3. I knew I had to call you soon.

I knew I had to call you soon. I was afraid you would forget me. So I got your number from Bill. He told me not to breathe heavy and to speak up. I asked him about what you liked. He said you liked movies, he thought. I like movies, I thought. He also said you liked music. I took two showers the morning before I called you. Then I took a nap. I made myself a sandwich and ate half of it, then I picked up the phone for the thirteenth time. It was your voicemail.
"Hello, you've reached the voicemail of Jennifer Meadows. I am sorry I missed your call. Leave me a message and I will get call you back. Cheers."
I hung up. I thought the "Cheers" part was really nice, although I wondered if they minded that at work.
I ate the rest of my sandwich, although I don't think I enjoyed it. Then I thought about taking another shower. But then it was three o'clock and I thought you would be leaving work soon. And it was already a Tuesday, and I thought I should ask you out earlier in the week. Because your schedule might get full.
I dialed the number again.
"Hello, Jennifer Meadows," you said.
"Jenny," I said.
"Yes," you said.
"Hi. This is Roger. Bill's friend," I said.
"Roger," you said.
"We met at the Bowling Bar last week. Thursday," I said.
"Hi," you said.
"Well, I know we didn't get to talk much," I said, "but I was thinking maybe we could have lunch, maybe, and maybe get to talk some more."
"Sure," you said.
"Sure?" I said.
"Sure," you said.
We made a plan to have lunch that Thursday. I would call you in the morning, and we would pick a place near your job.
"See you Thursday," you said.
"See you Thursday," I said.
When I hung up the phone I was so excited I had to take another shower.

* * *
I was in the middle of a nap later when I got a call. It was from the employment agency. They had a job for me for the next day and maybe the day after that. It was a filing job. I knew how to file. I had done it before.
The job was in Brooklyn. It took me an hour to get there. The subway took a long time and a man there with a drum said to believe in Jesus. He said this very loud. And played his drum very loud. I could not read my newspaper anyway because the lady in front of me was reading hers, and she had a big newspaper. She was sneezing and wheezing, too. I thought about my date with you.
When I got a lady took me to the conference room. The table was covered in files. She took a pile of them and walked me to a line of file cabinets.
"These go here," she said. "File by number. Not by name. Okay. File by number. Not by name."
They let me have lunch at two o'clock. I was very hungry. There was an Italian deli nearby. I got a big sandwich. It was a good sandwich.
Halfway through eating it I realized that meant I only had twenty dollars to my name. Still, it was a good sandwich. I ate it with a cream soda.
I kept filing and thinking, thinking and filing. By five o'clock a little more than half the table was done. The lady said they would need me for tomorrow. I asked her if I could do it Friday.
She said it had to get done tomorrow.
I told her I could not make it.
She seemed upset.
I told her I was sorry.
She told me to stay until six and she would sign my card and then she left.
If I came in the next day I would be too far from the City. Do you know what I mean?

* * *
On Thursday morning I got up early and took a shower. I did not have any more cool shirts to wear. The only nice one I had was a long-sleeved white shirt with buttons on the color. But it was a heavy shirt. And the weatherman said it would be 80 degrees that day. And sometimes I sweat a lot. But when I put the shirt on, I thought I looked good.
I had to resist taking another shower before I left. Because I did not want to be late.
I had to meet you near your job.You smiled when I walked up. My back was soaked in sweat but I don't think you saw that.
"Hello, Roger," you said.
"Hello, Jenny," I said, and I went to shake your hand. You shook my hand and then I realized mine was wet with sweat.
Next: I only had twenty dollars in my pocket.