Coffee, Tea or Three?

"I'd love to see her," Bobby said. "Do you think she'd mind if I came Saturday night?"

"Oh, I think she'd be fine with that. I'll let her know and will ask her to leave you a ticket at the box office."

--

Bobby was walking on air for two days. On Saturday evening he got to the theater plenty early. He'd made sure he dressed and looked and smelled good. He picked up his ticket and there was a brief note paper-clipped to it. It read: 'Hi Bobby, So glad you could come! Meet me at the foot of the stage right after the show. Bree'.

It was a great seat. Center section, third row, aisle seat. He looked around the small theater. It seated three or four hundred and had high ceilings, chandeliers and a small balcony. There was a band tuning up on one side of the floor. He read through the playbill and saw Bree's name in a few different places: artist-in-residence, choreography, and in several different numbers. The show was an olio of song and dance numbers from Broadway musicals.

The show was very professionally done even though most of the performers were amateurs. Bobby was particular impressed with the chick named Bree. Not only with her dancing, but her singing! The girl had a beautiful set of pipes to go along with the rest of her which was pretty damn good too. She sang 'Cabaret' and he felt like she was singing directly to him. It brought the house down and he had half a hard-on by the time it was over.

After the show the lights went up and the audience streamed toward the rear exits but Bobby had a short walk to the stage. Bree was there in seconds, in costume and caked with make-up.

"Hi, Bobby!" she squealed, and leapt into his arms. She gave him a big hug and Bobby put his arms around her and hugged her too. It felt so good. "Thank you for coming. It's so nice to see you."

"God, Bree, you were great! What a wonderful show, and I didn't know you could sing like that!"

"Oh, thank you, so glad you liked it. We worked hard on it."

"It shows!"

"Want to go get a drink or something?" she asked.

"Absolutely!"

"Great. Meet me around back at the stage entrance. Give me about fifteen minutes, okay? I need to change and get cleaned up. See ya." She kissed him on the cheek and disappeared backstage.

--

Bobby had pulled his car around back and was leaning against the driver's door when Bree emerged from the back of the theater. She was a beautiful sight for his sore eyes. She wore the same tight jeans and red sweater she'd worn on the night they'd met. The pancake had been washed from her face and she looked delectable. She strutted toward him with a gym bag in her hand. Bobby opened the passenger door for her and she got in.

They went to a small neighborhood bar a few blocks from the theater and sat in a booth facing one another. They ordered a pitcher of beer. Bobby suggested food but Bree said she was too wound up to eat.

"God, it's good to see you," Bobby said.

"It's good to see you too," Bree said. "Thank you for coming tonight. It means so much."

They talked and tried to catch up. Bree told Bobby how sorry she was that they had lost touch. He said he was too. They talked about the show. She told him how she'd become involved with the production.

"My old dance teacher is on the faculty at the university, in the Theater Arts and Dance Department. She was always an inspiration and a mentor and she always encouraged me. We've kept in touch over the years. Anyway a few months ago she asked if I could help her put the show together, perform and coach and mentor the cast. She had some extra money in the budget. I said yes and here I am."

"The show was great. And you look great. And God, I knew you could dance but had no idea you could sing like that. You are amazing!"

"Thank you," she said. "We were pretty happy with the result." She reached over and touched Bobby's hand. "It's so good to see you. I'm glad Mom called you. I wanted to but I kept putting it off. I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"That you wouldn't want to see me."

"Not a chance," Bobby said. "Once she called I couldn't wait for tonight." He took her hand and raised it to his lips and kissed it. He detected wetness in her eyes.

"I'll be right back," Bree said, and she rose to go to the restroom. Bobby ordered another pitcher of beer.

Bree returned, sat down and took a swig of beer.

"I heard you had a fling with my mother," she said, and took another swig.

"Yes, I took your advice. It seemed to happen kind of naturally. I'm sorry, but ..."

"Don't apologize, it's okay. I put you up to it and I knew you'd go for it. I knew she needed to get laid, and I figured you may as well be the lucky guy. But I never figured you'd go to bed with my grandmother!"

This surprised him. "Oh, now that, uh, that was an accident. I had cleaned her gutters and my clothes were filthy and a really bad storm came and then..."

"It's okay, Bobby, it's okay. She must have needed it too." After a short pause she added, "Maybe you've found your true calling."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Gigolo."

Bobby was drinking and he laughed so hard beer came out of his nose. Bree laughed too and raised her mug and they toasted.

"Think about it," she said. "You're only man on Earth who's done all three of us."

Bobby smiled sheepishly and stared at his beer.

"And you know, Bobby, you may not realize it, but you've had a very profound effect on my mom and grandmother."

"Who, me? How so?"

"Not long before the night we all met my mom had just kind of dumped a nerdy guy she'd been seeing. We liked meeting you guys and she was attracted to you and she has her needs so it made sense for you two to hook up even it was only temporary. But you really made her feel good about herself. She told me about you going to the party with her and how you praised her for her knowledge and called her 'Doctor' and encouraged her to back to school. And now that's what she's doing."

"Really? That's great."

"Yes, and she credits you for helping her to get there. Not long after that party she met a man and they've become pretty serious about each other. He's an ophthalmologist who came to work in her clinic for three weeks while her boss was on vacation. His name is Gerry. He was just as impressed with her expertise as you were. And now she's taking classes, and making plans to join his practice as an optometrist.

