At that point, there was barely a week until that undefined couples’ dinner at Bobo. And technically, I was still without a date.
Mistou and I had been talking back and forth for many days, and I was pretty sure she was going to say yes. But I needed to book her flights and hotel and make all the other unsexy arrangements for this awkward-yet-exciting first date.
I gave her a call the day after the Norwood party and she picked up on the second ring. I really needed her to tell me she was in.
“I was just about to call you,” was her greeting.
“And what were you going to tell me?” I asked.
“That Anali and I talked about it and we decided it would be fun to come to New York,” she replied.
Anali was the girl she was with the night we met at the party in Miami, the one who reminded me of a younger version of Mundo’s mother. Mistou had told me a few days earlier that there was some guy in Queens that Anali had been talking to, allegedly a childhood friend who’d moved up to New York years ago, and she was hot to get up here and reconnect with him.
“Let me ask you a question.”
“Shoot. Your questions are always so interesting,” she bantered.
“Are you saying yes so Anali can go check this guy or are you saying yes because you do want to see me?” I asked. I had to know.
“A little of both,” she replied. “I do want to see you again, but if Anali wasn’t so hellbent on seeing her guy I probably would’ve said no.”
I could respect Mistou’s honesty, and wasn’t put off by its combination of interest and pragmatism with a slight opportunistic edge, on Anali’s part at least. It was what I deserved.
“Well, I’ll take it. I’m happy I’m going to see you, regardless. I’d like to pick you up from the airport, if that’s okay with you.”
“You’d better!” she retorted. “Do you think I want you to send a town car for us? I want to see your face again.”
“And I want to see yours,” I replied. “Let me get going on booking everything. I’m so happy you said yes.”
“Just make sure you make me happy I said yes,” Mistou said before making a kissy sound and hanging up on me.
