“I like those uniform tops you wear at Sapphire,” I said to the 22-year-old over a trio of tuna tartare and a bottle of 2005 Rombauer Chardonnay.
“Those aren’t a uniform,” she said. “They like us to dress edgy.” I imagined her fishing through her lingerie drawer looking for something to wear to work. I took a gulp of the Chardonnay. Edgy worked for me. We decanted the 2002 Darioush Cabernet to drink with dinner. Sarah had peppercorn
“Is elk some
“I did do a pole dance once on amateur night,” she said. “But I was flipping my head around and crashed it into the pole.” I could see how that might bring an end to a stripping career. “I have some friends who are strippers,” she said. “You know the worst thing about the job isn’t the customers – it’s the other girls.” Apparently it was a very competitive business and some of them played dirty.
It was 9:15 Sunday night in
Like the rest of the Peppermill, the Fireside Room was decorated in lights and colors that were trendy in 1980, either a tribute to the death of disco or what actually killed it. We sat at the large circular booth surrounding the gas fireplace and ordered a 60-ounce scorpion with three straws. The waitress was Brazilian. There was some kind of nutty hotel exchange program going on and
I had brought a couple of Dunhills so Gabe and I lit up and enjoyed them by the fire. We ordered another scorpion, on the rocks this time. By the time we finished the cigars, Sarah was too warm and wanted to move to a booth away from the fire. There was a thin man sitting alone there so we asked if we could share and he said fine. His name was Chris.
I asked Chris if he lived in
“Actually, I’m having some health issues right now and I’m not working.” I looked him over and offered that he looked healthy. “They’re not visible,” he said. “I have about a year to live.” Chris had aneurisms in a couple places on major blood vessels. They could go at any time.
Sarah hailed the Brazilian and asked for a cocktail menu. Without needing to ask what any of us wanted, she ordered two huge drinks that looked like they came from an ice cream parlor for Gabe and Chris, a pomegranate margarita for herself and a pomtini for me. I guess when you run cocktails for a living you get to know what people drink.
Chris said, “I’m trying to decide right now if I want to have an operation. There’s only a 20% survival rate, but if it works—” He motioned like a plane taking off. “I’m good indefinitely.”
I asked if he had found the very best doctor in the world for his condition.
“There’s a guy in
“Doctors are like auto mechanics,” I said. “For this, you don’t just want someone competent. You want the best in the world.”
Chris nodded. “Funny,” he said. “I used to be an auto mechanic. I worked on Ferraris my whole life.”
“Then you understand,” I said. He nodded.
Sarah asked if Chris would take a picture of the three of us. He did.
“Ferrari will take me back at any time,” he said. “If I get this health problem handled I’d like to go back to work. There’s an opening in
The Brazilian came to tell us she was leaving and had to close out the check. It was late anyway.
“I live in
“When you get there,” I said, “look me up.”
5 comments:
When Chris gets to Seattle, I would like you have both of you over for a delicious homemade dinner.
I'll fix a dinner specifically made for aneurism recovery.
Take care,
M.
your blog keeps getting better.
Hello Richard,
Have you tought of joining Charles Simonyi (http://charlesinspace.com/) for a a poker game in Space ;-)
BTW :
What has happened to you ?
You're no longer interested in the geek world of software engineering ?
Having too much booze and meeting bad girls is going to seriously damaged your health :-)
I hope you will get past ok (a second time) :-)
Take Care My Friend!
Adam Ant? I never thought you'd be a glam rocker.
Good luck to Chris. He seems like a sweet man.
Post a Comment