It seems when we least expect it, that's when we find someone who will turn our entire world on its axis. That's what happened to me. On an ordinary day, when nothing special was going on, my world turned upside down. After that, I can't remember a better day in my life. What happened? My dreams became reality. Here's my story.
I was sitting in a corner booth at my regular hang out, having a drink to unwind from the stresses of work. I had said hello to all of the regulars, but wasn't really getting involved in their conversations about which sports team was better and which pop culture star had done the most shocking thing in recent events. I was occasionally interjecting a comment here and there to seem interested, but I really wasn't. I simply wanted to unwind and do a little self reflection.
As the time drifted slowly by, I drifted more and more out of the chatter and into a sort of haze. I'm sure I must have had a blank stare on my face as I drifted into oblivion, but no one seemed to notice. If they did, they didn't try to pull me away from my thoughts. Memories of the past came floating through my mind. Some were good, others were not so good. They didn't affect me either way. I learned long ago how to stop the past from affecting my current mood. I was content to just sit with my thoughts.
My friend Tony nudged me when he came over to the table. He had noticed the blank stare.
"You going to sit here all night and nurse and empty glass, or do you want another drink?" He asked, already motioning for the waitress. "Double Blackjack on a cliff?"
"Sure man, thanks" I replied, knowing he isn't the type to let the party die. He also isn't the type to take no for an answer when he offers to buy.
"How's life been treating you?" He asked, laying the groundwork to ask me if I had decided to join him on a new business venture.
"Eh, so so. You know how it goes." I tried to give a vague answer to avoid the question. Just then, salvation came in the form of Katie.
Katie is one of the waitresses at the bar, and to Tony, the only waitress at the bar. If she's not working, he's not drinking. . She winked at him and I knew she had saved me from having to discuss business.
The evening dragged on and I listened half heartedly to Tony's stories that I had heard a million times before. I drank the drinks that he continuously bought and watched as he and Katie exchanged gestures. I wondered if they would ever just open up and commit to one another. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of what would end up being my destiny.
At first, it was her sweater that caught my eye. It was a cross between purple and burgundy (I'm not the best in the world at naming different colors outside of the primary range.) Then, the vision of beauty that was her caught all of my attention.
She was, in my eyes, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her dark hair hung slightly over her shoulders and complimented her light skin perfectly. If I had to guess at her height, I'd say around 5'8" but I'm not great at that either. She was dressed in that v-neck sweater and black pants. It wasn't revealing like the clothes that so many wear, but accented her form perfectly. She wasn't adorned with a lot of gaudy jewelry, just a silver tear drop pendant that brought everything together. She was the vision of perfection.
"Hey sport, wipe the drool off your chin and I'll introduce you." Tony was chuckling and winking at Katie as he nudged me again.
I tried to act as if I had no clue what he was talking about, but he knew better. He had known me so long he could read me like a book.
"You know her?" I asked
"Know her? No man, I don't know her." He said in his sarcastic tone. That meant he did know her and he was going to do something to prove it.
He surprised me when her motioned her over and introduced her without doing something to embarrass me. He said her name was Marcia and she was an old friend of his from college who was new to the city. He hung around the table long enough to get conversation flowing smoothly then excused himself to the restroom and never found his way back. We talked all night, and she pretended not to notice when I was staring at her mysterious green eyes with a hint of grey. When she said that she should be going, I suddenly blurted out an offer to meet for dinner. I don't think there was any way of hiding my elation when she said yes and gave me her number. We made plans to meet for dinner at a nice little Italian place I knew.
We met the next evening and it was the best date I had ever been on. It seemed like the world had stopped to make everything go perfect over the candle light dinner. There were so many things we had in common, from our taste in movies and music to our love of quick wit humor. When I discovered that she had never watched Scent of a Woman, I told her she should immediately go to the video store and get it. She said she would, and that I should come with her. We finished our meal and took a drive to the video store.
When we got to the video store, I was surprised to see that they not only had the movie, but had a copy for sale on the rack as soon as we walked in. After a quick and playful debate over who would pay, I tossed the clerk a twenty and told him he could keep the change if he refused to sell it to her. He agreed with a huge smile and chuckled as she playfully slapped my arm and we went back to the car. We drove trough the old part of town on the way back to her apartment so she could see the cobblestone streets and the historical landmark buildings of the city. I didn't want the night to end when I pulled along side the curb in front of her building.
I walked her to her door, still playfully bragging about winning our little competition over buying the DVD. We stood there for a minute, laughing and joking before our eyes locked and it seemed as if the hands of fate pushed us together for the most memorable kiss of my life. After a few minutes of holding her hands and staring into her eyes, I said goodnight and turned to walk back to my car. She must have felt what I did, because the next thing I knew, I was hearing her voice.
"So you're just going to buy me a movie and then make me watch it alone?" She said in a sarcastic voice.
"I didn't want to assume you enjoyed my company enough to watch it with you," I said back to her, adding a mimicking face.
She opened the door and walked in, but never closed it. It didn't take me long to make it back up those steps and into the apartment. She gave me the grand tour, including her collection of original 1950s albums.
I don't know what came over me, but when I saw the albums, I had to ask her to dance. She put on an album and the first song that played was "In The Still Of The Night" by The Five Satins. We stepped out on her balcony to dance under the stars. The wind blew the door closed behind us, but it didn't matter. We danced for what seemed like hours to an unheard rhythm.
We held each other close as we danced. I was in heaven as I breathed in her essence. Every kiss was like kissing the lips of an angel. It was pure ecstasy.
It started to rain a little, so we decided to move back inside and watch the movie. She poured us each a drink while I made the popcorn. She looked across the kitchen at me, winked and stuck her tongue out at me playfully. I couldn't resist the urge to toss a few pieces of the popcorn her way. We laughed and made childlike faces at one another on our way back to the living room.
I carried the drinks and the popcorn to the couch as she put the DVD in. I sat on the couch and waited for her to turn the lights down and put the movie in. When she walked back over, I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the couch.
"Hey, you're blocking my view." I said as I pulled her to me.
She stuck her tongue out at me and I took the chance to kiss her. The movie previews were just finishing up as we snuggled up together. The popcorn and drinks turned out to be a waste. We didn't touch either of them. Neither of us wanted to break the connection we had. She never saw the ending of the movie, she fell asleep curled into me. I stayed in one position on her couch with her all night. It was the most heavenly night of my life.
