The Corner Table at Mickey's Pt. 01

"I didn't expect you here tonight."

She gave a perfunctory smile. "Tom," she called to the bar, "can I get a Hendrick's and tonic?

"Mind if I join you?" she asked Jim.

"Of course not! You look great!"

"Yes, well, thank you." Jim's eyebrows rose at the brittle tone of her words.

She slid into the other side of the booth, dropping her clutch on the table. Tom walked over with her drink and she reached for her purse.

"Put it on my tab," Jim said.

"No, I'll pay!" she said heatedly.

Tom's eyes met Jim's for a second and an almost imperceptible shrug passed between the men. "Sure," he said.

She took a long pull from the drink and leaned back. "So, how was your day?"

"Only fair. I spent time with the lawyers today."

"God, it's hot in here!" Mallory started pulling off her coat. As she turned to work her arm out of the sleeve, her blouse gaped open. The enticing hint of cleavage turned into a rather clear view of a cup of semi-transparent, red lace. Jim couldn't have stopped his eyes from dropping down if he tried. Mallory chose just that moment to turn back.

"My eyes are up here!" Her tone was frosty.

"I was—"

She cut him off, "Jeez, what is it with you guys? The only thing that seems to interest you is tits and ass."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

Again, she cut him off. "Yeah, I'm sure you're sorry. I'm sure if I ask Tom here if he checked out my ass walking across the room, he'll tell me he's sorry. The asshole I was out with was sorry fifteen minutes ago when he slid his hand where it didn't belong even after I said no. Yeah, well, fuck sorry!"

Jim looked at her, at a loss for words. "Okaaay. I meant it though."

She ignored that. "Why does every woman on the planet have to put up with being nothing more than a piece of meat for you fucking Neanderthals just because you buy us dinner?"

Jim had a tight smile on his face as he stood. He pulled out his wallet and dropped a couple of bills on the bar. "That should cover it. Night, Tom," he said.

"See ya later, Jim," Tom replied, his face carefully blank.

Jim turned back to face Mallory's challenging stare. "Yeah, I looked. Any straight guy on the planet would likely look for a second when a woman's blouse opens across the table from him because—NEWS FLASH!—straight guys like breasts and they catch our eyes. But I wouldn't have sat there staring. I'd have looked away immediately. But it caught me by surprise, and you turned back before I could. It wasn't intentional and I'm very sorry if it embarrassed you.

"However, if you could tell me that you've never, in your entire life, let your eyes wander at the gym or the beach, or checked out what was in a pair of tight jeans, then maybe I'll consider owing you more of an apology than that.

"Until that time—which I think is about as likely to happen as pigs flying given the eye candy you date—have a nice evening." He gave a curt nod and started for the door before turning back to say, "And, for the record, I have never treated a woman like that because I bought her dinner. Ever!" He stalked out of the bar.

As he drove home, he heard his cell phone ding with an incoming text. He ignored it.

There was another a few seconds later.

Just as he got the house, a third came and he looked at the screen once he was in the driveway.

≪ Two minutes after you walked away, I felt like a total bitch. You're right what you said and Tom also ripped me a new one after you left.

≪ Reserve right to think date was an asshole though.

≪ Pls come Tuesday and let me grovel.

"I'm sorry for how I acted Friday night. I was totally out of line. You didn't do anything wrong."

Mallory's expression was shamefaced as she continued, "Of course you'd notice if I accidentally flashed a little. Anyone would. And, it was inexcusable for me to imply what I did about you. Please forgive me."

"Okay." He wasn't ready to pretend it never happened but, once or twice recently, he had found himself close to losing his temper with his employees over trivial things and knew that sometimes anger spilled over to unintended, and undeserving, targets. He was willing to cut her some slack.

"Thank you," she said, "and to you, too," she added to Tom as he set drinks in front of them.

"I get that your date was a jerk, but you seemed kind of over the top, Mallory. I know it's none of my business but, if you want to talk ..."

She looked at him ruefully. "I kind of made it your business, huh?"

