Host

When Aaron got out the taxi, he thought that he was at the corner of Pine and 19th, where he’d told the driver to take him. Aaron was not the sort of guy to pay attention to his surroundings very well. He handed the driver the money he expected with a little tip and got out of the  car looking at his feet.

When he looked up, though, there wasn’t a bar anywhere. He had to meet a buddy of his named Dan. They were going to watch a Red Sox game, but they mainly wanted to drink and not really talk. This was Dan and  Aaron’s idea of a good Friday night.

Once Dan thought to look around, he saw that there were not any  bars anywhere. It wasn’t even a business district. No restaurants. No boutiques. Not even a Wa-wa or a Rite Aid. He was surrounded by townhouses. Little yards out front of people’s houses with green plants that had very broad, very green leaves.

Aaron lived in the ‘burbs. He came into town by way of taxis and asked them to take him to very specific, very secure locations. He did not like to look around the city. He did not like to think of himself as being in the city. He didn’t know the city at all. He had no clue what neighborhood that taxi driver had dropped him off in.

This was the pre-cell phone era. Aaron was incommunicado with the rest of the world. He walked over to an intersection and read the green street signs. Irving and Columbia. Whatever the hell that meant.

Nobody appeared to be out on the street. The sidewalks were cobblestone and they looked damp. A few of the townhouses had lights on in them.

“What the hell should I do?” Aaron thought. He was afraid to stay on the street. He was afraid to go up to any of the houses. He stood there looking stupid until he realized that if anyone actually did see him they would think he appeared suspicious. So he picked a house, a really nice looking house with lights on all over and some really well kept shrubbery out in the front yard.

At the front door, he rings the bell. What is it, he thinks, 9 PM. He hopes no one is mad.

The person he sees at the front door has a very familiar face. “Good evening,” the person says, in a friendly but questioning voice. A very friendly voice, in fact.

“Wait, you’re Pat Sajak!” Aaron says.

“You’re right. You’re right. Were you looking for me?”

“No, I…” Aaron didn’t feel scared at all anymore. He felt completely safe once he saw he was in the neighborhood of the host of WHEEL OF FORTUNE. “Wow, you live here in the city?”

“Wouldn’t live anywhere else,” he said. “Are you lost?”

Aaron answered, his voice smiling more as he went, “Yes. I’m really, really lost. I’m looking for 19th and Pine, can… but… you know, I love AIRPLANE II!”