A Night To Remember

A light rain fell as Ben pulled into the parking lot of Bella’s; the small Italian place gave off a stunning glow in the early evening light. Beads of sweat formed on Ben’s forehead as his beta male brain imagined all the various ways tonight could go wrong. It had been so long since he had been out with a woman and just knew he would screw things up before the night ended. Liz, a coworker from the accounting firm he worked for, had been trying to set him up for years and finally had succeeded. He was to meet Mary, a newer employee from the office, at Seven this evening for dinner. He was twenty minutes early like he always was, a beta male habit formed from a desperate need to please people. He looked himself over one last time in his rear-view mirror before summoning up the courage to make his way inside. He thought to himself that he looked like a bird as he examined his tall lanky frame hunched over to reach the mirror, his long thin nose pulling the look together. Through the bright colors of his favorite sweater, he could almost make out feathered wings.

After making his way inside Ben maneuvered his way to the maître d'. An abnormally large crowd composed of smaller crowds lost in various conversations had gathered in the entrance. Despite his best efforts to avoid a collision he felt like a pinball being bounced around as those he avoided seemed to move into his way at just that moment when it was too late to dodge them. They took no notice of his as he excused and apologized his way through the crowd. The maître d', a short plump man with an impressive walrus mustache was fiddling with his suit as Ben approached.

“Aw, bonjour” the maître d' greeted him with a thick French accent “how may I help you this evening?”

“Uh, yeah, I had a seven o’clock reservation for two, should be under Thompson” he answered wondering why an Italian restaurant had a French maître d' , then the crowd behind him had grown silent leaving him feeling as if he were on display and awkward. He felt their eyes on him though he didn't dare turn to look.

“Here you are, your guest has already arrived,” the maître d' told him without looking up, “Follow me.”

The sweat began to flow again as he realized he was going to have to adapt his plan for the night, he had intended on being here first so he could pull her chair out for her when she arrived. He had spent the entire afternoon planning how to handle scenarios he may meet, a wave of panic overcoming him as things were already not go accordingly. The dining room seemed larger than normal to Ben as he followed between rows of tables that seemed to go on forever. Just as his beta male imagination was about to carry him off, he was saved by the sight of Mary sitting at a table in the corner. She waved as she stood and pulled his chair out for him, she glowed like an angel in a blue summer dress with a beautiful floral design. He saw her running carefree through some fantasy meadow in his head as he sat down. He calmed down a little as she smiled then returned to her seat beside him.

“Hey how are you?” he was nervous and rigid as he spoke.

“I’m alright!” she nearly sang smiling as she looked down at the table “I hope you don’t mind, I asked for a table in the corner so I could keep an eye out for ninjas.”

“Not at all” he laughed starting to loosen up.

“Ninjas are no laughing matter” she said matter of fact like as the smile faded slightly. “One must always be alert!”

“Of course,” he squeaked quickly as panic threatened to take over again. He did his best to remain calm.

“How are you tonight?” she asked returning to her jolly demeanor.

“I’m doing fine” he timidly responded.

“Just fine?” she smiled and tilted her head.

“I’m good, just don’t get out too....” he trailed off as a tray carrying bucket sized coconuts, each with its own personal rainforest garnish and funky straw, appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

“Oh, and I ordered drinks!” she exclaimed as a dwarf who had been obscured from view by the tray placed the drinks on the table, then without a word bowed at the two and walked off with the tray.

Ben enjoyed the drink, speech became easier for him the more he consumed, every sip making him a little more comfortable until he found himself completely at ease. The two sat drinking and getting to know each other. Ben tried to bring up work, but Mary quickly changed the subject. He was glad for that; it was the last thing he really wanted to talk about but was his fallback conversation. She was interesting enough for both of them though, at no point allowing an awkward silence to fall upon the table. She had one hundred percent of his attention, so much so that it threw him off when the dwarf arrived with their dinner, he did not remember ever ordering. The two continued to talk throughout dinner, both ignoring rules of talking with mouths full. Hours later as dessert was brought to the table, Ben felt as if things could not get any better when a mariachi band approached the table playing a Latin ballad. The moment felt strangely surreal but perfect at the same time as the two shared a slice of turtle cheesecake. He wished in his head that he could freeze the moment forever as she excused herself from the table.

