ME: Hi. How are you doing today?
Ugh. The text sounded stilted. I deleted it and tried again.
ME: Hey, how’s it going?
Better. More natural. But how’s it going? That wasn’t a great way to word a greeting. What was ‘it?’ How’s it going was starting to look wrong, the more I stared at it.
Delete.
ME: Hey, how are you?
Cripes. Why did every word look and sound stupid? Just say it, Ken. Man up.
ME: Hi Steven, it’s Ken. Do you like jazz? There’s a jazz trio playing on Friday night. I was going to check them out. Would you like to come along?
There. Done. Sent. No more second-guessing.
It was the Monday following our Friday night movie date, and I had spent the weekend trying to think of things Steven and I could do together that we’d both enjoy.
I loved jazz, and Club Tremolo was the kind of place where you could dine and see a great performance any night of the week without having to purchase tickets in advance. I thought it seemed like the perfect place for a low-key date. I only hoped Steven liked jazz, too.
I pocketed my phone and started my rounds. For the first hour, I obsessed about a call back from him, reaching in my pocket several times to touch the phone, imagining I could feel a vibration. But the morning became busy with clinics and two transfers from the emergency department, so I didn’t get a chance to check my phone until after two.
I had one missed call from Steven. I stepped into the lounge to call him back. Thankfully, there was no one inside.
“Well, hel-lo, McPretty MD,” came Steven’s chipper greeting.
“Hi, sorry I missed your call.”
“No problem,” he assured. “I just wanted to tell you that I love jazz, but unfortunately, I’m going to be busy with work this week and by Friday, I’ll be tuckered out from riding Manuel. Any chance we can do this Saturday or any other day next week?”
Riding Manuel? What the hell? Who was Manuel and what exactly was his job? I was taken aback and couldn’t hide the reaction.
“Who’s Manuel?” I nearly growled the words.
Steven laughed. “Ah, Manuel,” he sounded wistful. “Manuel is gorgeous. Sleek and posh. He’s ruined me for all other planes.”
Now I was confused. “Planes?”
“Yes, Manuel is the name I’ve given to the company jet. We’ve been parted too long. But this afternoon, one of my bosses and I will be headed to Hamburg for a few meetings. Manuel and I will have ample time to become reacquainted.”
Relief coursed through me and I laughed. “Of course, you’d name the plane. Why Manuel?”
“I have a thing for Spanish men. It seemed fitting.”
And just like that, I was irritated again. I was demonstrably not Spanish or of Spanish descent. The idea that I maybe wasn’t physically attractive to Steven hadn’t crossed my mind until this point, and I felt my confidence waning.
“Oh,” I said quickly, ready to end the conversation. “I hope you have a good trip.”
“Wait, wait. Don’t try to hang up,” he insisted. “That is, unless you have very important doctor business to do, then, of course, hang up on me.”
“I’m not busy just now, I can talk.” When I realized I was smiling again, I had to shake my head at myself. Steven had the unnerving ability to make my emotions vacillate wildly.
“I’d love to listen to some jazz,” he continued. “But I really will be tired on Friday. We’ll be back in Chicago sometime Thursday, but I’ll have to go into the office on Friday and probably stay a bit later than normal. Does Saturday work with your schedule?”
“Yeah, no, that’s fine!” I said too loudly, flinching at my over-eager reply. I lowered my volume and continued. “I’ll be off, so it will work out great. The club has performances every night and this trio is scheduled for the entire weekend. I checked.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get in touch with you later this week and we can iron out the deets, okay?”
“Okay, have a safe trip. Talk to you soon.” I disconnected the call, Manuel and Spanish men forgotten. He wanted to see me again, so I took that as a very good sign.
I realized, with some shame, that I didn’t know much about Steven’s life. He was a great conversationalist, skilled at getting me to talk, but he hadn’t volunteered much about himself.
I should have been more attentive and asked questions instead of letting him lead. I had no idea that his job necessitated traveling by plane to far off places. I didn’t have a clue what his job was. I needed to dig deep with Steven and know all about him. Saturday, I was going to find out what made him tick.