Chapter 178: It's a Family Thing

I passed over the sexy red dress and went for the simple black dress. I didn't wear any jewelry but I did wash and brush my hair. I blow dried it to give it some body, which was very little. Two inches of hair is going to look like two inches of hair no matter what you do to it.

I looked at myself in the mirror and I still saw myself, just in a black dress, instead of my usual jeans. I was pretty disgusted with my looks, when I left the apartment. I drove the cruiser to Tryon and then to the Downtown Hotel. Inside the hotel there were three restaurants. Since Bernard hadn't specified which restaurant, I called him on his cell phone. It took a while, but he finally answered.

"Where the hell are you?" I asked quietly.

"The one with the fancy French name, where else would I take Laurance for dinner?" he asked.

"You are kidding. Her name isn't really Lawrence is it?" I was wondering, if I had been fooled by a transvestite.

"It's Laurance the French pronunciation," he said.

"So what does her plumbing look like?" I asked with a giggle.

"I'm sure it is just like yours dear, now come say hello then leave us alone to finish our meal. And you owe me a hundred bucks," he said with a laugh.

Tiny Dancer was older than Bernard, hell I was older than Bernard, and Laurance could have been my mother. Nonetheless she was gorgeous, The dress she wore fit her like a second skin. Not tight, it just fit her trim body perfectly. I walked to the table then said, "Hi there you two."

"Well, what a pleasant surprise," Laurance said.

"Yes what a surprise," Bernard said sarcastically. I just smiled sweetly at him.

"I just wanted to say hello, I'm headed somewhere a bit less glamorous for dinner. Bernard said you would be here and I just couldn't pass up the chance to see you all dressed up. You are as gorgeous as ever," I said with a smile. "And Bernard you are quite handsome."

"Thank you," Tiny Dancer said with a smile.

"Yes, thank you, now hurry along you will be late," Bernard added.

I really didn't have anywhere to go, but I decided to swing by the slightly upscale restaurant and lounge beside the state university. Since it was the state university, it was much larger than anything in Aster.

The thing I loved about Rosewater's was it's old time charm. It was in an old mansion located a reasonable distance away from the college for a hundred years. Then during a growth spurt, the college got far too close for the daughter of a mill owner, and her doctor husband. They moved out and it worked it's way down to the restaurant and lounge.

The thing I also loved about Rosewater's was that it had live music, in what had been the ballroom of the mansion. It was a small mansion so the ballroom seated about a hundred guests for dinner and the live music.

Unfortunately the live music the night I wandered in was Jazz. To me jazz was like someone gave four deaf men an instrument. Then told them to make music. Most of the time nothing seemed to fit with the other musicians. I know I'm a redneck, but I just dont 'get' jazz at all.

"I did have a nice dinner before I moved to the patio for my one real drink of the evening. The patio is also where the kids went to mingle. I was old enough to be their mother, but it had never bothered me. Usually there were at least one or two young people who weren't bothered by it either.

Even with the horse head cane, or maybe because of it, I managed to attract some attention. On the patio nobody danced, they just wandered around. I leaned against the wooden rail drinking my white wine cooler. The way Rosewater's made the cooler it was mostly a smooth lemonade. I was enjoying the drink, when a much younger man approached me.

"I have a bet on with my friend over there," he said pointing to a young woman his own age more or less.

"Oh really, what is the bet and should I get in on it," I asked.

"Ah I don't think we can let you in on the bet, since it is about you," he suggested.

"Oh my what is the bet?" I asked.

"You look awfully familiar to her. She thinks that you are some kind of TV personality?" It was a question.

"I'm not really, but I did make some promos for one of those new boring reality shows, they are going to do." I said.

"Meet Maxine, right?" he asked.

"Yes that is the one," I admitted.

"Then you had that show on Utube," he asked.

"Actually, I didn't have it. A client had the images made and he used it as advertising. It just went viral, I think they call it." I said. I knew exactly what they called it. I just wanted to appear dumb.

"So would you let us buy you a drink?" he asked.

"I have a drink, but I would like to meet your friend and tell her that she won. Or you could come sit with me. I said it even though I didn't have a table at the time. It would be a minor problem to find an empty table inside the French doors leading back into the mansion.

It would be wonderful, if you came to say hello to my friend." he said.

"That's fine. What is her name?" I asked.

"Her name is Cindy," he informed me.

When we arrived at the piece of the terrace occupied by Cindy, I spoke first. "Hello Cindy, I just came by to tell you that you won the bet."

"I knew that was you. John, John hasn't even seen the Utube vids yet. He is a bit of a dork," she said laughing.

"Dorks can be fun too, they are so anxious to please," I said with a laugh.

"Oh God, you do know," she said. "So tell me how do you find all those wonderful men?"

"Kind of like tonight, they find me, I just give them a lot of encouragement. Also it helps if you run in the circles where strong men travel. You aren't going to find a bad assed cop at a church social. I can give you the name of a bar in Aster where the cops, nurses and paramedics hang out. If you want to meet fun people, go there."