"And my grandmother was in kind of a rut when you went over to her house and fell in the mud. She had lost a dear friend, a man she'd been very close to, the year before. And she was stuck in a major funk and couldn't get out. There was this man named Moe, another old hippie who owns five or six health food stores, and he had been asking her out for months but she'd been turning him down. But whatever clicked between you and her that day did the trick. You made her feel sexy and desirable again and she got up the courage to call Moe and see if his invitation was still good. It was and now they're talking about moving in together."

"Wow, that's great. I'm very happy for her. And Summer too."

Summer took another drink of beer and took a deep breath.

"Which brings me to this: Now I've come to a crossroad in my life and I'm not sure what to do."

Bobby squeezed her hand. "What is it?"

"Thank you for listening. It feels good to talk about it. A few weeks ago I found out my roommate is giving up the apartment when the lease is up. I have to decide whether to try to keep it, find a new roommate in a city full of lunatics, or try to find another place, which is no easy task. All while working and trying to hustle for gigs.

"Or, I have another opportunity which has come up. My old teacher has offered me a staff position here at the university working in her department. I would assist on all the productions, recitals, auditions, as well as any other chores they have for me. But I would work on choreography and be involved in the creative process, which I love, and mentor the students if they needed individual help. The job wouldn't pay a whole lot, but would be livable, and one of the perks is I could take three course credits for free every semester and in the summer sessions to work toward a degree. But I'd have to find a place to live, get a car, and uproot my life from what it's been the last few years.

"So, do I keep slogging away in New York, scuffling for work, and give up on a dream? Or do I move back, take a job I know I'd enjoy and be good at, but play it safe?"

"You could look at it as a great opportunity, a new chapter in your life. The free classes are a great bonus. And if you would need to make extra money, I know I could book us a few gigs a week as a duo; with your looks and your voice we'd be golden. But the main point is this: You've gained incredible experience the last few years. And that experience could actually have a priceless effect on the students you come in contact with. It could be very rewarding for you and for them."

"You really think so?"

"Of course!"

"That's what my teacher said."

"She's right. I'd bet few if any people in that department have had the experience you have. All the auditions, the casting calls, and the performances you've done. That could be invaluable to younger students."

The second pitcher was almost empty. Bobby poured what was left of the beer into their mugs. Each mug had about two mouthfuls in it.

"Are you busy tomorrow night?" Bree asked.

"I just cleared my slate," Bobby said.

"Tomorrow's matinee is our final performance. Afterwards we have a cast party which I must attend for an hour or so. After that I'm going to dinner with Mom and Gerry and my grandmother and Moe. It's Gerry's treat. Would you come with me?"

Bobby hesitated. "You don't think that might be a little awkward?"

"No, not at all. Please come, I don't want to be a fifth wheel. The women all agree it is a good idea. And the men both said they'd love to meet you. And don't worry, neither one of them knows that you got there first."

Bobby blushed and Bree grinned. "Okay," he said.

"Great," she said. "And you know where we're going? The seafood place you took me to."

"Flounder Fred's!"

"That's right. And after dinner and the old folks leave, we can have a little time to ourselves."

Bobby drove Bree to Summer's house. They had a nice kiss in his car and he waited until she was in the house and flashed the porchlight before he drove off.

--

Dinner was set for seven-thirty. After a brief stop at the Holiday Inn down the block, Bobby arrived early and waited in the lobby. At about five minutes till seven the older folks arrived. Summer looked fine as ever in a red dress and with longer hair, now several inches down her back. Ella was slim and vibrant in a tight black top and baggy flowery pants. He was pleasantly surprised when Summer and Ella both hugged him without hesitation, thus breaking any ice.

Introductions had just been made when a taxi pulled up to the front entrance and Bree appeared. They were seated promptly and dinner went well. Summer and Ella gave him a sideways glance here and there but it was not uncomfortable at all. Conversation was free and easy, often focused on Bree's production, and Bobby really enjoyed it. Gerry was a handsome guy, maybe a few years older than Summer, and had a pretty good sense of humor. And Moe was a real piece of work, big and bold, funny as hell and had a ponytail almost as long as Ella's.

After dinner they all said their goodbyes in the lobby. By this time the place had thinned out so they took a private booth in the bar and ordered cognacs. Drinks they could nurse and extend the evening. At first they talked about how well dinner had gone and how much they both liked Gerry and Moe. Then the conversation shifted to Bree's dilemma. A decision would have to be made soon.

"When are you going back to New York? How long will you be in town?" Bobby asked. By this time they were holding hands.

"A few days," she said. "There's no rush. I have some days off from the day job and no gigs lined up. I've been concentrating on the work here for the last few weeks, commuting back and forth a lot. Now that it's over it's kind of a letdown, like 'Now what?', you know what I mean?"

"I think so," Bobby said softly. They were peering into each other's' eyes, and all four were glistening.

Bobby reached into his pocket and took out a room key from the Holiday Inn down the street and put it on the table. He'd reserved a room hoping for the best.

Bree's eyes became leaky saucers. She smiled but started crying softly. Then she reached into her purse and pulled out a room key from the Holiday Inn down the street and put it on the table next to the other one. Her smile widened but her tears increased.

Bobby grinned and took her other hand in his and squeezed both and felt her squeezing him back.

"Well, well," he said. "It's true: Great minds think alike!"

Fortunately they were able to shift one of the reservations to the following night. Bobby figured he had two days to convince her that moving back home was the right thing to do.