Recipe for Disaster
Getting off shift, the guys were all in the locker room changing to go home.
"Johnny, what plans you got for your two days off?" Roy asked.
The junior paramedic looked over at Chet, before turning to face his partner again.
"Chet and I are going out on a double date with these two…"
Before Johnny could finish his sentence, Chet interrupted. "These two chicks are amazing. Gorgeous…and sweet…"
Marco let out a small laugh. "If they are that gorgeous and sweet…then what would they possibly want with you two?"
Johnny and Chet both looked up at Marco.
"Ha…ha…Marco. I'll have you know that these girls are smart too."
Mike laughed. "As Marco was saying…what would these two young ladies want with the two of you…smart, attractive, sweet…"
Johnny started to get slightly irritated. "Hey…wait a minute…what are you two implying?"
Roy shook his head and sighed. "Johnny, ignore them…they're only trying to tease you. Chet's not getting upset…forget about it."
Having finished getting changed to go home, Mike and Marco both closed their lockers, grabbed their bag, and left the room shaking their heads.
Forgetting about having gotten teased, Johnny turned his attention back to his partner.
"Any way, we're going out on this double date. I feel good about it…they seem like nice girls. What about you, Roy? What are your plans?"
"Well…the usual. Joanne will have me doing things around the house…Chris will want me to help him with a school project, and Jennifer will inevitably want to go shopping or something."
"Sounds like a swell time." Johnny commented, smiling.
"Yeah…the perils of family life. I'll see you in two days, Johnny. Bye Chet…have fun on your double date…and don't kill each other."
Watching Roy leave, Chet shook his head. "What does he mean, 'don't kill each other'?"
"Gee, Chet…I have no idea…perhaps it's our track record. I gotta get going. I'll pick you up at 4:45, tomorrow…OUTSIDE in the parking lot of your place. I don't want to be late. I made six o'clock dinner reservations."
"Okay…I'll be there…waiting."
"You better be." Johnny replied with a slight edge to his voice.
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The next day, Johnny was happily getting ready for his double date with Chet. He showered, shaved, and combed his hair. After brushing his teeth, he went to his bedroom closet and tried to decide what clothes to wear. The place they were going to wasn't a fancy place, but it wasn't a jeans and a shirt kind of place, either…and he wanted to make a good impression on the ladies, besides.
He decided on a pair of tan dress slacks and a white dress shirt with a sports coat, and no tie. In the middle of getting dressed, Johnny's phone rang.
"Hello."
"Gage…"
When Johnny heard the voice on the other end, he sighed.
"Chet…what do you want? I'll be picking you up soon."
"I know…I know. I was just wondering…do I need to wear a tie?"
Johnny sighed in frustration. "No, Chet…no tie, okay? I'll be leaving shortly…meet me outside."
"Yeah…sure thing."
Johnny finished getting dressed and after locking up his apartment, made his way out to the Rover.
Arriving at Chet's apartment complex, there was no sign of Chet waiting outside. After waiting for his friend for a few minutes, an irritated Johnny parked and went to Chet's apartment to find him.
Knocking on Chet's door, a somewhat annoyed paramedic was greeted by his buddy.
"Johnny… I'm coming. I was trying to put the finishing touches on…"
"Yeah…yeah…come on…we don't want to be late. I still have to pick Ellen and Lisa up."
Chet took one last look in the mirror and smiled. "Ready."
He grabbed his wallet and keys from the kitchen table, then followed Johnny outside to where the Rover was parked.
"You do know the directions on how to get to their place, right?" Chet asked hopefully.
Johnny sighed loudly. "Chet…I am not an idiot…of course I know how to get to their place, after all I AM an experienced navigator."
Arriving at the girls' house, Johnny and Chet both got out and met the girls at the door.
The two young ladies were both wearing dresses…Ellen in a short light blue one, and Lisa in a short pale yellow one. Both had on high heels.
"Hi…the two of you look amazing." Johnny complimented the girls.
Ellen smiled in appreciation. "Thanks, Johnny. The two of you look quite handsome yourselves."
Escorting the girls to the Rover, Johnny asked them about seating arrangements. "Front or back?"
Ellen looked at Lisa, who shrugged. "Back, I guess."
Helping the two ladies into the back seat, Johnny and Chet then got into their seats, and were quickly off to the restaurant.
"So, where are we going?" asked Lisa.
"That new place on Chelsea Street…The Rustic Inn." replied Johnny.
"Cool. I hear the food there is really good."
On the way, they had a couple close calls, as they had been cut off by some other cars.
"Idiots. Are you two okay?" asked a concerned Johnny.
