~ This never happened. It’s a complete work of fiction. But I was thinking about it and I thought, man, wouldn’t it be cool if it did happen. ~
Tonight I was at a club. It’s one I've come to before, but don't always like to be at. It’s always busy, the music is normally really good and the drinks are the best. But it's not the kind of place I fit in.
Tonight I was having a pretty good time. Like a ghost among the living, I went relatively unnoticed, but still enjoyed just being in the crowd. Then a woman caught my eye. I spent a considerable amount of time watching her, looking from afar, content to admire her with no desire to talk to her. She was a very rare and beautiful woman, especially for a place like this. And so of course I was intimidated by her. I nearly felt like a stepped on puppy just looking at her.
Normally the crowd here is much younger than me. Since they don’t make a good night club for… older people, especially any kind of club I would ever want to visit, I find myself coming here most times and just simply sitting in a corner. I feel content to just enjoy the sights and the music and go unnoticed.
But this woman, this woman was unbelievable. I had tried several times all night to ignore her so I didn’t feel like some kind of creep gawking at her. But I always found myself looking back to her. She was my age, professional, refined and highly enigmatic. Her dress complimented her well. It’ wasn’t made to give others a free view of her body like so many other women’s dresses in this place. It was dignified, classy and obviously very expensive. Her hair was also fantastic, alluring and added so much to her beauty in an understated way. The way she held her drink showed she had manners, some sort of social education and upbringing. The way she comported herself had and air of refined etiquette.
If anyone was far too good for a place like this, she set the gold standard. Which made me crazy with curiosity as to why she was even here in the first place. Alone of all things. And all night long, good looking men, men in suits and with flashy jobs and cocky attitudes that normally got them any woman in the place, would go up to her. And within only a moment or two they would leave, head hung low and shoulders slumped as she gave them nothing, not even a millimeters worth of interest. One, after another, after another, men were being shot down by her. It was a massacre. She was leaving dead bodies behind her like a nuclear war. And yet, I didn’t get the sense it was because she had some kind of shitty attitude.
Then I saw it. It was for the tiniest of instants. The only way I was even sure I saw what I saw was I had to rewind it in my head and play it over and over again. But it was real. It was there. This woman needed help. Not a single person saw it. The fact that the drink she had in her hand never touched her lips. Not once. The fact that her eyes never stopped looking towards the door. The fact that she probably never heard a single word any person has said to her the entire night. And it was compelling to me that this poor woman needed something, and she might be under duress.
It was the only reason I even got up from my table and went to her. If it wasn’t for that revelation, I would have never in my life even thought of talking to her. I’m not that insane. She was shooting down guys way better looking and more confident and wealthier than me. I never would stand a chance with this woman. I’m not so naive as to think I stood a chance with her and wouldn’t immediately be shot down by her the second I approached her.
I made my way to her from across the room. I tried to move quickly through the crowd. And when I got to her, I simply stood before her. I didn’t say anything right away, or do anything. I made myself stand tall and straight so she would feel my intimidating presence before her. But I made no move towards her. I let her adjust to my standing there, subconsciously accepting my authority over her as I dwarfed her in height and stature. When she finally made eye contact with me, she bit her bottom lip as she looked up at me. I slowly and gently leaned in and whispered into her ear, “What is a little girl like you doing out so late without your Daddy?”
She instantly jumped back in shear panic. Her face went flush as she felt the headlights bearing down upon her. “How did you know?” she asked.
“Small things. Things you come to recognize over time.”
“Well, he wouldn’t like it if he saw me talking to you,” she said as she looked around the room and back towards the door. “You should go.”
“How late is he?”
She looked back to me and didn’t say anything.
“Has he called or texted to say that he’s running late?”
Again, she said nothing. She only looked me in the eyes with a sorrowful look on her face. And there it was again. The same look on her face that caused me to get up and come over.
“Let me guess, this was a first date? A first meeting? You met him online and…” I didn’t have to keep going. The tear beginning to form in her eye told me everything I needed to know as she quickly wiped it away.
“Come on. Let’s get you home.”
“No, I can’t go. He may show up…”
I put my hand up to stop her from talking. I kept my hand up and I didn’t move it. Then I touched her chin to get her attention and to focus on looking into my eyes.
“He’s not coming,” I said quietly and gently. “I’ve watched you for over three hours now, turning away men left and right. You never once checked your phone, so I know he never texted, never sent a message. Which tells me he’s not coming. It also tells me that he’s not a very good Daddy if he’s left you here all alone and couldn’t bother to even let you know he wasn’t coming. But I think you know that already. I think that’s what the tear was about. So come on, let’s get you home.”
I didn’t ask her permission. I didn’t wait for her to give it to me. I simply took her hand and I began leading her to the door. She followed behind me holding tightly to my hand. I stopped at the coat check desk, and she retrieved her coat while I took my cell phone out and called for a cab. When her coat was given to her, I took it from her and held it out for. I could tell she was accustomed to having men help her with her coat, the way she turned and extended her arms so I could slip it on and over her shoulders.
I once again took her hand and held it as I lead her outside. I told her I had called for a cab. She didn’t respond as we passed through the crowd of people still waiting to get inside. We got to the curb just in time for the taxi to pull around and meet us.
I opened her door and I let her in first, then I slid in next to her.
“You don’t have to…”
She was trying to be polite, as well as possibly trying to get me to leave her alone now that she was in a cab. But I stopped her from saying anything and asked for her address. She reluctantly told me and I repeated it for the driver.
The cab drove off and we sat quietly for a few minutes. Then she asked me how I knew back there. I turned to her and smiled.
“My wife, who passed away several years ago was a little. She and I were together since we were kids. We went to school together, grew up together and got married right out of high school. She and I discovered the lifestyle together. And I could always tell when she felt little and took on a persona of innocent youth. I don’t usually stare at people, but I was watching you tonight and I saw it. I recognized it and I could see you felt like you were in trouble. So I wanted to help.”
She didn’t say anything in return. She just simply watched out the window as the city passed us by. She kept quiet the whole time we took the ride across town to a wealthy suburb. The taxi stopped and I asked him to wait for me. I then got out of the car and held the door open for her as she slid out. Once again I held out my hand for her and I helped her to her feet.
As she walked to her front door, I didn’t say anything as I waited at the taxi. I just wanted to make sure she got inside before I left. She put her key in the door and opened it, then she stopped and walked back to me.
“Thank you,” she said as she stood in front of me looking in my eyes.
“You’re welcome. I hope you kick his ass if you don’t mind me saying. Someone like you deserves much better and he really screwed up tonight.”
Of course I wanted to say he was a pathetic dumbass of monumental levels for disappointing a woman like her. But I didn’t want to offend her, especially not knowing their history.
She reached into her purse and she pulled out a small business card. She bit her lip again as she looked at it and thought a moment. She then handed it to me. “I wouldn’t mind if maybe you called me sometime and we had a coffee or something?”
I smiled as inside I felt so very honored by her asking. Shit, I practically wanted to do cartwheels. But I kept my cool, I took her hand and I kissed it.
“I would love to.”
She smiled and went back to her home. She waved as she shut the door and went inside. I got back into the cab and left for home looking at her card.