He shook his head. "No, not really. If you want to vent, though, as someone said to me: I'm a good listener." Just as she had done when she made a similar offer, he gave her a moment to think by turning his attention to Tom who was back for their food order.

"The usual, Tom," he said. "I always wanted to have a usual," he laughed, "but I never ate anywhere regularly enough for it to happen." He settled back with his Guinness.

She gave her order to Tom and sipped her club soda.

"As you can probably guess, it was a blind date."

"Not Josh?" he asked.

She shook her head. "This was a cousin of a friend of a friend. Anyway, we had a drink and then dinner. I thought we both enjoyed it. When we got out to the car afterward, he asked if I'd like to go to his place for a drink." She looked down at her glass, rotating it between her hands.

"I knew what he meant, but I wasn't upset at that point. It's just a question and some women are okay with that on a first date. It's the twenty-first century and, if that's someone's choice, well," she shrugged, "get it, girl!"

"But I don't move quite that fast, so I told him no, thank you. I went to kiss him on the cheek, but he turned it into a lip lock. While I tried to figure out how to calm things down, I felt his hand halfway up under my skirt. When I pushed him away, I got the cliché bit about how I should just relax 'cause he knew I'd enjoy it and a hand on my thigh again. When I disabused him of that notion, I got the second cliché about much he had just spent on drinks and dinner. At that point, I got out and took an Uber here."

Jim frowned. "It's okay to think of him as an asshole," he said, "but how did he become Tom and me?"

She shook her head at his innocence. "I don't think I've ever met anyone nearly that crude before, but the mentality isn't uncommon. Most guys are looking for sex by the second date ... third at the latest. The good ones will wait a bit longer, but the expectation to put out is there."

Jim didn't know what to say. He could hardly argue that guys weren't thinking about sex. Back before his marriage, he usually thought about sex from the moment he was attracted to a girl. On the other hand, if he assured her that not all guys—himself, for example—felt the girl owed him sex, well, in her mood she'd probably assume it was just typical guy bullshit.

Mallory misinterpreted his silence as judgment. Her voice sharpened. "Look, I'm not a prude! I just feel that a girl has the right to decide how quickly she wants to be that intimate with a guy, whether that's after three dates or three months or never."

"I wasn't implying you were a prude, Mallory. I just don't agree with the blanket generalization. I've got four sisters I'm very close to, plus I have ... had ... a wife. I've heard the stories of what they encountered. And while some it wasn't so great, some of it was, which is why each of them is married."

"Maybe you should have been on some of my dates."

"Maybe you're dating the wrong type of men," he responded mildly.

He didn't notice the flicker of eye contact between Mallory and Tom at that statement or Tom's raised eyebrows that said, "See? Consensus."

She took a long sip of her drink. After a moment, a thought occurred to her and she got concerned. "Have I offended you? I wasn't lumping you in that category."

"No, of course not." His voice was bone dry.

"Seriously, I don't think you're that way."

"Well, thank you for that," he said.

"Be honest, did I offend you?"

"I'm struggling valiantly against it," he said, trying to inject a little levity.

"Are you winning the struggle?"

"Yes," he smiled.

"Good! I came to apologize, not to dig my hole deeper. Thank you for letting me vent, though, and thank you for not hating me over Friday night."

He nodded. "Any time."

After a second, she gave him a sly grin, "You started it, though."

"Started what?"

"The insults."

"What!"

"You told me I was unattractive as a potential date."

"I did not, and you know it!"

"Sure, sure, so you say now," she said dismissively, still grinning. "Oh, look, here's our food!"

Jim nearly bumped into a woman as he stepped out of the conference room doorway. "Sorry!" he said automatically. "Robin!"

"The Jim!" she responded with a grin.

They both stepped to the side as someone came out behind him. "Oh ... uh ... hey, Anthony," she said to the second man.

Anthony nodded in greeting. "Robin."

