My training class was bumped up to right after the New Year’s holiday. When I returned from my trip to Phoenix, I called Simone. I got her voicemail and left a message. A few hours later, I didn't hear from her, so I called her again and once again I got her voicemail.
Several days passed before I heard from Simone. I was at my company's office wrapping up after a hard and long work week. I was mentally worn out and frustrated when she called.
Simone apologized for the silent treatment, then said she was upset because I didn't call her while I was away.
After a brief pause, Simone told me that she knew about Michelle and me and that didn't sit well with her while I was away that week. Those instances added up her frustrations.
And she added that I was a typical male before I could get in a single word.
Trying to keep my cool, I responded by saying that she could have called me, and I thought that we had a mutual friendship that included a sexual relationship.
Wrong statement.
A moment passed before Simone spoke, "Austin, I have to admit that I was beginning to question our relationship."
Being that I was at my company office, I paused to answer, then asked Simone if she would like to meet for dinner to discuss this further. She reluctantly agreed to meet me in a couple of hours at the Chinese restaurant near my apartment.
I managed to get home and clean up before meeting Simone. I arrived before her and waited inside the restaurant’s vestibule, because a light drizzle of rain was falling.
Simone arrived about ten minutes later and I stepped outside to meet her. She was wearing jeans, athletic shoes, and one of my worn blue jean shirts she liked and took from me one time.
I noticed Simone wasn't wearing any makeup or mascara, and her hair was pulled back behind her head in a ponytail. Simone is naturally attractive, and she doesn't need or wear much makeup anyway.
Her facial expression caused me to think that perhaps this contact may not turn out well. I took a small breath, said hi, and tried to hug her, but she resisted me.
"Do you want to eat?" I asked before we entered the restaurant.
"Yes, I am hungry," Simone replied somewhat harshly, as she dried her face with a napkin.
As the hostess sat us in a booth away from the other customers, she took our order of drinks and both of us decided on the buffet.
After we fixed our plates and returned to the table, the hostess placed our tea on the table and left. Simone ate a few bites, put her fork down, and took a sip of her tea.
She put her glass down, then looked me square in the eyes.
"Austin, I sat in my apartment after New Year's. I was all alone, sick and feeling bad. The alcohol and whatever Michelle put in my drinks were part of why I was feeling bad."
I was stunned by the accusation. "What makes you think she spiked your drinks?" I asked.
Simone responded tartly by telling me that Michelle had a surprise for her but didn't tell her what it was. She admitted two or three drinks would not affect her like what happened that night.
Simone began to tell me about the types of people Michelle hung around with, and she wasn’t kind about it.
"Michelle was a druggie and a dealer back home, among other things," Simone said tersely.
She sipped her tea before speaking again.
"Those people Michelle dealt with included some upper-class types. She’d go about selling things to local politicians, some local television personalities, and upper-class business owners. Michelle attended their elaborate parties as an escort, things like that."
Simone took another sip of her tea, then continued.
"Michelle became a type of party host who arranges sexual favors. She does what I call flavoring drinks, so that things can occur to certain people without them knowing or remembering what happened."
"Wow!" was all I could muster.
"Yeah, so much for my childhood friend, right?" Simone deadpanned.
The thought of Michelle at my apartment entered my mind and I figured that it would be best to remain a secret hidden from Simone.
Simone took a few more bites of her dinner quietly. Her silence had me feeling uneasy. I asked, "So, tell me, what is on your mind?"
Simone took a long sip of her tea, then handed the glass to the waitress who arrived at our table, for a refill. "Austin, these past few weeks, I've been thinking about my future."
She paused again, took a short breath, then spoke, “While I was home over the holidays, I met another one of my former friends. He invited me to dinner one night. I accepted and we had a long chat at the restaurant."
"Sounds like old friends reuniting,” I said.
"Yes, it was, sort of," Simone answered. "Austin, he and I were closer than being just friends."
Simone let that hang in the air for a moment, before continuing.
"Austin, we were considering marriage before I moved here. I guess you could say we were getting engaged to be married."
I was at a loss for words because her comment hit me unexpectedly. I guess I couldn't hide my surprise.
Simone caught my expression, then continued, "Well, at dinner, we talked about the past, and after that, he asked if I was contented living here."
"What did you tell him? I asked.
Simone eyed me for a brief second, before answering, "I told him I was happy."
We were nearly finished eating by that time and I suggested that we go someplace else to talk. Simone replied that we were OK to continue talking in the restaurant.
I leaned back in my chair, and asked, "Simone, what really happened before you moved here? It seems to me that you may have had something good going on back home and a lot more."