As captivating as her smile was, Paul was actually thankful that her cell phone diverted her attention.  And so it begins, he thought, smirking all the while.  In his experience, and based on her reaction, the caller was either a current boyfriend, a wanna-be boyfriend, or an ex-boyfriend.  Get used to it, Old Man, this is her life now, he thought.  Yeah, I know, he replied.  He just felt bad for the dude on the other end of her phone call.<br/><br/>Sliding back into her side of the booth, Charlette’s demeanor was semi-hostile and apologetic.  Her mention of “him” didn’t seem at all pleasant, and he felt bad for her.  But he wasn’t about to say so.  He now wondered about the dude on the other end.  Was he a prince or a prick?  If Charlette’s current body language was anything to go by, he’d have to place his chips on the latter.<br/><br/>Not knowing what else to do, Paul offered her a slight nod, somewhat acknowledging her crappy dilemma.  “Sorry about that,” he murmured, not sure if she heard it or not.<br/><br/>"You okay, Charlette?" he asked, looking into her eyes.