Page 74 of Just for Tonight

“Deal.” A moment later she puts a plate of fried calamari between us and takes off her hair net. She shakes her head and all those bouncy red curls are loose.

“You didn’t have to close for me.”

“It’s slow tonight anyway.” Merrie comes around the counter as I pour her a glass and we toast each other before she even slides into the seat beside mine. “The fish chick stopped in today and I couldn’t resist this.”

I can smell the calamari and my stomach growls in anticipation. Merrie’s is the best I’ve ever had, which is saying something given the quantity of calamari I’ve eaten in my lifetime. The batter is so thin and perfectly golden. The squid is tender and fresh—and her homemade aioli is irresistible.

I grab one, dip it and pop it into my mouth, then my eyes widen in surprise.

That is not calamari.

“Playing around tonight,” she says as if she hasn’t noticed my reaction. “I wanted to see how the jalapenos came out if I blanched them first. What do you think?”

“Unexpected,” I manage to say.

She smiles. “You can see the difference between them and the calamari, if you look. The green shows through the batter.”

“But I wasn’t looking.” I see now that the platter is mixed.

“You will now.”

I have a calamari, a sip of wine, then another jalapeno. “I like how fresh they taste, especially in comparison.”

“I like to mix things up a bit, as you know.”

I nod, mumble agreement and we eat companionably for a few minutes. It’s very quiet. The gas fire is flickering on the hearth on the other side of the restaurant and appliances in the kitchen hum quietly as they go about their business. Only the occasional car drives down Queen Street. There’s a light on in the closed shop across the street, the one with the papered windows, but the paper diffuses the light to a glow.

“So, who is he?” Merrie asks finally when she’s finished eating and is just savoring the wine. “Or who was he?”

“He was a hook-up, who kept happening. I asked if it was becoming a thing, and he bailed.”

“Boo. No more sex.”

“No more amazing sex,” I have to say.

“Maybe you should have kept your mouth shut.”

“Hindsight is 20-20.”

“Is that yours? It’s brilliant.” We laugh together and she toasts me. “Here’s to asking for what you want, even when you don’t get it.”

I think about that. “I’m not sure it would have turned out to be what I wanted. I just wanted to know.”

“A status report.”

“Exactly. I mean, we agreed just for one night, but then it was two and then it was three, and we never talked about it again.”

“Until now.”

I nod and sip. She’s watching me.

“But what did you expect the answer to be?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re disappointed, which means his wasn’t the answer you expected or wanted.”

She’s right. Merrie tops up our wine, probably guessing that it’s an excellent way to erode my firewalls.