I was running late due to a previouse appointment that had run longer then expected. I got a shower and grabbed my things. Angel asked if she could come and I responded “Sure”!
We traveled up 95. Angel would navigate the way with directions printed out from the internet. I knew were were in the area when buildings started to look familliar. I then spotted the Silver Diner that was supposed to be accross from the Commmon Grounds. I parked the car and started hunting for change. I found one quarter and a few dimes. I entered all the coins into a meter and I stated that I only had 30 minuts (25 cents worth). I wished that it had stated that only quarters would be credited for time.
We walked around a fenced parking lot for taxies. Angel held on to me tightly as traffic rushed by. Although she had on her cloak, she still felt chili. I had on a pair of shorts and a short sleeve shirt, but I was doing just fine.
I read the numbers accross each door until I finally found 3211. It was for a Moraccan restauraunt. I proceeded into the restaurant and saw that there was a large gathering of elderly couples. Angel immediately turned around and I soon followed.
We agreed to head back to the car to drop off our writing supplies and then walk around the area. On the other side of the Silver Diner, I found Common Grounds. This appeared to be a coffee shop and was definately the kind of place that I would imaging a writing group hanging out. I poked my head in the door and looked around for any familliar faces from Thursday night. No one could be seen. I would have stayed for a cup of Jo but I have been avoiding caffine like the plague for the past 5 years.
On our way out, we noticed a Petco store that was hidden within the sceenery. We went in and looked around. I saw some fire bellied frogs and she found a pretty cool lizard. We walked around the store and found some cat toys. We picked up some balls with detatchable tails for our newest addition to the family, Skyler. I’m sure some of the other eight cats may enjoy the toys as well. I paid for the toys and asked for an additional dollar in quarters for change.
We headed back to the car. Six minutes were left on the meter and I put in enough to cover us for the next three hours. It was three o’clock and I hadn’t eaten yet. We went over to the Silver Diner. I ordered a strawberry milk shake and a hickory smoked burger. Angel passed. She had eaten already.
She was writing on a small note pad. We began by playing a game of tic-tac-toe. I had “X”’s, and she had “O”’s. It had gotten to the point where it was my turn and I had paused. I thought she had caught on that I had won. After a moment, I placed the last “X” and she put her head in her arms and laughed. She then proceeded to make a game of hang man. She hid the paper from view as she prepared it. The following dashes were available:
_ - _ _ _ _ - _ _ _
I had an immediate guess as to what it was.
“I”
She wrote down “I” in the first space.
“L”
She giggled and took the paper back. As I had figured “I love you”. She then began to suggest that we draw at the same time and see what we make. I didn’t know what to do, so I just made some doodling patterns that I usually make at my meetings. After a while she flipped the page and started writing with her left hand at variouse parts of the page. She is a right-handed person, so the letters looked funny. I proceeded to write with my right hand, but upside down, so she could read:
I love and Angel, yes I do
I love an Angel
because she loves me to
She was getting tired of waiting and my food had just arrived. I offered her some, but she still declined. As I began to eat, she began swinging her legs like a child - impatient.
“Is everything ok?”
She wrote on her papger “I’m bored. I want to walk”.
I tried to hurry, but the meal was rather large. She started flipping through the replicated Antique Juke Box at the table and tried to push letters for some of the songs. I already spent our quarters on the meter, so I couldn’t offer any more to her.
After I was done, the cook came around and mentioned that he would get our check. I started to take out my credit card and he offered to take care of it. I was impressed, because I usually have to wait for a waiter to come back with a check and then wait longer for them to come back to take my card, and then wait longer for them to come back with my card. The cook came back promptly. I signed the card with a tip and we left the Diner.
Angel and I had walked around some more.
“All I see are car dealerships”, she said.
I agreed and we turned around. We decided to head back home and call it a day. Throughout the walk back to the car and the drive home, she held on to me tightly and said all the things that she liked about me. She was pleased at how I would put up with a lot of things that a lot of other men wouldn’t, and that I was the person who she had been wishing for before we met.
I would listen, but was at a loss for words to respond with. I didn’t feel like all of these things. I wasn’t a hero. I was just … I was just me. I was just happy that someone accepted me for all of my short commings. For all the things that I felt bad about, they didn’t matter to her.
We arrived home. Although we didn’t make it to the group of writers, we were happy that we still had each other.
Tags: Arlington, VA, Virginia, Trip, Angel, Silver Diner, Common Grounds, Cloak, Chili, Moraccan, Restaurant, Coffee Shop, Caffine, Petco, Hidden, Store, Fire Bellied Frogs, Frogs, Lizard, Cat Toys, Skyler, Meter, Strawberry, Milk Shake, Hickory, Burger, Game, Tic-Tac-Toe, Hang Man, I Love You, Doodle, Love, Tired, Impatient, Bored, Juke Box, Antique, Cook, Waiter, Diner, Tip, Hero, Happy
