Sylvester Falls In Love - Part 1 ...

Sylvester is enjoying tremendous success as a regional manager with one of the big Canadian banks. He is now one of the youngest executives at the bank. His region is Central Ontario.

As a regional bank manager, Syl is always well dressed and usually traveling alone from one branch to another. Recently, his branch visits have become quite mundane. He arrives early, meet with the managers, have lunch at a local restaurant and then work to the end of the day.

He spends the evening dining with the local branch manager and then work on his laptop well into the night. Shortly after lunch on the second day, he leaves for the next branch.

Driving is enjoyable for Syl because he loves the open country. Fall is his favorite time of year; he enjoys the vibrant colors that bring the landscape to life. Syl maximizes his driving time by listening to motivational tapes and music from different countries.

One beautiful fall morning, while driving to the office, he tuned in to the local radio station and heard the announcer say "Call now to qualify, call 349-5585."

Without waiting for the details, Syl dialed the number and heard someone say "Congratulations! You are lucky caller number five, hold for a moment and we'll take your name and address."

A lady with a lovely voice came to the phone and said "Hello, my name is Laurie, I need your name, mailing address and day time phone number."

He was captivated by her pleasant voice and wanted to hear her speak again. He provided the information and started asking general questions about the radio station.

After his fifth question, Laurie said " Syl, it was a pleasure speaking with you today, I look forward to hearing from you again, bye for now." He said, "Bye Laurie. I hope to see you soon."

A few days later, Syl 's secretary received an invitation from the radio station for him to attend a Halloween party at a local restaurant and bar. As usual, she entered the event in his electronic scheduler. The invitation indicated that some lucky person would win a trip for two to a luxurious resort in Jamaica.

Like his father, Syl is a technology buff. Some say he is a "techno geek" with all the toys. As a young executive with a busy schedule, he depends heavily on electronic technology and carries a small handheld unit that allows him to check his schedule from anywhere, day or night. It also reminds him of appointments and allows him to send and receive e-mails.

One Sunday afternoon, about three weeks later, a reminder on the handheld unit indicated that he was scheduled to attend a Halloween party in two hours. He thought for a moment and then remembered Laurie's enchanting voice.

Syl was anxious to meet her again but soon realized that he did not have a costume for the party. He thought about renting one but this was Sunday afternoon and the only costume store in his little town was already closed.

He opened his schedule to see if there were any other plans for the evening. It was blank so he decided to have dinner at the restaurant with the Halloween party. This would also provide an opportunity for him to enjoy a casual evening.

He got into a pair of green corduroys, a simple black shirt, a light spring jacket and a green flat-topped hat. When he arrived at the restaurant, two very friendly ladies greeted him at the door. He looked at the younger one and said "Hi I'm Syl. Are you Laurie?"

She looked at her colleague, smiled and said, "No I'm Jane." The other lady said "Don't look at me, I'm Mona." After a brief pause, Jane said, "Laurie is working at the radio station tonight."

He noticed that Jane and Mona were dressed in regular clothes but it seemed as if everyone else was wearing a costume of one kind or another. He could see numerous scarecrows, jokers and prisoners. Across the room, he spotted a jovial looking "Cat In The Hat" character.

Jane asked Syl to place his invitation into a small basket on the table. Mona said "We'll draw names from this basket and award prizes throughout the evening, including the trip to Jamaica." Syl carefully folded his invitation and placed it in the basket.

The costumes were really well made. One lady was dressed as someone riding an ostrich. Another lady was dressed as a piece of Swiss cheese; her partner was dressed as a grater.

A young man with a grey suit wore a Bill Clinton mask, his partner was dressed in a black dress with a clear plastic bag over the dress and a piece of paper pinned to the left shoulder.

Later in the evening, they were introduced as Mr. President and Monica. The plastic bag over the dress and the paper pinned to the left shoulder were from the Dry Cleaners.

The crowd was larger than expected and all the tables were taken. Syl walked around to see if he could find a familiar face ... no luck!

However, he noticed that some tables had a number of younger women. This made him fell much better about the situation. He also saw young couples and some that were not so young.

