Let's Stay Together (16 page)

“What don’t you know?” Lauren asked.

“I have to see about something first.”
Bus fare is only one hundred fifty dollars one way, but it takes twenty-eight hours to get from Brooklyn to St. Louis! Twenty-eight hours on a bus! Is that even legal? If we meet somewhere at seven p.m. on Thursday, I’d have to leave at eleven p.m. on Tuesday night to get there in time.

“Patrick?”

“Thursday might work,” Patrick said slowly.
I’d have to work half a day Wednesday, get on a bus Wednesday afternoon, see her Thursday, leave Friday, and be back late Saturday. That’s almost four full days off from a job that usually requires me to be somewhere every single day! This is impossible!

“Where are we going to meet?” Lauren asked. “Some out-of-the-way hotel perhaps? I’ll be the woman in the overcoat and high heels, and that is
all
I will be wearing.”

Now, there’s a sexy image.
“Well, we’d meet at a restaurant first, of course,” Patrick said. “I’ll be hungry.”
After twenty-eight hours on a bus, I’ll be starving!

“Okay. Which restaurant?” Lauren asked.

I have no idea. I can afford McDonald’s, but I can’t take Lauren Short to McDonald’s.
“It will be a surprise.”
To me, too.

“And then?” Lauren whispered.

I love that sexy whisper.
“And then we’ll go someplace private, where I can get to know that woman in the overcoat and high heels much better.”

“That sounds good,” Lauren said.

That sounds life-altering!
“I’ll set up reservations and give you the details as soon as I know them.”
What am I thinking? She could come here and . . . see this dump. She’d see how much I have to show for my life, see how shabby I really am, how I live, what I do, how I smell at the end of the day. I can’t have her come here! No. St. Louis is safer.

“I’m checking flight schedules right now,” Lauren said. “I can fly Alaska Airlines.... Isn’t that funny? I can fly Alaska Airlines and arrive in St. Louis on Thursday at five. There. I’ve bought my ticket. Should we meet at the airport ? When will your flight arrive?”

“I won’t be flying,” Patrick said. “I’m taking a bus.”

“What?”

“I can’t afford to fly, Lauren,” Patrick said.

“I can wire you the money,” Lauren said.

“I got this,” Patrick said. “I’m buying my bus ticket now.”
The Internet fare is nonrefundable, but it’s the cheapest.

“You wouldn’t have to spend a dime if you’d just let me fly out to New York,” Lauren said.

Patrick found himself on the payment page.
Greyhound lets you pay with cash? I can do that? Perfect. All I have to do is pay for my ticket when I get to the bus terminal.
“My bus arrives at five o’clock on Thursday.”

“You’re taking a
bus
from Brooklyn to St. Louis,” Lauren said.

“Yes,” Patrick said. “It’s only a twenty-eight-hour ride.”
Piece of cake.

“Patrick, don’t do that to yourself,” Lauren said. “Let me fly you in.”

Patrick then searched for St. Louis restaurants. Tony’s four-star rating caught his attention, and he went to the Tony’s website. He scrolled down to the chef’s tasting menu.
Whoa. Over two hundred bucks for two people. If that’s the worst that can happen, we’ll be okay.
“We’ll eat at Tony’s on Market Street.”

“Why won’t you let me fly you in?” Lauren asked.

“Because I’ve already reserved my bus ticket,” Patrick said. “Tony’s is an Italian restaurant.”

“I love Italian,” Lauren said. “Can I at least pay for the meal?”

“No.”

“Are you always this stubborn?” Lauren asked.

“Yes,” Patrick said.

Lauren’s eyes blinked several times. “I can be pretty stubborn, too.”

“And I like that about you,” Patrick said. “But I will pay, okay?”

“Okay,” Lauren said. “Where will we be staying after dinner?”

Patrick found several hotels near Tony’s. “Somewhere close to the restaurant.”

“Such mystery,” Lauren said.

These hotels are not expensive by New York standards, but they aren’t cheap.
“I’m also going to pay you back for your plane ticket.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Lauren said.

