Pieces of Dreams

“Hectic, but productive. Thanks for working things out for me.”

“Please…no problem. It’s what we do.”

“So, how have you been?” I asked, feeling more ridiculous by the minute.

“Incredibly busy.”

I heard her soft laughter and it made me smile. “That must mean business is good.”

“Absolutely. I’m not complaining.”

We were both quiet for a moment. I could hear voices in the background and I guessed her assistant, Marva, was tapping on the computer keys for a customer.

“I, uh, guess I should let you get back to work. I know you’re busy.”

“Okay. It was good hearing from you. I’m glad you had a successful trip.”

“Thanks again.”

“Sure.”

We both seemed to be suspended in air, holding our breath, hoping that the drop wouldn’t be fatal. Then we both spoke at once.

“Taylor, I—”

“I was hoping I could—” We both laughed. “Ladies first.”

She cleared her throat, then hesitated as if maybe she’d changed her mind. “I thought maybe if you weren’t busy tomorrow night, there’s an outdoor jazz concert in the park—”

I chuckled. “I was getting ready to ask you the same thing.”

“So I guess that’s a yes?” I could almost hear the smile in her voice.

“Definitely. Maybe we could grab a bite before showtime, then head on over.”

“I have a better idea. I, uh, try to be careful what I eat…these days. So why don’t I fix some snacks and we can take them to the park?”

“Well, I don’t want to just be bringing my long arms. What can I do?

“Hmmm. Bring a blanket and something to drink. Juice or water,” she added quickly.

Guess she didn’t drink, I thought, and stored the information away. “No problem. I think I can handle that. Is six good?”

“Fine.”

I let out a relieved breath. “So…I’ll see you tomorrow at six.”

“Yes. Six. I’m working tomorrow, so you can pick me up here.”

“Yeah, me, too. I’ll be there. Good night, Maxine.”

“Night.”

And it was then I knew I wanted to say good night to Maxine every night of my life.

By the time I pulled up across the street from Sherman travel for my date with Maxine, I was shaking like something with a bad case of the willies. I’d been pretty much useless at work, couldn’t stay focused. All I could think about was that I wanted tonight to be perfect. I knew I was acting like this was the first time I’d been out with a woman, which was far from true, but I couldn’t get rid of that twitchy sensation in my stomach. And if CJ said, “Just be cool,” one more time, we would come to blows.

“Maybe Tracy and I’ll come and check you out at the park,” he’d said just before we got ready to head out for the day.

Although most computer firms did the regular five day, nine to five, WebMasters was a twenty-four hour, seven-day-a-week operation. I couldn’t count the times in the beginning when we got calls at home in the middle of the night from clients whose systems went down. After a few months of that, we decided to expand the hours. Then it was days. It was rough at first with the small staff, but now twenty-four-seven was a way of life.