America 1982-Chapter 226 - 77: Dating_2
"Summer vacation, last week—I’m here to ask you out." Tommy came over and handed his autobiography to Odilia, "And to give you a copy of my book."
Odilia took out a book from her desk drawer, "Actually, I already bought one myself, but I’m still very happy that you came to give it to me personally, thank you."
"That’s okay, the main reason was to ask you out. Can I ask you to go out with me after work?" Tommy looked at Odilia, full of hope.
Odilia’s skeptical yet beautiful eyes stared at Tommy, "Just the two of us type of date?"
"Yes." Tommy nodded.
Odilia shook her head, "I’ve said before, I like mature men, Tommy, I wouldn’t date my own student."
"Not even now?" Tommy pressed on.
Odilia spoke with certainty, "Never."
...
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
It wasn’t until she saw men and women in evening attire, walking along the red carpet into the museum amidst flashing lights, that Odilia, already dressed in her own evening gown inside a Rolls-Royce, turned to Tommy in his suit:
"This is insane. I got off work at four o’clock, and by seven-thirty, I’m standing in New York attending the Vogue magazine’s Met Gala summer banquet? How did you get the invitation?"
Although Odilia wasn’t as vain as other rich girls, it didn’t mean she was unaware of the prestige of an invitation to this event. The Met Gala, a fashion banquet held since 1971, always hosted top entertainers, artists, models, photographers, and fashion magazine editors as guests.
Even as the daughter of the president of Rhode Island’s seafood ship industry, she’d never attended because, apart from the celebrities, there were only two to three hundred invitations, and these were generally snapped up by young members of wealthy families in Washington and New York. Not to mention the local tycoons from Rhode Island, even those competing with New York from California likely received only a few.
It was indeed Tommy showing her the invitation that drove Odilia’s curiosity, prompting her to change into an evening gown after getting home and fly straight to New York with him.
"Seems like going out with me is pretty interesting, right?" Seeing her shocked expression, Tommy smiled and said.
The invitation came from Senator Pete Wilson, who had adopted the concept of technological equity and mentioned Tommy in his speeches as being influenced by him. It was a small gesture of kindness from the senator to a young man.
"I hope you like our first date, Miss Odilia Farrell, who would ’never date her own student’."
Tommy personally opened the car door for Odilia, bowed slightly, and extended his hand.
Odilia looked down, her embarrassment at Tommy’s tease hidden, but still placed her hand in his palm, letting him escort her to the red carpet.
...
The next day, Newport City, Assistant Commissioner’s Office.
"Wow, Andy Warhol, Diana Vreeland, Beverly Johnson... you took pictures with them? That’s really nice, sweetie, when did you go to New York?" Doris Luger, Odilia’s godmother and the Commissioner of Newport County, flipped through the photos of Odilia with other distinguished guests at the banquet, asking in surprise.
Both she and her husband, the Director of Public Education in Rhode Island, had never attended such a fashionable event.
Odilia said somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, all this happened after work yesterday. After the banquet in New York, I rented a small plane and flew back to Newport. By eleven-forty, I was already lying in my own bed."
"That’s even more surprising than hearing you received an invitation," Doris said, shifting her gaze from the photos to Odilia’s face, "Was it a quality young man who asked you on the date?"
"It was my former student, Tommy Hawk, the one who published his autobiography... the kid." Odilia took out Tommy’s autobiography, I Should Be Executed, and pointed to his photo on the cover.
Doris nodded at the sight of Tommy’s picture, "This young man looks handsome. Is he a writer?"
"He’s studying at Stanford University. A year ago, I was guiding him on how to apply to colleges." Odilia followed Doris’s gaze, also looking at Tommy’s photo on the book cover, and said with a smile.
After hearing Odilia’s words, Doris laughed, "From the way he asked you out and the connections he has shown, it seems he didn’t need any help with college applications. Getting into college is much easier than getting that invitation."
At four o’clock, Odilia walked out of the government building and saw Tommy Hawk again, holding two dogs, attempting to teach them to sit quietly.
"I told you, Tommy, what happened last night won’t happen a second time... Those dogs are really cute, are they yours?" As Odilia approached Tommy, who was juggling the leashes and greeting her, she intended to set the record straight, but was soon distracted by the fluffy dogs, crouching down and asking as she petted them.
Tommy handed Odilia a leash, "While waiting for you to get off work, I wanted to find something to do, so I went to the Newport City animal shelter and volunteered to take these poor dogs out for a walk. Come on, let’s return them to their cages."
