(Page 5)
Mary [Ekholm] Francis
(c) 1997
Steve emptied his wine glass and picked up the wine bottle. He raised his eyebrows as he looked at Colleen, but she shook her head. She hadn�t finished her second glass and probably wouldn�t, no matter how good the wine tasted. He emptied the bottle into his glass.
Steve tried again. �What do you want for Christmas?�
�I haven�t thought about it. I have everything I need, and I can afford to buy most everything I want. What do you want for Christmas?�
�Money. Fame. Peace on Earth. A well-stocked wine cellar. All of the above? I haven�t thought about it either. I guess I�m in the same boat you�re in: I have what I need and can buy most of what I want.� Steve talked fast, and some of his words were mushed into others. He stopped and swallowed hard. �We should probably head across the park to the theater.� He looked at his watch. �We�ve got twenty minutes until the show starts.�
In the restaurant lobby, Steve helped Colleen put her coat on, and then Colleen helped Steve get his arms into his overcoat. He put his arm across Colleen�s shoulders and leaned rather heavily on her. She said, �How about if we call a taxi? Showboat is a long show, and I don�t want to fall asleep during the second half.�
�No,� Steve replied. �I bought these tickets and we�re going to use them.�
�I came to dinner with you because I wanted to get to know you, not because you had tickets to a sold-out Broadway show.�
�I paid for these tickets, and we�re going to use them.�
The cool air seemed to have a positive effect on Steve; he straightened up and breathed deeply. In the middle of the park, he stopped Colleen. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. �You are so beautiful,� he said. And then he leaned down to kiss her. She smelled the wine on his breath, and she felt cold inside, colder than her cheeks and fingers. She watched him bend down. She shut her eyes. And then she turned her head so his kiss slid along her cheek toward her earlobe. He lifted his head and kissed her forehead. Colleen wanted to cry.
When they entered the theater lobby, the warm air hit them like a blast from a furnace. Steve�s face turned pink, then became deathly pale. He wobbled a few steps, then steadied himself and headed toward the ushers who were checking tickets. When he reached an usher, he stopped and, finally, dug the tickets out of the inside pocket of his suit coat after he had checked every other pocket while a line of showgoers built up behind them. The usher tore off the stubs and handed the tickets back to Steve. He dropped them. The usher picked them up and handed them to Colleen. She showed the tickets to an usher at the doorway to the main hall; the usher escorted them to their seats.
Steve sat quietly for a moment, then said, �You�re right. This show is too long. Let�s go home. The tickets were Sandra�s idea.� He laughed. �I�ll send her the tickets and tell her I decided to let her have them.� He stood up. Colleen steadied him, then stood up and helped him find his way out to the lobby.
�C�mon, honey. Let�s go home,� Steve mumbled as he threw his arm across Colleen�s shoulders. He tried to kiss her forehead. She turned away. A taxi drove up to drop off a couple.
�Hold that taxi,� Colleen called to the doorman. She saw him bend down and talk to the driver. The taxi waited. Colleen and the doorman folded Steve into the back seat. �He lives at 1347 East Collins Road. He has his key, and he has enough money to pay for the ride.� She handed the driver a ten. �This is for walking him up to the door and making sure he gets inside.� The driver shook his head and thanked her. She looked at the man in the back seat, then straightened up and turned away. She was not about to go anywhere else with Steve, especially not to his home. Tonight, as other nights, she would go home alone, but first she was going to enjoy a little stroll through the park. It looked safe. She could see several couples wandering among the trees and a pair of police officers slowly crisscrossing the park. She reached in her pocket for her gloves and realized that she still had the tickets. Steve had promised Sandra that the tickets wouldn�t be wasted. The student rush tickets had all been sold, but a few diehards remained in line hoping for last-second ticket turnbacks. Colleen beckoned to the first two students in the line. �C�mon,� she said, �If you hurry, you won�t miss the opening.�
The young men didn�t wait for the offer to be repeated. They grabbed the tickets and called �Thank you, ma�am! Thank you!� over their shoulders as they sped up the stairs and through the doorway. Seconds later, the ushers shut the doors, and the overture began. Colleen made a mental note to send a check for the tickets to Steve in the morning. Then she put on her gloves and walked out of the theater.
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