Shoe Charming – by Tracy Reed #5
“Well…”
“Well what?”
“What is your embarrassing thing?” he asked.
“Why do I have to go first?”
“It would be less than chivalrous of me to go first.” He smiled.
“Yeah…yeah…yeah…” I looked up, searching the file cabinet in my mind.
“Okay, Carmen and I were shopping and when we left the store neither of us realized the hem of my dress was stuck in the back of my knickers. I had been walking down the street for a while with my beautiful pink lace knickers on display.”
I looked at him and his eyes were wide and then he started laughing. “Oh, no.” His laughter was contagious and I joined him. We laughed so hard, people started looking at us. “Shhh….” We looked around. “It could have been worse.”
“How?”
“You could have been wearing a thong and it would have looked like you had a tail.”
When I got a visual of his statement, the contagious laughter started again.
“Okay…okay…okay…stop it.” I dabbed at the laughter tears then sipped some water. “Oh, man. Your turn.”
“Wow, let me see…I don’t think…”
“Hold on. You’ve never had an embarrassing moment?” I asked.
“I know I have, but I don’t think I’ve had one as grand as yours.
” His brow furrowed. “Oh here’s one. My father had some business colleagues at the house for lunch.
At the last minute he invited me to join them.
I hurried down to the dining room. I didn’t realize the floor was wet and I slipped and landed on the buffet table. ”
“Oh, no.” I covered my mouth with my hands.
“I was covered in the entire buffet.”
“What did your father do?”
“At first he looked angry and then he started laughing. He said it was the perfect ice breaker.”
The contagious laughter started again. We were so loud, the server came and asked us to quiet down or leave. We took the latter option, paid the bill, and walked out laughing.
“Where to next?” Winston asked.
I looked at him. So far, this had been a very fun date. I have to admit I was a little upset Carmen didn’t trust me to plan the day, but she was right. I really didn’t have anything planned beyond breakfast and possibly visiting a couple of museums.
Carmen’s plan was perfect. It forced us to get to know each other.
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I don’t think Winston is American.
There are moments when I detect a slight accent, but not one I’m familiar with.
Then there are some of his stories, and the way he talks about his parents is a little formal.
Could be I’ve got Carmen’s prince fantasy stuck in my head.
“Maybe we should ask Zoran?” I said.
“Zoran, why?”
“I’m pretty sure he’s the one responsible for all of Carmen’s notes,” I said. I looked at Zoran in the rear view mirror.
“I wouldn’t say that.” He smiled.
“You wouldn’t?”
“No. But I am responsible for this one.” He handed me a small white envelope.
“Thank you.” I opened the card and Winston leaned in so he could read it as well. “‘Ice cream challenge. Select three flavors. One you’ve tried, one you haven’t and one that represents what you think of the other person.’ I don’t understand.”
“This is going to be good.” He smiled.
“It is?”
“First, I really like ice cream and gelato.” Winston’s eyes seemed to light up.
“Okay, where’s the nearest ice cream or gelato parlor?
” He took his phone out and started searching for ice cream shops.
“I found one. Zoran, according to this we are about twenty minutes away from the nearest ice cream shop. Here you go.” He handed Zoran his phone.
I smiled. “You’re serious about this aren’t you?”
“Don’t you have that one dessert you have to try every place you go?”
I thought about his question. “You know, I’ve never really thought about it.”
“Okay, we’re going to have to do something about that.”
“Why do you like ice cream…”
“Or gelato…”
“Or gelato so much?”
“I’m not sure. It’s just something about the creamy texture I like. Maybe it’s my support food.” He smiled.
“Your support food?” I laughed.
“Don’t laugh. Okay, what’s your support food?” he asked.
“Mac and cheese, of course.” I looked at him and he looked confused. “Oh my God, please don’t tell me you’ve never had mac and cheese?” He was silent. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Apparently, I’m missing out on something.”
“Yes, you are. There’s nothing more soothing when you’ve had a rough day, or a traumatic experience, or pissed at your ex…sorry.”
“Continue,” he said.
“The perfect mac and cheese is like eating sunshine. The gooey cheese and perfectly cooked noodles just slide down like…”
“Warm ice cream.”
“Exactly. It magically erases all of the bad and heartache. Oooo…where did that come from?” I looked at him.
“After ice cream, we’re looking for magical mac and cheese,” he said enthusiastically.
“What?”
“You’ve sold me. I’ve got to try this magical support food. Where can we get the best mac and cheese?”
“My house.”
“Then it’s settled.”
“What is settled?” I asked.
“We’re getting our ice cream, then we’re headed to get what you need to make mac and cheese.”
