…The restaurant is not far from her apartment and while walking she muses about “The Realtors”. They are like a scary girl gang; travelling in packs, conspiring to come up with cutesy names for every neighborhood. In this case, they adopted a New York City naming convention for this neighborhood in the seedy section of San Francisco. If Manhattan can have South of Houston (SOHO), then San Francisco can have South of Market (SOMA), a pretentious name, not at all like the district itself. It is literally on the wrong side of the tracks, if you consider street cars and cable cars to be the tracks in question. “Live/Work” is another Realtor Misnomer – there is not enough room for either. … She walks to Got You Beet in about fifteen minutes. It is a typical San Francisco night, and the cool fog-kissed air keeps her from working up a sweat, with the added benefit of fluffing up her hair. When they made the date, he had promised to wear a green carnation. A shrewd – if not obvious – move one of her girlfriends had taught her, a safeguard allowing Beulah to turn around and walk out if the guy with the goofy flower is a dud. Upon entering, she smiles and appraises the spacious vegetarian restaurant, scanning for the bright green flower on some loser’s lapel. And then she almost gasps aloud. There, already seated at one of the coveted two tops, was the most handsome man she had ever seen. There are only five tables -or-two in the family style restaurant, and she is glad he came early, so they could have some privacy.
Considering the undeniable fact that <oh my Goddess> he is gorgeous, she ponders briefly taking a selfie and IM’ing it immediately to the Women Who Wine. They would pee themselves. He is ghostly pale, like LeStat in Interview, and elegant in chiseled black attire. The collar and cuffs are startlingly white and starched to the thickness of fine stationery. He had an old fashioned hairstyle, a little long – showing off white blond waves framing a masculine face – not too pretty, not too harsh. So this guy somehow manages to make a green carnation look svelte. Wow. Straightening her shoulders, Beulah insinuates her long legs and swanky coat between the tables, clamping her mouth shut to avoid drooling down the front of her outfit. He looks up just before she gets to the booth, he has already left room for her to sit down, guilelessly avoiding the awkward scooching coders are known for. Clearing her throat, she unintentionally warbles:
“Um, Gerard?”
“Beulah?” He smiles, then says “It must be you, zere are so few young women attracted to garish green lapel decorations.”
“Yes, it’s me. I mean, I’m Beulah. So you must be Gerard, hi.” This cannot be Gerard. Oh. Hell. No. Angie would have given me a heads up. There’s gonna be a bait and switch, the real Gerard <fat, balding, Izod shirt in puce> is on his way – this must be Gerard’s gay friend who got here early in order to chaperone. He is standing up, and <swallow the slobber> he is just the right height. About six feet tall. Holy crap. Mommy, can I lick him? Hush up Beulah’s Brain. Wait, that’s not my brain talking….
CGTrippWriter 