She said, cheerfully, ‘To go and have some coffee.’

‘You want to get some coffee with me?’ I said in wonder.

She smiled, looked me straight in the eye, and said, ‘Sure. Come on already.’

That sexy librarian and I went to a nearby coffee shop. She had tea and I had some hooch to loosen up. We talked about music and films. She was absolutely my intellectual match. We also talked about a movie, The Thirteenth Floor. We both had similar views on it – that it represented us in a way and that we got possessed by both good and dark forces that took control when we were not even aware of it; and that after we died, we simply moved on to the next level. The crucial detail in the film was an order for going across the world. That virtual world represented another world above that one, though above it was another world, which put us somewhere in the middle. Somewhere represented the moment of the awakening of spirit and conscience within us.

I tried really hard to not stare at her tits, as I had decided to be considerate for a change. As the conversation continued, I fought hard with the fact that I didn’t have enough money to pay the tab. I figured she should leave first and I could then ‘pay,’ i.e., tell the waiter I’d go get the money and come back. Right.

We were walking towards the waiter when she snatched the tab and paid for the drinks. I said, ‘No, this one’s on me,’ but it was clear that we were both aware of the situation. She said she had to go home. I said politely, ‘Thanks for the drinks. Can I repay you in any way?’

‘Well, you could do me a small favor,’ she said quietly.

Jackpot, I thought. ‘Sure, and that is?’

She smiled again. ‘Let’s go to dinner tonight.’

‘Wow! That’s an excellent idea.’

‘Then I’ll see you at The Two Deer restaurant at seven.’

At dinner, we had some wine and stuff like that. The fact that she was paying was great. I asked her, ‘What’s the catch?’

She said, with a smile on her face, while holding a glass of wine, that it was her ex-husband’s restaurant and she was trying to make him jealous.

Astonished, I said, ‘He has to be a damn fool if he blew off such a smart and beautiful woman.’

She started telling me her sad life story: ‘I was happy with him and he got me pregnant but I miscarried. We were happy for a couple of years after that but then he started cheating on me. I kept quiet because I was content, though he tried to persuade me that I was imagining things. Nonetheless, he was meeting his mistress in a place near Cvetko market. They’re seeing each other to this day. My friend from college saw them because she lives nearby, so whenever he left our home, she’d spy on him to see if he went inside that house. A couple of times, I lurked outside my friend’s window and saw his mistress go in there. I even saw them leave together and him kissing her neck, and then sits in the car and drives off. After that, I packed up his things and kicked him out of our place, which took a lot of courage.’

In disbelief, I said, ‘That’s fucked up for sure.’

She waved her hand and said, ‘Waiter, check please.’ And then she said, in a kinky and sexy way, ‘It’s time.’

I was okay with whatever as long as that sexy librarian was paying. I didn’t give a fuck; I felt awesome. I thought about how that ex must have fucked her up real bad, considering she was doing this in front of everybody. On the other hand, my ego was getting bigger, so I thought I must be a hotshot to have her pay for my dinner just to hook up with me and take me home. Then I remembered that I had nowhere to take her, so she was the one who would have to take me home. We were on our way to her place, which was the completion of my mission.