It was Friday night ... again. She walked in the door and kicked off her shoes, dropped her handbag and walked to the bedroom. With a deep breath, she took her clothes off and crawled into her 'jammies'. It was barely 6:00 and it looked like she was ready for bed. Walking into her living room, she curled up on the sofa and sighed. Looking at her watch, she though, that must be a record - less than 3 minutes from door to sofa. Oh, what an exciting life I live!
This had become her regular Friday night. Sometimes she wondered if it was healthy, for there were days in her past that Friday was her 'going-out' night. She'd do anything to go out, even if it meant going shopping or dining or going to a movie alone. But Friday was the night she set aside for that. Frankly, she couldn't remember the last time she had gone out, with a friend or otherwise, on a Friday night. This was now her usual Friday night.
And, along with that, came the usual phone call to Wong's Chinese Food Take-out and Delivery. The number was programmed into her phone and she rang it.
"Hi Sam, it's Sam," she smiled, remembering when they discovered they had the same name - his, the Anglo name he chose for himself when he moved here; mine, the shorter version of Samantha.
"Hey Sam! how are you?" he asked in his accented voice.
"Doing fantastic, Sam!" I responded.
"What I get for you tonight?" he asked.
"The usual," I said.
"You sure you no try something new? We have other good food, too," he encouraged.
"Not tonight, but another time, I promise."
"And only for you?" he asked again.
I sighed. Yes. "Yes, Sam, and no smart comments," I tried to smile through the words so he knew I wasn't upset.
"You really need to get out more, Sam," he said.
"Yes, yes, I know." I really did know.
"Pick up or delivery? wait ... don't tell me. You want delivery, yes?"
"Yes, have someone bring it around."
"Sam, you know something wrong when I know your 'usual' but I also don't ask for address. Just once,before I die, promise, you will call and surprise me!"
"Yes, Sam, I promise I will."
"I'm an old man, girl! I no live much longer!"
"Sam, you're not much older than I am," I laughed.
"Ok ... your usual is usual price. My grandson bring it by in 10 minutes."
"Thank you, Sam!" I smiled. He was a nice man, almost twice my age with very little hair. I think he owned the restaurant at one time but now his son owns it and his grandson just got his license so he's the courier and enjoys making a little money on the side.
I picked up the remote and surfed through my usual channels. The usual Friday-night shows ... maybe something better will be on later. Until then, there was quite the selection I had PVRd from the previous week, yet to see. I pulled the blanket over me and picked a show.
No comments:
Post a Comment