May 4th (chapter 3 part 1)

When David got home, he opened his front door and entered the hallway. After relocking it, he threw the keys on the bare mahogany telephone table and made a bee line for the sitting room. He fell into his brown, leather recliner, dropped his hand to the side and pulled the lever. The chairs legs popped out immediately. ‘Ahhhh’, he said with a stupid grin on his face and kicked off his shoes. He thought about Jessica, wondering two things; 1: did she give him her real number, and 2: would it be crazy to contact her so soon? He took out his phone and the piece of tissue paper Jessica had written her number on. After saving the number to his phone, he wrote her a text, thinking ringing her would be far too forward. ‘A text wouldn’t hurt, would it?’ he asked himself.

After composing the message, he read it back to himself: ‘Hi Jessica, it’s me David…from the bar. I really enjoyed your company tonight and I was wondering if I could take you out sometime? I know an amazing little Chinese place downtown, and, well, I would love if you could join me? Well, you have my number now so…  Again, really nice to meet you. All the best, David…from the bar.’ He looked at the message and thought it sounded so pathetic that he hit the phone against his head screaming, ‘idiot!’ It was only when he went to scrutinise the message to see how he could improve it, that he realised the blow to the head had sent it. ‘No, no, no, nooooo!’ he shouted and sat up straight.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He was about to write an apology message, as he thought he came off as desperate, but then his phone pinged. He sat back into the recliner and once he saw it was Jessica replying. He thought of all possible scenarios. She could be writing to tell him to leave him alone, or, she could be accepting his invitation!

David inhaled deeply and opened the message, his eyes closed. He exhaled before he read it. ‘Hi David…from the bar. I had a great night with you! You made my birthday! Thanks for all of the champagne, there was no need for that! I would love to go out for a Chinese with you! Its my favourite cuisine! I was hoping I would hear from you because I still have your jumper! I forgot it was on me tbh. Does Sunday suit? Thanks again for tonight, from Jessica…from the bar!’

With a goofy smile on his face, David decided to reply: ‘Sunday suits perfectly! I’d like for you to keep the jumper as a birthday present. It looked good on you! Tbh, I was only in the bar to gather four of my closest friends to bitch and moan about my best friend, Eoin. When you walked in, it was like you were a vision sent from the heavens. I saw you, and knew I just had to meet you! Thank goodness for unisex bathrooms!’ After he hit the send button, on purpose this time, he lept out of the chair and began to do his ‘happy dance’. ‘She likes me, she like me!’ he said over and over in a sing song voice. When his phone pinged once more, he dove onto towards the recliner, picking it off the seat where he had left it. He looked at the text that read: ‘Yea, they can be a blessing and a curse, and in this instance…a blessing! I’m just sorry we didn’t get to talk more!’

David ran up the green carpeted stairs, two steps at a time, and, after relieving himself in his ensuite, he flopped onto his bed. He had his Harry Potter sheets on, but he didn’t care. If, or when, Jessica makes it up to the bedroom, he’ll make sure there are nicer, non-nerdy, bedsheets on! David didn’t know how to approach asking Jessica if he could ring her. When he did, she wrote back to him; ‘I’d love a phone call!’ He instantly scrolled down his long list of contacts, and when he came to Jessica’s name, he pressed the call button. She answered immediately, ‘hello stranger!’. She had the sweetest voice David had ever heard. ‘Did you enjoy your party?’ he asked her. ‘I especially liked the part where I met this guy and we cuddled out in the smoking shelter!’ ‘Yeah?’ David smiled. ‘He was even good enough to lend me his jumper!’ she flirted. David, grinning like a Cheshire cat, knew he had this!

The conversation continued well into early morning. Jessica fell asleep to the sound of David’s voice. When he heard her breath become deep, and more relaxed, he waited five minutes before hanging up. He looked at the empty space in his bed, falling asleep to the thought of Jessica laying there, stars printed on her pyjamas, and happily went to sleep.

David woke to the ping his phone made indicating a new message. He had slept with it in his hand. He looked at it through hazy eyes, and, when he saw it was from Jessica, he woke instantly. He opened it. In it, she apologised for falling asleep on him. He turned and looked at the clock on his bedside table. It was 11:24. He had slept in! He jumped out of bed and into the shower, but only after reassuring Jessica that it was okay, that he enjoyed their conversation. He was washing his hair when the phone pinged again. He had a gut feeling that the chances were it was from Jessica. He quickly finished showering, and, after putting on his clothes, made the courageous decision to phone her. His brow furrowed, out of surprise, when she cut the connection. About three seconds later, he received and incoming call, but it wasn’t until he answered it and saw her beautiful face, make up free, that he realised she had cut him off because she wanted to see him.

They talked about the world and its mother until 2:30. Jessica began to inform David that she had to go, she was due at her father’s house at 4:00. She explained that it was a long-standing tradition, as he was widowed after her mother’s long, hard battle with cancer, her being only eight years old. David offered his sympathies, which were greatly appreciated.

‘I can’t wait to see you tomorrow!’ Jessica smiled, showing off her dimples. They were something David couldn’t get enough of. ‘What time is the table booked for?’ David’s stomach felt like a ten-ton weight had been dropped in it. He hadn’t made any reservations yet. She was able to see his conundrum through the phone and began to giggle. ‘Don’t worry if you can’t get a table!’ she said, ‘I’d be just as happy with take out at yours!’ ‘Really?’ David asked her, surprise in his tone. ‘You’d be happy with just take out?’ ‘I’m happy with anything, as long as its with you!’ Jessica confessed. Forgetting she could see him, David punched his fist in the air again. ‘Happy are we?’ Jessica giggled.

