I threw the basketball at Nick. I had offered to shoot some hoops with him when
he got back from…wherever he wandered off to. But he seemed a little
absent-minded. He had screwed up some easy shots that a first grader could
shoot no problem.
Nick caught the ball and slam-dunked it. For
once he hadn’t missed it.
"What is it?" I asked suddenly. He
looked at me.
"What do you mean?" he questioned,
retrieving the ball.
"You seem a little off today.
Whassup?" I asked again, concerned.
Nick waved his hand casually, "Oh,
nothing. I just feel tired, that’s all."
"Well, if you’re feelin’ tired you should
lie down, not play b-ball!" I pointed out.
"I’ll be fine!" he insisted, as he
threw the ball at the net. He missed for the fifth time. I looked at him, as if
to say ‘I told you so’.
"OK, OK!" he exclaimed, sitting down.
"Maybe I’m a bit too tired for this."
I sat down next to him. "Aw, c’mon,
Nick!" I persisted. "What’s wrong?"
"Well, you’re gonna think I’m mad
but…."
Nick proceeded to tell me about this stranger
at the hospital the year before who he believed cured his blindness. I paused
and looked at him for a second when he had finished.
"You were sort of right before, you
know," I informed him.
He glanced at me sideways, "So you think
it’s true too?"
"No, I meant about the bit where you said
I’d think you’re crazy."
"Oh," Nick realised.
"But you say you met her at that
bar," I continued. "So go and ask her about it!"
"I was gonna but she left before I could
ask!" he told me.
"Ah, tough luck, huh?" I replied.
"Lets go inside, I’m thirsty."
I was trying to change the subject to cheer him
up a bit. He seemed very disappointed at that last fact; not being able to meet
the girl, Jennifer, straight away. But he’d get to sometime. I mean, it’s not
like she was goin’ anywhere…. was she?
"OK, but don’t think I don’t know you’re
trying to change the subject!" he stated. I grinned. He knew me too well.
"But I think I should go back sometime
soon, because the guy at the bar said she’d be back at about ….hmm…." I
paused to look at my watch. "12:30, and it’s about 11:50 now. I’d better
go and see if she’s there. It takes a while to get there."
"Good Luck, man!" Brian called to me
as I left to go to the bar.
I drove back to the exact same spot. As I got
out of my car, I heard a lot of noise coming from the bar. It sounded like
someone was trying to strangle a cat. I rushed in, to see two large men having
a punch up.
"Hey, I told you about fighting in
here!" she bellowed over the dim of the two fighters. "This is the
third time! If you two don’t stop, I’ll have you barred from here!"
They both ignored her completely and continued
their brawl across the room. I had to jump out of the way as one of them was
thrown into the table next to me. Jennifer seethed in rage, clearly unafraid.
"That’s it! I’m having a word with Karlos
about you two, and he won’t be pleased!" she yelled.
The victor of the two picked up the loser and
hurled him straight at Jennifer. Acting swiftly on instinct, I dashed across
the room and pushed her clear out of the way.
The unfortunate loser only had a barstool to
break his fall. He stumbled upright and ran out of the bar, mumbling insults to
his enemy.
I stood upright and helped Jennifer up.
"Hey again!" I greeted.
"Oh, Nick! Why do you always seem to come
out of nowhere?" she asked smiling at me.
I laughed and shrugged. She proceeded to turn
angrily to the other man who was fighting and lecture him about damages. He
scowled and skulked off.
We both
watched him leave, and Jennifer turned back to me again.
"So what can I do for you?" she
asked, heading back to the bar counter.
"I just came across to talk with
you," I claimed.
"You sure like to talk a lot," she
commented, smiling at me enchantingly.
I grinned, and sat down.
"Can you excuse me while I call
someone?" she asked.
I nodded and leaned back on my chair. At least
one chair hadn’t been destroyed.
I heard Jen come back from making a call.
"Just had to call Karlos about those two
guys. So, what did you come to talk about?"
"Oh, well, it was about yesterday, when I
heard you-"
She looked at me, nervously, "What? What
about yesterday?"
"Well…." I paused when I saw the
panic in her eyes.
She didn’t want to talk about this. I knew it,
but I had to know what really happened. Then again, I didn’t want to ruin my
chances with her before I even got to know her.
"Oh, nothing. But I was wondering, is it
alright if I sorta… hang out here and talk to you? I’m sorta local and I’d
kinda like to get to know you….."
I waited anxiously for a reply.
"Well, I guess…." She answered
finally.
"Thanks, I’d really appreciate that,"
I thanked her.
My cell rang, and I picked up.
"Yep!"
"Hey Nick! You wanna hang out shoot some
hoops or somethin’?"
It was Brian on the other end.
I hadn’t spent much time with him because of
all the tour details we each had to sort out.
I hung up and put my cell away.
"Must dash. I have to go hang out with a
friend of mine." I claimed.
"That’s cool," she commented.
"Come back again!"
"I will!" I smiled as I got up to
leave.
As I drove back, I could help but remember the
hint of doubt in her voice when she agreed to get to know each other better.