“I’m asking you out on a date to St. Louis, Missouri, so I should pay,” Patrick said. “How much was your ticket?”

“About two thousand,” Lauren said.

She has to be kidding.
“Really?” Patrick asked.

“I usually travel first class,” Lauren said. “Let me change it from first class to coach first. Hold on.”

“No, no,” Patrick said. “It’s okay.”
Two thousand bucks!
“Is that one way or round-trip?”

“One way,” Lauren said. “I do not intend to come back here.”

Two thousand!
“Will you take a check?”
There goes most of my savings.

“You don’t have to pay for everything,” Lauren said.

“I do, okay?”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to look back at our first date and remember how you had to pay for anything,” Patrick said.

“But if I have the means,” Lauren said, “I should contribute.”

“I told you about Natalia and how I couldn’t provide enough for her. I doubt I could ever provide enough for you either, but I will pay for this entire first date.”
Even if it bankrupts me.

“Okay,” Lauren said. “You pay for this one, and I’ll pay for the next date.”

“No.”

“Why not?” Lauren asked.

Patrick chose the Millennium Hotel and tried to make online reservations, but he needed a credit card.
I’ll have to call the toll-free number later.

“Patrick, why not?” Lauren asked again.

“We’ll be staying at the Millennium Hotel, which is close to Tony’s and has a great view of the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River.”
I hope we’ll be staying there.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Lauren said.

“I will pay for every date we go on,” Patrick said.
Though I have no idea how.
“Tony’s is only two blocks from the hotel.”

“Patrick . . .”

“It’s okay, Lauren,” Patrick said. “It’s something I have to do, okay? I want to impress you.”

“You already do,” Lauren said.

“Then I want to impress you more,” Patrick said. “I want to impress you more than you’ve ever been impressed before.”

“You already have,” Lauren said.

“And I’ll try to continue to do so,” Patrick said.

“You know, we might not eat much at Tony’s,” Lauren said. “I know that I won’t be that hungry, for food anyway.”

And that would save me a nice chunk of change.
“I might not be that hungry, either.”
After twenty-eight hours on a bus? Who am I kidding? I’ll be hungry enough to eat the napkins!

“And I doubt we’ll be looking at that arch or the river,” Lauren said.

“I’ll only be looking at you,” Patrick said.

“With the lights on or off ?” Lauren whispered.

“With every light on,” Patrick said. “I don’t want to miss a thing.”

“Good,” Lauren said. “That’s . . . that’s very good.”

“So, we’re set,” Patrick said. “Thursday at seven at Tony’s on Market Street in St. Louis.”

“Right,” Lauren said. “But it’s
not
right, Patrick. This is so crazy.”

“I know it is,” Patrick said. “But it will at least be different, something to remember, right?”

“I’ll say,” Lauren said. She smiled. “I can’t wait to see you, Patrick.” Lauren tilted the camera. “Are you looking at me now?”

He watched her hands moving up and down her body. “I can’t take my eyes off you,” he whispered. “You know that.”

“I wish I could kiss you right now,” Lauren whispered.

“I’d like that,” Patrick whispered. “I like what you’re doing with your hands, too.”

“I want your hands on me,” Lauren whispered. “I’d crawl into your lap and probably get very busy while I kissed your lips off. I better stop.” The view shifted to her face. “I need to get packed.”

“It’s two days away,” Patrick said.
And I have to leave in less than thirty hours. I need to pack, too.
He looked into his closet.
Why should I worry? It will only take me five minutes.

“I have to do some laundry first,” Lauren said. “I’ve been so lazy. How many days should I pack for?”

One.
“Travel light, okay?”

“Right,” Lauren said. “We won’t need many clothes after dinner.”

“Oh, this is already driving me crazy,” Lauren said. “I
hate
to wait.”

“I’m sorry I’m being so difficult about this.”

“It’s okay,” Lauren said. “It’s actually romantic. I’ve never been on a date like this before. We’re going on a secret rendezvous to a place I’ve never been. Very mysterious and sexy. That’s what you’re trying for, right?”