Silence filled the air, but only for less than a minute before Jessica, wincing said, ‘random question!’ ‘Go on…’ David smirked. ‘Do you like Harry Potter?’ David didn’t even have to think up an answer, having read each book at least three times. ‘You talking about the books, or the movies?’ ‘The books! I mean if you haven’t read any that’s fine but I just wanted to give you the heads up that I’m a nerd when it comes to magic and wonderment! Plus, I can see the Hogwarts crest on your pillow!’ David reached into the top drawer of his bedside locker and retrieved, ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. ‘You mean these books he said waving it around!’ Jessica smiled with delight, then asked David to ‘hang on a second,’ before producing the exact same book in hardback edition. ‘No way!’ they said in unison, laughing. David heard Jessica’s phone beep, and asked, ‘are you getting a call?’ ‘Shit!’ she replied, ‘what time is it?’ ‘It’s gone 3:30!’ he announced. ‘It’s my dad,’ Jessica sighed, ‘he likes to know when I’m on the road!’ ‘Well you’d better answer it!’ David said knowing it was the right thing to do. ‘Listen,’ he started, ‘text me your Eircode, and I’ll pick you up for food tomorrow, even if it does just end up being take out!’ ‘Okay, I’ll chat to you tomorrow then!’ she said before blowing him a kiss and hung up. David continued to lay on his bed. He was sure he was going to marry that girl…eventually!

David rang Eoin later that day to rub in his face in the fact that he’d pulled…on his own. Eoin was more than surprised, he was damn near flabbergasted. ‘I didn’t think you had it in you Davey boy!’ he said smugly. ‘You want another beer Hun?’ David heard a women’s voice in the background. ‘I’d prefer a blowy!’ Eoin said with confidence. ‘So,’ Eoin had his attention back on David, ‘you fuck her?’ ‘What?’ David asked with distain. ‘Is everything sex with you?’ he asked, disgusted. ‘Well Mr Twinkie wont…oh yeah baby, right there!...he won’t…’ David interrupted, appalled, ‘are you getting a blow job and talking to me at the same time?’ ‘Hell yea!’ Eoin replied smugly. David couldn’t distinguish whether he was talking to him, or the poor girl sucking his dick! He hung up the phone, shaking his head from side to side at the Gaul of his so called, ‘best friend’.

The next thing David did was ring his favourite Chinese restaurant, Ming Palace. He was secretly hoping they hadn’t any tables left. The thought of having Jessica in his home, with good food, really appealed to him, but he managed to get the last one. ‘Is 8pm ok sir?’ the man with a heavy Dublin accent asked from the other end of the phone. ‘Yea,’ David sighed, ‘that would be brilliant.’

Night fell and David was sitting in watching ‘Shameless USA’. He was surprised when Jessica texted him. ‘Hey stranger,’ it read, ‘was just thinking about you! It turns out that dad had a reunion with his Garda buddies that he had forgotten about, so I’m here on my own and wondered if you wanted to watch a movie together?’ David read, and reread the message, confused and befuddled. ‘Watch a film?’ he thought aloud, ‘how?’ With his mind in overdrive, he peeked through the curtains to see if Jessica was outside. The street lights illuminated the parked cars on the street. David lived in a very desired part of town, even though it was only a four bedroomed, semi-detached house in a cul de sac. The place was crawling with kids during the day, playing outside in all weather. He always thought, ‘someday those will be my kids… someday!…someday!’ That was part of the reason he had bought the house mere months before…he wanted, no, craved a family!

With no sight nor sound of Jessica, David was confident she wasn’t outside, not that she even knew his address. He wrote back, ‘how?’ David jumped as his phone began to ring. Once he saw that it was Jessica trying to video call him, he answered, his hand on his heart from fright. ‘Hiya!’ she smiled, her dimples showing. David loved those dimples. They made him have a very intense connection to her beauty. ‘Hi!’ he smiled back. ‘So,’ she started, ‘did you ever see the Greatest Showman?’ David smirked and closed his eyes, his head falling back on the chair. He wasn’t sure whether to tell her he had seen it six times and knew all of the songs off by heart, or feign innocence and ask what kind of film it was. He decided to confess, ‘I’ve only watched it six times,’ he said, his face cringing, not knowing what she would make of his answer. ‘Oh, my, God!’ she squealed. ‘I’ve watched it loads of times as well!’ The relief on Davids face was visible. ‘You wanna watch it again?’ Jessica proposed. ‘Sure…but how can we watch it together?’ David was a smart man, an intelligent man, but he couldn’t see how this feat could be possible. ‘We just press play at the same time!’ Jessica informed him. David smiled. Out of all the ways he was thinking, it was the obvious one that prevailed. ‘Ok, just let me get it up on the tv,’ David said grinning from ear to ear. ‘Now I’m gonna sing along, I don’t have a good voice, but a film like this just asks its watchers to sing along!’ ‘Oh good,’ Jessica was the one who looked relieved now, ‘I love the songs as well!’

Whilst they sat, David in his house in the suburbs of Dublin, Jessica in Kildare, they belted out each and every song together and it felt, to David anyway, like she was in the room with him! After the film ended, David asked Jessica for her Eircode once again, informing her of the reservation for the following day. She was in ecstasies over him being able to conjure up a table at such short notice. She promised she would be ready for 7:45. Just as they were saying their good nights to one another, Jessica’s father returned from the reunion singing Molly Malone. Jessica rolled her eyes and blew him a kiss with her hand. David copied her, leaving her to deal with her drunk father.