you,” Celia and Kate said at the exact same time.
“Rough night, ladies?”
“Yeah, we celebrated my birthday. Let’s just say we stayed out past curfew.” Kate adjusted the belt on her black cotton shorts. She wore a purple sleeveless top, which severely contrasted with her bright-red shoulder-length hair. A mass of freckles covered her from head to toe. She had thick, pouty lips; beautiful, big, white teeth; and, in Celia’s opinion, the perfect nose. “We’ll have the usual huevos rancheros and iced coffee.”
The server took their order and walked inside.
“I’m exhausted. I hope she comes back soon with our coffee. How come you don’t seem exhausted?” Celia picked up her glass and poured a small amount of water into the palms of her hands. She splashed it on her cheeks.
“I should, because I am. If Tom hadn’t left as early as he did, I’d still be sleeping. I’ll take a nap later.”
“Thank God for coffee. I’ve already had half a cup. I started with a full cup, but I spilled most of it all over me when I literally bumped into a guy at Pete’s. He was kind of cute.”
“And?”
“And nothing. I got a paper and a cup of coffee. I was a mess. I hadn’t even washed up before I ran out. Then I spilled the stupid coffee all over me.”
“You spilled something? Now there’s a surprise!”
Celia knew exactly to what Kate was referring.
“Tell me about the cute guy you bumped into.” Kate folded her arms across her chest as she leaned back to hear Celia’s story.
“There isn’t anything to tell. Except that he had nice eyes. But we know that doesn’t mean anything, don’t we?” Celia poured more water into the palms of her hands and this time splashed the water around her neck. “Think about how many guys I’ve met with nice eyes who turned out to be the biggest idiots.” She waved her hands back and forth by Kate’s face. Kate could list a dozen obnoxious men who wasted Celia’s time, Geoff included. “Don’t answer that!”
“It’s funny how you’re an eye girl. That always seems to be the first thing you notice.”
“I was embarrassed that I spilled the coffee. I’m grateful I didn’t spill it on him. I don’t remember what he was wearing. But when I got home, I saw last night’s makeup smudged around my eyes and the big brown stain on the front of my sweat shirt.” Celia cupped her hands and then plopped her head into them. “Oh, forget it. Ugh!”
Celia dug through her bag for her cigarettes.
“I see you’re still smoking?”
Celia glared at Kate. “Yes, I am.”
“I didn’t expect an answer. You do know it’s passé to smoke these days, don’t you? Not to mention it’s disgusting and stinky. I thought you said you were going to quit.”
“Why do you say that same thing every time you see me smoke? It’s become a little Kate cliché. Did you think I’d quit since last night? You saw me have one then and you see me with one now. I told you I’m going to quit this week, or maybe next week.” She took a long, slow drag.
“Celia, let me ask you something. Hypothetically, of course. Would you ever ask a guy for his name and number? You know, like the guy you bumped into, and I do mean bumped into, this morning?”
Very rarely did a man get a second chance from Celia. In the event someone got beyond the first date, she found something wrong with him in a relatively short period of time. The men she dated were too short, too tall, too thin, too fat, too boring, too silly, too pretentious, too poor, too rich, too smart, too dopey, or just plain too available. She had something negative to say about nearly every guy she dated. Once, after Geoff, she dated a man in whom she was remotely interested, but the relationship never amounted to more than fleeting friends. She tried to give him a chance, which was something she never thought would happen. For now, she had her work and her friends to keep her busy.
“I don’t think so. Why? Because I mentioned someone with great eyes?”
“No, I was wondering, that’s all. You don’t usually talk about guys that you see. I thought if you met someone and found him to be a little interesting, you might think about being the one to make the first move.”
“What are you? Insane?” She turned her head and blew smoke away toward the ocean. “Simply ask a stranger for their number? Are you nuts? How would I know if he was a psychopath or something? Oh, that’s right, I wouldn’t know, would I? Besides, I don’t need a guy. I think I’m happy the way I am. And this is exactly why I never talk to you about guys. Because if I do, you make it a conversation, rather than a comment. It was a comment. That’s all. Plain and simple. I thought you’d be entertained by the fact that I spilled coffee all over myself first thing Sunday morning.”
“There is nothing wrong with wanting to date or having someone significant in your life. Sometimes you act as if it’s a weakness to want to share your time with another person.”
“I do not. I prefer being alone. At least for now. I happen to enjoy my own company, and I don’t have time for a relationship.”
“I’m not saying that you don’t like your life now, Celia, but didn’t you like being in a relationship? I know Geoff turned out to be crazy, but there were some relationship-kind of things you appreciated in your life. Weren’t there?”
“Kate, I hate this conversation. You know I hate it because I tell you every time you bring it up. And I hate it even more when you mention HIS name, especially when we’re about to eat. I know you mean well, but I’m not ready. I hate talking about him. I can’t even say his name.”
“Celia, THIS is a relationship. Our friendship is a relationship. Is this so bad?” Kate moved her hand back and forth between them.
“I know that’s not what you’re talking about, Kate.”
“As I said, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a romantic relationship. I just want to say that. I know you don’t need one but need and want are two different things.”
“I know. I know. It’s not something I can handle right now. I’m scarred from the insanity of my past. Let’s leave it at that.”
“I get it. Just one more thing. If you recall, you did want to get married—that’s why you got engaged to Geoff. You must have seen something good about it at one time in your life. And just because that idiot turned out to be a major league asshole doesn’t mean that all guys are bad.”
“Ya know, I’m not sure I would have gone through with that marriage. Even if I never found out who he really was, I don’t know what might have happened. Sometimes I think being engaged was the perfect excuse to not date. I didn’t have to deal with all the other jerks in the world, because I could tell them I was already committed to one. It wasn’t the marriage I wanted—being committed to someone was the perfect excuse I needed to not date.”
“Maybe we should order those orange margaritas now.” She motioned to the waitress.
Boop
A
