Two weeks had passed and Mindy had been busier than she thought she could be. She hadn't been back to the bar. She didn't even really notice though, because she talked to Danny pretty much regularly. Even though they only texted (though there was the occasional phone call), she really felt like she actually knew him now. All of her suspicions were confirmed. Danny was a really nice guy. He apparently was a very attentive son and helped his mother out when she needed him. They had both talked about their friends and families and jobs and a lot of surface stuff. The feeling of excitement was still there every time he texted her. She felt like she was always talking to him. She would pull out her phone between patients and deliveries and trips to and from home. She had been caught more than once with a big grin on her face. Every time someone called her out on it, she just shrugged it off and denied it. Really though, she knew how happy she was. It was probably dumb to be this happy just from texting someone. For crying out loud she hadn't even seen him in two weeks. It certainly felt like she had though. Mindy made the decision that this weekend she would go to the bar and see if there were still any sparks in person. She was excited just planning it out. She found herself mentally picking her outfit for the occasion. She chastised herself for acting like such a little girl. But she couldn't help it. At the end of the week, Maggie stopped by her office to see if she wanted to hang out that night.
"Sorry babe, I can't tonight," Mindy said as she hurriedly packed up everything she needed. In her mind she was thinking of the fastest way back to her apartment and then the fastest way to the bar.
"What do you have plans? Oh my gosh! Do you have a date?" Maggie started bouncing up and down excitedly.
"Did someone say something about a date? Dr. L? Fess up!" Morgan said, entering himself in the conversation.
"No I don't have a date. I just can't hang out tonight. Now if you'll let me leave, I am heading home," Mindy said as she tried to maneuver around the two busybodies.
It didn't work. They just trailed after her. "I know what this is. You have a date. You do. Is it with that guy that we hunted down a few weeks ago?" Morgan asked while trying to keep up with her.
Mindy tried not to let it show that he was right on point. Except that it wasn't a date. She stopped abruptly and turned around to face them. They both almost collided with her. "Look. My business is my business. I don't have to tell you two anything. I realize you're going to say that we're all friends and that I owe it to you, but let's pretend for once that I don't. I'm not going on a date. I just don't want to tell you my plans. Okay? And you two, since we are such good friends, are going to honor my wishes and not hound me about it. Yeah? Good. Now you two have a good weekend and I will see you on Monday." Mindy finished and promptly turned around to head to the elevators and off for her hopefully exciting night.
Danny surveyed the Friday night crowd. It was pretty hopping. Even with the rather large amount of people there, he couldn't stop checking his phone every few minutes to see if Mindy had texted him back. He felt like an idiot. He was so hung up on her that every time she texted him, he felt this little leap in his chest. It was nice to feel this way again, but he just wished he knew if it was one sided. He had his suspicions for both sides of the argument. Objectively, based on their interactions and how often they texted each other, she seemed like she was interested in him. But he couldn't shake the memory of the night he saw her on the train a few weeks ago. Mindy had been sitting with some guy and they had been sitting really close. Then when the guy got up, he kissed her on the cheek. That seemed a bit intimate for a friend. He had been getting off the train when he saw her getting on and in he forgot that it was his stop. He just wanted to talk to her. He was moving towards her when he saw the tall man that eagerly jumped on after her and sat down in the seat directly next to her. He hung back to see if they would talk. And talk they did. He felt deflated. After he saw the man leave, he couldn't move. It just kept replaying in his head. He finally realized that he had gone out of his way enough and jumped off the train. He can't believe he had missed his chance with Mindy. There was something that kept nagging at him though. Earlier that night, Danny had been scrolling through his phone to call Christina and tell him there was traffic and he was running behind. He remembered that Peter had changed her name in his phone to Medusa. He was scrolling through the M's and a couple of names below hers was 'Mindy Lahiri.' He thought it was impossible. He never asked her for her number, even though he had really wanted to. He just stared at it. Had she put her number in his phone? That was the only way it could be in there. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he realized he had never let Christina know he was running late. So naturally he got an earful about that when he got there. Peter had been right. Christina had realized the mistake she had made and did in fact want another chance with him. If she could have read his mind at dinner, she would have known it was a lost cause. His mind was effectively with another woman. He let her off gently, even though she didn't really deserve it. He told her he had moved on and he just couldn't pick it back up. Danny was heading to the bar to actually drink when he saw Mindy on the train. He was sitting at the bar, debating over things in his mind when he finally screwed up the courage to just text her. And from there, they pretty much never stopped texting. He didn't know what came over him the night that he called her. Maybe he just wanted to hear her voice. He had remembered it sounding vaguely like a cartoon mouse and honestly, he loved that. He kept trying to put the tall man out of his mind. Mindy never mentioned him or any boyfriends for that matter. It gave him the delusion that maybe this smart, funny, kind, sexy as hell woman could actually be all his. He had been on his phone so much that his staff asked if they had a new phone policy at work. Danny just said he was the boss and he could do whatever he wanted and shrugged them off. It had been weeks since he had actually seen Mindy. But he felt like he was incredibly close to her. They talked about her work and how much she loved bringing babies into the world. He told her about his family and friends and she did too. He felt like they had covered about three or four dates worth of conversations really quickly. He liked feeling like he knew her so well, even if it was all in his head. Danny was more than pleased when she came into the bar. He swore she had gotten prettier in the time he hadn't seen her. Mindy walked over to the bar with a huge smile on her face. He really liked the idea that it could be for him. Danny couldn't remember the last time someone smiled because they wanted to see him.
