LJ Idol Week 2 - Three Little Words
I was in a serious funk. There I was, thirty one years old, freshly divorced, wondering what to do with the rest of my life.
Ever since she knew my separation was official, my sister had been trying to set me up with her co-worker Shelly. “She’s smart, she’s funny. Trust me, bro, you’re going to like her.”
So in early November, I finally agreed to go out with Shelly. But I thought I’d try something different as I wanted to purposely avoid relationship conformity. Rather than dinner, I invited Shelly out for breakfast at a diner in between our two houses.
As I neared the diner in my beat up Corolla, I found myself getting increasingly nervous. Would she like me? Would I like her? Why did I pick this shirt?
When I pulled in to the parking lot ten minutes early, I looked around to see if she was there waiting for me. I didn’t see anyone meeting her description, so I sat in my car and thought about various ways things were going to go wrong. There was the spilled coffee scenario, the go to the bathroom and never come back scenario, and of course the subtle mention of her current boyfriend scenario.
I snapped back to reality. I realized it was now five minutes after our agreed meeting time. I had completely forgotten to imagine the being stood up scenario. As I reached for my cell phone to berate my sister, I saw Shelly emerge from her car.
Wow, my sister hadn’t done her justice. She was beautiful! Brown hair, brown eyes, great shape, and glasses! I loved a girl with glasses.
“Peter?” she asked.
“You must be Shelly,” I responded. “I must say, I really like your glasses.”
“OooooK,” she said. She was not expecting a compliment on her eyewear, but she was clearly intrigued.
For breakfast, I ordered my normal breakfast fare. Three eggs, three pancakes, and bacon. If she was going to accept me, she was going to accept my love of large breakfasts. Shelly ordered a stack of pancakes with bacon on the side.
As we waited for the food to arrive, we started talking and found we had a lot in common. We were both the oldest in our families with very young siblings, we loved Seinfeld, and we each were coming off long term relationships, though I was the only one who had to legally wrangle themselves out of it. As far as I could tell, we were really hitting it off.
When the food arrived and we started to dig in, I watched Shelly as she started cutting up the entire large stack of pancakes into individual once inch sized squares. She saw me looking at what she was doing, but neither of us spoke.
It just might have been the most adorable thing I had ever seen.
As the meal wound down, we found ourselves talking more and more on various different topics. For me, I just wanted to know more about her. I was getting the vibe that she felt the same way about me, but my eternal pessimism was not letting me truly feel it. I needed something more tangible.
We finished our conversation by my car, and I could have talked for hours longer, but Shelly had to go to work. We exchanged phone numbers. Do I go in for a kiss? She leaned in towards me, but it was just to give me a hug. OK, it wasn’t a handshake, but it wasn’t a kiss either. I know how I felt, but what was she feeling? I stared at her car as it rode out of the parking lot.
I sat in my car for a few minutes wondering what to make of the date. Did she like me? Were my feelings real? Will I ever see...
BZZZZZZZZZZZ.. My cell phone buzzed. I received a text message. It was from Shelly.
“U R Cute”
The sight of those words on my screen filled me with a warmth I hadn’t felt in a very, very long time. I started typing a response, thinking about the best time and place for date number two.
Ever since she knew my separation was official, my sister had been trying to set me up with her co-worker Shelly. “She’s smart, she’s funny. Trust me, bro, you’re going to like her.”
So in early November, I finally agreed to go out with Shelly. But I thought I’d try something different as I wanted to purposely avoid relationship conformity. Rather than dinner, I invited Shelly out for breakfast at a diner in between our two houses.
As I neared the diner in my beat up Corolla, I found myself getting increasingly nervous. Would she like me? Would I like her? Why did I pick this shirt?
When I pulled in to the parking lot ten minutes early, I looked around to see if she was there waiting for me. I didn’t see anyone meeting her description, so I sat in my car and thought about various ways things were going to go wrong. There was the spilled coffee scenario, the go to the bathroom and never come back scenario, and of course the subtle mention of her current boyfriend scenario.
I snapped back to reality. I realized it was now five minutes after our agreed meeting time. I had completely forgotten to imagine the being stood up scenario. As I reached for my cell phone to berate my sister, I saw Shelly emerge from her car.
Wow, my sister hadn’t done her justice. She was beautiful! Brown hair, brown eyes, great shape, and glasses! I loved a girl with glasses.
“Peter?” she asked.
“You must be Shelly,” I responded. “I must say, I really like your glasses.”
“OooooK,” she said. She was not expecting a compliment on her eyewear, but she was clearly intrigued.
For breakfast, I ordered my normal breakfast fare. Three eggs, three pancakes, and bacon. If she was going to accept me, she was going to accept my love of large breakfasts. Shelly ordered a stack of pancakes with bacon on the side.
As we waited for the food to arrive, we started talking and found we had a lot in common. We were both the oldest in our families with very young siblings, we loved Seinfeld, and we each were coming off long term relationships, though I was the only one who had to legally wrangle themselves out of it. As far as I could tell, we were really hitting it off.
When the food arrived and we started to dig in, I watched Shelly as she started cutting up the entire large stack of pancakes into individual once inch sized squares. She saw me looking at what she was doing, but neither of us spoke.
It just might have been the most adorable thing I had ever seen.
As the meal wound down, we found ourselves talking more and more on various different topics. For me, I just wanted to know more about her. I was getting the vibe that she felt the same way about me, but my eternal pessimism was not letting me truly feel it. I needed something more tangible.
We finished our conversation by my car, and I could have talked for hours longer, but Shelly had to go to work. We exchanged phone numbers. Do I go in for a kiss? She leaned in towards me, but it was just to give me a hug. OK, it wasn’t a handshake, but it wasn’t a kiss either. I know how I felt, but what was she feeling? I stared at her car as it rode out of the parking lot.
I sat in my car for a few minutes wondering what to make of the date. Did she like me? Were my feelings real? Will I ever see...
BZZZZZZZZZZZ.. My cell phone buzzed. I received a text message. It was from Shelly.
“U R Cute”
The sight of those words on my screen filled me with a warmth I hadn’t felt in a very, very long time. I started typing a response, thinking about the best time and place for date number two.