He turned to Jim. "I'll file these and—what's it been, four or five weeks?—it'll all be over in two–three months. It may not satisfy your ego but, trust me: I've handled a million of these, and this is far less agita in the long run."

Jim wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "Nah, this is exactly what I wanted."

"Good. Catch ya later," Anthony said and headed down the hall.

When Anthony had started speaking to Jim, Robin had given a little "nice to see you" smile and moved on her way so as not to intrude on Jim's conversation with his attorney. Now he called after her, "Hey, Robin, hold up a second."

She turned back and waited for him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to ignore you there," he said.

She waved off the apology.

"How have you been?" he asked her.

"Good! I'd ask you the same, but I know what kind of law Anthony practices so I'm sorry," she answered. The two of them turned and walked side by side toward the main doors of the courthouse.

"It's old news at this point. This was just a meeting to get her to see reason."

"On separation or spousal support?"

"The separation. She won't agree, but I pointed out that she couldn't stop it in the long run."

"That changed her mind?"

"I'm not certain. I tried to nail it down by hinting that I could always change the grounds to adultery, and she could live through that circus." He looked sheepish for a second. "It was dirty pool, I guess. I knew Anthony had already pointed out adultery makes you ineligible for alimony in Pennsylvania." He shrugged. "We'll see. I give it fifty-fifty she's just regrouping, not reconciled."

At the mention of adultery, Robin's mental eyebrows had gone up. So, this is Mallory's guy who doesn't deserve what he's got on his plate. I didn't catch any whiff of that the other day. Out loud, "Divorces for fault require evidence."

"I know," he replied. "But it was a bluff. I don't want to see her humiliated. I just want her to move on. If she continues to balk, I'll just wait the year for the irretrievably broken marriage thing."

She looked him up and down appraisingly. "Good for you! Anyway"—she put out her hand—"I have to scoot, but I hope I'll see you around again. After all, you owe me a meal and I always collect my debts."

He laughed and shook. "You betcha."

She turned and then looked back. "I'm still sorry for your situation but"—she flashed him a big smile—"I'm glad to hear you weren't the bad boy!"

Buoyed by the encounter, Jim headed for Mickey's. He was glad he was working tonight. It had been a very long week and a half once he handed Lori the papers, ranging from sobbing to begging to screaming on her part, and sorely tried patience on his.

His final "We're done, Lori. I still don't think you're being honest, and I just can't do it anymore" was met with, "We're not done. I won't agree." The frightened look on her face said she heard the other part of his statement, even if she ignored it. He had moved his things into the guest room early on, but even that was becoming less of a refuge from her efforts.

That evening he looked up from taking glasses out of the dishwasher when he heard, "How's the bartending gig going?"

Addison slid onto the stool across from him. "Gimlet, please."

"Sure. Bombay Sapphire, right?"

She nodded.

"I'm enjoying it so far," he replied as he pulled out a glass and put the drink together. "Wednesdays are slow enough that I'm not stressed, and I like the people, both the ones who work here and some of my friends who stop in. What brings you in here again so soon?"

"Well, if you mean this area, then it's because I'm now the regional sales manager and my guy in this area is just starting, so I hold his hand on some of the big accounts."

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you very much." She dipped her head in acknowledgment. "If you mean this bar, well, maybe I'm one of those friends you mentioned who stop in."

Jim looked at her with mild surprise. She glanced left and right; there was no one sitting anywhere near her. "I thought I might try to pick up where I left off." She saw the look of puzzlement and clarified, "Flirting. With ever-decreasing subtlety."

His expression moved from puzzled to startled. She smirked. "The last time I was here, it didn't escape my notice that you are no longer wearing a wedding ring." She watched his face as she said that and was glad to see he didn't seem upset.

"So, you jumped to the conclusion that ..." he asked, giving a little yada-yada wave.

"Well, it's possible I was in here earlier and asked Tom if you were still married, and he gave me a very non-responsive answer. It's also possible that I interpreted that to mean maybe technically yes, but perhaps, in practice, the answer was no." She was grinning broadly now.