Thoughtful Thursday

Happiness and sadness run parallel to each other. When one takes a rest, the other one tends to take up the slack. ~Hazelmarie Elliott (“Mattie”)

So, yesterday I gave you all a glimpse into the first meeting of my DH and me.  Today, I think I'll share something I wrote after our first "real" date.  (Sorry, Chuck, but your place didn't really count!)  Here's part 2 of our story:

11/12/05
The evening began with a phone call at 4:30. I just knew when the phone rang that he was calling to cancel…or say he was going to be late…or that he’d changed his mind and the thought of going out with me now repulsed him. But that was not the case. As it turned out, he just wanted to confirm the directions to my house and gave the reassurance that he’d be there in about a half hour.

He arrived promptly at 5:00 to pick me up. As we were getting in the car he said, “I apologize in advance if my beeper goes off—it’s my week to be on call.” [Gee, doesn’t that sound important!] (He’s an IT guy at a medical clinic.) So, after buckling up in his silver Mustang, we left my house. Well, not my house. My parents’ house. My house isn’t finished yet. But that’s another story for another day. Anyhow, we pulled out of the driveway and began our trek toward the "big city."

As we started down the road, another thought struck me. What would we talk about? In my nervousness, would I say something stupid? Probably. But would he laugh about it, or just think I was crazy and put me out on the side of the road? The conversation was surprisingly easy, and before I knew it, he knew more than he probably cared to about my childhood, but he was laughing—so I guess I didn’t bore him too much, huh?

We arrived at O’Char.ley’s and he put our name on the list. We were promised a wait of 20-25 minutes. He glanced at his watch and expressed his concern over being late to the movie. “Don’t worry,” I told him, “we shouldn’t be too late.” We stood outside and chatted until our buzzer started flashing and vibrating. Then came the next dilemma…what do order. Not wanting to appear too extravagant, I settled on the chicken salad. Not too heavy, yet not too little that I’d still be hungry when we left. After only a couple of lulls in conversation, we left the restaurant. Guess what? On the way out, I only saw three former students of mine in the waiting area.

So off we went to the movies. Yeah, we were late. I hate being late to anything, but we couldn’t help it. The only other viewing of the movie was much later, so we didn’t really want to hang around until then. Luckily, we didn’t miss anything except the previews, which I can usually do without anyway. We found two seats together and, after our eyes adjusted to the dark, we settled in to enjoy the movie. We saw Drea.mer, and in case you haven’t seen it, it is a very good movie.

After the movie, Jeremie decided it was too early to go home—only 8:40, so he suggested dessert. With that, we made a trip to the Marble Slab for some ice cream. I was only slightly disappointed when they were out of strawberries for my cheesecake ice cream, but I made do with a waffle cone of peppermint instead. After a cold, yet tasty, treat and a bit more conversation, we headed for home. All the way, I kept expecting the, “You’re-a-great-person-but…” speech that I’ve grown accustomed to hearing when I’ve actually had a good time on a date, but it didn’t come. Instead, as we were pulling into the driveway, he commented, “I had fun. Maybe we can do it again sometime.” After giving him my cell phone number (since I won’t be home much in the next couple of weeks—trying to rush up those people “working” on my house), he waited to make sure my key worked okay, then I watched as his headlights vanished over the hill.

All in all, it was a good date. I don’t know if he’ll call again. Maybe he will. Maybe he won’t. Nevertheless, it was good just to get out. It restored some of my faith in the whole dating process. I guess not all dates have to be bad, after all!

Whew!  I hadn't read that narrative in ages!  Makes me want some peppermint ice cream...
 
Hugs and baby dust,