The Other Side of the Pillow

“Damn shame. And why is that?”

“Hope. Very likely false hope that the woman I want to marry will come back to me.”

Magdalena giggled uncomfortably. “Well, where the hell did she go?”

“Good question. I can’t find her. She’s never at her place and she’s off work for the summer so I can’t stake out her office.”

“Wow, you’d actually do a stakeout?”

I smirked. “Been there, done that. Got the T-shirt.”

“You must really love her.”

“More than I love my next breath. She’s everything to me, but I’m trying to face facts.”

“So what happened?”

I started playing with the remnants of the cobbler on my paper saucer with a plastic spoon. “It doesn’t matter.” I paused and glanced at her. “Besides, we just met. I don’t want to burden you with my issues. This is a Fourth of July celebration. An extravaganza.”

Magdalena scanned the tent. While there were a lot of people there, most were talking about the latest articles in medical journals, bragging about their skills in an attempt to see who was the smartest doctor on staff, or stuffing food in their mouths.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it an extravaganza. It actually kind of sucks,” she said.

“I’d have to agree.”

“Do you want to go for a walk?”

I shook my head vehemently. “No, no thank you.”

“It’s only a walk. Seems like you could walk off some of those calories so you won’t fall asleep at your desk.”

“Listen, Magdalena. You seem like a lovely woman, but I don’t want to waste your time. I’m not in the right place to even engage in any type of romantic conversation, and I’m a grown man. I can tell when a woman is coming on to me.”

“Well, you can’t blame a girl for trying,” she said as she got up from the table. She reached into her purse and pulled out her business card, then laid it in front of me. “Let me know if you change your mind. We can grab a quick bite, even here in the cafeteria, if you want. I’m usually around on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

I didn’t respond as she walked off and Floyd appeared out of nowhere behind me, grabbing onto my shoulders. “Damn, who was that?”

I stood up and gathered my trash. “A pharmaceutical rep. I’m surprised you haven’t picked her up already.”

“You and me both, but there’s always time. Did she give you her number?”

“Yes, but I’m not giving it to you.” I tucked her card in my shirt pocket. “You’re not going to call that woman and harass her out of the blue.”

“Then you definitely need to be hitting that!”

Floyd was too loud and I gazed around to see if anyone had heard him. “Damn, do you have to be so loud?” I noticed that he appeared disheveled. “Where have you been?”

He chuckled. “Let’s just say that screwing in a helicopter isn’t easy.”

“You didn’t?!” I exclaimed.

“Hey, it’s not like anyone is being airlifted at the moment.”

“How did you even get access to one of the helicopters?”

“Haven’t you seen the female pilot that started a few months ago?”

I shook my head. Floyd was a maniac. He had zero respect for his wife.