Chapter 1: Tony

It may not of been spring, but it was a welcome change. After what had been a series of cold nights with no relief in sight? Freedom was finally upon Tony Joel. He was dressing for a night out. He paused and mentally acknowledged his accomplishment. This was from the fact that he could finally enjoy the silk dress shirt he had purchased for himself as an incentive. After all the hard work at the health club, he was finally able to fit into it. The television was playing in the background. A bad habit Tony had developed as a result of spending many a night in his apartment with his Sony as his only company. Well tonight that was all going to change. As he slipped on his new jeans. He mentally patted himself on the back. The plain truth was Tony had to buy new jeans because his old ones were just plainly too big. He paused by the mirror and gave himself a last look. As he looked in the mirror, he began to laugh. "Ok, I'm not the Lady Killer, like Chandler Bing, makes himself out to be." But Tony Joel made his own way. After a minor adjustment to his collar, he grabbed his jacket and out the door he went.

The evening turned out to be a lot less than what Tony had hoped for. He ventured out to this "cool" club. That he had been told about from his co-workers. But the Club 57 was anything but that to Tony. It started out all right; he spent a majority of the evening watching a drop dead gorgeous red head. She reminded him of this girl he had a thing for in High School. The blonde bartender, whose nametag read "Stacy", told him that she was a regular and her name was Terri. He then noticed the red head was staring at him while he was standing at the bar. Tony finished his third beer and asked Stacy to give him one of those silk roses for sale in the vase behind her. He then took that rose and crossed the smoke filled room. He paused for a moment and thought to him self, "Ok, I can do this." "Don't be scared " he reassured himself as he began to venture towards the woman.

As he approached her table, he asked her" May I join you?" as he handed her the rose. Terri then replied with a giggle in her voice, "Why an I coming apart?" He proceeded to sit with this incredible red head and got to know her over the course of the next hour. As a lull came to the conversation, Tony offered to get another round of drinks. Terri replied. " Sure". As Tony picked up the glasses and started to walk away, Terri grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear. "While you're up, will you get me the blonde's phone number, I could stand a little action with her." Tony was shocked beyond belief, not only by Terri's request but also to the fact that he relayed the message to Stacy the bartender as he was leaving.

As Tony exited the club he paused for a moment to reflect on the evening's events. It was about 11:00 pm as he climbed into his red Grand Am. Tony hit the roof of the car out of anger and screamed, "What is this world coming to?" He started his car and began to back out. He suddenly stopped and shook his head as he watched Stacy and Terri leaving the bar together. They saw him leaving and waved while yelling" Thanks for getting the two of us together". Tony threw his car into park and sat there for a moment. Thinking to him self, "Why do I sit myself up for these falls?" " I've worked long and hard at the health club to lose 50 pounds." Grumbling to him self "Why do I bother?", He put his car into gear and pulled out on to Grant Boulevard. He was thinking of going to the White Castle on the highway when the weather took a turn for the worse. A sudden downpour made it hard to see, so he pulled his car over to the side of the street. Turning on the radio and waiting for the worst to blow over. The radio began to play, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant". Tony's mind then began to drift back to a simpler time. A knocking at his window interrupted his meditation. Tony opened his eyes startled to see a small brown haired woman, who was caught, by the rain. She yelled over the sound of the rainfall," Can I sit with you till, this stops, I'm soaked to the skin." Tony felt sorry for the young woman. He knew if the roles were reversed he would be glad for a little shelter. Tony replied "Sure" as he unlocked the passenger door for the woman.