Suddenly Single Journey

Apparently it wasn’t a date…

Author: thenicknick

As you know, I woke up at a time I am now referring to as 4ish on Friday morning in order to meet Kimberly and partake in that holiday ritual known as Black Friday Shopping.  She was a newbie, a Black Friday Virgin if you will.  And I broke her in but good!  Then I worked until 4:30pm.  And I was supposed to go on a date.

There may have been some break down in communication because I didn’t hear from HIM all day.  And I was beginning to think that it wasn’t going to happen.  He had read the ENTIRE blog which left me thinking he had ENTIRELY too much time on his hands and might know ENTIRELY too much about me.  And then I started picturing Misery because all too often my life imitates art and Laura had planted this horrible idea in my head…

Laura: So which serial killer are you going out with now?

Yeah, she has no love for Craigslist.  And it can be scary and dangerous, for sure.  I just would like to think I am a better judge of character…  Look at how well my relationships have turned out.  Mwah ha ha.

So, by 7pm, I had given up on the date and was ready to change into comfy clothes, curl up on the sofa, and read a book off my stack of unreads.  Sweet plan, huh?  Well, I received a text shortly thereafter.  And the meeting time was set, for the place I had previously suggested.  And it soon occurred to me that I either frequent entirely too many places with the word ‘tavern’ in them, or there are entirely too many establishments with the word ‘tavern’ in them.  Must be the latter.  I’m a nice girl.

Thus we met at City Tavern at 8pm because a girl needs a few minutes to get ready.  Natural beauty my butt.  And I met him outside.  He looked nothing like his picture.  (You’re shocked, right?)  He looked waaaay better in person.  Ha!

We walked in, were seated, and he began the conversation with:

Mystery Man: This isn’t at all what you think it is.

And that’s when the warning bells started going off in my head.  He then proceeded to compliment me.  (I love compliments, especially when they are genuine, but they still make me uncomfortable…)

MM: You have no idea what you have meant to my life.

And that’s when he announced that he had reconciled with his wife.  And while I was genuinely happy for him, I couldn’t help but wonder why I was there.  He quickly cleared that little mystery up.

MM: I wanted to meet you to tell you in person that I think you are amazing and what an impact you have had on me.

(Please note that these are not direct quotes.  For one thing, there was food involved and therefor the conversation didn’t get my full attention.  Plus, there was an even bigger distraction that prevented me from focusing.  You’ll see…)

As you may have guessed, first date pressure was alleviated the moment I discovered…I wasn’t actually on a date.  The worry that I might smile and reveal a hint of spring mix caught in my teeth…over.  The thought that I might laugh and have some foreign object shoot from my nose…never crossed my mind.  (Mostly because it’s never happened…)  And conversation was comfortable.  Okay, I did have one worry…

me: I was afraid that I wouldn’t live up to the hype.  Am I what you thought I was?

MM: It’s amazing!  You are exactly the same person as you are on the blog.

(Sorry for the letdown.  He’s right.  This is all me, people.)

And he went on to use words like amazing, incredible, intelligent, and beautiful…not necessarily in that order or that combination, but yes, they did all refer to me.  There were a lot of astonishing compliments in there.  His wife is a lucky woman.

After we ate and the plates were cleared, he became rather serious.

MM: I have something for you.  A gift.  And you can’t say no.

Hmmm.  I looked at him sideways, trying to figure out what to say.

me: Is this where the not-a-date gets uncomfortable?

And that’s when he pulled out the present and set it in front of me.  I was stunned, but as you might imagine, not speechless.

me: It’s a blue box.

I would recognize that signature box with it’s wide white satin ribbon anywhere.  J was good with Tiffany’s. After a few moments of me fondling it, he spoke.

MM: Open it.

I had to!  I had to know what was in there.  And I wasn’t disappointed.  After untying the ribbon, lifting the lid, and opening the pouch, a gorgeous heart necklace emerged.

MM: I wanted you to know how much you touch people’s lives, that you make a difference, that what you write matters.

(Again, not direct quotes.  Forgive me, I had a full belly and was holding sterling silver and stunned.  Oh, and this time, I’m pretty sure I was silent.)

We talked for a while longer.  And he showed me some pictures of his family.  And he was able to ask the burning questions he had after reading the blog…mostly about my relationships.  And he lamented that he didn’t have the kind of support I have in the form of my Bubble Family.  Not many people do.  I know how lucky I am.  And I don’t take them for granted…I don’t think.

We finally parted ways and he walked me back toward my car.  I had already missed a call from Spring and a text from Kimberly.  So, being a girl, you know what I HAD to do.  Of course I called them.  Kimberly, disappointingly enough, was already asleep at 10:30pm and couldn’t quite wrap her mind around what I was saying.  (Now, if I had a man like David to curl up with at the end of the day, I’d have been in bed, too!)  But Spring didn’t let me down.  She told me to come right over.  And naturally, I talked to Rachel and told her EVERYTHING on the drive.

me: Can you believe it?

Rachel: Yeah, Mom, I can.  Weird things happen to you all the time.

Okay.  I’ll give her that.  But Tiffany’s weird?

And as it turned out, I had a lot of explaining to do once I arrived at Jay and Spring’s.  Jay was pacing the living room, trying to lecture me while thinking I was turning into some greedy little gold digger.  So, I explained the situation.

me: He was just thanking me for inspiring him to change his life, reminding him of all the little joys and happiness life holds.

With that done, Jay did a complete 180, stopped pacing and sat down.

Jay: That’s beautiful, Nicki.  You help people.  You change lives.  None of us have done that.

me: You do that every day, just by being my friend.

Jay: No, you know what I mean.

But I don’t see the distinction.  I thrive on the love and support my friends and family provide.  I would be nothing without them inspiring me to be happy, to live the best and biggest life I can.  They are my blessings.

I predicted that November would be a big month.  And it has been.  I’ve been linked to and quoted.  I’ve won a contest on a blog…Single Mom Seeking.  I’ve tried my hand at dating.  (Apparently I’m much better at not-a-dating.)  And a man I’ve never met before was inspired to buy me Tiffany’s.  Wow.  I can’t wait to see what happens next.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.