Sleeping with a Friend

Karaoke Night

As we make out way to the Mockingbird, the exterior lights do nothing for the interior of this place. The Mock is HUGE! There is something for everyone in this place. These is a night club and music in the back, there is a restaurant five star dining to the right, there is a low key type bar to the left, and in the front of them is just a classy social setting for meeting and greeting. The ceiling of this place in the only thing common. Chains hang from the ceiling in spiral shapes that are lit up by industrial bulbs. It looked like Northern Lights in Alaska. It is definitely an eye catcher. The light in the dining area is a bit dimmer then the rest of the place. I glance around to see if I can see Xander. As my eyes make their was over to the bar area I see him waving with a least two men and one woman sitting next to one another at the cocktail table. They all look a bot out of their element. I shake my head and make my way over to him. "Thank god you here! I ran out of things to talk about like a half hour ago."

I looked over his guests. The first man looked a little uncomfortable with all the excitement going on around him. He had a stiff drink planted in front of him, which he had in a death grip. His hair was dark and slicked back, whick only brings attention to his pck marks on his face, and appears to be in his mid to late forties. He's a bit portly, but hopefully after a few drink, he looked to have the potential to relax.

The second man was a bit younger, and paler. His glasses only made him look like Harry Potter, and that's not a compliment. In his hand he had been holding what looked like a soda, only when I got closer could I determine whether there was alcohol in it. His pointed nose loomed over his chin. His slender build made me think that he had not lifted anything over ten pounds in his entire life. Fragile, but still hopeful once he started to talk and felt comfortable within the group.

The woman had her hair in a bun, and with her hair pulled away from her face it exposed her little pearl earrings. As she turned, I could see she had a matching necklace. She was holding onto a glass of wine, but it was pinkish in color. Her hair was brown and her eyes were dark. She showed a little graying on the edges, but guessing from the work she does it was clearly by choice.

Xander grabbed me and gave me a big hug. He pulled me over to the group. I reached out my hand to introduce myself and Kelly. I believed a handshake said a lot about a person. If it's too light they are pushovers and unsure of themselves, and if it's sturdy they are confident and strong willed. "This is Virgil Harding, Herman Hansen, and Delores Whitaker." I shook each of their hands and had come to the realization that they were all unsure of themselves. All limp in the wrist down the line. Tonight I was going to have my work cut out for me. They were going to be a bunch of onions to peel through. Xander made his way to the bar to order drinks.

"Mr. Harding, do you mind if I call you Virgil?" He looked at me and eyed me up and down. I saw he had a tan line on his ring finger, so he must be recently divorced. But he smiled and nodded that I could call him Virgil. I didn't want to scare him, but it was a way to start conversation. "is this you first time out in a while?" He smiled, and I immediately put him at ease. I had no intention of talking about business, and with my question, he came to that realization too. "Well little lady, no I have not". His southern accent was a breath of fresh air. He was capable of charm, and knew that the lady was to be treated like a queen. "Well your in for some fun tonight."

I turned my focus to Mr. Hansen. "Mr. Hansen, would you mind if I called you Herman?" He looked a little uptight to the question, but nodded to at least shut me up. His stance was a bit stiff, and there wa no alcohol in his drink. He was like "Kevin", had to hang out for a bit to get a better understanding of him. "Sure". His Boston accent made me think of Harvard, so that would be at least part of my follow up questions. "Did you go to school in Boston? I have always wanted to make it there to walk along Beacon Hill. Something about that cobblestone walk way, and the gas light lamps..." I was hoping that his answer would help a bit. "As a matter of fact I did attend Harvard university. Graduated valedictorian, with a master's degree in business. But, if you love Beacon Hill, there is an old corner bookstore that was built in 1718." I tried to fan through my vocabulary to use for seventeenth and eighteenth hundreds. "i can only imagine it have been an apothecary in it's early years." A smile beamed across his face. I was going to stay sober tonight to keep up with Herman. I turned my focus to Delores.

"Is it Miss or Misses Whitaker?" She looked down at me before responding "Miss". Okay, so never married, cold as a dead fish. Xander was going to owe me big for tonight. I had to get her to talk a little more. "You know this place has wonderful Sangiovese Rose wine, that you have to try. It's a blend of candied apple, watermelon, and strawberry flavors. I'll have him order you one. It's absolutely heavenly." She raised a brow and nodded, as Kelly raced to get to Xander before he left the bar. "I'm not sure if everyone tonight is happy with being invited to this place, but it covers everything for everyone. I reserved us a table in the back, because I am sure everyone is exhausted from travel and work. So please, tonight we are going to lean back, relax, and enjoy."

He returned with the drinks. "How about we take our seats in the back room." We made our way to the back, and so far so good. As we ordered our food, we were again stuck in a moment of silence. He looked like he was sweating bullets. I had Kelly sit between Virgil and Delores, and I sat between Herman and Xander. "So has everyone been to our neck of the woods before?" Herman raised his hand, Virgil nodded, and Delores shook her head no. "How is the wine Delores?" She took a sip and her eyes widened. One down, two to go still. I motioned to the waiter to leave the bottle, It didn't matte what we ordered tonight, his company was paying for the whole thing. Virgil was taking initiative and continuing conversation.

"Lee, do you work with Xander?" I smiled and shook my head no. "We met in college." Herman perked up a bit to hear I went to college, but he tended to be distracted by Kelly sitting next to him, by choice and not on purpose. He had to ask what I studied. I told him and informed him that I graduated with a bachelor's degree in both. Herman seemed pleased. "Herman, have you ever had a drink before? I mean like a real drink." He frowned at the thought. Tonight was going to be his night to unwind and have fun. He became skeptical after I smiled at him.

Virgil was already quite entertained with Kelly, even if they didn't have much in common, she was keeping him preoccupied with her personality.

As the night had moved on everyone was really enjoying themselves. Delores had gone through a bottle and a half of the Sanqiovese Rose, Herman had endured his first mixed sweet drink a Gatsby 7, and he enjoyed it so much that he has ordered about four more. Virgil was enjoying just the opportunity to chat with a young woman again. "So, I say we give karaoke a try?" Everyone stopped and looked at me with mixed responses. My stern and demanding response, straightened out everyone in the room. They all took a moment to think about it before agreeing and following me to the bar. Before we entered, I stopped Delores. She did had beautiful bone structure, and I reached and removed the one pin she had holding up all of her hair, and watched as it cascaded down in loose curls. She took a quick glimpse of herself in one of the wall mirrors and she smiled.

Before Herman entered, I stopped him and I reached for his tie and loosened it up to remove it, and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt. He looked down at himself. He started to make a fuss about it, but I raise a brow. "You don't sleep or shower with one? Or do you?", I asked, hoping he would see what I was getting at, and he laughed and entered the bar.

"Virgil! Enjoying yourself?" He let out a deep laugh before following Kelly into the bar. Xander stopped me before entering. "How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?" I rolled my eyes. "You wanted to get into some other chicks pants." He laughed. I felt his arms wrap around my waist and his lips touched my forehead. He gave me a very intense look, "Lee, I don't know what I would do if you weren't." It was an intimate moment for both of us standing there among the crowd.