The One who got Away

“Yeah, I figured that,” Darren said. “There’s some kind of festival going on here or something, I guess. I think I drove by it when I was comin’ back downtown. Up by some park.”

Sherry sighed. “Yeah, the Three Rivers Festival. A lot of people out and about downtown. Plus, the baseball game. And,” she rubbed her chin in thought, “I think their might be something going on at the convention center.” She looked passed Darren and out at the tables. “There were some people in here with these lanyards, but I never got close enough to see what they were saying.”

Darren nodded. “I see. Busy is good for you, though.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sherry said. She finished with the shelf then dropped the towel. She looked at this man sitting at the bar. This time, though, she looked a little closer than she had before. Sherry noticed his suit – looked like it cost a pretty penny. Then, the way his hair was cut – didn’t look like the regular run-of-the-mill barber in Ft. Wayne. How he carried himself definitely stuck out to her as well as the way he asked about what was going on. This city has a lot of festivals, but the Three Rivers is one that anybody from here would know. Where is this guy from?

“You from out of town, aren’t you?” Sherry asked.

Darren chuckled under his breath then sat his drink down. “Yeah, I’m not from here. I’m from Chicago.”

Sherry nodded. “Oh, okay. I figured you were from somewhere else.”

Darren’s forehead wrinkled as he looked at the woman. “Wow, is it that obvious?”

Sherry laughed, now realizing how she must’ve sounded. “Well, I didn’t mean it like that. I can just tell by the way you talk...how you dress...how you carry yourself. You look like you’re looking around analyzing stuff.”

Darren chuckled once again. This chick is funny. “Oh, wow...you picked up on a lot of stuff.”

“Yeah, well,” Sherry said, shrugging her shoulders. “When you serve people drinks everyday, and some people sit up here for hours and hours talking to you about their lives, you learn about people.”

Darren nodded as he sipped his drink again. “I can see that.”

“So, what brings somebody from Chicago to Fort Wayne?” Sherry asked. “You got family here or what?”

Darren smiled, shaking his head then going on to explain. Sherry listened at the guy talked about coming to town to look into some real estate opportunities. “So, you’re thinking about living here? You’re going to move from Chicago to Fort Wayne?”

“Um, well,” Darren said, his facial expression that of a bashful little boy. “I didn’t say that. It’s a nice place, it seems. Small, but kinda big in some ways.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sherry said. “I’ve been to Chicago once. Looks like a fun place to live.”

Darren scuffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, that’s how it looks. Trust me, though, it’s not what it appears.”

Sherry laughed at the guy’s sarcastic tone.

For the next couple of hours, groups of people fluctuated in and out of the bar. The tables swelled with locals as well as visitors. The Blue Ivy was practically packed when the baseball game let out. Then, after a while, Darren and Sherry both noticed the lanyards. An older, gracious-acting man with one around his neck approached the bar to ask for a drink. Here, they both learned the convention was a religious convention. Darren turned away, hoping to not make eye contact with the guy as it could possibly conger up a conversation. When the guy walked off, Sherry looked away and giggled.

“What?” Darren asked, now on his second drink. “What are you laughing at? I saw the way you looked over here then started laughing.”

“Just you,” Sherry said. “Man, I saw the way you looked at that guy...the one with the lanyard from a church convention around his neck. You looked away like you hoped he wouldn’t say anything.”

Darren wished he hadn’t been so obvious. “Sorry, I hope that didn’t come across the wrong way or anything. You super into religion and stuff?”

&nbs

p; “Psst,” Sherry said, waving her hand dismissively – an action which caused Darren to nearly choke on his beer. “Can’t stand them.” She looked around then lowered her voice. “The way they’re always trying to push that stuff off on people.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Darren said. “My parents used to have this condo in this kinda ruff part of Chicago that I had to live in for a little bit while I finished up school. Anyway, it was the kinda area where Jehovah's witnesses were making their rounds...frequently.”

Sherry rolled her eyes then shook her head as she rummaged through a box under the counter. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Those people are everywhere with that stuff.”

“Yeah, well,” Darren said, shaking his head, “that’s why I used to joke with my cousin how I couldn’t wait on the winter to roll around...ice and snow and all. That seemed to stop them, if nothing else.”

Sherry broke out in laughter, leaning over as she grabbed her stomach, knowing that nobody in their right mind would ever be waiting on a Chicago winter to roll around. When she lifted her head back up, she had to wipe her eyes from nearly crying. She looked into Darren’s eyes for a few seconds too long before she suddenly turned to assist a woman who approached the bar.

In between making drinks, Sherry entertained conversation with this guy from Chicago sitting at the end of the bar. Every so often, she’d look down at him, if she weren’t close enough, and think. Really, he wasn’t the kind of guy who would normally catch her interest. In fact, Sherry couldn’t recall if she’d ever dated a man who wore a suit to anything but a funeral. This guy, though, was confident. He spoke well and was obviously educated.

Later in the night, as the more family-oriented kinds of people had long returned to their hotels or congregated in downtown parks while the moon glowed in the sky, Darren had talked with Sherry so much the spark he felt when he’d seen her had transformed into a full-blown flame. Eventually, she came around to asking his name and how long he’d be in town.