Alone Together Alone

Now I’m not as big a fan of my own eyes as some of the girls who listen to our band but I know my eyes are fairly unique.

Her saying that struck me as odd but I let it go.

“So the mix of my blue and the greenish brown of his created her beautiful greens.” She continued after the pause. She looked away from me for a minute. “So what about those dreams? What do they have to do with me?” Her eyes drifted back to mine.

“Well-”

“Hello folks can I start you guys off with drinks? Some wine maybe?” Another LA waitress (a girl dreaming of being an actress) asked with notepad in hand and pulling a pen from behind her ear.

“Nothing for me thanks.” Erin replied politely.

The waitress turned her full attention to me.

“Coke for me, please.”

“Are you guys ready to order?” She asked noticing our menus closed.

I ordered some nondescript Italian dish that is on every Italian menu and is always good but it’s so typical you never remember when you last ate it.

After writing my simple order the waitress assured us she’d be back soon with my drink and my food would be up in no time.

After watching the waitress walk away Erin’s eyes shifted back to mine. The light blue sparkling in the low light, the lit candle in the center of the table causing the shine to be so much more evident.

“So about this dream?” She asked softly pulling me from my thoughts on her eyes.

“Well it was more like a series of dreams.” I became embarrassed now that I had to speak of it. “Well they’re strange, of course saying that is an understatement. Me and all my friends were vampires as were you. I mean it was just a weird vampire dream but the way I feel toward you in the dream struck me as strange seeing as you were the only one I didn’t know.”

“How did you feel towards me?” Her elbows now rested on the table with her chin resting against her laced hands. Her eyes, still dancing in the candle light, seeming eager for this answer.

I felt a subtle -thanks to my skin tone- blush creep into my face but at the same time I almost felt comfortable telling her. “I felt... um... strongly for you.” Even with the comfort I felt I fumbled around searching for a word that would make me sound less strange.

She let out a little chuckle. “Strongly?” Her eyes now sparkled with a sort of mischief behind them. “How strongly?” Her voice displayed the mischief that played in her eyes as well.

I involuntarily gulped. I couldn’t help it the way her voice -that at that moment sounded to perfect to be real- spoke those words so smoothly just struck me the right way and turned me into a stammering fool.

I was looking at the table when I started. “I-I-I um...Very strongly... Li-like I loved you.” But I looked up expecting her smile to have faded and her to be running toward the door.

Against all odds she still sat there smile plain as day laughing at me.

Something about her smile struck me as odd. The way her perfect white teeth gleamed in the low light made them look like they belonged on a statue, like they were never used and still harder than rocks. I ignored it just the same, just admiring how pretty she looked when she smiled. I didn’t see that nearly enough in the dreams.

“Pete you’re too sweet.” The laughter was still in her voice.

About that time the waitress returned with my drink. I exchanged pleasantries with her and she told me my food should be out soon before leaving us again.

I just didn’t know what to say to this woman.

I felt as if I knew her, yet at the same time I felt I didn’t know her at all.

Like running into a friend from high school that was the wild child partier who’s now married with three kids driving a soccer mom van.

The rest of the conversation was relatively normal after that.

She’s a single mother who still has the luxury of staying home to raise her daughter because she worked hard and made good investments when she was younger. It’s almost hard to believe that, she looks so young. She doesn’t look my age which she claims to be.

She responded so funny when I asked her age. She laughed and looked at me like she knew something I didn‘t. “Older than you’d guess.” Her smirk left me puzzled.

She was a puzzling woman honestly. For example when I wondered how she got changed and to the restaurant so quickly, weirder still, she didn’t drive there. I drove her home at the end and asked her how she got there and again she gave me that smirk and said, “That, dear Watson, is a mystery.”

I wish I knew what really went on inside that head of hers.

On the plus side she gave me her number.