I used part of this true story in my book, it has been published here before, but I wanted to bring it back because it was just so interesting...

If you want more- Say Bueno.

I decided I wanted to eat alone today at Bueno and read some of my novel. Well, the most bizarre set of events happened. As I am walking in, I see this girl who is dressed like a "lady of the evening" for lack of a better word. She is wearing short cut-off jean shorts, and purple 80's looking half shirt. She had the 70's hair wave going, some cheap perfume, and all the jewelry that she probably owned rounding out her outfit. She did have nice legs though- I noticed them right off the bat and chastised myself because I thought she was probably a bratty teenager from Clark High School here in Plano. I figured she was one of the unpopular girls, because all the popular girls at Plano high know how to dress trampy without looking white trash- trust me, I have seen my fair share of those girls too.

As I am walking in, the aforementioned girl holds the door open for me, I say, "thanks!" in a rather shocked tone and she mumbles something unintelligible. I think she is probably a 2 dollar crack ho- (pardon my language, but I don't know how else to describe her) who is messed up in the head. I walk up to the register and order my food, and I am surprised that she has the money to buy her own food. For some reason I got the vibe that she was going to try to hit me up for some cash. I don't know what it is about being a big man, but women seem to think that I have money, money to hand out, and all they have to do is bat their doe-y eyes at me- which most of the time does work by the way, but not this time. The problem is I have no cash, so I am actually glad that she didn't ask, because even though I am wary of this girl, she is still a woman, a woman that is misdirected and lost, but a woman nonetheless- and did I mention that she has GREAT legs? Well, she does, and my eyes are doing their darndest not to notice as I fill my drink and go and sit at the table.

My food is ready and I go and pick it up and settle down into a quiet lunch of taco's, burrito's and Dr. Pepper. I have read one full page of my Greg Iles novel when guess who walks up and asks if she can sit with me! Now, don't stat thinking that I am excited about this- I am not- not at all. Who asks to sit with a total stranger? Especially one that is as big as me! I am not one given to bouts of conceit, girls do not throw themselves at me- unless I am on the dance floor, or behind a microphone. Apparently she sensed the gentleness of spirit that I possess, or maybe she caught me sneaking a peak at those non-stop legs, or maybe she is a psycho packing a Glock and she is going to tell me to keep my mouth shut, pick up my food, and then force me to drive her to México where she is going to deliver her kilo of cocaine. But that doesn't happen, she just sits and stares out the window and tells me how she walks there everyday for lunch and never has anyone to talk to. I eat there a lot myself, so I think this is some sort of line, but maybe her lunchtime varies. Maybe her intentions are honest? Maybe.

She continues to tell me that she has a 10 year old son, and a couple of other ones living with foster people because CPS took them away. Her mother is a prude and a Mormon, and in less nasty words, her mother always tells her that she dresses like a tramp. At this point I raise my eyebrows in a mock tone suggesting- "No, that's silly, that's crazy, Ignorance". Apparently she is as delusional as Michael Jackson.

She then tells me that her father don't understand her, and he would flip out if he knew she was talking to a 19 year old boy- (not me, another guy she apparently thrust herself on during lunch, I’m 27)

We chat about nothing and everything; she does most of the talking. I listen and find my eyes flitting over her features, pressing like moths to a glass, seeking meaning where there is none. Now my eyes are drifting over her hair. It's bleached, been died about 3 shades before it finally settled on a cross between orange and dishwater blonde. This hair also is in need of a hot oil treatment. Her eye shadow is silver, but other than that she don't wear much make up. Nice teeth, eyes almost baby blue, skin is nice, but she looks like she has fake baked a couple times too many. She is not unattractive at all, from a distance I would say she was "hot", but as you get closer, you see she is a little rough around the edges.

Her hot pink fingernails have white designs on them. I notice her playing with the index finger, and across the top the words- "Sexy" are scrawled across in a small, but fancy script. She's really sweet, and by the time I tell her to leave, she lets me go. I am surprised again that she doesn't offer to sell me anything, or ask me to drive her somewhere. However, she does turn around and at the last minute tell me to do something that makes me happy, she says, “Choose a career that makes you happy, your going to be doing it for the rest of your life”. Is she Psychic? Did she mean I was going to be stuck here at TI for the rest of my life? What did she MEAN! This was odd since I only mentioned that I was going back to school to be a teacher, and her mother was a teacher, which she then told me her mother was crazy long before she became a teacher. I thought it was really sweet though, that in just a few minutes this crazy psycho lady had enough sense to at least leave me with a kind word. She didn't want anything, just someone to talk to, it was a little disconcerting, but also a little sad. All in all, it made my lunch much more interesting…