“Of course.” I nodded.
“Damn, you’re right… I need the details,” Paul said.
“I’ll tell you all the details.” I nodded. “We have many more visits to look forward to now.”
Paul smiled and nodded at me, recognizing the promise that I was making to him at that moment. “Anyone special in your life?” Paul asked.
I hesitated. What should I say? I had a girlfriend…sort of? I wasn’t really sure at the moment. “Well… it’s complicated.”
Paul rolled his eyes. “My life is complicated, Phil,” Paul said. “Yours is a fucking dream.”
“I’m actually here with someone.”
“Oh?” Paul asked, immediately interested.
“Her name is Megan.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Well…she was,” I said uncertainly.
Paul looked around the room and caught sight of Megan. “Is that her?” he asked me discreetly.
“Yes.”
“She’s a stone-cold fox,” Paul said. “She’s too good for you.”
I smiled. “I agree…but we’re sort of in limbo at the moment. It’s—”
“Let me guess?” he said, cutting me off. “It’s a long story?”
I smiled. “I’ll tell you about it on my next visit.”
“Fine.” He nodded. “Well, invite her over here and introduce me. You brought her in here for a reason.”
I stood up and gestured for Megan to join us. She looked a little nervous as she walked over, but she gave Paul a beautiful, open smile and leaned in to hug him before he did.
“It’s really nice to meet you, Paul,” Megan said, sitting down next to me. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I wish I could say the same.”
“Hey, now,” I said, feeling strangely at ease in this unusual situation.
“So, Megan, is this your first trip to prison?” Paul asked.
“It is.” She nodded.
“I hope that Phil didn’t drag you here?”
“Not at all,” she insisted. “I wanted to come. I wanted to meet you.”
“I wish we could have met under different circumstances.”
“I don’t know; this makes for a pretty interesting first meeting.”
Paul smiled, and Megan looked instantly horrified with herself. “Oh my God…was that just a really insensitive thing that only assholes say out loud?”
Paul laughed and looked at me. “I like her,” he said.