"Kirbo!" the gang yelled as Kirby walked into Houlihan's Bar and Grill the next afternoon.

"So how was your big date?" Leslie asked.

"Get lucky, Kirby?" Billy asked, causing them all to laugh.

"Guys give him a break!" Jewels said. "It's obvious that he got lucky. Just look at his face!"

"Hey shut up, Jewels." Kirby said, ignoring the burning of his cheeks. "Dale isn't like that at all."

"So tell us all about it, Kirbo." Kevin said.

"Yeah, tell us!" Followed the chorus of his friends.

"All right, All right. Fine." Kirby said. "You want to know what happened? Well, for starters, I couldn't take her to

The Eagle's Nest because I forgot to make a reservation, so the damn place wouldn't seat us. Then we went to

this restaurant on the waterfront that could have passed for a dollhouse. And their cheeseburgers aren't half

as good as St. Elmo's."

The comment brought a round of cheers and applause from his friends.

"Then the restaurant didn't even have what Dale ordered, and we both ended up eating cheeseburgers. Then

we got into a fight on the way home. Are you satisfied?"

"But you made up, right?" Alec said with a smirk.

"Oh Alec, get your mind out of the gutter." Leslie said. "

"Jesus, Kirbs. That sounds like one hellacious date." Kevin said.

"Well, at least you got your date, Kirby." Wendy said. "I'm glad it worked out for you. No matter how bad it

was."

Before he could respond, the bartender approached their table. "Kirby Kaeger?"

Kirby looked up, surprised. "Yeah, I'm Kirby."

"Phone call for you at the bar."

He grinned at his friends and walked over to the bar and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi."

He almost fainted at the sound of her voice.

"Hey, Dale."

"Listen, I was wondering if you're free later?"

"Dale, I'm free forever for you."

"Kirby, that's so sweet."

He could almost see her blushing through the phone.

"What'd you have in mind?" He asked.

"Well, I heard about this great vegetarian restaurant on Montrose Avenue."

Kirby laughed. "Since when are you a vegetarian? You ate that huge cheeseburger last night."

"I'm not." Dale said. "But suddenly I have the worst craving for alfalfa sprouts and a plate of mashed yeast."

As Kirby hung up the phone, he couldn't help but smile.

"What was that all about?" Kevin asked.

"It was her, wasn't it?" Alec asked.

"Actually, yes. It was." Kirby said.

"Probably called to apologize for that date from hell the two of you had." Billy said, causing them all to laugh.

"Actually it wasn't the date from hell." Kirby said. "It was the greatest day of my life." They stared at him in

amazement.

"Kirby, what's going on?" Wendy asked. "A minute ago you were just telling us about how the restaurant..."

But Kirby didn't hear them.

He was headed for home, to spend the evening with the woman he loved.

The End