I'm Waiting for Superman

Chapter 1

The strobe lights flashed and the mirrored ball rotated spreading the strobe light beams even further across the floor as Sadie Keller and I entered Club LA. The music throbbed like a mad heartbeat and the multitudes moved like blood through an artery connected to that heart.

My name is Dolly Gales and Sadie and I work together at the First Bank of Los Angeles. We're not exactly friends but we're two women who needed to get out of our sedentary lives and meet new people and maybe become friends. Sadie moved to Los Angeles over a year ago from Indiana and I moved here six months ago from Prescott, Arizona. I left to leave the boredom behind but it followed me here, therefore a clubbing I shall go. Being here with Sadie is sort of a surprise. She doesn't really dance much but she came to get out of her apartment and to see the sights. Well, we're seeing them.

We made our way through the crowded dance floor to the bar where we purchased bottles of water and then made plans to meet by the front door if we got separated. I made my way back to the dance floor and started to dance by myself and felt myself being pulled in by the throbbing mob on the floor. I'd danced a couple of dances when I spotted a man leaning on the wall with one foot on the wall. It seemed an odd way to wait for someone. He was tallish with brownish hair and dressed nicely in a button down shirt that was untucked and jeans. He wore a scruff of a beard but on him it looked good. I only noticed him because he was a bit older than most of the people in the room, maybe fortyish. He watched the crowd dance like he searched for someone he knew. I noticed he looked in my direction and then with shock I realized he watched me. I knew I didn't know him but his eyes met mine and they captured me in some way that I couldn't explain. The next thing I knew he disappeared and I felt alone all of a sudden and knew that I didn't like it. I still wondered why he looked at me so intensely.

I watched where he'd stood for a moment longer and then acknowledged to myself that he'd probably left for the evening.

Heaving a sigh I turned and began to dance again but nearly ran into the royal blue shirt he wore so nicely. His shirt set off the blues of his eyes and they held me spell-bound just as they had before.

He smiled down into my face and I have to admit I was at a loss as how to react. "What's a sweet girl like you doing in a place like this?" He took a moment before continuing. "You should be in a museum, not here." Sincerity rang in his voice and it really stunned me. I figured that Sadie and I would have to fight off the creeps from the bars so this was a little different.

Little did he know but I've been to most of the museums in the Los Angeles area and found no one to friend. "Excuse me but I also didn't expect to find someone like you here either."

He looked around at the people near us and then chuckled. "Do you mean my age?"

His comment embarrassed me. I hadn't meant his age and while it's true it wasn't what I meant and so I began to stammer. "Oh, no, no, I, I didn't mean your age, just, you." I could feel my face growing warm. Just what did I mean by that statement?

Again he chuckled. "My name is Gary Wisnoski, what's yours?"

My face must have shown my skepticism. "Why should I tell you?"

He looked over my shoulder at the crowd pulsing around us. His voice grew softer. "It would be nice and you know you look cute when you blush."

My embarrassment changed to a small joy. I couldn't keep the smile from my face. "Thank you."

"Let's dance." He grabbed my hand and pulled me further out onto the dance floor. I have to admit that his grabbing of my hand surprised me but with that touch all thoughts of Sadie faded into the mists of my memory. When he turned to face me he wore a quizzical look. "You still haven't told me your name."

"Dolly and before you ask it is not short for Delilah, just plain Dolly Gales." I stood looking up into those blue eyes and I swear I saw them twinkle.

He began to dance and I followed suit. He leaned into me. "Never thought you'd be a Delilah, you remind me of a doll, petite and cute and definitely not plain."

Either he meant those words or he's the best in the world when it comes to delivering lines to women. In my heart of hearts I hoped he meant them.

