Friend and Gentleman
On Saturday, I had dinner with my friend Manuel. I was a little worried about it seeming like a date, so I asked Caroline along but she declined. I think she is starting to hibernate-it’s cold and dreary here, which isn’t the kind of weather that makes you want to go out and do things. And this is basically what happened last year. Often, if I wanted to hang out with her, I’d meet her at her apartment where she’d usually be in her pajamas and ready for bed.
So it was just me and Manuel, who is a bit of a character. I think he’s trying to revive some ideal of a gentleman, and so he fences, rides horses, and smokes a pipe. Although I’m not a smoker, I determined that I would try his pipe, and so I did. I found it only slightly more pleasant than a cigarette. I also smoked one of his miniature cigars, for which I had about the same affinity as the pipe, except that I felt really cool holding it. Smoking is cool? Apparently!
But, of course, I would hate to pick up smoking and, so, when he offered me that second cigar, I declined. One is more than enough.
Manuel also occasionally sports a monocle, which is fantastic, obviously. And, so, on Saturday, I asked if I could try it on. It didn’t fit me right, though, and it fell to the floor as soon as I withdrew my hand. I felt pretty terrible, but at least it didn’t break.
Anyway, I had a good time and it was not a date! We went out for drinks after dinner, and then he asked me if I wanted to go back to his apartment to hear him play the violin but I declined. You would think that I could go back to a friend’s apartment after a friendly dinner, but you just never know, I suppose. I’d like to think I am capable of having male friends who don’t want to sleep with me and who, likewise, don’t assume that I want to sleep with them. But the wee hours of the morning, after massive alcohol consumption, are not the time to make that kind of assumption. He may seem like a gentleman, but that just isn’t enough.
So it was just me and Manuel, who is a bit of a character. I think he’s trying to revive some ideal of a gentleman, and so he fences, rides horses, and smokes a pipe. Although I’m not a smoker, I determined that I would try his pipe, and so I did. I found it only slightly more pleasant than a cigarette. I also smoked one of his miniature cigars, for which I had about the same affinity as the pipe, except that I felt really cool holding it. Smoking is cool? Apparently!
But, of course, I would hate to pick up smoking and, so, when he offered me that second cigar, I declined. One is more than enough.
Manuel also occasionally sports a monocle, which is fantastic, obviously. And, so, on Saturday, I asked if I could try it on. It didn’t fit me right, though, and it fell to the floor as soon as I withdrew my hand. I felt pretty terrible, but at least it didn’t break.
Anyway, I had a good time and it was not a date! We went out for drinks after dinner, and then he asked me if I wanted to go back to his apartment to hear him play the violin but I declined. You would think that I could go back to a friend’s apartment after a friendly dinner, but you just never know, I suppose. I’d like to think I am capable of having male friends who don’t want to sleep with me and who, likewise, don’t assume that I want to sleep with them. But the wee hours of the morning, after massive alcohol consumption, are not the time to make that kind of assumption. He may seem like a gentleman, but that just isn’t enough.