Blind Date

I told her to wear a red scarf so that I would know who she was. Unfortunately this seemed to be the going trend at the Starbucks. Red scarves were everywhere, worn around the waist as a belt, around the neck and in one circumstance around the head.
I had almost given up when a dark haired girl came in wearing a blue scar with a thin red line through it. She walked with a long confident stride, her eyes grazing above the heads of those around her as she approached the counter, nodding knowingly at the cashier, who nodded back.
“The usual.” She said, her voice low and strumming, her hands holding out a credit card while she turned and gazed around the room. Her eyes were a pale blue, like an ice pond in winter, hiding their depths by their surface and they clipped from one person to another searching for me. I rose slightly and waved, her eyes bounced back to me, her eyebrows lowering slightly and she nodded.
She turned back to gather her coffee cup from the cashier, her calves tightening as she rose on tip toe. She proceeded to the cream and sugar counter, where she gracefully removed a glove to reveal a well manicured hand and with cast down eyes poured two sugars into her coffee before covering it again. My rubbed my hands that had suddenly become sweaty with nerves, down the sides of my jeans and wiped a quick napkin over my mouth.
She finished preparing her coffee and replacing her glove walked towards me. And then past me to an empty table behind me. Startled I reacted with out thinking. “Carrie?” I asked turning towards her.
The woman looked over her shoulder at me, gazing at my face for a moment before her lips turned up in a slight snarl. “No.” She said, dismissing me.
“I’m Carrie.” I heard and turned back around to see the girl with the scarf around her head standing at the other end of my table. The scarf had come lose and had fallen back to reveal hair the color of straw, pulled back into two clips.
Confused I stared at her and then back over my shoulder at the woman with the long black hair, who wore a slight smirk on her face. Embarrassed I turned around and gestured at the chair across from me.
Carrie shifted her feet and sat down, plunking a rather large purse down on the table. “I thought that was you.” She said, breathlessly, pulling the scarf off and slipping it into her purse. She still wore her coat, a pea colored vintage piece with large brass buttons and high collar. She looked up at me and smiled, her lips rather chapped and her teeth slightly smallish, giving her a malnourished look.
I smiled back as best I could, absurdly angry that she wasn’t the girl who sat behind me. “Did you find this place alright?” I asked, the only thing I could think of saying.
“Yes. Thank God for map quest.” She laughed, a slight hiccup sound. “Did you want to order some coffee?”
“No. I can’t really stay long.” I glanced up at her and watched her face fall, slightly, before it rose again in another smile.
The girl behind me laughed, a slight snort and I turned to her, unable to stop. She was sipping from her coffee cup, her chest rising and falling in laughter. Her eyes rose and met mine, and for a moment I couldn’t move, magnetized by their hypnotic blueness. “You are an ass.” She said, rising and coming to my table.
I turned as I followed her with my eyes and body. “What?”
“You are an ass.” She said again, standing at my table and gazing down at me. “Wasn’t this supposed to be a date?”
I glanced at Carrie, who was looking at me and then the girl with a perplexed look on her face, her head moving back and forth between us as if she were a bird.
“Wasn’t this supposed to be a date?” The girl asked again, this time her voice loud and bold, calling attention to us.
“Yes, yes. Why are you yelling?” I asked, glancing around the room quickly.
“A date. Then why do you need to leave so quickly?” She asked, ignoring my question as her voice rose even louder.
“Stop it!” I hissed at the girl, before rising. “I have to go. Sorry.” I said to Carrie who was now gazing at me with outrage dawning on her face. I tried not to run from the Starbucks but I could feel everyone staring at me. I know I walked pretty quickly, and almost tripped once, which was followed by girlish giggles. I stumbled into my car, relief filling me as the darkness of my window’s hid me from the outside world. It took me a moment to regain my composure.
How dare she call me an ass, and why did she have to yell it? It was just a misguided blind date. I had met Carrie on line and we had talked quite a few times, her quick humor and sweetness beguiling me into wanting to meet her. Perhaps if I had met her first, before seeing the dark haired beauty things would have gone differently, but disappointment had raced me into not wanting to continue.
I was just about to start up my car to leave when the door opened and Carrie and the dark haired girl came out into the bright sunny day. They were laughing, heads thrown back and bodies bending with their laughter. Carrie no longer wore the vintage coat as old woman might, she wore it hip and young on shoulders that were thrown back carelessly. Her hair was down now, falling in waves past her shoulders and she was talking a mile a minute to the dark haired girl, as only old and dear friends can.