My daughter asked me why I was going out with Saul. “You know what he did, Mom,” she said. “Why bother with him? He makes poor choices.”

 “Made,” I said. “He made a bad decision and paid for it. I think people deserve a second chance,” I told Elizabeth. **

Since I started dating, I’ve made it a habit always to tell my daughter my plans. She knows where I’m going and with whom. For added security, she bought me an Apple watch so she could track me. You never know where I might end up!

Saul offered to pick me up. I hadn’t been in anyone else’s car except my daughter’s for a very long time. I’m more comfortable having my own vehicle. But I don’t like driving in the rain at night, and it was raining, so I accepted Saul’s offer.

Saul came to my home on our date night. I did not invite him in. I got into his old Toyota Camry and wondered what he drove when he was a hot-shot lawyer. I knew my thoughts were judgmental, and I don’t like that trait in other people, but that’s what I was doing.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“It’s a new place in Bloomfield,” he responded. My office is in Bloomfield, and I hadn’t heard of anything new opening there.  As Saul elaborated, I knew the restaurant. The ownership of this establishment had changed many times and recently reopened as a family-style Italian place. I sent a text to Elizabeth, letting her know.

“Anything important?” he asked, taking his eyes off the road to observe what I was doing.

“What do you mean?” I responded, pretending not to get the gist of what he was saying..

“You’re sending a text. I was wondering if it was something important,” said Saul. He was trying to see what I’d written. I thought he should be watching where he was going. 

“I like to let my daughter know where I am.”

“I see,” he said. His attention went back to the road. We arrived at our destination a few minutes later.

The restaurant hadn’t changed from its previous layout; a semi-circular, open floor plan with a bar in the middle of the room. It’s very popular with the weekday lunch crowd. The restaurant’s outside wall is glass, ceiling to floor. The view looks out over a park-like landscape that includes a manufactured pond that’s pretty in the daytime but, at night, offers nothing but darkness.

Although Saul said the new owners were his friends, no one was there slapping him on the back, welcoming him in, saying, “How ya doin’?” Only families were there—parents and children—eating their pasta, wearing sweatshirts and jeans.

This is what I dressed up for? 

We were escorted to a table, and Saul immediately pulled out a Daily Racing Form. He was going to teach me how to read it. He’d gone to great lengths highlighting specific aspects of the paper, and never stopped talking. We managed to get in a drink order, but Saul’s lecture continued. The server must have returned to the table three or four times before Saul finally shut up about horseracing, enabling us to put in our dinner order. By that time, most of the dinner crowd was gone.

Our meals arrived, and we ate while Saul continued talking. We were the only patrons remaining. From my seat, I could see three women standing at the bar looking impatient:  our server, the manager, and the hostess. Our eyes met. I knew they wanted to close up. Saul’s back was to them.  I excused myself to go to the ladies’ room.  As I passed the three ladies, I told them to bring the check to the table and that I’d do my best to hurry things along.

When I returned, the bill for dinner was there. As soon as I sat down, Saul resumed his racing stories. I asked if he wanted to split the dinner check.

“Sure,” he replied. Was that the answer I wanted? No. But we had to leave. So, I put my card on the billfold. Saul never made a move. His eyes darted everywhere except at me or the dinner check’s direction. 

He knew exactly what he was doing. He was a pro at this. 

The server walked by. Saul pretended not to see her pick up the billfold with only my card on it. When she returned with the receipt for signature, he feigned surprise.

“Oh, did she come by already?” he asked innocently.

“Yes, she did, Saul,” I responded. Saul thanked me. I couldn’t look at him.

There was no need to be mad or surprised. I’d been warned. I knew Saul was a snake when I accepted this date. So why be shocked that he bit? Also, he was driving. I wanted to get home safely. 

Dinner came to slightly over $100. Saul drove me home. He asked to see me again. 

“I’m leaving for Florida soon,” I told him. Saul responded that he was going away, too, but he’d call when he returned.  

He did call.  

I never answered.

** I later found out that he declared bankruptcy, so he didn’t have to repay his debt to the clients he screwed, but hindsight is 20/20. 

© Miriam Greenberg, and the blog Love In The Time Of Corona, beginning April 2022 to the Present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Miriam Greenberg and Love In The Time Of Corona with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.