The Charming Mr. Peters

The tires on Tina’s 2010 Corolla faintly crunched as she pulled into the tarmac parking lot of the posh Italian restaurant. She was nervous, but also excited. It was her first date with a man she had met through her friend Patty. In fact, it was her first date in almost ten years. She thought about her previous life with her husband Tim. She pushed the thoughts back, she didn’t really like to think about it.

She had been happily married, or so she thought, to Tim for about ten years. Ten years of marriage and ten years to get over the heartbreak of him sleeping around with other women. She honestly thought that she would never try to find another man. She didn’t think she would learn to trust anyone, let alone another boyfriend.

Over time she had started to become numb to it. The emotional distress came in less frequent waves; became less intense. The hurt never really went away, she just got used to it, became desensitized. How many times did she forgive him? Eventually, it was just too much to bear. It became unfair to her. She had packed up and left and laid low. She had no desire to socialize. She just wanted to be alone in her misery. She thought she would do it forever, but slowly she came out of her shell.

She reconnected with her friend Patty from University. They had been excellent friends many years ago. They never completed lost touch, but it was usually just the occasional email. Patty convinced her that it would be good for her to start doing social activities again. She started to go out, at first, just for coffee or a lunch. Eventually, they started going to the Flamingo or the Filthy Dog. She would lightly flirt with the men drinking there, but never really thought of making anything of it. She hadn’t had any one-night stands or fleeting kisses.

One night at the Flamingo, Patty had shown up with a guest; Dana Peters. He worked with Patty. He was a kind man with an infectious smile. Tina had immediately developed a secret little crush on him. They had talked a lot that night, about subjects ranging from the philosophy of Kant and Nietze, to the rock’ n’ roll of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. These weren’t necessarily the most appealing topics to her, but Dana was charismatic and the conversation came easy. He carried the conversation and she enjoyed being the smiling passenger. That had been two weeks ago. About one week ago he had called her, explained that he had gotten her number from Patty, and asked if she wanted to go to dinner at Fallaci’s, which is where she was now.

She checked the mirror to make sure none of make-up had smudged or anything silly like that. She pulled the handle to open the door of her car and got out. As she exited the Corolla, a cherry red Corvette with two grey racing stripes running up the middle quickly pulled in and took a parking spot on the opposite side of the parking lot. Wow, nice ride she thought. Maybe he’s making up for something. She started walking towards the entrance of the restaurant and then blushed an intense red (almost as red as the Corvette) when she saw Dana get out of the car. She hoped her previous thought was wrong.

“Tina,” Dana said as he walked forward to meet her, “you look great. I’m very glad you agreed to meet me here,” he flashed his infectious grin with his perfect white teeth. He was carrying a small white tote bag. She couldn’t see what was in it and didn’t want to be nosy. She figured she would find out soon enough.

“Hi Dana,” Tina replied with a little shy smile.

“After you,” Dana said as they headed up the cobblestone walk and entered the restaurant through the elaborate oak doors.

The inside of the restaurant was dimly lit, but still warm and welcoming. The multitude of large mirrors on the walls made it look like the restaurant was much larger than it actually was. The Maître D was a tall, thin, pleasant man that greeted them warmly and showed them to their table that was located in a comfortable looking little alcove.

The Maître D smiled, “your server tonight will be Francesco, and he will be with you shortly”.

Tina’s heart was beating slightly faster than usual. She hadn’t felt this kind of electric excitement in ages. There really was something about Dana that made her feel special- that’s not quite the word she was looking for- Charmed, she felt charmed.

They both picked up their menus and started to peruse the offerings. She looked at the wine list. She was definitely going to get a glass of wine or two. She was in celebration mode. Dana smiled at her again. She couldn’t get over that smile. He opened his white bag that sat by his feet and handed her a beautiful, long stemmed red rose.

“That is gorgeous. Thank you, Dana. You are so sweet.”

“A sweet gift for a sweet lady,” Dana replied.

She liked how he called her a lady and not a gal or something like that. It seemed classier; old fashioned, without being dated.

They both let out subdued laughs at the brief flirting as they saw the waiter approaching.

“Good evening. My name is Francesco and I will be your waiter this evening.”

