It was a Friday afternoon. Erik sent me an instant message,”What are you doing tonight.” “Not much, I’m taking the night off from the hospital. I have my sister and brother going down. My brain needs a night off,” I replied. “Cool, you’re coming with me,” he quickly replied. Marie was away for the weekend in Vegas for a girl’s weekend, and when the cat’s away the mice will play. The truth is Erik and Marie’s relationship is in its final stages. It’s easy to see by the snide remarks they constantly launch at each other that this is the end. Once you lose respect, especially in front of others it’s hard to recover. Not sure who I blame more, Erik is my friend so I have to be in his corner, but I can see that Marie pain comes from neglect and if you can see past her the spite and anger in her eyes you’ll see years of neglect and lonely fuel this fire. “Hurry up fucker, don’t take to long. I have a surprise for you,” Erik said suspiciously. “A surprise?” I asked. “Ok I’ll be out in 15,” I typed. “15 minutes. Not a Gregory 15. You are gonna like this surprise,” Erik typed before quickly signing off. I never get when my friends question my punctuality. I know I have a disability when it comes to my sense of time. Maybe you’d see it as a lack of consideration, or even rudeness. I don’t care this is my life and I live it on my own time table. I was actually kind of curious about Erik’s surprise. Knowing him it can only be one type of a surprise. Something involving a female. What tipped me off was the address he gave me. When I looked it up on Google Maps it showed a wine bar. Erik doesn’t drink wine unless it might help him in the quest of what he calls “strange.” If you don’t know what “strange” is, he means a new sexual conquest. Driving up to the place it doesn’t look like much. It’s on a side street between a fast food burger joint and an insurance office. Looking in from the street it actually looks like an antique shop. “Ok let’s do this,” I tell myself before I get out of the car. I really didn’t feel like being his wing man on one of his “missions” tonight, but I needed a night out and I thought maybe some female companionship might help. Walking in I don’t initially see Erik, but as my eyes adjust to the dark I see him in the backroom of this place. Next I can see the other side of his table, so I take a few slow steps forward to see who he is with.