“Right.” He shook his head. “No, not really, but I’m glad it seems that way to you.”

“You weren’t going for mysterious and sexy,” Lauren said.

“No,” Patrick said. “I was going for ordinary and anywhere but here.”

“You think riding on a bus for twenty-eight hours to have a date in St. Louis is ordinary?” Lauren said.

“That’s the ‘anywhere but here’ part,” Patrick said.

“And meeting someone for the very first time, and at an Italian restaurant two thousand miles from her home . . . You think this is ordinary?”

“When you put it that way . . .” Patrick laughed. “It does sound extraordinary, but that’s not what I had in mind. I just want to meet you someplace where no one knows either of us.”

“I could wear a disguise,” Lauren said. “I’m good at being incognito. I did it for seven years, remember.”

“It won’t matter what you wear,” Patrick said. “Someone will recognize you, but maybe for a few moments in a dark restaurant, it will only be the two of us. That’s what I’m hoping for.”

“I hope so, Patrick,” Lauren said. “What are you going to wear?”

“Most likely what I wear on the bus.”
For twenty-eight hours!
“Jeans and my only button-down shirt.”

“I’ll try to dress incognito, too,” Lauren said.

“I’m not trying to be incognito,” Patrick said. “I’ll be almost as dressed up as I get.”

“Not for long,” she whispered.

I have to do some laundry, too.
“I don’t want to say good night, but . . .”

“It’s only . . . ten o’clock there,” Lauren said. “The night is young.”

“I’ll have two really busy days in a row.”
I have to inform all the tenants that I won’t be around for a few days and that they’ll just have to survive without me. Oh, and please, Mrs. Moczydlowska, don’t call my boss.

“Well, I suppose I can let you get some sleep,” Lauren said. “I really love what you’re doing for me.”

“What am I doing?”
Besides complicating things!

“You’re trying to make our first date perfect,” Lauren said. “So many men don’t try to make
any
dates perfect, as if it’s our privilege just to be seen with them. I have never had a man take care of me like this before. I don’t want to let you, you know, so expect me to resist your efforts.”

“And I’ll resist back,” Patrick said.

“And that’s actually comforting to know,” Lauren said. “You know what you want, and nothing is going to stop you.”

Just my bank account.
“I want you.”

“You got me,” Lauren said with a smile. “I won’t be able to Skype you on the bus, so have your cell phone charged. I may send you a picture or two. Just keep the picture to yourself, okay?”

“I will.” He looked into her eyes. “Thank you for . . . meeting me in St. Louis.”

“I am certain it will be my pleasure,” Lauren said. “Thank you for asking me. Good night, Patrick.”

“Good night, Lauren.”

He shut down Skype and immediately called the Millennium Hotel’s toll-free number. “Hi. I’d like to make a reservation for Thursday in St. Louis, Missouri.”

“Number of rooms?” a woman asked.

“One.”

“How many adults?”

“Two.”

“How many children?”

“None.”

“Your name and address, sir?”

Patrick supplied the information.

“All the way from Brooklyn,” she said. “How will you be paying?”

“With cash,” Patrick said.

Silence on the other end.

“Hello?” Patrick said.

“Sir, we require a credit card to hold the room for you,” she said.

“I don’t have a credit card,” Patrick said, “or I would have made my reservation through your website.”

“Sir, we cannot reserve your room without a credit card.”

“Why?”

“We just can’t, sir,” she said. “The system won’t let us.”

Patrick sighed. “Could you connect me directly to the hotel in St. Louis?”

“They’ll tell you the same thing,” she said.

“Hey, it’s worth a shot,” Patrick said.

“I’ll connect you. Hold, please.”

After some static, Patrick heard, “Millennium Hotel, St. Louis. This is Penny. How may I help you?”

“Penny, I’d like to make a reservation,” Patrick said.

“Oh, we don’t take reservations here, sir,” Penny said. “Let me give you the toll-free number for reservations.”

“I don’t believe that,” Patrick said.

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t believe that you don’t take reservations there,” Patrick said.

“We don’t,” Penny said. “Reservations are made through our national reservations center.”