Martini With a Twist

Chapter 4

“So, still feel like doing a little shopping?” she asks coolly.

“I think I am just going to head home, it was a late night and I am still a little tired.” “Alright. Are you okay dear?”

“Yes, I’m fine mom. Thank you for lunch and I will call you tomorrow, okay?” “I love you, dear.” My mom gives my elbow a reassuring squeeze.

“Love you too,” I say.

We kiss and hug and she gets in a cab and is off. I hail my own cab and head back home.

As I sit in the backseat, I scroll through my phone and find Julie’s number, I press ‘call’ and it begins to ring.

Chapter Two

“Keller!” Julie screams so loud, I have to pull the phone away from my ear.

“Hi Jules!” I yell back. “How are you? I know you have been busy with work, but I think two weeks is too long without seeing you. Are you busy tonight?”

“Yes! I agree, too long! Its Saturday night, you know I can’t leave the restaurant, my parents will never let me.”

“Please Julie, I need my best friend tonight, can you please just ask them? Maybe your brother Johnny will cover for you, say it’s for me!” I hear Julie laugh on the other end.

“Okay, let me ask and I will call you back. What were you thinking anyway?”

“Well,” I pause, creasing my forehead and wondering if this is crazy. “I was thinking we could meet at RPM in River North?”

“Oh yeah, I know it, been there a couple of times. It’s Saturday night though, we will not get reservations,” she replies.

“I know I figured we could just sit in the bar, have a couple of apps and drinks.” Stalk the bar for dark-haired women who wink at strangers, I think to myself.

“Okay, I’ll call you back as soon as I know.”

“Jules?” I pause. “Yeah?”

“Please try, okay?”

“I will, I’ll call you back, bye!” “Okay, thanks, bye!”

Telling Julie to ask Johnny, knowing he has always had a crush on me, takes me back to when we were younger, before the Olympics were a reality. Emily and I playing dress-up. She would always talk about how she couldn’t wait to grow up and get married, her handsome groom in a black and white tuxedo. I remember not feeling the same way, not daydreaming about boys or my wedding. Day dreaming about winning the gold was more my speed. Thinking about boys in a romantic way never really occurred to me when I was young.

I start to mentally prepare myself for my conversation with her tonight, that is, assuming she can make it. I wonder what advice she will have for me, and what she will think about Decks and me. The cab pulls up in front of my condo. I pay the driver and exit the cab. I walk up to the front door, open it and take the elevator up to my place. I enter through my front door and walk over to the couch. I plop down, feeling exhausted, even if just emotionally. I look at the large round clock hanging on the wall between the kitchen and the living room and it reads 3:02 p.m. I should call Declan and check in but I really don’t want to. I know he has been watching college football all day and probably doesn’t even know how much time has passed since this morning. If he has invited any friends over, he definitely has been drinking too. This could go one of two ways. He will either be too tired to do anything and end up passing out at home after ordering pizza with the guys and having had a little too much to drink. Or, he will want me to come over and watch football the rest of the day and then expect me to spend the night again. This thought makes me cringe a bit. I do not like the second option. Just then the phone rings, it’s Julie! I quickly tap the answer button on my phone.

“Julie!” I scream in the phone.

“So, Johnny, who you know has a crush on you since he was in elementary school, said no at first, then I explained that it was a favor to you and he was like, ‘of course! No problem!’ yeah right, no problem for Addison Keller!” She chuckles with amusement.

“Oh great! Thank you so much!”

“No, thank you! A Saturday night off and I’m going out with my best friend! Who also happens to be America’s Sweetheart Swimmer and a 2012 Olympic gold medalist!” she playfully exclaims.

“Oh stop it, you knew me way back when before all of this,” I say more seriously. “We have lots to talk about though,” I add.

“Oh, juicy I hope!” I can hear the excitement in Julie’s voice. “You know I live vicariously through you, right? The restaurant has me so busy. I rarely have time to enjoy my own life. Can’t imagine what it will be like once my parents pass this place on to me for real! Anyway, RPM sounds great, what time?”

“What’s good for you?”

“Um, any time after 6:00 p.m. will be fine.” “Okay, meet at 6:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m.?”

“I’ll be there! Can’t wait to catch up!”

“I’ll see you tonight, don’t work too hard!”

“Sounds good, see you tonight, bye!” she says, I can hear her smile on the other end. “Bye!”

I sit there on the couch, wondering what I am going to do for the next three hours. I would like to do nothing. I cannot remember the last time I had three hours with nothing scheduled. All that will change in a couple of weeks when I start my off-season training again. I love it, but it is so time consuming. I have to call Declan-at least I have plans tonight. He likes Julie but won’t ask to join us so I’m good for the night. I scroll though my phone and call him.