"Hey stranger. Long time!" he said excitedly as she sat down at the bar.
"Yeah work has been a real drag. For some reason unborn babies don't realize that I would like to actually have a social life," she said, laughing.
He started laughing too. Man her laugh was contagious.
"Wine or are we running the gamut of drinks tonight?"
"Hmmm. Wine sounds tempting. You know what, I trust your judgment. You just make me something. I promise I'll actually drink it. No Scotch though. Absolutely hate that shit."
"Yeah okay. I like a challenge." He quickly got to work thinking of what to make her. He just started blending alcohols and different types of juice. It felt like when he was back studying under Shulman. He looked at the concoction he had thrown together. It at least was a pretty color.
"Okay. Here you go. Fingers crossed," he said, sliding the drink to her and popping a straw in it.
Mindy smiled up at him and lowered her mouth to the straw. He really shouldn't be thinking about her mouth right now. She took a drink of it and closed her eyes as if she was really trying hard to absorb the taste of it. She sat there for a minute with her eyes and mouth closed as if she was trying to mess with him. Maybe she was.
"Okay what is this called? Because honestly…" she started. He was desperate to hear what she thought. "This is the most delicious drink I've probably ever had. Oh my God! This is awesome. Seriously, what is it called?"
"I just threw stuff together. I don't believe it actually has a name." He paused for a minute thinking. "How about the Lahiri special? Has a good ring to it?"
"Yeah that's good. What if instead, we called it Hurricane Mindy? It feels more accurate. Plus with a name like mine, hurricanes never get named after me."
He laughed at how weird it was that she wanted a hurricane with her name. But he also liked the name. He turned his back to her and picked up the little piece of chalk sitting on the counter. Under the specials list, he added "Hurricane Mindy." He turned back around to find a radiant smile that reached her eyes. "There you go. The Hurricane Mindy. Let's just hope that I can remember all that I put in that should I ever need to recreate it."
She popped her head up from another sip and said, "You better remember because I want so many more of these!" She laughed as she went in for another drink. "Seriously, Danny, this is delicious." She pushed her drink toward him. "Here, take a drink!"
"No thanks, I'm good, Min. I believe you."
"Did you just call me Min?"
"N-no."
"Okay, Dan."
She pulled her drink back and took another sip. "Danny I'm serious. You have to try it. I don't care if it's against the rules."
"Ugh fine." He pulled her drink back toward him and took a drink of it. She was right, it was pretty good. But then again, he knew that Hurricane Mindy had already had a pretty big influence in his life.
"Ooh. You must be a bad boy. Breaking the rules and all," she practically purred at him as she said it.
"Yeah you wish," he added lamely.
"Maybe I do."
He stared at her and she broke eye contact to take another drink. She looked back up innocently and said, "Actually I don't. I did that phase. It's awful. I think that was the poorest I've ever been because that "bad boy" said paying for dinner wasn't his thing and somehow he convinced me that I was more of a feminist for paying for both our meals. God that guy was an asshole."