After the music had stopped we made our way to a quieter section of the club where he purchased two bottles of water. The air in the club was stuffy and we both worked up a sweat dancing. As we returned to the dancers I remembered Sadie. It was my turn to pull him to where I'd left her. A girl who'd been there when we came in handed me a note. It seems Sadie found a friend and left to go to another club. Well I'd found someone to dance with and have a good time. I'd see her Monday morning.

Gary came close, read the note over my shoulder and then whispered in my ear. "Let's go to the beach. I need some quiet."

I'd wanted to go to the beach since I'd arrived from Prescott so I could do without the loud club and its atmosphere. "Sure, let's go."

We dropped our empty bottles in the trash and headed for the door. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, looking around, but once we were outside the door he became more animated. He hurried me to the parking lot.

We climbed into my car as he said a friend dropped him off for the evening and then we left for Venice Beach. He thought I'd enjoy it. Gary explained the wide beach and the boardwalk where the excitement happened. He didn't seem too impressed by the promenade though.

The ride over to the beach took about a half hour and Gary stayed quiet for most of it. He did watch the scenery and every once in the while he looked in the mirror at where we'd been.

When we finally parked the car and walked down to the beach Gary chose to forgo the boardwalk. Quickly and without a word he headed for the dark beach and his quiet got a whole lot deeper. He reached for my hand and I placed it in his. It felt right to me. It felt like two souls who needed this friendship or relationship or whatever it is to grow. I need to admit that the grabbing of hands and closeness seemed pushy at first but I sensed that is who Gary is. He seemed like a people person.

We walked for a distance and while my legs weren't up for a hike I managed to keep up. When he stopped we sat on the sand and just listened to the surf pounding at the water line. I could feel the sea calming him and I wondered what had made him so tense.

The next thing I knew his arm was around me. It felt forced at first but it soon became like second nature, almost like it belonged there.

I snuggled into him. The sea breeze was getting colder and I really hadn't dressed for the night air. My sweater sat on the back seat of my car. After a while his thoughts must have registered my shivering for he pulled me in closer and a few minutes later he pulled me up for the walk back to the car with his arm around me.

He drove me back to my apartment and walked me to my door. The evening had been a little strange and very exciting and I knew that I didn't want it to end so I invited him in: after all the clock hadn't struck midnight yet.

I made hot chocolate for the two of us. We both needed the slight warming it would give us after the time on the beach.

When I came from the kitchen with the drinks he stood by the window watching the street and I think it shook him a little when I reached to hand him his cup.

He took the cup in his hands, holding it up to his face and savoring the smell. "I had a co-worker who drank this all the time. She wore a mild scent of chocolate, possibly from drinking it so much and I really liked that about her." It was his turn to blush. "Thank you."

I watched his face as he spoke about her. I wondered where she was and what exactly she'd meant to him so long ago. There was a sense of sadness and loss when he spoke about her so I needed to ask. "Had a co-worker? What happened to her?"

He looked up at me from wherever his thoughts had taken him. "Nothing happened to her. She married her best friend and I don't work there anymore, that's all." He laughed silently to himself. "As a matter of fact that is what drew me to you. You remind me of her. You're both petite, a little feisty and you both deal with my silences the same way. You let me stew."

These sentences were the most I'd heard him speak for most of the night. He shared part of himself with me and I felt honored. "What's her name, only if you don't mind sharing that with me?"

He smiled my way. "Of course I don't mind sharing that with you. Her name is Nell. She's kind of like a little sister to me. I haven't seen her for a long time and I miss her."

"If you miss her, go see her. I'm sure she'd be glad to see you." I watched as his eyes looked down and he shook his head no. It was a deep sadness like no other I'd ever seen. I moved across to the sofa where he sat and took the mug of hot chocolate from him and placed it on the coffee table. "You miss her, call her, her husband wouldn't mind I'm sure."

His eyes met mine like they did on the dance floor only this time there was something else there. Gary pulled me in for a kiss. I suppose I should have pulled back but I didn't want to.

That one kiss led to another and another and then a night of pure bliss for both of us.