That was a great evening, Gina. You are really a wonderful person to be around” Charlie said.

      “Thank you, Charlie. The feeling is mutual. Why not come up for the book signing next Saturday? We can go out for cocktails before and dinner after. Jerry is a very talented guy and you will like the group that will be there.”

      “Of course,” said Charlie, “you have a fantastic group of friends – at least those I have met so far. I’ll be there.” Charlie felt emboldened by Gina’s invitation and asked, “Gina, sometimes I feel like giving you a call just to see how you are doing and talk a little. Would you give me your telephone number?”

      “Why don’t you give me your number, Charlie? I’ll call you and we can talk to your heart’s content.”

      That caught Charlie by surprise until he remembered that he had told Gina he was divorced. “I’ll bet a lot of married guys tell her they are divorced just to try to get her into bed.” he thought. “She’s right to protect her privacy until she can verify the things I have told her.”

      “OK,” said Charlie as he pulled out a leather-bound pocket notebook and wrote down his number. “I’m almost always at home by about 7 pm except Wednesdays when I bowl with the guys starting at 8-o-clock.

      “What do I do if a woman answers at your home

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