looking forward to seeing you. Did the two of you have a fight over
Jeremy?”
“Of course not; I
fully understand why Linda felt she shouldn’t go out with me. I expect that we
will see each other again once she gets Jeremy sorted out and finds her own
place to live. Linda’s house sale in Ottawa closed without a glitch so she’s now
in a position to look at houses or apartments here in Kingston.”
Corbett could read
me like a book and knew that I wasn’t telling the whole story, but he was kind
enough not to pursue the matter while Lynne was present.
Over coffee they
told me all about their date last night. They had driven over to Alexandria Bay
and ate at a fancy spot there called Cavalario’s.
This afternoon
they were attending some function at Queen’s University which included a dinner
after the ceremony.
It was clear even
to me that they were falling for each other, and I felt quite envious.
Jim drove Lynne
home once we had finished our coffee but he knocked on my door again twenty
minutes later.
By then I had
looked over the trip confirmation which I must have printed in the wee hours of
the morning when I booked my holiday.
I was flying out
of Syracuse on Tuesday morning with a connection in Washington, and returning via
the same route but in reverse on Saturday. My flight wouldn’t arrive back in
Syracuse until very late on Saturday night, and I had also booked a room at the
Four Queens in downtown Las Vegas for the four nights.
Jim and I sat in
the living-room and he said, “Are you upset about what transpired yesterday?”
“I am disappointed
but Linda is stuck in an awkward position right now. Defying her parents by
dating me does seem foolish enough, but antagonizing Jeremy at the same time would
be nuts. He sounds like the kid from Hell. I guess my timing is just bad. On
the other hand, you and Lynne seem to be hitting it off like a house on fire.”
“We’re great for
each other and I’m really happy right now. Did you enjoy your dinner last
night?”
“It was a fiasco,”
I joked and then told him about my poorly situated table for one as well as
running into several people I knew.
“Why would you ask
for the worst table in the place?”
“I was just in
that kind of mood and the evening cooperated perfectly from start to finish. It
began to rain as I staggered home with the world’s worst case of indigestion.
Then, to top off a dismal night, I couldn’t get to sleep. It does appear,
however, that I did manage to salvage the celebration in the end.”
“How did you
accomplish that?” Corbett inquired. “It sounds like you had a dreadful
evening.”
“Apparently I got
up in the night and in my drunken stupor booked myself a trip to Las Vegas
leaving on Tuesday. I found the Expedia confirmation on my printer this morning.”
“Can’t you cancel
it?”
“No, it’s
non-refundable, but in any event, I think I’m looking forward to a few days
away. I can look at it as my one-year retirement anniversary gift to myself.”
Corbett probed a
bit further but was finally convinced that I wasn’t too despondent about
getting dumped by Linda and that I fully expected to see her again in the not
too distant future.
After he left I sorted
through my clothes and decided what to take on my trip.
I hadn’t been on
any vacation since February and it had been a couple of years since I had
visited Las Vegas.
On Monday I got
some American cash and traveler’s checks at the bank.
Corbett called and
invited me up to his place for a drink as a bon voyage send-off. He and Lynne
were staying in his condo that evening as a break from their recent torrid
social agenda.
I was immediately
struck by how comfortable they were together. It really appeared that they were
made for each other.
“Your spur of the
moment trip has prompted Lynne and me to look into taking our first vacation
together. We picked up some cruise brochures from the travel agent this morning.
You’ve always been a
Jeremy?”
“Of course not; I
fully understand why Linda felt she shouldn’t go out with me. I expect that we
will see each other again once she gets Jeremy sorted out and finds her own
place to live. Linda’s house sale in Ottawa closed without a glitch so she’s now
in a position to look at houses or apartments here in Kingston.”
Corbett could read
me like a book and knew that I wasn’t telling the whole story, but he was kind
enough not to pursue the matter while Lynne was present.
Over coffee they
told me all about their date last night. They had driven over to Alexandria Bay
and ate at a fancy spot there called Cavalario’s.
This afternoon
they were attending some function at Queen’s University which included a dinner
after the ceremony.
It was clear even
to me that they were falling for each other, and I felt quite envious.
Jim drove Lynne
home once we had finished our coffee but he knocked on my door again twenty
minutes later.
By then I had
looked over the trip confirmation which I must have printed in the wee hours of
the morning when I booked my holiday.
I was flying out
of Syracuse on Tuesday morning with a connection in Washington, and returning via
the same route but in reverse on Saturday. My flight wouldn’t arrive back in
Syracuse until very late on Saturday night, and I had also booked a room at the
Four Queens in downtown Las Vegas for the four nights.
Jim and I sat in
the living-room and he said, “Are you upset about what transpired yesterday?”
“I am disappointed
but Linda is stuck in an awkward position right now. Defying her parents by
dating me does seem foolish enough, but antagonizing Jeremy at the same time would
be nuts. He sounds like the kid from Hell. I guess my timing is just bad. On
the other hand, you and Lynne seem to be hitting it off like a house on fire.”
“We’re great for
each other and I’m really happy right now. Did you enjoy your dinner last
night?”
“It was a fiasco,”
I joked and then told him about my poorly situated table for one as well as
running into several people I knew.
“Why would you ask
for the worst table in the place?”
“I was just in
that kind of mood and the evening cooperated perfectly from start to finish. It
began to rain as I staggered home with the world’s worst case of indigestion.
Then, to top off a dismal night, I couldn’t get to sleep. It does appear,
however, that I did manage to salvage the celebration in the end.”
“How did you
accomplish that?” Corbett inquired. “It sounds like you had a dreadful
evening.”
“Apparently I got
up in the night and in my drunken stupor booked myself a trip to Las Vegas
leaving on Tuesday. I found the Expedia confirmation on my printer this morning.”
“Can’t you cancel
it?”
“No, it’s
non-refundable, but in any event, I think I’m looking forward to a few days
away. I can look at it as my one-year retirement anniversary gift to myself.”
Corbett probed a
bit further but was finally convinced that I wasn’t too despondent about
getting dumped by Linda and that I fully expected to see her again in the not
too distant future.
After he left I sorted
through my clothes and decided what to take on my trip.
I hadn’t been on
any vacation since February and it had been a couple of years since I had
visited Las Vegas.
On Monday I got
some American cash and traveler’s checks at the bank.
Corbett called and
invited me up to his place for a drink as a bon voyage send-off. He and Lynne
were staying in his condo that evening as a break from their recent torrid
social agenda.
I was immediately
struck by how comfortable they were together. It really appeared that they were
made for each other.
“Your spur of the
moment trip has prompted Lynne and me to look into taking our first vacation
together. We picked up some cruise brochures from the travel agent this morning.
You’ve always been a
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