“Is this really what you do when you go out?” Wes cupped his hands together and blew into them, trying in vain to warm himself up. “We’ve been in line for an hour.”
“We’ve been in line for twenty minutes. And no, I typically won’t wait in line to get into a night club. But I didn’t realize this was the last night of that abstract art exhibition I’ve been dying to see.” Gabby turned her head to look at Wes. “And if I hadn’t spent the better part of last month in the boonies with you, I could have come on a slower night.”
“Only you call it ‘the boonies,’ chided Wes. “And you like coming out to visit me. Besides, you seemed to hit it off with Wyatt.”
Gabby turned full body to stare at Wes. “Are you delusional?? You pushed me into him. It was all I could do to get through that night!”
Wes chuckled to himself at the memory. Perhaps tonight was Gabby’s idea of payback – a fancy New York City night club that he had absolutely no interest in. Resigning himself to an evening of his version of torture, he stepped to the side of the line to count the heads in front of him. Moving back next to Gabby he said “Well, we’re only fifteen back now.”
“See?” smiled Gabby sweetly, “we’ll be in in no time.”
“You’re not fooling me with that smile. You’re enjoying every minute of this,” accused Wes.
“Oh, I don’t deny that for a minute,” laughed Gabby. “You don’t know anyone here in the city and you don’t have a key to my apartment, so you can’t leave. My turf, my rules.”
“God help me,” muttered Wes. Looking around, he raised his arms back and forth, hopping about as he shouted “won’t somebody come and rescue me!?!”
“What are you doing??” asked Gabby as several curious looks came their way.
Wes shrugged. “If you can’t beat ‘em, mortify ‘em.”
“Ugh!” Gabby exclaimed as she turned her back on Wes. “I’m just going to pretend I don’t know you.”
“Good luck with that,” laughed Wes as he inched closer to Gabby. Now that he was inclined to play his favorite game, ‘Get Her Goat,’ he decided he might enjoy his evening after all.
__
A few hours later, Wes was surprised to admit that he was actually enjoying himself. Not that he’d admit that to his cousin – he’d never hear the end of it. And he didn’t understand the art that was being showcased; to him anything that looked like he could have slopped some paint on the bottom of his chickens’ feet and had them scratching across a canvas didn’t seem worthy of such a hefty price tag. But it did give him an idea and he smiled at the absurdity of it. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t see Gabby coming up to him.
“Hey! I’ve been looking all over for you. What are you smiling about?” she asked.
“Oh, just some farm art,” Wes replied with a grin.
Gabby looked from Wes to the paintings on the wall then back to Wes, not making the connection.
“You’re so weird,” she replied. “Come on, you need to try these margaritas. This place is known for them. The first flight’s on me.” Gabby led Wes over to the bar in the main room.
“Ugh. More waiting?” groaned Wes, eyeing the throng four deep gathered at the bar. “Can’t I just get a beer from the other bar? And what’s a flight?”
“No, you can’t just get a beer; you can get that anywhere. And we don’t need to wait, I’ve already ordered them.” Gabby pointed to a small table in the corner. Wes looked and noticed two rows of what appeared to be five margaritas each, served in large shot glasses.
“Fancy,” he observed as they sat down.
“Exactly,” smiled Gabby as she reached for one. “These are called ‘Flights of Fancy.’ Cheers!”
Wes chose a glass and clinked it with Gabby’s. “Here’s to love and peace,” he replied as he sampled the margarita. “Mmmmm…not bad.”
“Yep,” agreed Gabby. “They offer these in flights so you can see which one you like best. Then you can order your favorite in a regular size glass.”
“So, for you that would be like a quart?” Wes dodged right after he said that, but not quickly enough to avoid Gabby’s hand as she smacked him on the shoulder.
“Screw you.”
Wes laughed as he reached for another glass. “I’m just saying.” He was about to elaborate but he paused mid-thought as his eyes caught a face at the other end of the bar. “Speaking of love and peace…didn’t expect that to come about so quickly…” he mused aloud. Gabby turned her head to follow his gaze. With somewhat of a shock, she looked back to Wes.
“Renn?” she asked.
“What? When?? Right now,” replied Wes, not taking his eyes off the girl at the bar.
“No, dumbass. Renn. She’s a friend of mine.”
Now Wes turned his gaze back to Gabby. “Seriously??” With a sly grin, he clinked his glass against Gabby’s again.
Gabby rolled her eyes. “Oh good God, it’s going to be a long night,” she muttered as she reached for a third glass.
“Better order another fancy flight,” Wes suggested as he got up from the table, grabbing two glasses as he did so. “Or that quart; you’re gonna need it.” Gabby shot him a look as he walked away laughing. With a sigh, she signaled the attendant for another round. As she watched Wes make his way to the back of the bar, it was her turn to slyly grin. “Oh, I’m not making it that easy for you,” she thought to herself as she took out her phone and entered a quick text to her friend. A minute later, she saw Renn looking down at her phone. With a satisfied smile, Gabby sat back in her seat to wait it out. She knew the evening now was just beginning.
*
© Dahlia Ramone: July 23, 2016
This was written for Blogophilia Week 22.9 Topic: Flights of Fancy
Prompts:
(1) Incorporate a Stevie Ray Vaughan lyric
(“Won’t somebody come and rescue me” from the song ‘Crossfire’)
(2) Include the words ‘love and peace’
Dahlia Ramone 