Chapter 30

Martin sat at of Don Wardle’s bar at 7:10, sipping a Grain Belt, nervously waiting for his dinner with Sharla and Shirley. Other than Don, Sharla hadn’t met any of his friends or family, which Martin knew was only a handful of people, but still. He felt like this was a big step, and he didn’t want to give anything away to anyone who would be sitting with him at Risky Dick’s, discussing the story and enjoying a meal.

When he asked Sharla to meet him for dinner, it felt like the most normal thing in the world. He liked her, that he knew for sure. And she seemed to like him. So why not get together?

But adding Shirley made it less like a date, and Martin hoped he hadn’t ruined whatever was developing between him and Sharla by missing a cue or acting on impulse. Inviting Shirley to join them felt pretty natural, too. He had a feeling that Shirley and Sharla would like each other. But maybe Sharla thought their dinner was a “date” date.

Martin looked up at the ceiling, closed his eyes and let out a big sigh. Don came up from the basement, carrying a full keg of beer and letting it drop with a “clunk” on the old linoleum behind the bar. He wiped his hands on his apron, put his hands on his hips and looked at Martin. “You know, Jimmy Olson? One of these days I’m going to figure out what the hell it is you keep seeing on my ceiling that makes you let out a sign like that.” Martin jerked his head down, opened his eyes and smiled at Don. “It isn’t your ceiling, Don, it’s me.”

Don chuckled. “You? What is it about you that makes you let out that sigh too deep for words?”

Martin gave a mock frown at Don’s Biblical poetry, then shook his head. “I don’t know. It just seems like every time I just go with the flow, I mess things up.” Don took Martin’s beer, and topped it off. “Like what?” he asked.

“Like I asked Sharla to meet me for dinner here tonight and made it almost seem like a work thing where we could talk about the story and Talbot. But it feels sort of like a date,” Martin explained. Don nodded. “So what’s wrong with that? It’s about time you started making some moves on that little cutie.”

Martin gave a slight shutter and continued. “Well, that’s kind of what I thought, but I don’t want to be too pushy, you know?” Don rolled his eyes.

“Don, cut it out! This isn’t easy for me, you know? I’ve never had a real date before, and I’ve never been particularly good with girls. I’m having a little trouble reading the cues…”

Don patted Martin’s hand. “Does she seem happy to see you when you stop by at Wild Bill’s?”

Martin nodded. “But she’s friendly, Don. She’s nice to everyone.”

Don shook his head. “Yeah, she’s friendly, but every time you ask her to do something or help you or whatever, she’s there, Martin, ready for action. I don’t see her doing that with the other guys that stop in to Wild Bill’s to pay too much for gas. She likes you, I can tell.”

Martin scratched his head and took a drink of his beer. “Well then, I think I messed this up,” he said. “I asked Shirley to join us to discuss the story. They will both be here at 7:30.”

Don let out a big whoop and slapped the bar. “Martin, you are something else.” He came around the bar and grabbed Martin’s shoulders from behind and shook him a little. “You think way too much, man, and you are way too sensitive. Relax! Okay, so you missed a chance to get your romance with Sharla jumpstarted tonight. You’re being natural and cool, and a go-getter. Women like that, trust me. No woman likes some guy mooning over them. The chase goes both ways, you know.”

Martin shook Don’s hands off his shoulders and turned around on his stool to face him. “The chase, Don? The chase? For God’s sake, please, no more advice. I’ll take it from here.” He smiled at Don and said, “Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement. Clearly, you have had more practice at this than I have.”

Don wiggled his eyebrows and winked at Martin. “Speaking of romance, guess who else is coming in for a burger and a beer tonight?” Don turned his back on Martin and sashayed back behind the bar. “The lovely Jean Lundeen will be joining us this evening at 8:00 p.m., and I plan to wow her once again with my charm and personality.”

Martin almost fell off the bar stool. “My mother...having dinner...with us?” he asked in a horrified tone that said he wasn’t looking forward to seeing her, not here, not tonight.

Don straightened up, put his hands on the bar and leaned over to get his face closer to Martin’s. “She’s not having dinner with ‘us’, Martin. She’s having dinner with me.” Don was so close to Martin, he could smell cologne and noticed he had shaved and was wearing a clean, white Polo shirt instead of a greasy Risky Dick’s T-shirt. He slapped his hands on the bar, flashed Martin a big grin and moved toward the kitchen. “Make sure you stay out of our way, Martin. I want that gorgeous woman’s full attention.”

Once again, Martin felt ill and his head started to spin. He couldn’t decide what upset him more – Don’s in-your-face courtship of his mother, or Jean and Sharla meeting for the first time. Either way, he knew it wasn’t going to be good.