You push, I'll steer

the parking lot some 15 minutes later

Now that you know the truth about the mess I'm in lets move on to the part where I try to make amends…

I caught up with Marian on the parking lot outside the club just in time to see her slide in behind the wheel of an old rusty Fiat Ritmo. I called out her name and hurried my steps but she didn't seem too interested in talking to me. Let's put it this way, if looks could kill would have dropped like a stone under her angry glare. …. *ouch!*… The car door was slammed in my face before I had a chance to say or do anything… *sigh* So much for trying to apologize…

For a moment there I seriously contemplated stepping out in front of the car to prevent her from leaving, but in the end I decided against it. Mainly because I had a feeling it wouldn't have slowed her down one single bit. I knew from experience that getting in her way could result in serious injury.

Fortunately, though, luck was on my side. I heard her turn the key in the ignition once, twice, three times…. But nothing happened. The engine didn't even turn over. No spark. No grumble. No nothing. I know you shouldn't laugh at the misfortune of others but... this was just too funny.

A string of obscenities followed Marian as she got out to open the hood. " Fucking piece of shit car," she kicked on the front bumper with such force that one of her 4 inch stiletto pumps came flying off her foot. It somersaulted through the air like a deadly missile and landed heel-first in the mud dangerously close to where I was standing.

She made a slight forward motion as if to pick it up but I beat her to it. Bending down I reached for the shoe one millisecond before her. Our hands collided along with our heads. Both yelped, winced and stumbled backwards.

"Ouch! Give me that!" She growled, snatching her shoe out of my hand. "What are you doing out here anyway. Shouldn't you be celebrating with your buddies right now, or did you put your money on the wrong horse… "

"Ha, very funny, but you're wrong, I had no part in that silly bet… Look, I came out here to apologize but you're just not going to make it easy for me, are you?".

Marian looked at me grimly. "Did you expect me to?"

I sighed. "No, but Marian, honey, you-"

Her eyes blazed, and she snapped, "Don't honey me honey… You show up after more than a year without as much as a "Hey there, remember me, your douchebag of an ex boyfriend" Or "Hiya stranger… looking god… how's life treating you?… And you expect me to be all polite and chummy with you…. Think again Mister!"

"Okay fine, you're right. I messed up and you have every reason to be mad at me. I'm really sorry about what happened back there. I knew what was going on and I should have put a stop to it, but to tell you the truth I was curious about how you would handle the situation… "

" Great… you were curious… Oh, well I guess that makes it alright then," she taunted, sarcasm evident in her voice.

"Okay, okay, that's a lame excuse…. Look, I know you and I know that you are very much capable of taking care of yourself… So I didn't interfere, figuring you'd teach them a lesson… which you did I might add."

"It was well deserved!" Her eyes danced for a moment but the rest of her face remained solemn.

"I agree. That guy you kneed back there, Steve, took it a bit too far. He was supposed to hit on you and insinuate that he'd pay you for your time and the bet was about whether or not you would shoot him down. But the way he grabbed onto your arm and tried to force himself on you was not cool. That should have been my cue to step in and put a stop to things. But I didn't, and for that I am truly sorry. It was a mistake on my part. Okay, there I said it, I made a MISTAKE… Happy now!?"

"Holy cow, alert the media! Mr Big Shot isn't perfect after all."

"And I never clamed to be. I'm only human, and so are you my dear So, get off your high horses and accept my apology. We haven't seen each other in a long, looong time and I just want us to get along you know, as friends or whatever " I explained with crushing sincerity.

"You and I were never friends but okay you're off the hook for now anyway. But only because I need your help to get that shitty car of mine rolling again."

"Ha, good luck with that one! My interest in cars is limited to knowing which way it's going by looking at the headlights."

"I don't need a mechanic, just someone with a little muscles. Come on big guy, you push, I'll steer"