Saturday night in Phoenix
Sitting in the dining room, I wasn’t sure if the flower vase in the center of the table was intentionally designed to be an optical illusion, but the lines in between the checkered diamonds were pulsing from dark to light to dark to light.
I put our name in at the restaurant and the host said we could get a drink at the wine bar down the street while we waited. On the TV in the bar, a school of multi-colored jellyfish swam in slow motion. We ordered three of a beer called Laser Rain.
We walked back to the restaurant and checked in with the host. We were next on the list, but a few tables that had paid their checks weren’t getting up. The host invited us to wait on the back patio. We sat on a wood bench. There were Christmas lights, green leaves, and red flowers overhanging. A candle burned on the table. There were two other parties waiting. I overheard a conversation about how a company was waiting to raise funding. I watched with anticipation the people eating happily. Then the host came out and said our table was being cleaned and set.
The teapot was white porcelain with pink flowers. The three tea cups were matching. Sam thought the panang curry was the best. I thought the pad kee mao was better.
After dinner, we drove a half hour out to a country bar in a “yee-haw” part of town. Half the guys were wearing cowboy hats. Bronco riding was playing on the TVs. A girl came over to our table and said her friend needed a dance partner. I took off my jacket and put it on the chair and followed her to the dance floor. Her friend taught me how to two-step. She told me to shorten my steps. I hooked my thumb through the belt loop on her shorts. We danced for two songs then I pointed to the table where we were sitting and told her she could come find me if she wanted to.