mcgrew's Journal: The Dinner Party

I met Tammy a few months ago when Tami and Amy brought her by; or rather, she brought them by, as she has a car and they don't. She caught my eye immediately. She's thin, not too tall, and not bad looking.

By "not bad looking" I mean she looks like a nerd. Those glasses really do it for me. Also, she has a job, a car, an apartment, a dog, and as I found out later, a horse that she pays someone to take care of for her. I have no idea how she can afford a horse.

Amy left and Tammy and I got into a conversation about religion, which pissed Tami off, of course. Tami is, after all, Lucy Furr. I got Tammy's number that night, and called her the next day inviting her to a dinner date at D'Arcy's Pint. She accepted the offer, and I was thrilled.

The next day she called me back, worried that I'd demand sex for dinner. "I'm not one of those girls", she said.

"If I thought you were I'd just offer you money," I said. "I like you and just want to have dinner with you." The day of the date came up, and she called me to stand me up. "I'm sick as a dog," she said. "I came down with swine flu."

A likely story. What is it with women, I wondered, that they either have to cruelly put you down or stand you up, instead of politely declining? I started to come to the conclusion that there are two kinds of women -- mysandrists, and cowards. I put Tammy out of my mind, figuring I was out of my mind to think she was serious. That was, as I said, a few months ago.

Then the other night the doorbell rang, and there she stood!

"I had a hard time finding your new place," she said. I invited her in; Amy was there drinking with me, Tammy had a joint with her that she smoked with me.

"You still owe me dinner at D'Arcy's!" she said, grinning. Amy left, and I talked with Tammy for a while before she drove home.

Friday night Tami came by and again we passed out on the couch, me using her fat ass as a pillow. I woke up fairly early to see a light snow had fallen, and was still coming down. It looked like a Christmas card outside. Tami was still asleep on the couch.

I watched an old ST:V tape, and it was like watching a new show; it's been years since I've seen any of them, and in fact I never did see any of the episodes from the last season, as the channel it was on switched to a different network. AFAIK Janeaway's sill in the Delta Quadrant with a Johnnycab as a doctor.

Later on, the phone rang as Tami was cooking. The number wasn't in my address book, as it showed up as a number and not a name, and I figured it was Amy. It sounded like Amy, who's always calling on somebody else's phone, as hers never has any minutes.

"Tt's Tammy!"

"Oh, hi Tammy, what's up?"

"Well, my phone was in my daughter's name and she shut it off on me! And I was paying seventy five bucks a month! What's that phone of yours you were telling me about and where do I get one?"

I told her, and invited her over for a steak dinner that evening, figuring Tami would be going over to Jessie's before he went to work at two. She'd be delighted, she said.

She called back later. "I got my phone!" she said. "Don't let anybody have the number."

But this time I stood her up, unintentionally -- I couldn't get rid of Tami. I told Tammy I'd call her whan I ditched Tami.

Tami was unditchable, and after getting some Christmas presents for her son we wound up at Felber's that night, to find that the Christmas Party was the next night. Rather than passing out on her ass I went to bed.

When I woke up Sunday morning she was gone, the lights were all on, the front door was unlocked and there was a note on the table, written on a receipt I needed to keep. "Bring toys, that bag of clothes, my crock pot, and clothes hangers to Jessie's before 4:00. Don't call, just come over."

Already annoyed at the lit lights and the unlocked door, the tone of the note set me off. I called his phone and left a message for her. I was damned if I'd comply with her orders. Who the fuck does she think she is, anyway? A while later I called Tammy. "I finally got rid of Tami," I said. "You still want that steak dinner?"

"Sure!" she said. "It will be a while later when I come by." Tammy lives in a small town a few miles from Springfield.

"Also, they're having a Christmas party at Felber's, want to go?"

"Sure. I think my brother Eddie goes there if it's the bar I think it is."

After I hung up, Amy called. "I need to talk to you."

"Sorry, Amy, I can't. I have a lunch date." I was blowing off two women for my date with Tammy, as I was sure that Tami was wanting to go to the party with me. She was out of luck.