And the tension was gone. The two of them continued to chat. He gave her crap for her favorite movie being You've Got Mail and she gave him crap for loving Scarface. They riffed on each other like they had known each other for years. Even without his ever growing feelings for her, Danny really appreciated just having someone to talk with. It had been a long time since he had a friend like her. Mindy was so open and she didn't really care that he usually was not. He did think that somehow in the little amount of time he had known her that he had been more open with her than he was in most of his past relationships put together. Things got a little awkward when Peter walked out and whispered in his ear. "Buddy, just FYI, Christina came in through the back to see you again. She really can't take no for an answer. I told her you were really busy. Should have mentioned you macking on some chick in the front. Damn. Anyway, she's gone now. You're welcome. At some point though, you do need to set her straight." Danny looked over at him once he had stopped whispering/spitting in his ear. He just nodded in reply. Just then, Jeremy came running behind the bar yelling about seeing Christina out front.
"Yeah I know. I told Danny. She actually came in the back. Danny, you really need to dump that bitch. She needs to go."
"I don't know how I could be any clearer what I want from her. It's on her now," Danny said trying to assure his friends, hoping Mindy didn't think this was a woman he was actually dating.
She chimed in though, "Lady problems? I can help. I know how to drive a bitch away. Let me at her."
All three men turned around to look at her. Danny was really wondering what she was thinking. Jeremy popped an eyebrow up at her suggestion and started to nod slowly. Peter looked from her to Danny and then said, "I like this one. She might come in handy."
Mindy smiled brightly and looked around the bar as if looking for her prey. "Okay. Which one is she?"
"She left. She's not actually here," Danny informed her.
"Oh. Well, I guess next time then."
"Not so next time, she's coming back. Look!" Jeremy said as they saw Christina coming toward the front doors. Mindy was in action pretty quickly. She disappeared into the back and took her drink with her. Peter followed her back there. Danny could hear chatter. He assumed they were making their plan. He also assumed Peter was informing her of the Christina situation. Really he had hoped to tell her about it himself. Christina walked straight to the bar and looked at Danny.
"Danny. We need to talk. I know what you've said, but I just don't think you've really heard my side of it," she said pleadingly.
"And I don't really think you've heard mine. I've moved on." He heard quickening footsteps from the back. He turned around and saw Mindy striding straight towards him.
"Baby! God I had the worst day! Please tell me you can leave the bar to Pete and Jere for an hour or more so we can have dinner." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Mindy leaned forward and placed a quick, casual peck on his lips. It was unexpected, it was fast, and it sent a familiar buzz zipping through him. He tried not to look stunned. She looked at him expectantly. He knew he should be talking. Danny wrapped an arm around her saying, "Um yeah babe. It is a little busy but the boys and Tam should be able to handle it. Especially if you had a crappy day," he said, trying to sound like a convincing doting boyfriend.
"Ahh you're the best, Daniel. I'm gonna go grab my coat and purse out of the back. Thank you!" Mindy exclaimed. She leaned back in to kiss him again. And then she was gone. He slowly turned and looked back at Christina. She looked stunned. "You really did move on?"
"Yes…"
"I thought you were just saying that to make me work harder for it. Who is she?"
"She is none of your business. Now, I just promised my girlfriend I would take her out for a late dinner. If you don't mind, I need to go."
He turned to walk towards the back. He looked back at her and she looked confused and maybe even a little sad. But the important part was that she was getting up and leaving, hopefully walking out of his life forever. He walked in the back to see Jeremy and Peter chatting excitedly with Mindy and telling her what a great job she had done.
"Seriously, you were so convincing. Did you really have a shitty day? I'd believe it. Are you really in love with Danny? I'd probably believe that too. Damn, why don't you act more?" Peter kept rambling on to Mindy. She just kept laughing and smiling and agreeing that she had missed her calling. Danny hoped to himself that it wasn't all an act. Those kisses may have been quick but he certainly felt something from them.
From there the night carried on pretty well. The boys were in such a good mood that they got the customers into a cheery mood. The comradery in the place was almost tangible. Danny couldn't remember a more spirited evening at Shulmans. At one point Jeremy took to the keyboard and started singing Piano Man. Everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time. Mindy, Peter, and Tamara had been downing shots at the bar. Given how excited Peter was tonight, he decided to let the no drinking rule slide. By the end of the night, all Danny could remember was laughing and smiling more than pretty much any given night. Mindy kept riling people up and encouraging the liveliness. He looked at her and felt some incredibly strong things. He kept serving drink after drink. They were kicking people out after last call. There was a lot to clean up, but they didn't really care. Mindy stayed and helped too. She seemed to have suddenly struck up a tight friendship with Peter, Jeremy, and Tamara just that night. Danny was so happy and yet all he could think about that night as he went to bed was how Mindy had kissed him.
