How the sausage is made

I thought about that girl today. And how she said that thing in such a direct and jarring way. 

I had asked her out to dinner. We ate a Spanish feast with gusto and drank a lot of wine. After the meal, she proposed to me. A business deal really. Don't get confused, she said. She needed to marry an American citizen to be able to remain in the country. No sex, but she could get me a couple thousand if I wanted it.

I'm not entirely against this sort of thing, but I think one should at least know the other party before leaping into such a venture.  I'd like to think I'd do it for a friend, but not likely for a beautiful stranger with an excellent appetite who might just have me killed shortly after the documents have been signed. 

We talked about marriage. About what it means or what it doesn't mean. About what it should mean... which is really just a story, you're probably right. 

She had great admiration for Trump. She thought of him as Alpha. Sure, he has money and he talks a lot of shit, I said. But he's also as foul a human being as there ever has been. She didn't agree with that at all. He's a provider. He's what women want.

What about you, she asked. Do you think some woman is just going to come along and love you for just being who you are?

She left the country eventually, to see her aging parents, and the Trump administration wouldn't let her back in. I didn't contact her again after that night except to say I couldn't be the help she was looking for.

She ended up in Bali, I think. Within a couple of years, she married a handsome, chic, older, European gentleman who appears prosperous. She seemed to be enjoying a lavish lifestyle in a tropical location. She had a baby with him rather quickly.

I just order a couple of small plates with a beer or glass of wine from the bar these days - if I go out at all. Then I call it a night.