I hung a few paintings (I'm still not all the way unpacked and had just found my hammer), swept the floor, washed the dishes and cleaned off the table while I waited. By two I decided to call Tammy again.

"I'm feeling terrible," she said. "I had that H1N1 a few months ago and it keeps coming back, I don't have any energy and I haven't had my bath..."

"Damn!" I said. "You're blowing me off again. And I blew off two other girls for our date."

She felt bad. "I'll call you and let you know." It looked like I'd be going to the party alone. But an hour or so later she called back. "You're a shit!" she said. "It's slicker than hell out here!"

"You're coming?" I asked, incredulously.

"I'm halfway there!"

"The party starts at four and there'll be food. Want to just eat the steak tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'm not much of a meat eater anyway."

God but she looked good; I don't think I'd seen her in makeup before. She put her car in my driveway and I drove us to Felber's, passing the Brooklyn. "Oh," she said, "that's the bar my brother goes to."

Felber's was packed. We sat at a table, and I got a draft for me and a bottle for her. We got a plate of food and ate, and one of the bartenders came by and gave us each a raffle ticket. They were having drawings for free drinks.

"Hey!" she said as we were eating, "That's Lori! I know her! Do you know her?"

"Yeah, I know about everybody here."

Then Missey came by. "What are you doing with him? He never comes with anybody respectable!"

Tammy laughed; she knew who I'd been hanging with, the same girls who had introduced me to her. "I grew up with her!" she said. Missey, her brothers, and her mother were all friends of mine; I give her mother rides home from Felber's quite often.

"Her dad's georgeous," she said. "Her mom started drinking after he left her."

Halfway through her beer she asked me to get her a coke; she wasn't feeling well enough for beer. I got her a can out of the machine and used the small room. Tammy had been talking to her old friend while I was in there. "Missey says you're always bringing those girls in here, and you're good to them and they treat you like shit."

I couldn't disagree.

They had the first drawing, and called Tammy's ticket number. She got a free bottle, which I would be drinking.

We had a prett good time, especially considering that she wasn't feeling well. She decided she wanted to go home, so I had Ruthie put my beer in the freezer while I drove her to her car. "Call me and let me know you got home ok", I said. The roads were slicker than snake snot. I went back to Felbers. Folks had started leaving before I took Tammy to her car.

Missey came up. "I've known Tammy all my life," she said. "Our moms used to smoke pot together."

"Well," I said, "I've been praying for a good woman to keep me away from the bad ones. Maybe she's the answer to my prayers."

"I hope so," she said. Tammy called a while later and said she made it ok.

I woke up this morning with a head cold. Everything has its price, I guess.

I am conflicted!

[Abreu]

If McGrew finds a decent lady who can take care of him, then someone I have come to care about will be happy. ...on the other hand, it is well know that there's no muse like misery, and if McGrew is happy, then it means no more entertaining journal posts!

Oh, the conflict!

LOL, just kidding... McGrew, good for you, don't let go of that girl, she sounds like someone nice (and sane)

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[mcgrew]

it is well know that there's no muse like misery

Well, there's always Evil-X. The night before last Leila called in tears about fighting with her, last night both daughters called telling me Evil-X was in the hospital getting emergency surgery. Seems she had a detached retina. [slashdot.org]

Also, I have you guys. You can't have forgotten this one! [slashdot.org]

As to Tammy, I'm not sure she's 100% sane, but if she were she wouldn't want anything to do with a nut like me.

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[Abreu]

LOL, yeah... you took a basic concept and ran with it!

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[Falconhell]

Ditto on the sentiments and the conflict sir!

I worked in the music industry in "various"(-: technical and artistic areas for many years and it was noticeable that the good song writers I knew did their best work at times of angst.

One of the bands I worked for had a rental house that virtually all of them lived in between breakups and it became known amongst them as the
'Lorne Street lonely hearts club".

It was setup with recording gear to take advantage of the angst!

Thanks again McGrew for the fascinating in