I had been out all day, and got back to the house around six. After pulling in the driveway, I went to the mailbox to see what goodies the postman had brought today. As I sifted through the usual stack of catalogs and junk mail, along with a magazine or two, I heard the sound of a vehicle come around the corner, and a fire engine red Ram 1500 pick up streaked past. "Crap," I thought, "That was Sandy. Missed her coming up, dammit!!" I knew she'd be coming home from work around now, so had an ear peeled for her arrival. Whenever we'd pass each other coming in or out of our subdivision, she'd always give me a big wave and a smile. I had taken to blowing her a kiss at times, which always made her smile that much more broadly. I was happy to give her a day brightener, and her reaction always brightened mine. So I was disappointed to miss her coming up on me, so distracted was I with sorting the crap in my mailbox.
As she went past, she hit the brakes, coming to a quick halt, almost in a skid. She backed up to me, rolling down her passenger side window.
"Hey!!" She called out.
"Hey, what??" I replied, walking over to her truck.
"Whatcha doing right now??"
I looked at the stack of mail in my hand, and back at her. "Just got back from being out all day. I was going to sort the mail, and maybe heat up some dinner." I looked into her pale blue eyes, filled with uncertainty. There seemed to be some fire in them as well. "But otherwise, nothing important. What's up??"
Sandy looked at me tentatively, as if she weren't sure she wanted to say what she was thinking. I could see she was having some inner turmoil.
"Wanna go to dinner?? I'm buying."
I didn't need to think about it. A dinner date with Sandy was something I had hoped for since our first encounter, but didn't think was ever going to happen, since she was so close, and so married. But it was one of my pleasant daydreams ever since we'd had our first encounter-we'd go out to dinner, then back to one of our houses for a "nightcap." It was hopelessly improbable, but a fun musing nonetheless.
"Absolutely. I'd been hoping this would happen for a long time," I said, smiling at the prospect of a date with Sandy.
Sandy's face relaxed, and she smiled, the big, friendly smile she always had for me when we passed on the road. "Good," she said. "Can you be ready in say, 20 minutes??"
"No problem. Where did you have in mind??"
"Cal's," she answered, naming our local, passably decent steak house.
"Sounds good. Pick me up here, or should I come over to your place??"
Sandy thought a moment. "How about meet me at Wal Mart in 30 minutes. My husband is home, so coming over is not going to work. Me picking you up will look pretty obvious, so maybe not that either. We'll just meet and go from there." She smiled. "Dress nice!!"
I laughed at her admonition, as if I wouldn't dress nice for what was now my dream date.
A half hour later, Sandy's red pick up pulled up next to me in the Wal Mart parking lot, and I got in. Sandy leaned over and kissed me, a short, sweet peck on the lips. I was delighted at this show of affection, though at the same time a little leery. I was curious what brought on this sudden invitation.
"So, how is it I wind up with a dinner date with the woman I've been dreaming about for all this time??"
Sandy sighed with a weak smile. "It was supposed to be a date night for me and my husband. We've already put it off three times. He keeps coming up with lame excuses for why he can't go. Mostly work."
I looked at Sandy a moment. She was obviously distressed. There are many indignities in life, and surely in marriage. Being rejected by the person who supposedly loves and adores you is a big one.
"You think he's got something on the side??"
It was a loaded question in a way. Here we were, in an inappropriate relationship, and I was asking if her husband was cheating. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!!
"No. Not at all. He's not the type, and I know most of the people he works with. It ain't happening at work." Sandy sighed. "I think it's mostly his boss, who doesn't have a good sense of boundaries."
"Yeah, there's a lot of that in the working world these days. Companies think they own you. You have a cell phone and a lap top, and you can be reached any time of the day or night. You're never really off, even on a lengthy vacation. The sad part is, a lot of people buy into it, taking their lap top on vacation with them, as if they're indispensable. The bosses know this, and don't have one bit of hesitation about getting after someone who's lying on a beach somewhere. That kind of thing only encourages the bosses to keep doing it. He needs to learn to shut off the computer and his phone, and just say 'no'. You have to have some private time."
"Exactly," Sandy sighed. "So when we talked this afternoon, and he begged off due to another critical-Sandy held up her hands in mocking air quotes-project. AGAIN!! I decided I was going out, even if I had to go alone."
"I'm sorry. That sucks. I'm glad I was out to get the mail when you came by. I may not be your dream date, but at least I can help ease the pain."