Page 34 of Just Joshing

If nothing else this night had really generated some creative juices. I scribbled another note on the back of one of the questionnaires, grinning to myself as the woman across from me talked about her eight kids.

"-are you listening?"

"Yeah, sorry." I put my pen down. "Did you say they go to school?"

"Oh no, they're all home schooled." She played with the straw in her glass, doing what I assumed was meant to be a seductive move.

"That must be very busy for you, planning lessons and what not."

She laughed, tapping my hand. "No, silly. The trainer looks after that."

"Oh right. Wait. Trainer?"

She giggled, stirring the straw again. "Of course."

I frowned, "not a teacher?"

"Well, I guess you could call it that. She teaches them tricks and what not. But really, she's responsible for making sure-"

"Hold up," I leaned forward. "Are we talking about human kids or…?"

She blinked, "well they're my children but no. They're Sphynx cats."

"You mean like the hairless ones?"

She nodded, beaming at me. "You'll love them. They are so-"

The airhorn blew, signaling my next move.

Thank god.

Crazy Cat woman winked at me, "make sure you preference me, stud."

I offered a weak smile, heading to the next table.

Well that's too weird, even for Hollywood.

A quick glance told me I had one table to go before I reached the end of this weird night and my actual goal – Molly.

I settled at the table, offering a hand to the woman across from me.

"Hi, I'm Josh."

"Elena," She offered a demur smile. If I had to describe her look to a costume department, I'd say stereotypical librarian – complete with horn-rimmed glasses and a string of pearls.

She held out a hand, waiting for my questionnaire.

"Uh, here." I pulled off the print out, handing it over.

She glanced down, frowning. "It's hand written."

"Yeah, I was a last-minute edition so I'll need it back as that's my only copy." I flipped to her sheet on the clipboard. "Says here you like football. What type?"

She placed the sheet on the table, giving me another warm smile, "what kind do you like?"

"I mean, NFL is fine but if I've got a choice, soccer would be my preferred viewing. The games don't take four hours, you know?"

She giggled prettily, and I found myself relaxing.