Meep Meep

Last night I grabbed a bite to eat with ME at Zaytinya, then we had a cocktail at Proof after. While we were having a drink I witnessed one of the most bizarre date exit strategies ever employed by a man.

ME and I were sitting on the couch, which is fairly large and can seat about six, when another couple came in and sat on the far end. The guy was a little older than I and wearing a suit. The woman was a bit younger, blond, cute, wearing a short dress and heels. The guy looked familiar to me and after a few minutes I placed the face and realized he works for one of my vendors. We met once or twice before in person two years ago and have spoken on the phone several times. However, I don't think he recognized me and I wasn't anxious to strike up a conversation with him, so I basically ignored him while he and the woman shared a drink.

An hour later ME and I were getting ready to leave. Me excused herself to go to the restroom, so I sat there and finished my wine. While I was sitting there I heard the other couple have the following conversation:

Guy: Well, I am going to head back to my office.
Girl: Now? It's 10:15.
Guy: Yeah, I have to go back for a while.
Girl: To your office!
Guy: Yeah. You can get home, right? Take a cab or something? You can get back?
Girl: Yes, great. I'll just take a cab home while you go to your office.

They were speaking in hushed voices, but the girl was getting pretty angry at the guy. As she spoke her volume would spike on certain words to stress her point. The guy, on the other hand, kept completely calm and monotone, which only seemed to make her angrier.

She continued:

Girl: I can take care of myself. I can cab home, or Metro. And you're going back to your office!

After this the guy said something I couldn't understand. At first I wasn't eaves dropping, but they hooked me in and now I wanted to hear what the debate was about. I was trying to piece together the conversation and construct the background story to this meeting.

I sensed history between the two, so that ruled out a first date. The guy seemed aloof and even distant, so maybe they were former flings having a reconciliatory get together. It could have been a break up, but everything up until the "I'm going to the office" comment was so civilized that this was unlikely. My money was on the story that they were former flings and the girl requested a meeting to try and patch things up, and the guy wasn't interested.

The girl was still muttering something to the dude while he signed his credit card receipt, then ME came back from the restroom. We were ready to leave, so I was momentarily distracted from the scene next to me as I stood up and reached for our coats. Then I saw a flash of grey go through my left peripheral vision and a blast of cold air rush at me from the front doors. When I looked up I saw the front doors slowly swinging shut and the dude was already thirty feet down the sidewalk and moving fast.

The girl yelled "Tom!" and scurried to get her coat and purse together. ME turned and asked what was going on but all I said was "Come on, grab your coat, we have to go outside". She was confused but did as I said.

We left a little after the girl, who was doing her best to chase after "Tom" in her high heels. When we got outside she was only about twenty feet from the front door and just standing there on the sidewalk looking left and right. Tom was gone. I mean out of sight like he vanished or dove under a car. That block in front of Proof is long, so he had to have been running to get out of sight so fast, it was amazing. He looked like an average guy but he ran like the Road Runner. All that was missing was the "Meep Meep".

As ME and I waited for cabs the girl stood on the corner, crying, and furiously dialing her cell phone. It was a sad scene. I almost asked her if she needed cash to get home, but I opted against it because I didn't want to make her situation worse by embarrassing her further.

I fished through the stack of business cards on my desk and found "Tom's" card. I would love to call him and ask him what happaned last night.