Good Evening, Mr. Carter

Chapter 7

November twenty-first, 1975, the third Friday of the month. We meet at an Italian restaurant that night, across town. She was wearing a scarlet red dress, with black heals. And wore the same red lipstick. Her short hair was curled that night and she wore black eyeliner that made the illusion of her green eyes now being a dark blue. That night, I wore my black suit with a black tie, and underneath I wore a white button up shirt.

    I bought a new pair of black loafers specifically for that night, making it my third pair of loafers that I now had. I had three pairs of black loafers, two pairs of slippers that I wore around the house, and two pairs of casual shoes that I wore on the weekends. Making a total of seven shoes that sat on my black wooden shoe rack, which was near the front door of my apartment. The top row held my three black loafers, the second row held the two pairs of casual going out shoes I had, and the bottom row held my two slippers.

    It had been raining earlier that morning, but by the time it struck six, the clouds in the sky had disappeared. I sat near the back of the Italian Restaurant, at a table set for two people. The waitress who approached me, wore black slacks with a white button up shirt. The top two buttons were left undone, leaving her collarbone exposed. She had light blonde hair that was held up in a bun, which was appropriate being that she worked at a restaurant.

    "Good evening, sir. Can I get you anything to drink?" She made direct eye contact with me as she asked this.    

    "Your finest bottle of red wine, please." I had not picked up the menu. A few minutes later the waitress brought out a bottle of Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barbera Piemonte red wine. A rather popular wine in Piedmont, Italy. Known for being high in acidity and low in tannins and a wine with a combination of many berries.

    "Will there be someone joining you this evening, sir?" She politely asked as she began to pour me a glass of wine.

    "Yes, she should be here soon." It was ten past six when Linda arrived. I stood up from where I was sitting as she walked up to the table.

    "I am so sorry for running a little late, Mr. Carter" I pulled out the chair for Linda to sit in as she apologized to me.

    "A busy women should not apologize for being a few minutes late." I took my seat across from Linda, who had a frantic look on her face. "Do not fret, my dear. I am the very least upset, unless there is something else worrying you."

    The guilt of infidelity. Does her worries come from the fear of being caught by her husband? Or does her worries come from the guilt of the act she is committing? Does she not worry how I must feel? No, that is a preposterous question. Being that she has not the slightest clue of my knowing, her worries do not include the thought of me.

    "May I ask what your thoughts are on Claude Debussy?" I asked as I began to pour her a glass of red wine.

    "To be quite frank with you, I know very little on the subject of Claude Debussy. I have listened to his famous piece, La Mer on my record player. But other from that, I know next to nothing regarding his personal life."

    "Well no worries, my intentions were not to quiz you on how well you know this French Composer. I myself, am more fond of Frédéric Chopin. A poetic genius, if I may state. But though someone is a genius, ones morals principles may not align with those of gods."

    "You speak of such high intelligence, Mr. Carter."

    A few minutes later, the blonde waitress took our order. For appetizers I ordered us carbonara arancini and for dinner, I ordered Cozze Ripiene which is harvested mussels stuffed with breadcrumbs along with a mixture of eggs, cheese, garlic, and olive oil. And Linda ordered Carbonara, made with Pecorino Romano cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, black peppers, and cured pork.

    "Do you know any of Frédéric Chopin's pieces?" I asked once the waitress left after taking our order for the evening.

    "I think I have, but I cannot recall from the top of my head."

    I was quite disappointed, if I must say. A women should know such simple knowledge of this famous composer and pianist. Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53, one of Chopin's most admired compositions created in 1842. Known for being one of Chopin's romantic piano pieces. Fantaisie-Impromptu, played in C minor which is one of Chopin's most played compositions that was written in the year of, 1834 but never published by him, because of Chopin's commission with the Baroness, this piece was not his property; instead it was published by Julian Fontana. Another classic is, Piano Concerto No. 1 written by Chopin when he was twenty years old in the year 1830 and first preformed in Poland during his farewell concerts.

    Claude Debussy, La mer, first preformed in Paris in the year 1905. Deux Arabesques, one of Debussy's earliest works. String Quartet in G minor, another one of Debussy's earlier pieces in 1893, a masterpiece that paved the way for Prélude à L'Après-Midi D'Un Faune, a symphonic poem by Claude Debussy composed in the year 1894 and preformed in Paris for the first time that same year, in the month of December.

    "Ballade no. 1 in G minor, op. 23 composed by Frédéric Chopin is my favorite piece if I must say." I casually sipped on the red glass of wine I had poured for myself, as she was on her second glass.

    "Shall we listen to the music piece tonight?" I could see Linda's red lipstick stained on the glass of wine. A smirk appeared on my face when she asked this, a beautiful gesture, indeed.

    The wind was starting to pick up by the time we left the Italian restaurant, at eight pm. As I looked over to Linda while holding the door open for her, I could see her goosebumps from the moment the cold air breeze hit her skin. Like the gentleman I am, I took off my black coat and placed it over her shoulders.

    "Oh my My. Carter, you do not have to be so kind" She said as the door to the restaurant shut behind us.

    "It must not be the first time a man has offered you their coat." By that time I was trying to wave down a taxi. We waited a full three minutes, until a yellow cab finally stopped for us.

    When we arrived at my apartment, Linda slipped off her black heals as I placed my new black loafers on the top row of the shoe rack that sat next to the front door. As usual, she would sit on my living room couch while I poured us both a drink, bringing the two bottles over to the glass rectangular table that sat in front of my couch. For her, a glass of red wine, Cheval Blanc imported from Bordeaux, France. One of my father's favorite. And for me, a glass of whiskey, Old Crow. I usually have my whiskey over ice, if it is small ice cubs, I prefer two cubs and with bigger ice cubs, I prefer one. Usually I only have to worry about the ice portions when I am out at the bar, since at home I have a specific ice tray that I use for my whiskey drinks.

    "Shall I play Frédéric Chopin?" I politely asked Linda as she sat comfortably on my living room couch.

    "Yes, of course!" A rather exciting response, I for one, was just as excited as she was. 

    After I placed the bottle of whiskey and bottle of wine on the glass table, along with our cups, I walked over to my record player that stood across from the couch. I played Ballade no. 1 in G minor, op. 23, by Frédéric Chopin on my record player. A ten minute ballade, played as a solo piano piece.

    I poured her a glass of red wine, along with pouring myself a glass of whiskey, which already had the one solid square ice cube sitting at the bottom. I had no doubts, neither worries. I did not feel the slightest anger nor sense of regret.

    What had to be done, had to be done. As those of religion say frequently: it is god's plans, god's plan of salvation. I am only cleansing this earth, fulfilling my purpose in life.