"I'm D- David."I'm D- David..." I stammered. "I am pleased to meet you, David. I am -- new in this country, and I am not familiar with American customs." She pouted a little. "Some of the men make fun of me when I smoke, but I see other women smoke too?" "Well, cigarette holders went out of fashion in the 1920's. It's almost never seen these days." "So I am -- how you say -- old fashion?" She said that smiling, with a lovely twinkle in her eyes. For the entire conversation, our eyes were locked. We talked the rest of the night, standing at the bar. Frequent interruptions were the rule, since many of the men she had left at the bar simply moved to where we were. As time passed, though, one by one they gave up, and left us alone. Last call sounded, and Victoria gave me a questioning look. "What is this 'last call'?" she queried in the voice and accent I had fallen in love with. "It means that the bar is closing soon, and if you want another drink, you have to order it now," I explained. "Ah. I see. But I do not want another drink... of wine. May we leave?" "Sure. Where's your car parked? I'll walk you to it." "I..." She paused, searching for the word. "Rode in taxi here. I would like to... spend longer with you. You are... interesting to me." So we left and headed to my place across the street. "Hey, GEEK!!!" came a loud shout. Victoria looked at me quizzically, but I said nothing, and we kept walking. Three guys ran up to us, and then blocked our way. I recognized them from the crowd around Victoria earlier. They were definitely drunk, and all _much_ bigger than I was. "Baby, you need a REAL man, not this geek-ass punk," one of them said. "Yeah, I can beat him up with one hand," another said, getting in my face. More accurately, putting his chest in my face. I was beginning to feel worried. Victoria spoke. This time it wasn't the light, clipped, musical tones that I had been happily listening to all night. "Leave us alone. Go away." The voice was cold, commanding, stern. Much to my surprise, the men walked away quietly. I looked at her with a little bit of wonder in my eyes. She turned to me, and I looked into those deep brown eyes. |