The night was raining, and the moon was creating a sliver of light around the oulines of the clouds. I was driving with my younger brother, Daniel, to Los Angeles. Through the highway traffic, we headed towards our destination, which was a restaraunt called “Bouchon.” We were headed there because Daniel apparently scheduled a dinner with his friend and his friend's older sister. I immediately assumed that it was a set-up, a blind date. I first asked Daniel, earlier in the day, if his friend's older sister was “smokin” or “burnt.” Daniel answered, “Bro, you've seen my friend, and you know she's pretty bangin. I'm pretty sure they both have the inherited genes of beauty. And honestly, I think her sister is pretty hot.” After hearing those words, I was anxious to meet her. I was honestly excited, but insecure at the same time. This led me to pick up my brother, who was living in Irvine, and our long journey began from there on.
The 5 North Freeway was jam packed, and in a distance up ahead, there were bright red lights that complemented the roaring sirens. As I drove closer to the sound of the sirens, the two left lanes were blocked entirely. I turned my head towards the bright red lights in curiosity. My jaws dropped to my knees, after seeing such a traumatizing sight. There was a black Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, and it was flipped upside down. The traumatizing thing about this was that a motorcyclist was laying almost twenty feet away from the Rolls-Royce. The motorcycle itself was crushed into a pancake by a Corvair Monza and the wall. As I approached more and more closer to the motorcyclist, I saw the puddle of blood spreading through the highway lanes. Daniel, pointing his finger at the scene, was repeatedly murmuring the words “oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh...” However, he did not see the spewed out brain that was next to a group of medics.
We were both terrified and speechless throughout the whole ride to Bouchon. It was pretty hard to believe that the victims of that accident lost their lives, especially on the highway. The only thing that was in my mind, at the time, was how sad it would be for their families or friends. Those victims were probably headed to their friends or families...The thought of that had stripped my breath from my lungs, as if someone had punched my guts. My brother, after he calmed down, was silent. He seemed to be praying, as I continued to drive. For some reason, Daniel felt like the older brother, and the sight of him praying had calmed me down.
Let me talk a little about me and my younger brother's relationship. When we were younger, I remember beating him up a lot. Daniel would always start the fight, but I would always end it. I remember the last physical fight we had. He was about twelve years old, and I was fifteen. Him and I were both going through puberty, but of course, I was almost done with it while Daniel was just barely starting. I was going through a lot, trying to find my identity. Daniel, on the other hand, was trying to achieve higher goals, and always had a good focus.
While going through that stage of life, I found Daniel in my room. Daniel had found a bag of buds in my room, and I just froze. Our parents were at work, and I knew Daniel would alert them of what he had found. I immediately asked, “Why the hell are you going through my shit?!” Daniel, with a smirk on his face, knew that he finally had something wonderful. I am not talking about the bud, I am talking about the power he had over me. He knew he was holding the kryptonite, and I was the Superman who had turned into Bizarro at the sight of the bud. I asked him to give it back, but he refused.
In an instant, I charged after him, screaming, “Give that shit back you stupid punk!” He ran his ass out of the room, and into the backyard. I quickly grappled him, punched his solar plexus. He was out of breath, and I sought that chance to take the bag away from his hand. In retaliation, he elbowed my chin. I blacked out for what seemed like a couple minutes, but was actually a couple seconds. As soon as I regained consciousness, I struck back. I tossed him to the ground, and twisted his arm. By that time, I had the possession of the bag, but I kept beating him up. Daniel, screaming out “Fuckin, let go of me you pothead!” Right when he said that, something flared inside of me...then I heard the “crackling pop” sound. With careless effort, I had broken my own brother's arm.
We took the bus to the nearest hospital, after I buried the bag of weed in the backyard. Daniel was in agony, partly because of his arm, and partly because of his nose. The “crackling pop” sound was from both his arm and his nose...but at that time, we both believed it was just his arm that was broken. After arriving to the hospital, the nurse had assisted us to the Emergency Room. The nurse had informed us that he had a broken nose and a broken arm. I insisted the nurse to begin the treatment, but the nurse wanted to talk to our parents. I hurriedly gave them the phone number, and Daniel's treatment began soon after they had called my father.
My parents both rushed to St. John's hospital. As soon as they saw me in the waiting lounge, they asked “What happened Sean?!” I answered them with a simple gesture of staring at my feet. My parents had a vague thought of what had happened, and with disappointment, they told me these words, “We are ashamed of you...” At that moment in my life, I realized what I needed to do. My parent's words, that day, changed my life for the better. After that incident, I did all I could, in order to take this shame off of my face. Of course, the first thing I did was apologize to Daniel. A month later, Daniel had told me that he never told anyone that I had smoked pot. I was relieved, and thankful. Ever since that moment, me and Daniel had never fought (at least not physically).