Looking around for the first time in hours Ben noticed the place was empty apart from the staff wandering about and a small boy alone on the other end of the dining room playing with a red rubber ball, bouncing it off the walls. He wondered where the kid's parents were, assuming they must be working here somewhere unaware how close their son was to what could end up an expensive accident. He saw the ball bouncing off the wall and across tabletop to tabletop leaving a trail of broken glassware in his head. He watched the staff wandering the dining room undoubtedly ready for them to leave. He caught his waiter as he passed and asked for the check then stood waiting by the table for Mary to return. He stared into space lost in his thoughts, overjoyed with how well the date was going but still terrified of screwing it up when he heard the little boy scream out from across the dining room and he was jarred back to reality.

He looked up just in time to move out the way as a man wielding a sword charged him. He fell onto the floor cowering like any true beta male would, simply hoping his attacker would take pity and spare him. A ninja stood over him raising his sword to attack as he curled himself into a fetal position. He looked up just in time to see the ninja knocked back by a kick to the chest. The ninja quickly focused on his new target as Mary stepped between him and Ben. Things happened so quickly he was unable to truly make out what had happened. One second, they charged each other the next thing he knew she stood over him offering him a hand up and the ninja lay unconscious on the ground.

“I told you always be alert,” she laughed as she helped him to his feet, “come with me, I want to show you something.” He followed her silently, terrified of her but also extremely excited to see what she had to show him. They made their way outside forgetting about the check, the staff did not seem to notice. She took his hand and led him past the parking lot into the street which was void of traffic despite the relatively early hour. The streetlights and neon signs along the street shone in the puddles left by the storm from earlier. She led him until they came into the middle of an intersection where she stopped and turned to face him. “Alright watch this, in five, four, three, two.”

She mouthed one at Ben, then out of nowhere he heard a loud bang and the sky lit up with a bright green glow, followed by another bang accompanied by a bright red light. The most impressive firework display he had ever seen began overhead, although he could not tell where they were coming from. Mary laughed and took him by the hand as the mariachi band from the restaurant came walking up and began to play.

“Dance with me!” she smiled at him.

He had never been much of a dancer, but he did his best. The night could not have gone any better he thought to himself as they danced in the street. Fireworks lit the sky as a light rain began to fall, and for the second time that night Ben wished he could freeze time. As they danced, she pulled him closer, and he put up no resistance resting his head on her shoulder as he tried to breathe her in. As the song ended, she pulled far enough away to look him in the eyes, then after what felt like an eternity lost in her eyes, she kissed him. He wondered how he could be so lucky to have hit it off so well with her, managing not to screw things up. He looked around noticing the band had taken their leave, the fireworks were ending, and except for a dog barking in the distance they were completely alone. He held her tight as she kissed him, he never wanted this to end. They held each other as they stood out in the gentle showers, the dog that had been barking now sounded closer, Ben tried hard to ignore it when suddenly Mary licked his face.

Ben awoke on his couch to his Jack Russel, Eve, standing on his chest alternating between barking in his face to licking it. She needed to go outside and was tired of waiting on him to wake on his own. He looked around wishing he were back in the dream, a glass of merlot sat half gone on his coffee table and the credits of the movie he could not make it through played on his TV. He turned the TV off as he got up, then grabbing the merlot from the table he let Eve out into the backyard. He drank what was left of the wine as she handled her business and came back inside running past him for the bedroom. He locked the doors, turned off the lights and then made his way to the bedroom. Another typical Friday night for him. He picked up his phone from the bedside table as he climbed into the bed deciding to respond to a message he had gotten before laying down to watch the movie. Liz from the office was trying to set him up with the new employee Mary from the office. He texts her back “Ok” then lay back with a smile on his face hoping very much to see her again as he drifted off.