Chapter 16: A New Friend?

“Rachel, this is Henry. Henry, this is Rachel. Rachel is new and works at the bakery. Henry’s family was one of the original ones in the village many, many generations ago.”

“Hi, Henry. Nice to meet you. Please have a seat.”

Henry sat next to Rachel, blocking her exit. He positioned himself in the booth with his face frozen in a smile and his hands in his lap under the table.

“I remember the first time you came to the pub. I wanted to send you a drink and talk to you then, but I’m an introvert. It took me a couple of drinks just to get up the nerve to send you one, not to mention three. He giggled nervously. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief to wipe his noticeably sweaty hands, forehead and upper lip.

“Would you like a dessert? I see you already finished your meal. How about some ice cream? Let me guess. I bet you like chocolate,” he giggled nervously.

His nervous giggle was neither cute, amusing, or infectious.

He had none of the attributes that she considered attractive. He was not her type. She kept her silence with her arms folded across her chest and avoided eye contact, looking down and hoping he would read her body language that she was not interested in him. Rachel wished she could escape. To escape from the booth, he had to let her out. But how?

“You don’t like these drinks I sent over? You have not sipped from any of them. Would you like something different? Beer, wine, whiskey, me?”

She took a sip to from each one to be polite and smiled. She searched her brain for a way out of this uncomfortable situation. Just when she was about to excuse herself to freshen up in the ladies’ room and make a run for it, he made an attempt to involve her in his monologue.

“How about dinner tomorrow night?” He put his arm around her, resting his sweat covered armpit against her shoulder. “Not at the pub, but to a restaurant with table linen and cloth napkins, fine silver, crystal and high quality food, like spaghetti.”

“No, thank you, I’ll have to pass, but thanks.”

“Really? You have to eat, so why don’t we make an occasion of it? Dinner and a show at the movie theater and afterwards a ride on my paddle boat around the lake.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I have to say ‘no’.”

“Why not? I sent you three drinks...”

“Just tell me how much they costed and we’ll be square. I can’t stay out for dinner at all. I’m on the early shift. And in the bakery world, early means 3 a.m. Sorry.”

“When are you off work again?”

“I’m not sure. I might be needed for overtime. I’ll let you know. Okay?”

“What’s your number?”

“I don’t have a phone.”

“Incredible. I know, I’ll swing by the bakery and pick you up and we’ll leave from there. You’re going to love their food.”

“No, thank you all the same.”

“Give me a break, I’m trying to get to know you after expressing interest with the drinks, but you won’t give me an inch of leeway. I’d pay and everything. Just come out to dinner with me tomorrow. Please...I’ll be less nervous by then, I promise. They have a bar at this restaurant, so I ought to be fine.”

She was defeated. He had successfully worn her down. The only escape from the booth with him in it would be to agree to the date, leap over him while pushing the table over using her super human strength garnered from her individual polite sips of the three mixed drinks he sent, and then bolt, getting the heck out of there and leaving this sweaty man far behind her.

Realistically, she considered that he knew that she worked at the bakery, so he could come to her place of work and make things very uncomfortable for her, putting her in an awkward position. “Okay. I’ll. See. You. Tomorrow.” she struggled to say these five words and agree to spending even more time with him, time that she dreaded spending, and time that she would never get back.

Almost instantly she thought of Arthur. They were in no way dating or romantically coupled, yet she felt guilty. She felt like going out with Henry would be like cheating on Arthur. Not Kurt, her fiancé; but Arthur, a young man she only met a month ago and due to her living situation in this small parish.

Would this be what a relationship with Henry be like? Being worn down until she agreed to whatever he wanted in order to get him to leave her alone? First the initial date; then a kiss; then more dates and more kisses; his whining and begging until she agreed to his proposal to marry him; too quickly followed by a horrible honeymoon then a miserable marriage with unappetizing sex after forever forced yeses; ultimately followed by a lifetime spent with someone she never even loved or wanted.

“I almost forgot to ask, Henry, Rachel leaned in and cautiously spoke, not wanting to be thought of as interested in him in any way. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m in sales.”

No wonder; he’s a professional. He was practiced at wearing people down until they were stuck with some product or service that they didn’t want or need. If only he would use his superpower for good and not for evil or personal gain.

Henry had sold her on a date. And now Rachel was stuck with him, a man that she neither wanted or needed, bound for a date that she could not get out of.