They exchanged a few pleasantries with Francesco, then he asked, “what will you be having to drink this evening? The wine of the night is a Hugh Hamilton Merlot called Ratbag. I know the name is a little, hmm, unconventional, but it is a very good wine with notes of tomato leaf, mint, plum, and dried herb. Of course, we also have our full list of wines available. Wold you like to order now or do you need a few minutes?”

“I am ready,” Tina replied, “I will try a glass of the Ratbag, preferably with no rats,” she said with a wink and a smile.

“Would you like the six ounce or the ten ounce?” Francesco inquired.

“Well Francesco, this night is shaping up to be a good one. I will go with the ten,” Tina answered.

“I am ready as well,” Dana said as he pulled a green wine bottle filled with red liquid from his bag. The bottle was fancy looking, but had no label or other identifying marks, “This is what I will be drinking. I will gladly pay your corking fee.”

“Sir, Ma’am,” Francesco chimed as he walked away.

Intrigued, Tina asked, “what is that you brought along?”

He smiled again, “Oh this is just a little something I make at home. It’s not quite like anything you can order at a restaurant. I would offer you some, but it is an acquired taste and I would hate to ruin our dinner.”

They made small talk and decided on their food orders. It was then that Francesco showed up with Tina’s glass of wine and a corkscrew and empty glass for Dana’s bottle.

“Here you go ma’am,” Francesco gracefully put the glass of wine in front of her. The wine swirled slightly in the large crystal wine glass. He took the bottle Dana had put on the table and expertly opened it. He poured the dark red liquid into Dana’s glass. The red liquid settled almost immediately.

“Are you ready to order?”

They were, and they did. They had decided to forgo an appetizer and just order the main course.

Once the waiter had strode away, Dana turned to her, “So what do you do for work?”

“I am a freelance writer. I mostly do articles for websites. I write about all sorts of topics. I have also delved into short stories. I do plan on writing a novel. I have an idea, but I’m not ready to reveal it. I know you work with Patty. What do you do there?”

“I am the Director of Manufacturing there,” he said as he took another sip of his dark red wine.

It looked so good. Every time he sipped it, the dark red was alluring. She wanted to try it. She wanted to ask him, but he had pre-emptively warned her that he wouldn’t allow it. Maybe she would get a chance to ask.

Their conversation continued on as you would expect on a first date. His grin captivated her and his wine seemed to hypnotize her. She was having such a good time she decided to take an out of character, bold action.

“Dana, I would like it if you would come over to my place for dinner next Friday. Are you available?”

“That sounds wonderful, I will be there,” He stated with smile and bright eyes.

He agreed. This was so wonderful. She couldn’t be happier.

The meal came. She had ordered the Carbonara and Dana had the ossobuco. The food was exquisite and her glass of wine was outstanding, but she still couldn’t get the urge to try Dana’s wine out of her mind.

“That was delicious. If you will excuse me I will be right back,” he stood up, made a small bow, and headed towards the restrooms. His second glass of wine still sat on the table about half full. She was curious. Curiosity killed the cat she thought. But, satisfaction brought it back, right? She reached across the table and grabbed Dana’s glass. She brought it to her mouth and took a quick sip, then replaced the glass in the exact same spot she got it.

It tasted horrible. When she was a child she had often gotten terrible nose bleeds that would bleed into the back of her throat. That is what this tasted like. The taste of fermented rusty metal. Was it blood? She decided that she needed to get out of here. This was far too creepy. She stood up, grabbed her purse and turned to leave.

Out of nowhere, Dana was back at the table again. He looked at her standing up. “What is going on?” he asked.

“I need to leave,” she said quickly.

He smiled, looked at the wine glass, and sat back down. “Did you like it?”

The creepiness had morphed into outright terror. She quickly walked towards the door.

The Maître D had a concerned look on his face as she rushed by him, “Is everything ok Ma’am?”

“I’m fine, I just need to leave, NOW.” She almost screamed at the man. As she was opening the heavy wooden door she looked over her shoulder. Dana was still sitting at the table sipping his wine. He didn’t look like the same person she had walked in with. His infectious grin looked like a raw grimace and his perfect teeth looked like blurry bestial fangs. His eyes seemed to be sunk into his head and completely empty.

She pushed through the door into the parking lot. He hadn’t followed her, she started to feel a little safer. Then she remembered, she had invited him in. She shivered as she ran to her car.

“You thought vampires only roamed in the evening, but they sit in boardrooms and feed at lunch meetings.”