77 Torridian   The Trainer 78
Jacquelyn continues, “Hello! McFly! She has you at the top of her ‘potential dating material’ list.”
Bobby’s defenses kick in as he contemplates the familiar sting of rejection. “You’re so evil. You had me going. If one of Melissa’s cute friends had a thing for me, Melissa would have blurted it out to John and then he would have told me about it.” Bobby looks out over the empty room, his eyes glazed over in a happy daydream. “I’d marry her on the spot. We’d have a couple of kids, a house in the country with maybe some horses. I’d lasso the moon for her.”
Although Bobby stops talking, his eyes are still glazed over, daydreaming.
“Hello?” Jacquelyn asks. “This is Houston. Spaceman Wade are you there? Over.?”
Bobby snaps out of it to the extent that he turns and looks directly at Jacquelyn, but his eyes remain glazed as he starts talking again, “I’d always be faithful, and I’d never take the wedding ring off like some guys do.”
“Never?” asks Jacquelyn with inquisitive glee, her movements finally clearing the glaze off Bobby’s eyes.
“No, never. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part,” Bobby announces with emphatic seriousness. “If I ever find a girl who’ll marry me, I’ll love, I’ll honor, and I’ll always wear her ring.”
Jacquelyn leans in, prompting Bobby to do likewise. In a hushed voice, Jacquelyn speaks, “Two pieces of advice: Try not to wear your heart on your sleeve, and try to see the forest through the trees.”
In classic, male adolescent form, Bobby is unable to grasp what Jacquelyn is telling him as he leans back into his seat with a confused demeanor. As Jacquelyn leans back into her seat, the jukebox begins to play an old ballad. Its melancholy tone with bold and genuine lyrics bring a twinkle to her eye as she sways to the music. Bobby stares at Jacquelyn with both confusion and dispassionate, logic-strewn contemplation. Jacquelyn looks into Bobby’s eyes and asks, “Have you ever heard this song?”
Bobby shakes his head no and furrows his eyebrows.
Jacquelyn continues, “This is my favorite song. It’s “Crazy” by Patsy Cline. My mother used to play her record and sing this song over and over when I was a little girl.”
Bobby’s eyes grow large and fearful as he recalls the emotional states Jacquelyn arrives at when she recalls her mother. Only this time, Jacquelyn’s eyes close, revealing a glow to her cheek. Jacquelyn smiles warmly, but her closed eyes convey a melancholy mood as she sings along, whispering the words she heard her mother sing many times before. Bobby’s contemplation diffuses into an unfamiliar tingling sensation as he		 continues to stare at Jacquelyn. He can’t help but begin to smile a warm smile back as he watches her sway and listens to her whisper the words to the melody.
With a deafening slap, the waiter, who is also the cashier, bartender, cook, and owner, whips the bill onto the table and removes the empty pizza pan.
“O.K., you two. It’s bar time,” he says with a gruff voice. “Pay your tab and get a room. I’m closing up for the night.”
Both Bobby and Jacquelyn are jarred back to reality; Bobby gets up, pulls out his wallet, lays a few greenbacks on the table, and then empties the coins from his pocket. To the distinct sound of a clicking circuit breaker, the music ends abruptly as power to the dining area is switched off and the lights go out. Bobby and Jacquelyn, being the only remaining patrons, quickly walk out of the pizza parlor under the dim red light of the exit sign.

Jacquelyn’s Doorstep — 11:45 p.m.

Bobby pulls up to the curb in front of Jacquelyn’s house. He gets out and walks Jacquelyn to her front doorstep under a canopy of stars on a moonlit, August night.
Jacquelyn has a glow about her. Her eyes twinkle like the stars above her. Her demeanor is filled with romance. The warm, gentle night breeze softly caresses her hair. Bobby notices none of this, being his usual oblivious self and a bit tired from the long night.
He looks at Jacquelyn and says casually, “Well, I had fun. Thanks for going. Andy was right about the movie being a date movie — sorry about that.” He looks up at Jacquelyn, matter-of-factly, about to say his customary goodbye, when she grabs his hand and with a look of wisdom, pulls him a step toward her. Bobby knows something is up but can’t put his finger on it.
Looking into Bobby’s eyes, Jacquelyn says, “Am I Melissa’s friend?”
“Yeah.”
“Am I cute?”
“Yeah, of course.” He continues to look up at her. Anyone else would have figured it out, but Bobby is a little dense. It takes Jacquelyn’s smile, set aglow by the pale light of the moon, to make something click in his head. With a grand epiphany, Bobby’s eyes grow wide as saucers. “You’re Melissa’s cute friend?!”
Jacquelyn nods. The romance of the moment absorbs Bobby as the beautiful princess kisses the hapless toad in love’s first kiss. Though Bobby is lost in the moment, it is quite fleeting because a familiar voice booms low and loud.
“Jacquelyn?” calls out Jacquelyn’s father from inside the

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