chapter 15

Mike Dombrowski was totally cool about his date with Amanda Frazek. He figured it this way; he had absolutely nothing to lose. Here he was, 35 years old, WAY over-educated, in a dead-end job. Not exactly what anyone would consider a catch, right? He really didn't have any plans for his future. Relationships? What woman in her right mind would want to hook up with a middle-aged guy, no car, cheap apartment, and no future to speak of? But, what the heck, he asked Amanda out, she said yes, what did he have to lose? Another night sitting at home playing Zuma's Revenge on his cheap, desktop computer? He figured, they'd go out, have a few drinks, eat a nice meal and that would be that.

Amanda was a bit more optimistic. She'd asked around about Mike. From what she heard he was nice, polite, kind, considerate, VERY intelligent, kind of funny in a quirky kind of way and kind of a drifter. Not in a bad, serial-killer kind of way, but a guy who just seemed to drift through life, sort of aimless but not ENTIRELY hopeless! So SHE figured, they'd go out, have some drink, eat a good dinner and then, who knows?

Mike picked out the Klas Restaurant in Cicero, IL. It was a good, old-fashioned Bohemian restaurant, which meant two things. First of all, you got a LOT of food, and from the looks of her Amanda was going to be eating a LOT. And the price was right, like inexpensive. He figured even with a couple of beers the bill shouldn't pinch TOO hard. And besides, he lived about five blocks away, within walking distance, a good deal for a guy without a car.

Amanda was a little wary about driving into Cicero. After all, it HAD been the home of Al Capone, once upon a time. But Mike assured her it was safe, so safe he was going to walk there, so how bad could it be? Amanda suggested they meet at six, that way if the date was a total disaster she could be home and in bed at a decent hour.

She got there like fifteen minutes early and lo and behold, just walking up Cermak Road was Mike. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a button-down shirt. No coat, no tie. Which can as a relief to Amanda who managed to squeeze into her "skinny" jeans (size 18) with an over-size blouse to hide the roll of fat that was oozing over her waistband..

They walked in the place, were seated by a window overlooking a garden area, very nice. The place was hardly what you'd call romantic. It looked more like a hunting lodge in Bavaria or someplace. But the food smelled great and Amanda was positively starving. Mike ordered the roast pork with sauerkraut and bread dumplings and Amanda order the pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes and green beans.

The first surprise was the sheer size of the portions. Amanda got TWO tenderloins that looked with a couple of breaded manhole covers and Mike's platter of roast pork looked big enough to be the whole pig. They ate, they drank a few beers, they ate some more. Mike was truly impressed with Amanda's gargantuan appetite. Most of the girls he had taken to Klas sort of picked at their food and didn't even bother to take any home with them. Not Amanda. She sucked up her dinner like a vacuum cleaner on overdrive, topping it off with a couple of kolacky topped with vanilla ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream at HER request.

They chattered away the rest of the night, staying until the restaurant closed for the night. Amanda offered to take Mike home but for some reason Mike said no. They kissed goodbye and Amanda drove away with a big, dreamy smile on her face. Mike walked home, passing by his apartment three times. THAT'S how distracted he was. Yes, for the first time in his life, Mike Dombrowski could see himself falling in love.

Amanda got home, took off her clothes, and popped into bed, feeling all warm and full and completely and entirely content for perhaps the first time in her life. Yes, there was a LOT she had to learn about this Mike Dombrowski, but she was sure that the journey was going to prove to be interesting, to say the least!