First Meeting, Conclusion

Mark, oblivious to the sudden tension, stood up to pull out the fourth chair for Lois, who stood frozen in place her normal warm smile frozen on her face.  “Schoppe, this is Lois Allen.  Lois, this is Bill,” he said by way of introduction.

At Anna’s touch, Bill came back from wherever he’d been.  He blinked and normal color returned to his face.  He took a deep breath and pushed his chair back.  “Sorry for my lack of manners,” he said.  “Glad to meet you.”  He stuck out a hand and smiled.  “Lois.”

Bill’s dark stare pinned Lois’s green-hazel eyes.  She hesitated and for a minute he thought she would refuse his hand.  Then she reached out and he enveloped her hand in his big, warm, rough mitt.

“Glad to meet you too,” she said and exposed her straight white teeth in a big, warm smile.  Her eyes crinkled slightly at the corners over her high cheekbones and her dark, curly hair glowed in the dim light filtering through the swirling smoke.

Smoke.  Goddamn, I need a smoke.  Bill reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a crumpled pack of Camel’s and stuck one of the cigarettes between his lips.  He dug around in his pants pocket for his lighter, pulled out a battered silver Zippo lighter and flipped the lid open.  He lit the end, sucked in a lungful of calming smoke and blew it out his nostrils.  “Care for a smoke?”  He held the pack out to Lois.

She wrinkled her aquiline nose and her thick dark eyebrows pulled inward.  “No thank you, I don’t smoke,” she said.  She averted her face to talk to 

Anna and sipped bubbly brown liquid from a sweating glass. 

“Buy you a fresh drink?”  Bill pointed to her glass.

Anna stopped talking and Mark sat back with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

“No thank you.  I don’t drink,” came the haughty reply.

“Looks like you’re drinking something.  I’ll get you another.” Bill waved a hand in the general direction of the bar.

Lois set her glass down and turned flashing eyes on him.  “It’s Coke and I said no thank you.”

Bill sat back and ran a hand over his head.  “Jeez, lady.  I’m just trying to be friendly.”  His heart thudded.  Beautiful and feisty.  Just like Eloisa. 

“I have plenty of friends.”  Lois said through a tight smile. 

Mark burst out laughing.  “She just shot you down old boy.” 

Anna grinned.  “Guess you can’t win them all, Bill.”  She tipped her glass his way before taking a drink.

 “Come on, gang, drink up.  Let’s get some dinner.”  Mark chugged down the rest of his drink.  “Then maybe go dancing?”

“Yes, that sounds swell,” said Anna.

“Swell,” Bill agreed, glancing at Lois from under his dark brows.

Lois shrugged.  “Sure, I have nothing better to do.”

Mark guffawed.  “Hot damn, baby,” he flung an arm around his wife and pulled her close, “this is gonna be fun!”

“Indeed, it is,” she said.  She smiled at her girlfriend and winked. 

Lois shrugged and drank the rest of her Coke in silence. 

 

*Note: This account of how Mom & Dad met is my version of what Mom told me. The conversations are made-up and I've given their friends names because I can't remember their real ones. Also, the part about the picture is fictionalized, but based on a real picture Dad had in his WWII memory box, which as far as I know is still in there.