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The night of Tim’s big date with Mary Ann had arrived, and he waited anxiously at the corner by his condo.
“Over here, handsome!” Mary Ann yelled as she walked from the opposite direction.
Mary Ann was wearing her usual tight jeans and black t-shirt, but with a white linen jacket over it and no motorcycle chain belt. Her hair was down instead of tied back in the usual ponytail, and it looked like she had applied a little more mascara for the occasion.
Taking Tim’s arm, Mary Ann walked him to the street and hailed a cab. Talk about taking charge, Tim thought to himself. At least it relieved him of some of the evening’s stress.
Mary Ann gave the cabbie an address and immediately moved closer to Tim until their shoulders touched. “I thought we would go down to Fell’s Point for dinner. I know a great little Italian place. Did you know that I’m half Italian?”
Tim had never heard Mary Ann say so much at one time and was a little taken aback by it. However, it was making the date much easier. Tim had been on lots of dates where he’d had a difficult time getting the woman to say two words, so Mary Ann’s newfound verbosity was a welcome change.
“Italian? With a last name like Layback?” Tim challenged playfully.
“Well, I’m Italian on my mother’s side. I have no clue where Layback came from, but I sure got a lot of shit about it as a kid. But I took care of that.” Mary Ann seemed to go a little dark as she said the last sentence.
How did she take care of it? Tim wondered.
He decided that he needed to change the subject. “Well, I love Italian food. Who doesn’t?” he responded cheerfully, hoping that Mary Ann would continue the conversation instead of shutting up.
His wish was granted. “I’m also a great Italian cook,” she murmured. “Maybe I could cook for you sometime.”
The food at the Blue Goose was awful. Tim could only hope that this was not the food she was considering cooking for him.
As they approached Fells Point, Mary Ann changed subjects. “I just love this neighborhood. It reminds me so much of Amsterdam. Have you ever been to Amsterdam?”
Mary Ann’s question gave Tim a very strange feeling. No, he had never been to Amsterdam—but he knew exactly what Mary Ann was talking about. Row houses by water. How the hell did he know that?
“No, I’ve never been there...or, at least, I don’t think I have,” Tim replied, which made Mary Ann laugh.
“You either have or you haven’t, Tim. You’re a funny guy.”
Tim was not sure if Mary Ann thought he was a funny guy in the “ha-ha” sense or the strange sense, but they had arrived at their destination, so he didn’t bother to ask.
“Pay the man, Tim, and don’t forget to tip him,” she said as she exited the cab.
The ‘maître d’ appeared to know Mary Ann and welcomed her with a hug. She did not bother to introduce Tim. The maître d led Tim and Mary Ann to a corner table, where Mary Ann ordered a vodka martini. Tim ordered the same.
“So, how is the stem cell research going?” Mary Ann asked.
Tim was a little taken aback by the question. He recalled that Mary Ann was with him when he’d decided to Google stem cells, but he hadn’t spoken about it to her or anyone since then.
Still, he knew Mary Ann was perceptive. “Well, I was really just looking into dental implants at first. I got kind of sidetracked into stem cells, but I don’t think stem cells can grow new teeth.”
Mary Ann reached across the table and placed her hand on Tim’s lower jaw. “Let’s see them, then. Yep, you have extensive bridge work on both your uppers and lowers. I’d give them about a year.”
“A year for what?” Since Mary Ann still had her hand on Tim’s lower jaw, his response sounded a bit like Duffy Duck.
“A year before you lose them. Not all at once—just a few at a time.” Mary Ann removed her hand from Tim’s jaw and started reading the menu.
Tim’s dentist had told him the same thing, but how the hell had Mary Ann known that? “So, are you a dentist as well as a restaurateur?” Tim asked, trying to sound sophisticated.
“I used to own a dental lab, and I’ve seen lots of bridges. Do you like calamari?”
“Love it. But you think my teeth will start falling out?” Tim was beginning to panic.
“Well, they will start hurting first, and you will go to the dentist, and she or he will tell you that there is nothing more to do and will start pulling the few real teeth you have left.” Mary Ann was still reading the menu, and her response sounded almost absentminded.
