I thought I'd have a couple of drinks and chat it up with them.I thought I'd have a couple of drinks and chat it up with them. Some had their husbands, and one or two had found someone at the convention. What ended up is that we got a table near the rear (like I said, it took a while to get me out, so we were late) and before I knew it I was abandoned there. The girls talked for only a few minutes, then dragging their guys out onto the floor they had left me nursing a scotch. I was a little tired and the scotch only accentuated it; before long I was thinking about things long ago and far away. The reverie was interrupted by this rich tenor "Good evening." It was old LK, "Lawrence Knight" it turns out to be, another Larry. Deja vu I was not prepared to deal with tonight, but I couldn't just give a cold brush off to a kindly introduction. I got permission to call him "LK"--he winced when he said OK, but I couldn't stand the idea of "Larry II." He wasn't merely a sales rep; he was in engineering and there was some new process here he was checking out; he had done his job, in fact, and was leaving next noon though our "show" had another three days to run. He was efficient and professional. More importantly, though, he was generous, getting me to talk and, soon, even laugh. I switched from scotch to Calistoga and before long we, too, were on the dance floor. LK was a good dancer but didn't make me feel like the klutz I know I am. |