Ellen nodded her head. "I think so…I just have to stop shaking."
"I'm fine, too," stated Lisa.
As they got close to the restaurant, another car cut them off…causing them to almost leave the road. Johnny pulled over to make sure that once again everyone was okay. After reassurances that all was well, they continued on.
Still shaking when they got out of the car, the two girls wanted nothing more than to get inside and relax, and have a good meal.
"Wait a minute, I dropped my keys. Chet, don't lock the door…they must've fallen inside the car."
"Don't lock the door?" Chet repeated.
"Yeah…my keys must have fallen inside the Rover…my door's already locked."
"Yeah? So is mine."
"Chet…why'd you go and lock the door for?" Johnny asked, sighing in frustration.
"How the hell was I supposed to know that your door was already locked?"
The two girls were starting to get a little upset, wondering how they would be getting back home.
"Relax, ladies…I have Triple A…they'll come and help me get my keys out, and we'll be fine. I'll call them a little later. Let's go eat."
The two couples made their way up the walk and to the restaurant entrance.
Living up to its name, the building was indeed quite rustic looking. The outside was made to look like a log cabin, and there was even a giant stuffed brown bear standing just outside the entrance.
Going inside the restaurant and approaching the hostess, Johnny smiled. "Gage…party of four. We have reservations."
The hostess looked down at her reservation book. "Gage…party of four. You had six o'clock reservations…it's 6:15…I just gave away your table to someone else…sorry."
Johnny stood there dumbstruck. "Are there any other tables available?"
The hostess shook her head. "Sorry…we're full up tonight. However…I could let you sit at the bar…if you want to."
Johnny looked at the girls and Chet, and it was decided that since they had nowhere else to go since Johnny's keys were locked in the Rover, that they'd stay.
"Sure, that would be fine."
The four of them were led to the bar area and sat down, with Johnny and Chet each pulling a chair out for a lady.
Ellen looked around and smiled. "Well…let's make the best of it. It sure is a nice place…I bet the food is great."
When the waitress came over to them, she smiled warmly at Johnny.
"Hi there, I'm Stacy. I'll be your waitress. Can I get you folks something to drink?"
Chet ordered a beer and the girls each ordered a glass of wine.
Not hearing Johnny order a drink, the waitress leaned in closer to him.
"How about you, sweetie? A drink?"
"Oh…I'm driving. I'll just have a Pepsi."
"Very well…I'll be right back." The waitress said with a wink in Johnny's direction.
After the waitress left them, Chet glanced over at Johnny.
"What, Chet?"
"Sweetie? She's got a thing for you, buddy."
"She does not." replied Johnny before turning his attention to the menu, and smiling. "Boy, everything sounds so good. What are you ladies thinking about having?'
Ellen shook her head. "I don't know…everything sounds so wonderful. How about you, Lisa?"
"I think I might try the chicken gardenia…sounds heavenly, but I absolutely cannot have any ginger in it. Chet?"
"I was thinking about the steak dinner. I hear the steak here is the best."
Johnny smiled and nodded his head. "That sounds good, Chet…I think I'll have the steak dinner, too."
"Well, I guess it's all up to me. I think I might try the veal saltimbocca, it sounds really good."
"Okay, I guess we're all decided then."
When Stacy returned with their drinks, she smiled at Johnny and again winked at him.
"Here are your drinks. Are we ready to order?"
"Yeah, I think so, " said Johnny.
They placed their order and made sure that the waitress knew that Lisa could not have any ginger in her chicken dish.
"No problem…I'll talk to the chef, myself."
After Stacy left them to put in their food order, Johnny held up his glass of soda.
"I propose a toast. To two very lovely ladies…and a very pleasant evening."
Chet, Lisa, and Ellen joined Johnny in raising their glasses, and smiled.
When the food arrived, everyone was impressed with how great everything looked.
Lisa started to eat and after several bites of her chicken, she started to not feel well.
"You okay?" Johnny asked in concern as he noticed her paling a bit, and putting her hand to her chest.
"I…I don't know…my stomach…and my mouth feels kinda funny."
Right away Johnny and Chet looked at each other.
"I'll call the waitress over, see if she made a mistake or something…sounds like there may have been some ginger in there after all. She must be allergic to it."
When Stacy returned to them, she adamantly shook her head. "There's no garlic in there…I spoke to the chef, myself…I swear."
Johnny started to figure out what had happened. She told the chef the wrong thing.
"You said garlic? It wasn't garlic she couldn't have…it was ginger."
"Gee, sorry 'bout that. I only did what I was told…you said garlic."
