Hitting it... Bull's Eye!!!!

I live a life that I never imagined I would… it is as boring as you’d wish it never to be…. while I have a life that any normal person in his senses would have made livelier, more interesting… I just choose not to…. That’s just me.



When I say any normal person would have made life livelier, all I mean is that any guy unlike me would have found nothing monotonous as I think it to be. I own a flashy apartment, a flashy car; do not have any embarrassing events to recount, as far as I can remember, no relationship hassles…. I must be thankful…. I must be…. but it’s just Me.



I work as an advertising executive… that’s how I call myself… when some pretty gal at a bar asks me. They really don’t know what exactly I do… of course until I decide to reveal. I like to play defensive… my tennis too is that way. I’m not much of a hard-hitter or attacker, I’d rather just save myself from being hurt.



So what I really do, rather what pushes my work is my head…. all I do is put in the entire colour to the world around. I’m not the guy who takes care of the creativity, but I’m the guy who fuels that into those Asses. I guess colouring the lives of lifeless objects, I have left my life’s portrait empty…. until now.



Jen disagrees with me. My buddy, my companion, my sister. Jen doesn’t live a life as high flying as mine, works at the bookstore, then goes every week to read to the visually challenged, tries to hitch me to double date with one of her pals, who I always think is a lesbian…. Keeps borrowing on me, and slipping more than she owes, the very next day into my letterbox with a gracious “thank you” note. She is the only one I trust solely. She is my best friend. Except when it comes to hitting the Bull’s Eye, there is nothing she can’t beat me at.



Jen assures me that all I need to do is spice up… add some zing to my life. After watching the last “hushed up” campaign I had produced, she was convinced that I needed help. She argued, even this afternoon, when she called, that it was this block in my head I needed to remove. She persuaded me to take her to dinner and ditched me the last moment… but no respite, she had a date arranged for me. She played this hide-and-seek game more often now…. No more dinners were my decision.



But tonight was different. That’s why I decide to pen what happened. There was this pretty attractive girl…Jen had these friends from here and there, she is quite a social person you see. I did not bother to know from Jen, how she knew her. I thought it was pointless. That would be the only thing that would get us talking. All I had to do was be polite, talk of the world and its ways, wrap up dessert as soon as I could and head homewards. This is what was on my mind. But the moment I started speaking to her, I realized this was meant to be different. She was not of the IQ of a rocket-scientist, nor was she a dumb blonde; she was a red head actually. We hardly spoke, just ate and all we discussed was the food! As she described the flaw with the penne’, I realized I had something going my way.



I opened up then…. I realized we shared similar fears, of not being with the right people and ending up realizing too late, when kids would be of a tender age, when it would be hard for them to cope up with. We discussed work, perhaps the first person I so openly told about my fuelling of ideas and moolah and she listened intently. She was a chef…. Who had quit her job to take a break. The smell and thought of food had got on to her, so much so that she wondered if she was heading to be a nervous wreck.



Then came time to bid goodbye… she didn’t let me pay the check. She insisted she took care of the bill, and slipped her card in. That charmed me…. Never did I expect a woman to pay for my wine and dine. She bid a friendly goodbye, called for a cab and walked her way out. She was unlike the regular, “when do we meet next??” types, nor was she flighty. She was herself…. I thought…. Just like me.



I went straight down the road; my home was a couple of blocks away. As I thought of her I realized I didn’t have her number…. But I was relieved…. There was Jen to my rescue. I headed straight to her apartment, and decided to go up. Realizing she may be in bed, with the fever and cold, she had so horribly pretended to have this evening, I decided to leave my first ever note in her letterbox. It said, “Jen, thanks for the first ever sensible thing you’ve done to me…. She didn’t let me have the check…. When can I see her next?”



As I reached home and opened my letterbox, I found one of those crappy notes from Jen. It said, “Don’t loose this one Jim…. It’ll cost you a lot….” She never signed or anything…. I just always know it is her.



I rushed up, out of curiosity called her and asked her, wondering why would it cost me too much??? Jen replied, “She owns the goddamn place, is planning a launch of processed foods and was looking for an advertising genius coupled with a pleasant date.” I just hung up.



I was baffled… Had I goofed up, leaking all my secrets to someone I hadn’t met a few hours ago??? I was annoyed with myself, for what I had done. No wonder I preferred a monotonous life…. with no such goof up to bother me. Just then the phone rung… I was sure it was Jen. It wasn’t. It was the woman I had just met. All she said, “I am all yours…. My restaurant chain is yours…. Do whatever you please, just don’t embarrass me. Don’t let me regret this night.” At this I was stunned, my mouth was open…. And she hung up.



The next thing I did was called Jen. Her phone didn’t ring, went on the engaged tone constantly. Had she left the receiver off the hook or was she talking to someone…. about me???? Oh no! That was the last thing I would want to happen!!!!



I continue to try, but can’t get through. I’ve given up for the night. Tomorrow shall be a new day. I just hope this buddy of mine doesn’t decide to wreck me with another of her shots in the air. All I can say for now…. Buddy this time, you got the Bull’s Eye!