The band played one of my favorites. I stood by her shoulder again. “Want to dance?”
“Sure!” she smiled.
The song ended. I looked into those brown eyes, “Stay up?”
Several songs later, I thanked her again, and left her at her table. An hour later, we walked back to her table for the fourth time. I thanked her. She nodded to her friend.
“This is Lisa.”
“Nice to meet you, Lisa,” I said. We shook hands.
“You can sit with us if you like.” Georgia said.
“I’d love to.” I replied.
Lisa poked Georgia in the side, “Georgia? What are you doing?” She didn’t think I would hear over the music.
“Lisa, it’s OK.” Georgia looked at me. I sat down. We talked or danced all evening.
The last waltz played. My arms circled her—holding her close to me. I felt something under my shoe. Probably a piece of litter, I thought to myself. I stepped on it again. I released her, bent down, and picked up a large smoky topaz. It was several carats and reflected the shimmering lights over the dance floor. Georgia looked at her finger.
“That’s the stone from my ring! Thank you for finding it. It’s my favorite ring. The stone is so beautiful, but the setting isn’t very strong. One day I want to have it reset, so it won’t fall out.”
Midnight came and went. Lisa looked at Georgia, “We better leave. I have to work tomorrow.”
“Mike, we do have to leave. It was nice meeting you.”
“Do you need a ride home?” I asked, hoping to extend the evening and my time with her.
“We’re fine. We’ll grab a cab.” Lisa said quickly. She didn’t seem to like me much and wanted to get out of there.
“That would be wonderful,” Georgia replied, nudging Lisa. “It’s OK, Lisa. It’ll save us cab fare.”
They lived in the same apartment building. I pulled up to the front door, got out, and opened the car door for them. It was an awkward moment. I wanted to ask Georgia for her phone number, but I was too shy with Lisa standing there waiting for Georgia to join her.
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