“Hey sweetheart,” he answers.

“Hey Decks, how are you? Your teams winning today?”

“Eh, a few, how was lunch with your mom?” I hear him yawn. He sounds tired. “It was good thanks, are the guys over?”

“Just Danny boy, are you coming over?”

“Actually, I am going out with Julie tonight, so I am gonna stay around my place for a while, clean and get ready to go out.”

“Oh, okay. Should I call you later?”

“Yeah that’s fine, if I don’t answer, I’ll call you back when I can, okay? It just might be loud in the restaurant.”

“Where you guys going?” he asks nonchalantly. I am not sure if he is really interested or if he is just trying to feign interest. My instinct is to lie, but why?

“Hello?” he asks, my pause too long.

“Um, yeah I am here. Not sure yet. We are going to decide as it gets closer,” I lie. But I guess it’s not a total lie if I end up telling him later.

“I’ll try you later then, have fun!” “Okay, thanks, you too!”

“Love you,” he adds.

“Me too,” I say routinely. He hangs up and I take a deep breath, what am I doing?

I feel like I should just relax for the next few hours, maybe review my upcoming schedule. I know I have a photo shoot for Wheaties next week, that’s exciting! Ever since I was a kid and saw Michael Jordan on that box I knew I had to find a way to make that happen for myself. I have really been looking forward to this photo shoot. I turn on the TV and settle on HGTV, an indulgence that I very rarely have time to watch. House Hunters is on and they are in San Francisco. I lie down on the couch, in the corner of my sectional and before I know it, I slowly drift off into an easy slumber.

I wake up to the TV and a House Hunters episode is still on, only they are definitely not in San Fran anymore. I glance at the clock on the wall and it reads, 5:37 p.m. I slept so soundly for over two hours! So much for just relaxing and watching TV, I guess my body needed the sleep. I never quite recovered from my restless night last night. I have to get going. Do I need to shower again? I just showered five hours ago, but I fell asleep-my hair! I will be fine. I’ll just put it up.

I turn off the TV, walk over to the master bathroom and brush my teeth. I feel a little better, well rested. I decide to put my hair up into a loose, messy bun, securing it with bobby pins. My naturally curly hair usually looks good this way, especially when a few stray pieces come loose to frame my face. The “just had s*x look” as Declan teases. Indeed, this hairstyle does have a way of making me look sexy. I apply mascara and some light blush to the apples of my cheeks and glide on some lip-gloss. “That will do,” I say to myself in the mirror.

Now, what to wear? It’s a Saturday night in the city and one of the trendiest restaurants in Chicago. The place to see and be seen. Let me think, as I peruse my options in my giant walk-in closet. My eyes fix on a black, silk blouse that my mom forced me to buy for a publicity event for Nike. “It shows off your toned back,” she had commented. It’s one of those shirts that are essentially backless where it hugs my shoulders in the front but then dips dangerously low in the back, exposing a lot of naked flesh from the nape of my neck all the way down to my waist. This with a pair of very fitted skinny jeans and some tall black heeled boots, and I am looking pretty good. I scan myself in the full-length mirror that hangs in my closet and like what I am seeing. I don’t normally pay such attention to what I am wearing but tonight feels different. What if I were to see her again? Why the obsession? I shake my head to rid myself of these thoughts and remind myself that tonight is about talking to Julie about Declan. She always gives the best advice. Of course, if I were to see this woman again, it wouldn’t be the worst thing, right? Okay, now I am sounding like a crazy person. I check the clock, it’s 6:30 p.m. Damn, I am going to be late.

Traffic getting from Lincoln Park to River North on a Saturday night is going to suck. Julie hates waiting alone at a bar. I better text her to let her know.

My cab pulls up to RPM at exactly 6:50 p.m. I jump out, nearly killing myself after the stiletto heel of my boot catches in a sewer drain. Very graceful. Ugh, this is why I hate wearing heels. I stumble into RPM, noticing Jules already perched on a bar stool in the center of the bar. This is one of my favorite bars for people watching because it has the ideal set up—a huge square bar that surrounds the bartenders in the middle so they work from all directions. I nod at Julie as the hostess asks if I have a reservation. Just as I am about to inform her that I am meeting a friend at the bar she suddenly recognizes me and begins gushing. I don’t know why the attention is still so off-putting for me. I don’t really feel any different since winning the gold or even after setting the world record but I guess this is something that I will just have to get used to.