The Spinster's Club

Romy: Eight

Romy Ch 8 (David)

Taking a quick look into the rear view mirror; to make sure I had nothing on my face or between my teeth; I grabbed the flowers from the front seat and hopped out of the car. It may well be 2015 but my mother had raised me to be a gentleman and so for that reason and many others, I had offered to pick Romy up for our date, as opposed to just meeting her somewhere.

The flowers were probably too cliché but she had mentioned over coffee a couple of days ago that they were her favourites; I wanted her to know that I had been listening to what she was saying and not just being polite, or trying to find another way to apologize for my fubar comment in the art class.

I had sincerely meant the words to come out as a compliment but of course as a long standing member of the 'foot-in-mouth' club, those very words had come our sounding a hell of a lot more like an insult. I half suspected that had she not been holding onto that sheet for dear life, my cheek would have been as red as hers once she slapped me.

Of course she had accepted my apology and even agreed to this date but I still had doubts that perhaps things weren't completely ok between us. I hoped that this date; the first of many if I had my way; would show her that I was interested and genuinely so. Taking a deep breath, I gave myself a moment before knocking on the door.

~*~*~

When Romy answered the door a minute or so later, my jaw literally dropped and it had nothing to do with the sexy black dress she was wearing. No, my reaction was purely because the cute blonde curls she had been wearing two days ago were now gone. In their place was a shoulder length bob cut in a shade of blue that rivaled the one my car was wearing.

"David; hey" she smiled. When I didn't answer or move she asked "Are you ok?"

Unlike art class, I actually took a further minute to think before I spoke. "Yeah, sorry; I like your hair – what color is that, exactly?"

"Peer pressure blue" she joked, stepping aside to usher me into the house. When I again didn't reply she added "Actually, it's peacock blue. Are those for me?" she indicated at the flowers.

"Oh, yes; sorry." I handed them over, happy to see her eyes light up. "I remembered you said carnations were your favourite."

"They are and these are beautiful. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

~*~*~

Following her into the kitchen so she could put them into water before we headed out, I asked "What made you change your hair, and to that color?"

"Long story" was all she said at first and I got the impression I wasn't going to hear it. Turns out I was right. "You don't like it, do you?" she asked instead. It was more a statement than a question.

Truthfully, once the actual shock had worn off, I found I did in fact like it. "Actually, I do although my early reaction might have told you different. I will admit I was a little partial to your curls but this is a good look too. It suits you."

"Liar" she jested, giving me a shy smile. Damn if she wasn't cuter when she looked at me like that. "But I do appreciate the compliment. Once it was done I realized it was ridiculous for someone my age to do something like this, almost as though I was hoping to recapture a youth long gone. It's not about that though, more of a shake-up of sorts." She stopped short of explaining further as she put the newly vased flowers on the island in the middle of her kitchen. "It's ok if you want to call off dinner."

I was confused; what had I said wrong now? "Why would I want to do that?"

She really flushed now. "People are going to talk and wonder why someone as gorgeous as you is out with someone like me. I don't know about you but I don't really want to spend the evening feeling like an exhibit at the zoo."

Had she not been so serious in her words, I might have laughed. Instead I walked over to her, reaching for her hand. She allowed me to take it. "Romy, let me them look, talk or judge. Wrapped in a sheet or with vibrant blue hair, I'm more than happy to be seen with you. I wouldn't have asked you out if I wasn't. Who's to say that they won't be looking at us and wondering why you are with me? At the end of the day, isn't it supposed to be just about us knowing why we are dating?"

Rather than answer she stood on her toes so she was then able to use her arms, to gently pull my head down so she could kiss me. It would be at least a full ten minutes before we left the house.

~*~*~

'Emileo's' on a Friday is normally full of patrons with a line often almost out the door of diners waiting to be seated, but Romy and I were able to walk in and be seated moments later. Aside from booking, it pays to work side-by-side with the owner. Connie was a fireman now but wanted to retire in a couple of years so had her sister and brother-in-law running it for her until then. I had unashamedly pulled the strings to get the booking along with the best seat in the house.

With the shock of Romy's new hair color and style now over, I could look at her and simply see the shy smile and memorable woman I hadn't been able to forget since our first meeting. Of course quite a few of the other patrons did in fact look, some even whispered but for the most part no one seemed to care. Romy herself gave the impression she was ignoring them and instead focused her attention on the menu or me, which I was happy for.

I knew I should have left it but once the appetizers had been ordered, I decided to try once again to find out why the radical new hair style. "I'm guessing you weren't a fan of the curls?"

It took her a moment to realize what I meant and she smiled. "How can you tell?" I laughed. "Honestly, I've always hated them. Besides the fact I can never do anything with them, they make me look like my mother. Suffice it to say that if I had a decent shaped head and wouldn't look like a hobbit sized Kojak, I'd shave them off."

The last part had been said as a joke and with her continued smile but it wasn't hard to miss the pure animosity she held for the woman who had given her life. I was sorry I had pushed it now but before I could change the subject, she volunteered to go on.

"Seriously though, some friends and I decided we all wanted to make some changes so each of us picked something. One of the things was to update or change something about ourselves. I can hardly grow another ten inches or drop forty pounds so I opted to chemically straighten the curls."

"And the peacock blue?"

With a small laugh she continued "Well, that was my hairdresser Meg's fault. She insisted I needed to highlight the new locks. I never quite expected that the highlights would be all over."

Raising my glass I proposed a toast. "Well, here's to Meg and her unsubtle 'highlights'." Romy clinked her glass against mine with a smile.

~*~*~

As we enjoyed our main meal – seafood marinara for me and pollo alla romana for Romy – we fell into conversation about anything and everything. We talked about our friends and the teasing they employed – mine about being a stripper, Romy's for her thinking I was stripper. I talked about my job and she explained what she hoped to do for her store, and even went so far as to tell me how she ended with the Swiss flag tattooed on her butt cheek. It was hard not to laugh but I hadn't been able to help it and so of course that brought more attention to our table. At this point, neither of us cared.

"Your friends sound like a handful. I'm guessing the one covered in paint when I came to see you the other day was Amy?"

"Yes, that was her. I love the woman like a sister but she can't paint worth a damn. I will admit to appreciating her help, even if I did have to re-do a couple of things. I'd be lost without her; all of them actually. We've been through some tough stuff together. CeCe's absence has been felt deeply."

""Well, you did say that part of the pact was to help you all expand your horizons. It just turned out that CeCe's were south of the border with a Spanish Baritone."

She sighed. "I know, and I'm truly happy for her. We made that stupid pact as a joke but we did need it. We've all changed and improved something in our lives in some way. I guess we didn't think about the cost. Then again, it's not like she's gone forever, right?"

"Right" I agreed. "You never mentioned what Amy's offering to the pact was. CeCe was job improvement, Cass was personal improvement and yours was about an exciting adventure. What about Amy?"

I couldn't have been certain but I thought I imagined a look of horror cover her face, quickly gone and soon replaced with one of supreme embarrassment. If the shade of her cheeks was any indication then it was clearly something she didn't want to repeat. I told her she didn't have to tell me but she insisted, saying that if we were to remain friends, I needed to know; that she didn't it to come out down the road a ways. What she told me next was the last thing I would have ever guessed.

~*~*~