“It wasn’t all that manky,” Millie offered. “Just cluttered.”
“It was a dump. You can be honest here.”
It was easy for them to laugh together, to chat and be close. As the meats arrived and sizzled before our very eyes, the dinner conversation maintained its levity. Millie told us both about her travels. I’d traveled widely in my younger years, specifically to London and Glasgow, where I studied the greats. Afterwards, I settled down in Chicago and had been there ever since. Her dreamy eyes never seemed to lose mine. More than anything, Millie knew how to listen and be present. She could banter back and forth with Caleb and myself, almost as if she’d studied every subject in the world. In a way, I guess she had.
Millie Jackson was a renaissance woman, a jack of all trades, and I began to wonder what other skills might be lying behind that picturesque smile. I had never seen a woman so sultry and composed at the same time.
It was a delightful two hours we spent getting to know one another. I was jealous of Caleb, but grateful that he’d decided to share. Millie had enough energy for the both of us, and as the evening lengthened and nobody made a move to end it, I could tell that we were all going to be good friends.
The waitress came back and bussed our tables, refilled our drinks, and asked us if we wanted dessert. I ordered a little plate of rice cakes just to keep the evening going. I didn’t want to leave. Millie was a breath of fresh air and a welcome change to all the days of stiff-lipped intellectuals and apathetic undergrads. Even as she tasted one of my bite-sized desserts, she made each taste look like an indulgence.
“Do you want to try some, Caleb?” she asked him.
“I’m fine,” he assured her. “It’s nice to see you enjoying yourself.”
The waitress came back with our check, and it was time for Caleb and me to tussle again.
“I got it,” I told him.
“No, I got it,” he replied.
“You got the last one.”
“The last one was less expensive,” Caleb argued.
I countered. “I make more money.”
“You don’t know how much money I make.”
“I have a good idea.”
“If you two want to arm wrestle over this,” Millie interjected. “I’m going to run to the bathroom, if you’ll excuse me, Caleb.”
She smiled my way before sliding out of the booth. As she took her purse, I could’ve sworn her fingers brushed over Caleb’s exposed skin. It might have been a trick of the light or the sake going to my head, but a flicker of jealousy consumed me. Caleb’s smile told me it wasn’t a trick at all. As he settled back into his seat, my friend was far more agreeable.
“Fine,” he relented, allowing me to sign the paper slip and leave my credit card in the billfold.
“You know, you should consider yourself a lucky man,” I remarked. “She’s a great catch.”
“Who? Millie?”
“No, the other woman here tonight,” I teased sarcastically.
Caleb shifted again. “I’m not sure if she’s interested.”
“Oh, I think she is,” I argued. “Just look at the way she’s so relaxed when she speaks about you...”
“We’re working together, Warren. It would be crossing a boundary.”
“But what about after?”
“After?” he echoed.
“When your paper’s published, what will you do then?”
“I don’t know.” Caleb sighed. “I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
Even a blind man could tell he was smitten, but conflict drew fine lines in his face and made his eyes look distantly across the restaurant. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to trade places with him. It might be very difficult to work with Millie day in and day out without being able to act on any of the desires elicited by her laughter, her looks, and her lingering smiles, but I wasn’t bound by honor to stay on the sidelines.
I had a chance, and I thought she might be interested. Something about the way she’d leaned into the conversation made me think that Caleb and I were about to enter a new kind of competition, but who would win Millie’s affections?
I was looking forward to finding out.