"Okay! okay! Stop already!" she shouted, clamping her hand over my mouth.
"You don't like my Tony?" I asked, prying her hand loose so I could breathe.
"No. And if you're trying to cheer me up, West Side Story is NOT what I need to hear."
"Well, come on girlfriend, let me at least help you drown your sorrows in a less secluded way." And I grabbed my jacket and her by the arm and strode out the front door.
"Where are we going? I don't wanna go out!" she whined.
"We're going bird-watching!" I said.
Well, our bird-watching turned out to be bitch-watching because, every girl at ãL,ä the local girl-bar was in one helluva PMS mood.
"I hate women," Fran said after we ordered our beers. The bartender glared at me.
"No you don't," I said.
"Then you hate women."
"I do not!" I said directing my statement toward the bartender. " I love women. I do!" I turned Fran around in her bar stool to survey the room. It was smoky, noisy and the lights were dim. It was charged with estrogen - I suddenly missed my mother.
"So, who is this guy I'm meeting again?" asked Fran.
"Mike, the model from my art class.. He's from New York."
"Greg, you want me to take in a total stranger?!? Are you out of your mind?"
"You don't have to be paranoid about it, Fran. I have a real good feeling about him."
"You mean you have a good feeling for him!" she said tossing back her beer.
"Well, he's not ugly."
"Of course he's not ugly," she rushed on, reaching for my beer. "You don't associate with people who are. But lemme get this straight, you meet this straight boy, from New-freaking-York, who you know nothing about, who gets dumped from a dance tour for some unknown reason and let him move into my apartment just because you think he's cute!"
"Well, yeah. But he's not a total stranger."
"What do you know about him?" Fran tested. "Where's he from, why'd he get fired, does he have friends out here? Is Mike his real name even??"
"Yes. No! I don't know!" I tried to keep up, but it was too much. "I don't know, Fran. I have absolutely no idea. He seems like a nice guy, like not a serial killer or anything. He's looking for a place - you're looking for half the rent! It's kismet!" 
