stop by this Saturday night? My friends and I will probably be dropping in about 9-o-clock.”
Charlie could hardly wait until Saturday night to go back to the trattoria and hope that Gina would show up. She did. It was just a little before 9:15 when Gina walked in with a couple and a female friend. She saw Charlie and waved him over to her table. It was all he could do to keep from running to the table.
“Hello, Charlie, why don’t you join us? It’s nice to see you here again.”
“Thank you, Gina. Since you said you would be here tonight, I thought I would stop by. I really did enjoy meeting you last week.”
“Why, thank you Charlie. That’s nice and quite charming. It’s also nice to know you would drive up from Jersey just to see me again.”
“Is she nuts or just toying with me?” Charlie thought, “I’d drive from Alaska in a blizzard just to get a glance at her. God knows what I would do to be with her for an hour or two!”
For the first time in his life Charlie was flustered. He could think of nothing to say but, “Well, I enjoyed myself so much last week that I thought I would treat myself to a repeat.”
Charlie noticed that as soon as Gina had suggested he join her table a waiter was immediately standing nearby with a chair. He mused to himself that beautiful women must always get that kind of attention. Waiters, doormen, taxi drivers, traffic cops, department store clerks, hell, any male of the species will go out of his way to be helpful to a beautiful woman. He couldn’t decide if he thought such deference would be welcome or discomfiting to someone like Gina. Charlie noticed that she thanked the waiter by his first name and did not take such deference for granted.
The evening was a pleasant one. Gina’s friends were interesting and conversational and not at all part of the “fast crowd” that Mary Jo had wanted to run with. The lone female was a psychologist with a small clinical practice in Philly and the couple was part of Philly’s growing artist community that lived in the area known as “So-So” at the far end of South Philly.
Once again Charlie had one of the most relaxing and enjoyable evenings he could remember. The conversation flowed. There was no posturing or phoniness. Nobody was trying to prove anything to anybody else. Charlie could hardly wait for another evening like this one.
However, he was still reluctant to ask Gina for a date or for her telephone number. He was sure that a woman as beautiful as she was constantly being hit on and he did not want her to think he was just one more of the many that probably had tried to get her into bed. Not that Charlie thought that would not be an interesting proposition. He just found her so captivating and fun that he was reluctant to risk seeming to come on too strong. When the evening ended, Charlie once again asked Gina if she would be showing up at the trattoria again the following week. She smiled and said, “Well, if you are going to be here, I’ll make it a point to show up.”
“Deal!” said Charlie, not believing what he had just heard, “See you then, about the same time?”
“OK” said Gina “drive carefully back to Jersey.”
Charlie’s week seemed to drag by. He went bowling on league night with some of the guys from Shoreville, but his mind was in Philly. “Hey Charlie, snap out of it! We need a strike on this one!” Tony Mazza yelled, “Let’s go, you’re up.”
Charlie managed to force himself to concentrate and rolled the requisite strike for his team to win the evening. Later, over beer Tony Mazza asked him, “You’re not takin’ your work home are ya, Charlie? You look like you’re up in the clouds somewhere. No company is worth messing up your bowling average!”
Charlie laughed. “You´re right, Tony I was just daydreaming a little. But, we won, right? Let’s have another beer to celebrate. Hey Mildred, bring us another round, willya?” Charlie yelled to the waitress.
“That all you want is a beer, Charlie?” Mildred yelled back. Tony and Charlie both laughed. Mildred didn’t hide her needs. “Yeah, Millie, that’s all for today at least!”
Charlie poured himself into his work for the rest of the week and he took off again for Philly on Saturday.
He was back in the trattoria at 9-o-clock that night when Gina walked in. She was alone this time. Charlie waved to her from his table and as she started over to the table he noticed that she was wearing a simple black dress and a string of pearls. She was absolutely stunning and he had to work to keep his jaw from falling. Charlie got up to greet her and pull her chair but the waiter was already there holding it for Gina. “Thank you, Johnny.” Gina said. Charlie stood there for a minute before realizing he had to sit down again.
“Hi, Gina, how was your week?”
“Hi to you too, Charlie, it was fine. Nice and calm, the way I like it.”
The idea that Gina would like a calm week and could actually have one was something Charlie could not quite grasp. He imagined her having to run from guys following her around the entire time.
“Where are your friends tonight?” Charlie asked. “You look like you just came from dinner at some nice place. That’s a nice dress.” Charlie thought, “Mullins, you are sounding so damned stupid!”
“No, I’m not coming from a dinner. I’m going to one. I thought maybe you might be a bit tired of this trattoria, so I thought you and I might go out for dinner. I hope I am not being too forward. I mean we can stay here if you want, but I thought you might want to vary the routine a little. Is that okay?”
Charlie’s heart was almost in his mouth. He had not expected to be invited to dinner by this marvelous creature sitting across from him. “Why no, I mean, yes. I mean yes it’s okay and no, you are not being forward. Yeah, let’s go to dinner.”
Suddenly Charlie wondered where he should take Gina. Her outfit was appropriate for any nice restaurant but her looks justified only the best. He had no idea what she might be used to. This was not the kind of woman you would take out for a Philly cheese steak sandwich! On the other hand, he did not want to seem to be showing off or seeming to be trying to impress her. After only a couple of meetings, he knew that Gina Ferrelli was not easily impressed and would not be bowled over by the most expensive place in town. He thought, “Where the hell can I take her to dinner that we can eat well and have the right atmosphere without seeming to want to impress?”
He suddenly remembered a very nice restaurant on S. 17th Street. “He asked Gina if she knew the place. She did and liked it.
“I know it, and it’s just fine Charlie. I would just like a quiet evening, a good meal, and some interesting conversation with a gentleman. That OK, Charlie?”
“I can’t imagine a better suggestion.” said Charlie.
Johnny, the waiter, suggested that they take a cab to the restaurant, leaving Charlie’s car in the parking garage across the street from the trattoria. He went outside and flagged down a cab for them. He told them not to worry about a reservation. He had a friend who worked at the restaurant and he would make sure they got a table.
Over dinner Gina asked Charlie about himself. He told her that he was a financial executive at the Shaw Corporation and that both his parents had died while he was in the Army. His father had been a technical representative – a kind of troubleshooter with customers and his mother a housewife. His father died of a heart attack during a visit to a client company and