During the rest of my High School Years, I worked my ass off in order to find what I was good at. After taking my Art 1 class, my teacher had suggested that I should enter a drawing competition. I agreed to joining the competition, and had to spend most of my lunch time with my Art teacher. I remember the competition's theme was “Ocean Life.” I normally drew cars, and cartoons, but I gave it my all to draw the “Ocean Life” in the way I wanted to. Miraculously, I had received a letter that congratulated me in winning first place! The prize was one-thousand dollars. With that, I spent much of my time in high school in making a profile to enter the Art Center. With the money, I left it in my bank account.
In my senior year, I received a letter, with the prestigious logo on it. My hands trembled as I opened the letter. My parents, and Daniel, crowded me in the living room. We all read the first sentence of the letter. Filled with anxiety and excitement, me and my brother shouted, “YES!!!” My parents, with a smile that stretched from their ears, congratulated me. I believe that was the first time I was congratulated by my parents, since the hospital incident, and that made me feel proud of myself. I was accepted by both my family, and my school of choice: The Art Center. After graduation, I was off with my own life. I did not visit my family, intentionally, until I had accomplished my goals at the Art Center. However, I received a phone call from Daniel, he had told me it was urgent. I thought it was something serious, but when I met up with him, he had told me about the “blind date.”
Now, getting back to where I left off...me and Daniel reached Bouchon, in Beverly Hills, after driving in the traffic for nearly over an hour. When we reached the entrance, a valet was waiting. Daniel had gotten out of the car, and hurried his way into the restaurant. I, on the other hand, had to hand the keys to the valet. I always had an uneasy feeling every time I handed my keys to a valet. You never know when those valet's would steal your things from your car, and if they would scratch your car and never say anything about it. My brother, living a carefree life as usual, had no problems whatsoever with the valets. Me, I would always take the “valuables” out of the car before I handed the keys to any valet; however, this one time, I just handed the keys to the valet because we were running late for the blind date.
It was my first time at Bouchon, and I must say...it was a marvelous restaurant, with beautifully lit candles on the dining tables, very neat and artistic interior, and had a great atmosphere. Daniel, Daniel's friend, and her sister were all sitting at the table near the windows at the corner. I tried to walk confidently towards our seat, pretending like I had been at Bouchon's before. I greeted them with a nice and friendly “Hey.” They both, almost in unison, said, “Hey! you must be Sean.” Moments after the exchange of greetings, I took a seat across from Daniel's friend's sister. The server appeared so fast that I did not have the chance to ask the names of the two ladies. The server had given us the menus, and provided excellent customer service. After we all ordered our drinks, I asked them their names. Daniel's friend replied, “I'm Jeanie, but you can call me Jean.” Her sister replied, “I'm Caitlin, but you can call me Kate.”
Kate's voice was very angelic, the perfect voice for a lady. She was, with lack for a better word, beautiful. I was too concentrated on my own appearance that I missed “checking” her out even while ordering the drinks, but after seeing her face, I knew she was the one. My heart was drilling through my chest, and all the blood in my hands had gone to my face. My hands were cold as a block of ice, and my face was as hot as a lit furnace. At that moment, I realized what “love at first sight” meant.
Our server brought our drinks, and we were ready to order our appetizers and entrees. I recall ordering Macaroni au Gratin, and Champignons des Bois for our appetizers. Me and Daniel ordered Steak Frites, and Gigot d' Agneau, while Jean and Kate ordered the Grand Plateu. While waiting for our food, I was able to converse with Kate. Daniel and Jean seemed to be helping me out by not interfering with me and Kate's conversation. I was glad to have this dinner because I knew that this was my chance of getting to know Kate better, and to develop a relationship.
I asked Kate about what she was doing right now, and she answered “I'm working full-time at a Coffee Shop, it's like 15 minutes away from here.” I asked her, “Is that any fun?” Right when I asked that, I knew I shouldn't have. How stupid was I to think that a full-time job could be any fun. Kate answered my stupid question by saying, “I like working there, and it was fun at first, but it's a bit tedious now a days.” I ran out of questions...and I had no idea of what to talk about. Thankfully, Kate asked me the same questions that I had asked her. She probably realized that I had nothing else to talk about... I simply answered, “I attend Art Center right now, and it's pretty fun.” Her eyes sparkled after I mentioned the words “Art Center.” That was when Jean butted in. Jean said, “Oh yeah! I heard from Daniel that you go to Art Center. You know, Kate applied there, but they said her profile was too weak...maybe you can help her sometime, since she wants to re-apply there.” I was very very happy, but I had to cover my smile. I took a sip of my drink, and with a calm tone, I answered, “Great! I'd love to help!” Kate smiled, but she said, “Thanks! But I really want to do this alone. Kinda like with my own skills and creativity...you would understand, right? Jean, you should focus on your studies, and ask Daniel for those piano lessons that you direly need.” After I heard her say that, my heart felt like it had hit the iceberg, and was sinking into the deep ocean, just like the Titanic.
