Signals

“Christopher?” Louise breathed as she hurriedly picked up her ringing cell phone and muted the TV.

“Uh, no. Tom,” came Tom’s voice and Louise smacked her forehead with her palm.

“Sorry, I was just, uh, expecting someone else,” she admitted through gritted teeth while wondering why Christopher hadn’t called her yet.

“You should try answering with a casual ‘hello’ so you don’t sound so desperate to whoever this Christopher is,” Tom suggested, guessing that he was another man that Louise had met at a bar.

“Hey, you don’t even know who he is, he could be my brother,” Louise countered as she fiddled with her cereal spoon. She had picked up on his tone and was embarrassed that he had caught her desperately wanting to hear from another guy.

“Is he?” Tom asked and there was a moment of silence.

“No,” Louise said with a hint of annoyance that she had been busted. Tom couldn’t help but grin.

“When did you meet him?” he questioned gently, curious as to why she was eager to hear from the other man.

“Five days ago.”

“He won’t call,” Tom shrugged before taking a sip of his tea.

“Why not?” Louise exclaimed with shock.

“If a guy is interested, he’ll call within a day or two. Three at the most,” Tom explained calmly and Louise’s stomach sank. She sighed and began to give up hope of ever seeing the handsome Christopher again.

“Damn, I thought we really clicked,” Louise grumbled as she sank back into her couch.

“Er, I hope this isn’t too weird, but I was wondering if you could give me some advice?”

“About women?”

“Unfortunately,” Tom said with a laugh. He stood from his breakfast bar and headed towards the wall-mounted mirror in the lounge.

“Well since you just gave me advice, go ahead,” Louise replied politely, intrigued as to what Tom’s dilemma was.

“I have a lunch date today, and I was wondering about the classic ‘who gets the bill’ predicament- I know it’s stupid, please don’t laugh,” Tom rushed the last part. He suddenly regretted calling as he felt as though he was only humiliating himself.

“I wasn’t going to laugh!” Louise countered despite the wide grin on her lips. “It depends entirely on how well the date goes. I’m assuming you haven’t gone out with her before?” Tom had reached the mirror and was now straightening his slim black tie, unable to stop checking himself over.

“It’s the first time I’ll see her since we met at a bar.”

“Okay, well it’s rather simple. If you want to see her again, or want to be polite, then you should pay,” Louise stated as she itched her head. “If it goes poorly, then it’s normal for her to pay for whatever she had. And if it goes terribly wrong…” Tom grimaced at the thought of him ruining the meal, something that he knew he had potential to do.

“Then what?” he asked out of interest.

“Then when the cheque arrives, you pretend that you see the parking man giving you a ticket and you bolt,” Louise answered mischievously and Tom chuckled at the thought. When he quietened down, he realised that he wasn’t feeling as nervous now.

“Thank you. That’s very helpful,” he said softly while glancing at his watch.

“No problem. I hope it goes well.”

“I have to go, but- I’ll call you later, okay?” Tom asked as he considered meeting her in the evening for drinks. They said their goodbyes and Tom smiled, glad that he had called her.