She closed the menu and looked at Tim. “But that’s not going to happen tonight, so relax. I am going to have the eggplant parmesan. Have you decided on anything?”
Tim ended up ordering a steak. May as well while he could still eat one, he figured. Mary Ann laughed at his choice and joked about finding an Outback Steakhouse the next time they went out for dinner, although the steak at the Italian place was delicious and Tim thought it was one of the best he had ever tasted. Italians do excellent steaks, Mary Ann informed him, then started talking about gangsters in Chicago during Prohibition and steakhouses.
Tim was beginning to think that this was the best date he had ever been on. Mary Ann was different here from when she was behind her bar, tossing one-liners back and forth with the regulars. Here, she spoke freely and expounded on all kinds of subjects, although Tim also found that she was a good listener. She surprised him by how well she recalled all of the little comments he’d made about life while sitting at her bar. Tim figured that she, like most people, really did not care what he thought about anything—but Mary Ann certainly impressed him.
They had consumed two martinis each as well as one bottle of red wine, and any inhibitions Tim may have had at the beginning of the evening had gone out the window.
“So where is Mrs. Hall?” Mary Ann asked playfully.
“Dead and gone, I’m afraid,” Tim responded, not really meaning to sound so cold.
Tim’s response created a kind of pregnant pause at the table where neither of them could think of what to say next. Finally, it was Mary Ann who broke the silence. “Tim, I am so sorry. I had no idea at all. I just thought you were divorced like everyone else—”
Tim cut Mary Ann off by taking her hand in his. “It was an accident, and I wish I could tell you more about Pam—that was my wife’s name—but after the accident, I just don’t remember much about anything. I mean, we had a good marriage, we both worked, too busy to have kids, the usual story...but, the thing is, I mean, the thing is that I don’t remember if I loved her or not.”
This statement almost bought Tim to tears, which was the last thing he wanted, but what he said was true. He just didn’t know if he’d loved Pam or not.
Somewhere in all of this, Mary Ann had paid the check, and they were both now walking down Thames Street arm in arm.
“Mary Ann, I am so sorry. I feel like I have sabotaged our entire evening. I just was not expecting that question, and—”
Mary Ann placed her hand on Tim’s cheek.
“Tim, you can shut up now,” she said, and they started to kiss.
Their kissing continued during the cab ride back to Washington Hill. Both Tim and Mary Ann’s hands were all over one another. Tim was surprised by how assertive Mary Ann was, but should he be? He’d never been on a date with anyone like Mary Ann before.
As they headed upstairs to Tim’s condo, Tim’s mind began to race with questions like, did he make his bed that morning? And did he have coffee? But the kissing suddenly stopped when they reached Tim’s door.
Mary Ann turned and faced Tim. “This is as far as I go on a first date, but...” Mary Ann stopped speaking and gave Tim a long kiss, pushing her tongue deep into his mouth. “...I wanted you to know that I had a simply fabulous time.”
Mary Ann kissed him again and started for the elevator. Tim called after her, “Can I at least walk you home?”
“No, I have an Uber coming,” Mary Ann responded. The elevator door opened, and Mary Ann stepped in.
“Well, can I walk you to the...”
The elevator door closed, and Mary Ann was gone. Tim opened the door to his condo, entered, and headed to the window. He saw a black car pull up to the front of his building, perhaps a Mercedes, and Mary Ann got into the front seat. Tim thought that riding in the front seat of an Uber was a little strange, but this was Mary Ann, after all, so he decided to let it go.
Tim sat on his couch and considered the evening. The date had certainly gone much better than he’d expected. He was sorry that he didn’t get to close the deal but getting a woman into bed was no longer the big thing that it used to be for him.
Tim’s iPhone sounded the text message alert. Tim picked it up and saw that he’d received two texts from Mary Ann. The first read, “I had a wonderful, wonderful evening. Let’s do it again” followed by two red hearts. The second message said, “And if you mention anything about our date to anyone at the Goose, I will kill you.”