I smiled. “No, we aren’t. I can’t just make…the perfect mac and cheese is a process. It can’t be rushed.”
“Are you asking me on another date?”
“What are you talking about? How did we go from ice cream…”
“Or gelato.”
“Or gelato…to a mac and cheese date?”
“You were the one who mentioned mac and cheese. I was going to suggest spending the day in Catalina or Santa Barbara.” He smiled.
“We’re here,” Zoran said.
Neither of us heard or felt the car stop. We looked out the window.
“I got this Zoran,” Winston said.
He climbed out of the car and helped me. “Thank you.”
We walked over and looked up at the menu. There were so many options. We stood in line with the other ice cream lovers. Winston was so close to me, the heat from his body surrounded me. He leaned close to my ear and whispered. “What looks good?”
Oh man, I had an answer and it had nothing to do with ice cream. I cleared my throat. “I uhm…everything looks good.”
“Have you selected the one to describe me,” he teased.
I looked over my shoulder at him and he tried not to smile.
I smiled. “Here are my three, Brown Butter Pecan, Pear and Blue Cheese and Sweet Corn.”
“Uhm…good choices. Which one is me?”
“Aren’t we presumptive?”
“The challenge said select one you’ve tried, one you haven’t and one that represents what you think of the other person. ”
“Could be they all describe you.” I laughed.
“Oh, so it’s like that.” He laughed.
We stepped to the order window and I placed my order. “We’ll each have the three scoop sampler.” I looked at Winston. “Go ahead.”
“Ladies first,” he said.
“I’ll let you go first.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes”
“Okay. I’ll have the Goat Cheese Blackberry, Sweet Potato Maple Walnut and Lemon Olive Oil. Oh, and another with Honey Jack and Coke, Cayenne Chocolate and Balsamic Fig. Your turn,” he said and looked at me.
“I thought the challenge was for three?”
“That’s correct.”
“You just ordered six scoops.”
“One for me, and one for Zoran. You have to figure out which one is mine.” He smiled.
“Very clever.” I placed my order and we found a place to sit. “Are you going to explain your ice cream selections?”
“Which one?” He smiled. “Does this mean you figured out which one is mine?”
“I think I know which one is you. I need a little more information before I can tell you.”
“What do you want to know?”
“I detect a slight accent, but I can’t pinpoint it? European or African, or somewhere else.”
“You’re right. It’s African.”
“I assume you’re not married.
“I could be a bigamist,” he teased.
“Please don’t tell me you’re looking for a second, third or fourth wife.”
He laughed. “No, I don’t have a wife, nor am I a bigamist.”
“Thank God.” I quickly covered my mouth with my hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I’m trying to be on my best behavior and make a good impression.”
He reached across and covered my hand with his. “Trust me, you impressed me the first time I met you.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to him.
“Okay…” the server appeared out of nowhere and Winston pulled his hand back. “Break it up you two. According to this note I was given, you two are on a date, and I’m not even going to pretend I know what’s going on with the ice cream. But I was told to put all of the ice cream in one large bowl.”
“That must be a mistake,” I said. Then I looked at Winston. “Did you do this?”
“Maybe.” He smiled.
“All of the flavors are tagged. Here are spoons and napkins. Knock yourself out.” She walked away and came back. “I’m sorry.” She reached inside her pocket and pulled out a card. “This card says don’t forget the rules of the challenge. Enjoy.”
“Did you take care of the man in the car?” Winston asked.
“He’s all set. Will there be anything else?” the server asked.
“Sophie…”
“I’m good, thank you,” I replied.
“That will be all, thank you.”
“Knock yourselves out and enjoy the sugar rush.” She smiled and left.
“This looks good. Which one shall we try first?”
“I think we should start with the one you’ve had before.” I smirked.
“Or we could amend the rules.”
“Amend…I don’t know about that.”
“I think it could prove to be very interesting,” he said.
“I’m listening.”
“We’ll do a blind tasting.”
“A blind tasting? Are you insane? What am I saying, you were the one who suggested we bowl blindfolded.” I laughed.
“You can’t tell me you didn’t like that.”
“I have to admit, it was fun watching those teenagers get out of the way when you flung that ball across to the other lane.”
We laughed.
“Hey, don’t talk smack if you can’t back it up,” I joked.
“I agree.” I sipped some water. “So how would this blind tasting work.?”
“Whoever guesses the most flavors wins.”
“What’s at stake?”
“If you win, you get a pair of shoes. If I win, we will go on a proper date.”
“I don’t know…those are pretty steep stakes. A pair of Manolo Hangisi pumps or another date…hmmm…I’ll agree if you answer one question.”
“Bring it on.”