After a few minutes, he sat at the bar and ordered a drink. One of the waitresses came up to him and said "Nice costume." He responded respectfully but felt uncomfortable because he was not really wearing a costume.

Sitting there, he noticed that the bar was shaped like a horseshoe. At the open end, there was a counter that separated the bar from the dance floor.

He was sitting at one end of the horseshoe and this allowed him to see inside (under) the counter. He saw a stepladder underneath one end of the counter and wondered why it was there.

On the far side of the dance floor, there was another counter similar to the one that separated the bar from the dance floor. The Master of Ceremonies (MC), a representative of the radio station, stood behind that counter. He was also the DJ for the evening. His name was Tom and he was dressed as a lion trainer.

Next to that counter, there was a light blue 1955 Chevy; it was remarkably well kept. This created an excellent backdrop for the dance floor and helped to explain why the music so far was from the 50s and 60s.

Tom was an interesting character; he was able to make people laugh at themselves and others. After almost every song he made wise cracks about someone's costume. The people loved it.

Leaning on the counter by the DJ was a gorgeous young lady dressed as a Hawaiian dancer. After every three or four songs she selected one invitation from the basket and invited the person to choose one from a bunch of balloons. Each balloon had a ticket representing a prize to be won.

The first person won a satellite dish plus one year of free programming. The next person won a 22-inch television. Some folks won CDs while others won movie passes. Everyone was having a great time.

A tall friendly man ran the bar; he had a crew of ten to twelve beautiful young women. They were all dressed in white tops and black pants or short frilly skirts. One of them was a Drew Barrymore look-alike with that captivating smile from the movie, The Wedding Singer.

Syl noticed that the sweet, adorable Drew Barrymore look-alike was always looking at him and dancing by the cash register. She was simple but extremely gorgeous and he could hardly keep his eyes off her. He enjoyed this special treat but could not help wondering if dancing on the job was acceptable behavior.

When the music stopped, she came over to Syl and said, "Hi, I'm Amy. Can I get you another drink?" He replied, "I'm Syl and you dance really well." She blushed and said, "Flattery will get you no where, but please don't stop on my account. Now, what about that drink?"

Just then, the boss pulled out the stepladder from under the counter and Syl's unspoken question was answered when five attractive girls, including Amy, climbed onto the counter to dance.

He admired her beautiful figure as she danced and could not help but notice the enticing black net stockings she wore so well. Syl could not believe his eyes, the dancing girls were having a great time and ... dancing on the job was acceptable behavior. The crowd loved it! They were ecstatic!

At the end of the song, the girls jumped off the counter and returned to the bar. Amy intentionally brushed Syl's leg as she passed by him. He said, "I need that second drink now, I'll have a scotch on the rocks."

She brought it over and said, "This one is on the house". She then produced a toothpick with a red cherry on it, dipped it into his drink, stuck it in his mouth and said, "That ... is from me." She left before he could say anything.

Amy continued working and dancing in the bar but now she was facing Syl and openly flirting with him. She also danced with the girls on the counter every 15-20 minutes.

Eventually, she came over and asked him to dance with her; he enjoyed every moment. Syl was having such a great time that he almost forgot the main reason he was there ... to have dinner.

The next time Amy came over he ordered a platter of breaded shrimps. When she brought it, he dipped one in the sauce, stuck it in her mouth and said, "That ... is from me."

By this time, the Hawaiian dancer on the other side of the room had selected numerous invitations from the basket and people won more prizes but no one won the trip to Jamaica.

She held competitions for the most original costumes, male & female; the most political and a host of others ... still no one won the trip.

Syl noticed that the smallest balloon was lower than the rest in the bunch and asked Amy if she was interested in making a friendly bet. She said, "Yes". He told her that he believed the smallest balloon was the one with the trip.

She said, "If it is, I'll buy you dinner". Syl replied, "If it is not, I'll buy you dinner". They then realized that they were going to dinner, no matter which balloon had the ticket for the trip to Jamaica. Continued ... see [Part 2]