Chapter 11

Philadelphia, March 10, 2009

Five days after what Debbie called her “ill-fated” date with Jefferson Sadlers, Debbie’s phone rang.

“Hello, Debbie. It’s Jeff. I’ve been thinking about you and wondered if you might like to join me for a movie. I’m planning to see “Sand in the Forest” at 7 p.m. If you’re available I could pick you up at 6:30.”

“Tonight? It’s 4 p.m. now. Let me think for a moment.” She was stunned. After believing their first date had been a disaster, this was the last call Debbie expected.

“Well, I do have a little work to do,” she said, looking at a very detailed craft project she was organizing for her little students, and quickly deciding it could wait another day, “but I think I could make it. Sure...I’d love to go.”

“Good. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. I’ll meet you at your place and we can walk there.”

Debbie called her friend Catherine. “You’ll never guess who just called me?”

“Gee. Let me see.... Jeff Sadlers?”

“Right. How did you know?”

“Because at Gloom and Doom Central, the weather report is not always accurate! What did he say? Did you tell him you’ve been pining for him?”

“Yeah, right! He asked me out!! We’re going to the movies tonight, in two hours. Now what am I supposed to wear? And he’s coming to pick me up. What if he wants to come in?”

“Someday you will have to clean up your dump. I’ve been telling you for years!” Catherine said.

“Oh God, I have nothing to wear. Everything makes me look fat,” Debbie complained.

“Find something in your pile on the floor. Movies - that would be jeans and a nice sexy sweater. Something that shows off your boobs,” Catherine said.

“I’ll talk to you later. How late can I call you?”

“Midnight,” Catherine said. “If I don’t hear from you by midnight, I’ll assume the best and I’ll see you at school. Bye.”

She hung up and Debbie began frantically looking through the pile on her floor for something to wear. She found one section of the huge pile that contained her clean clothes and pulled out all her jeans, trying on three pairs before settling on the only ones that fit perfectly. She looked through one drawer and found a blue cashmere sweater, form hugging without being tight, following her friend’s advice. Shoes, ugh. A pair of black flats completed the look, although Debbie remained convinced that she looked fat. She tried hard to remember her mother telling her that she was beautiful and that men preferred women who had “a little meat on their bones.”

She put on some makeup, took a curling iron to her hair, and pronounced to her vision in the mirror that it would have to do.

Now she had an hour to kill, and Debbie tried to organize the wreckage in her living room, in case Jeff came through the door or, worse still, invited himself in at the end of the evening.

The newspapers were always a challenge, as Debbie could never figure out when to discard them. There was always an article she intended to read, but didn’t have time at the moment. She regularly clipped articles for her school projects, but never finished the job.

She made a neat stack of two weeks of papers, and placed them at the side of the couch farthest from the door. She picked up two jackets and a coat, saved one jacket to wear that evening and crammed the others into her closet that contained coats from the last decade, most of which were just a little too tight.

The sink was overflowing with dishes, and although the dishwasher worked perfectly, it was empty, except for a couple of pots that were resting there, not to be disturbed. She was still loading the dishwasher when the bell rang from downstairs. It was Jeff.

“Oh, God. Here goes,” she whispered into the half empty sink.

“I’ll be right down,” she said into the intercom. She was definitely not calm. She put on her jacket, looked in the mirror one last time, frowning at the image, then practicing a smile, and finally grabbing her purse and shutting the door behind her.

“Hello, Debbie,” Jeff said.

“It’s good to see you,” she replied. She noticed he seemed taller than last time - no, she was shorter. On their first date she had worn heels. Now, in flats - she was 5 foot 3, and he was still about 5 eleven. Not good, she thought. Now I feel too short and too fat. He seemed to be leaning over a little to speak to her. She was definitely not happy about that.

“I’ve heard good things about this film,” Jeff said, launching into a long explanation of its history, the career of the director, and the composer who had written the music for the film. “I’m sorry.” He stopped. “Maybe you know all this and I’m boring you.”

She hadn’t known any of it, and had been a little bored, and not listening closely, but she replied, “Not at all, Jeff. It’s fascinating that you know so much about this. Usually I just go to the movies without knowing anything in advance, so I’m very impressed that you have read about it.” She sounded honest and convincing. She had improvised, but could tell Jeff liked what she had said.

They arrived at the theater. Jeff, being well-prepared, had stopped along the way to pick up the tickets in advance. They walked past the concession stand without stopping, although Debbie wished they had bought popcorn and a soda.

“Would you like a bottle of water?” Jeff asked.

“Yes, please.” Now Debbie was sure he thought she was fat, and did not need popcorn. The fact that Jeff hated popcorn hadn’t made it onto her list of possible explanations.

Once in their seats, he pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned his glasses.

Jeff had selected seats halfway up, and directly in the middle. There were only a few people scattered throughout the theater, and nobody close to them.

The film was more serious than Debbie would have hoped, and the story was complicated. She concentrated the best she could, knowing they would be discussing it later. Every time her mind wandered, she brought it back dead center to the story of the film.

About half way through, in a dramatic and emotional moment in the story, when the main character encountered his long lost sister after a torturous search, Debbie was surprised that Jeff took her hand and held it tightly. She looked over and smiled at him, and he smiled back. After a few moments, his hand was sweating and he removed it for the rest of the film.

When they got up at the end of the film, Jeff tentatively put his arm around her shoulder as they walked up the aisle and into the lobby.

“I was thinking maybe we could go for pizza around the corner. Would that be agreeable to you?”

“Sure,” Debbie said. Once again, he took her hand. Now his hand was dry, but she could sense he continued to be nervous and this did not come naturally to him.

Debbie was no stranger to pizza parlors, but although Jeff had dressed down to be casual, she was sure he was a fish out of water.

When it was his turn to order, he selected “one piece with sausage and one with spinach.”

She was struck by the fact that everybody she knew ordered a ‘slice,’ not a ‘piece.’ She considered teasing him about it, but they were not at that point in their relationship. Debbie ordered a slice of plain and a diet soda. Then she realized the word ‘relationship’ had popped into her head. She wondered if they would have a relationship, or just go out to different places once in a while. Would it progress from this to something else? She had no idea. For the moment, she wasn’t sure whether she wanted it to move forward. She was tired from the effort of trying to match his intelligent conversation, yet intrigued by what Catherine had told her about his background.

As she had expected, they spoke for a full hour about the film they had just seen. Debbie was prepared and held her own. As the pizza place was about to close, they realized it was time to leave.

“Debbie, I’m really enjoying spending time with you,” Jeff said as they got up to leave.

“Would you like to hear a children’s choir over the weekend? I have to cover it for the paper, and I would be very pleased if you could join me.”

“I’d like that,” Debbie said. “Thank you.”

He walked her home. “I’ll see you on Saturday,” he said. “I’ll pick you up at 7, and we can take a taxi.” Debbie thought he probably did not drive, but wasn’t ready to ask. He kissed her on the cheek and turned quickly, descending the steps and walking quickly to the corner, where he spotted a taxi.

It was 10:30, early enough to call Catherine.

“Oh my God,” she shrieked into the phone at her best friend.

“What happened?”

“It was amazing. We talked for hours. We held hands. He asked me out for Saturday. I think this may be going somewhere!”

“Did anything....happen? Like a kiss?”

“Kiss on the cheek,” Debbie said. “With Jeff, that’s big progress. This may take a lot of patience!”