One thing I forgot to mention is that, Daniel had been accepted to Julliard, and is extremely talented with the piano. Me and Daniel learned to play piano as little kids, but Daniel was the one who excelled in piano. He was like a piano prodigy. I quit playing piano after my senior year of High School, while Daniel strived to become a professional pianist.
I quickly turned to a different conversation. I asked Jean if she was trying to apply for Julliard, and she said “Yup. But I'm not that good. I really need some piano lessons from Daniel...” Kate entered the conversation by asking, “Sean, do you play any instruments?” I answered, “Yeah, I can play the piano.” Kate seemed to be fond of the fact that I could play the piano. She smiled, and took a look at the little stage with a piano there. I had glimpsed at that while walking towards the table before, and I somewhat knew this might happen.
Daniel, with such bold self-esteem, stood up from his chair, and walked to the host. The three of us at the table were wondering what he was up to, but I bet I was the only one with the clue to what he was about to do next. Daniel was, indeed, doing what I knew he was going to do. He was going to play the piano, on stage. I chuckled, and I was proud of him for doing that. He was playing Mozart Concerto 21: Romance. Literally, he had all the attention of the people in the restaurant. I was both proud of him, and jealous of him at the same time. I looked at Jean with my peripherals, and it looked like she was in love with Daniel, or at least his piano skills. Kate, on the other hand, was closing her eyes, and enjoying the soothing sound of Mozart. As Mozart was coming to an end, the appetizers and entrees had appeared. Daniel was applauded by the whole restaurant, and he had finally joined us for the feast.
While enjoying our dinner, Kate asked, “You guys want to go to the Coffee Shop after dinner?” I thought it wasn't a place for me to answer, so I left it to the other two to answer for me. After a long three second silence interval between Kate's suggestion, Daniel answered, “Yea! That'd be great! We can all chill, while having a cup of freshly brewed coffee.” At that point, I supported Daniel's answer by saying, “Yeah, I think I'll need some caffeine for the ride back.” At that moment, Jean nodded with a “yes”, and it was unanimously decided for us to go to the Coffee Shop.
Originally, we were supposed to do dutch-pay, but me and my brother decided to pay for the whole dinner. Me and Kate, almost at the same time, grabbed the bill. That was our first time we touched hands. She quickly slipped her hand back in, and I took a hold of the bill. I was somewhat surprised to see the bill, but covered my shock with a smile. Me and Daniel both pitched in one-hundred and twenty-two dollars each. Jean seemed glad that we were being gentlemen, and paying for their dinner. However, Kate did not seem too satisfied. Kate, while me and Daniel were taking out our wallets, asked, “Can I see the bill?” I said, with a smile, “Don't worry about it, this is me and Daniel's treat for you guys.” I thought she would have been happy, or at least grateful, but she said “Huh? No, it's okay, we'll pay our share.” I was kind of shocked to hear that from her, but at that moment, I understood that she was a very independent and strong-willed person. I had to insist and kind of use force to pay for them. In the end, she paid the tip.
We exited Bouchon's, satisfied with their customer service as well as the food, only to meet the valet's again. Me and Jean asked for the cars, and a valet had quickly pulled up a Nissan Maxima. It was Jean's car, and Kate said, “We'll see you guys at the Coffee Shop!” Kate had given us the business card, which had the location of the Coffee Shop on the back of the card, before she had took off to the Coffee Shop.
A valet had finally pulled up my beat up Lexus, and I had done a quick scan of my car before I got in. I checked the valuables I had left in the car, and thankfully, all of it was in their rightful place. After the thorough check-up of my car, I zoomed to the Coffee Shop. As I drove, a blue and red light was beaming through my back mirror, and then the siren went off. I pulled over to the right, and parked the car. My brother, shaking his head in negativity, said “why were you rushing, man...” The weird thing about this was, I had not noticed that I was speeding. All I had in my head was the thought of Kate, brewing me a cup of coffee. The white cop asked me, “You know why you were pulled over, sir?” I answered, “Is it because of speeding?” The cop said, “So you knew...well, I'll need you license and registration, please.” I said, “Can I please get a warning? My foot was just stuck for some reason...” The cop, without hesitation, said, “No. Give me your license, sir. This will be a $150 ticket.” So, I had to go through all that bullshit procedure, only to receive the priciest ticket that allowed me to speed for only five minutes.
We had finally arrived at the Coffee Shop, and we explained to the girls of the speeding ticket incident. They laughed, and Kate asked, “What coffee do you want?” I answered, “Black, please.” Kate went straight behind the counter, and began the procedure of creating the best coffee. As Kate was grinding up the coffee beans, I asked her, “So, you can open the Coffee Shop whenever you want?” She answered, “Kind of, only for three weeks. The boss wants me to design a mural on the wall over there.” She pointed at the giant blank canvas at the side, only then did I realize how amazing this Coffee Shop was. It was two-story high, had a great interior, and gave off a very romantic essence.
