"Come on, we gotta go," I screech with impatience. I'm back from my trip to Houston and Friday morning is filled with anticipation as I scramble to get my kids in the car for school. Yes, the wiser wolf woman inside of me knows how utterly ridiculous this is to chase after a man at this age, at this stage on the heels of a pending divorce.
The little girl inside, however -- the one who's ached for attention and affection over the past several years -- dresses in her hot, black winter trench and short-sweater dress with 3-inch heeled boots. Like Trinity from the Matrix I am on a mission to find my man. Or as one friend from work later describes: "Momma needs a new pair of shoes." TRUE DAT!
So off I go full of hope and optimism only to meet disappointment when he isn't there. Of course he isn't there. Seriously, get all dolled up for a chance encounter with not-so-tall, dark and handsome stranger? Jeez, how embarrassing. Oh well, not again I tell myself. So the following Monday I lower my expectations, don barely a smudge of lipstick, torn and tattered jeans and a t-shirt. Humidity levels hover around 58% so my thin, fine hair lays flat and fuzzy against my face... it's totally hot. NOT! But it's okay because he won't be there.
I saunter up to Starbuck in my cool new clogs from Coach just as a I see him out of the corner of my eye. Isn't this exactly how my life rolls? I cooly enter the store as he holds the door talking on his Blackberry. His phone call wraps and soon we're catching up from the weekend, making small talk as if we've talked a hundred times before. We grab our drinks, his also an Americano, and head outside to leave. "Yeah, I have to get home. Star Furniture is delivering my furniture today."
"Funny, I just bought furniture from there too," I tell him. He hesitates, staring intently in an almost uncomfortable kind of way. It reminds me of that day at Kona... flattering and unnerving all at once.
"Would you like to go out sometime?"
"Sure," I answer cooly while my inner little girl turns somersaults. I tell myself, please don't dork out!
"What's your number? Here, do you want to just enter it in my iPhone?" I grab the device and nervously punch the key pad as my inner dork steps forward. Stupid iPhone... why can't they have a qwerty keypad like Blackberry? Technology or nerves impede my ability to type without errors.
"I have the same problem," he shares. "I'm new to this whole Apple thing too." He offers up the Blackberry instead and I'm relieved. As we conclude our time out in front of the coffee shop he moves toward the black BMW with new paper tags.
"Is this yours?" I ask. He nods and I offer, "That's what I drive."
"Yeah, I know." What? That's kind of weird. Surely he didn't pick this up after that non-encounter at the sushi venue. Same drink, new furniture from same store, same car and did he say he lived in my neighborhood?
"Are you stalking me?" I ask.
He laughs, "maybe."
We back out of the parking lot in our dueling German autos and head east. I'm not trying to follow him but it turns out he lives just a street before me and I'm finding it all just a little bizarre. Maybe it's not a bad thing. "Don't over think it," I tell myself.
At home a few minutes later I crank my PC up to begin my work day. Moments later an email from Paul at Dell. "How about lunch tomorrow?" Are you kidding? Absolutely, but as fate has it one of the kiddos comes down with a fever. I'm home bound the following day and email to reschedule.
"No worries," he writes. "Here is my schedule for the next two weeks." And when laid over my own it appears there's an opening the Wednesday following Thanksgiving before I have to catch a flight to Amarillo. Done, we have a date on the books. This might actually be better I tell myself. It's something to anticipate as I transition the girls over to their father for the holiday and make my way to LA for the 4-day break with KU roommate and sorority sister Meg... my first holiday without my girls.
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