I arrived at the entrance a moment after him. He smiled when he finally saw me. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I said shyly. Geez.
“Nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you.” Really nice.
Opening the door, he asked what I wanted to drink. “You sit down, and I’ll bring it over to you.”
He then proceeded to walk me to the table and pull out the chair. This time I almost did fall. Who does that anymore? “Thanks,” I said, stunned.
(Very sweet, Mr. Strawberry.)
When he returned with my requested green tea, his capa-frappa-whatever and luscious lemon cake*, I knew it was showtime. But I was seriously faklempt. “This June gloom…sure is gloomy, right…” I observed. Ugh, that was pathetic. Like my tongue was wrapped around a tree. Not quite the opening line I’d hoped for. But he laughed. He thought I was being funny. Yeah, hilarious.
We sipped and commented on cake. Somewhere around the third bite, our chatting began to flow. Perhaps it was the politics. I mentioned how I wanted even more women on the Supreme Court. He agreed. Another point for Strawberry.
“Did you know,” he said with concern, “that of 193 countries with National Parliaments, the U.S. ranks 76th in the percentage of women in office?” I just shook my head.
This was all going pretty well, when he abruptly excused himself. I saw him huddling over by the straws, on his cell. Odd. When he returned, he apologized and told me he had to leave right away. No explanation.
Great.
I walked out two minutes later, disappointed. I didn’t even finish the cake.
As I reached my car, I saw Strawberry running toward me. The guy ran funny. His pants jingled. But it didn’t matter. I was standing in my flippers thinking we all have to overlook some things. And I may have to overlook his running style.
“I’m really sorry,” he said, breathless. “My phone vibrated. It was my ex-wife. There’s still some issues. Would you have dinner with me next week, even with…issues?”
Issues. Know them well. I figured he was cute enough and nice enough to find out what they are. So, it was a yes for dinner…
to be continued...
*Check out luscious lemon cake recipes on Recipes page