Johnny sighed loudly. "Never mind. I'll talk to the manager. Chet, watch out for the girls…I'll be right back."
Johnny went to track down the manager and talk to him. When he returned to the group, he was getting hot under the collar.
"Well?" Chet questioned his friend.
"Well…nothing. He apologized but said there was nothing he could do about it…he wouldn't even give us a break on the bill."
"Figures." Chet mumbled under his breath.
"Look, I'm going to go call Triple A, and then we can get out of here, soon. I'll be right back."
As Johnny started to get up, he reached into his pocket for his wallet…coming up empty.
"Damn…my wallet…I…I must've left it at home."
Chet looked at Johnny in disbelief. "You left your wallet at home?"
Johnny shook his head. "Triple A won't come out, if you don't have your card."
The girls once again started to get upset.
"I'll…I'll call a cab. Chet, why don't you pay the bill…I'll be back."
Johnny got up to go to the pay phone to call for a cab, and Chet paid for their meal.
Fifteen minutes later, the cab arrived and the four of them got in. Lisa was starting to really not feel well at all.
"You okay?" asked Johnny, in paramedic mode.
Lisa looked irritably at Johnny. "Dandy."
The trip back to the girls' house was done in an uncomfortable silence.
When the cab pulled up to their house, Ellen and Lisa got out, and Lisa promptly threw up on their front lawn.
Johnny was very concerned about her. "Let me help you…please."
"I don't need your help…I'll be fine. I have my medicine inside that I can take. Please do us both a favor…DON'T call us."
Even after getting yelled at, Chet and Johnny tried to be gentlemen and walk the girls up the walkway to the door, but they were brushed off quickly.
Returning to the cab, Johnny looked at Chet and groaned. "You do know that this is all your fault, Chet."
"My fault?" Chet asked incredulously.
"Yeah, if you had been waiting outside like I told you to…"
Johnny was interrupted by the cabbie asking them where they wanted to go.
"Might as well go back to my place so I can get my wallet. My landlady has a spare key to my apartment."
Johnny gave the cabbie his address. On the way to Johnny's apartment, the cab was sideswiped by another car.
Johnny sighed loudly. "Good lord, what else could go wrong tonight? Chet, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you?"
"I'm okay, too. Sir, are you okay?" Johnny asked the cab driver.
"Yeah, fine…I have to call dispatch."
"Okay. Listen, we're both LA County firefighters…have them send a police officer too."
Johnny and Chet got out and checked the driver and passengers of the other vehicle. When the officer arrived, Johnny smiled when he recognized that the police officer was a good friend of his.
"Murphy Greenbush."
"John Gage. What seems to have happened?"
"Don't really know, Murph. We were in the cab and bam…"
Murphy gathered everyone's statements. Since there was not a lot of damage to either vehicle, they were both allowed to go on their way.
Johnny told Murphy about his locked car keys.
"Well, how about if I take Chet home, and then I can bring you back to the restaurant to help you get your keys out…I just happen to be an expert at that." Murphy said with a laugh.
Johnny grinned. "I bet you are. Okay, Chester B…let's go for a ride in the big police car."
Murphy paid for the cab ride, and then Johnny and Chet climbed into his patrol car.
On the way to Chet's apartment, Chet and Johnny shared with Murphy the painful details of that evening's events.
"Boy, it sounds like one hell of an evening. How did you meet these girls anyway?"
"Last week, coming home from a Dodgers game. They had a flat tire and we pulled over and helped them…"
"You mean, *I* helped them, Gage…you did nothing."
"Okay, but I did secure dates with them."
"I'm not sure if you did me any favors on that one."
Finally they arrived at Chet's place.
"Good night, Chet." Johnny said to his friend, relieved to be parting company with his "sparring partner."
"I don't know if I wanna say good night to ya, Gage. Murphy, thanks for the lift."
"No problem, Chet…stay outta trouble." Murphy replied dryly.
After Chet got out of the car and Johnny moved to the front seat, they made their way back to the restaurant to get Johnny's Rover.
"I don't know, Johnny…it seems to me that you're really losing your touch."
"Oh please, Murph…it was all Chet's fault. If he had just waited out in the parking lot like I told him to…we wouldn't have been late…and we wouldn't have gotten stuck with that awful waitress. I think I'm through double dating…ESPECIALLY with Chet Kelly. There's gotta be someone out there for me, Murph…there's just gotta be."
"I'm sure there is, Johnny. Miss Right might just come to you unexpectedly."
"I hope so…'cause this evening…this evening was a recipe for disaster…and I sure as heck don't wanna go through it again."
THE END