Patti: A Moment of Simplicity
In my sixteen years of marriage and 19 years since first meeting my husband I have been asked the question..."So how did you meet?" It's not a simple tale....or a short one for that matter...but it is a funny one. If you have a moment...here it is.....
It all started two days after Christmas. My friend Dina and I had survived working retail over the Christmas rush, while studying for finals...... which rolled right into Christmas time with our families. We did all our visiting, present opening and food eating. It was time to go out. Being 22 years old (and not living in the days of Facebook or text messaging)...we needed Friend time!!!
The days after Christmas...'Christmas break' were a popular time to go out to the many restaurants and clubs. I'm not sure about other parts of the country, but Long Island had many choices in the way of food, restaurants and clubs. Dina and I LOVED to DANCE! We also had a favorite club where we liked to do this. 'Malibu' in Lido Beach.
Tonight was 'girls' night I thought. I honestly didn't care if there was a guy out that night. I just wanted to be with my friend, dance and have a good time. (19 years, 1 marriage. two children, two Labrador retrievers and a mortgage later I now see.....MY plan didn't really matter.) Something I learn more and more every day.
So, Dina and I went to Malibu....we danced our little hearts out, laughing and just enjoying a time without studying or work. There was a little 'game' Dina and I would play once in a while. It entailed one of us seeing a cute guy that we thought was of our friends taste and saying....'He's cute...we should go talk to him'.
Well, I really didn't want to play that game that night. I just wanted to dance, hang out and laugh with my friend Dina. So much for my plans. Dina spotted this cute curly haired guy on the dance floor. He was wearing a denim jacket with pins on it. "He's cute" she said. I looked up..and as always...Dina knew me well. He was cute. He was really cute.
"We should go talk to him" Dina said.....oh no...not tonight..I said. I didn't want to play this game tonight I just wanted to........
As the last thought went through my mind...Dina was already walking across the dance floor toward him. I paused....but since I wasn't going to stand there by myself..... I followed. By the time I had gotten over to them she had already started a conversation about his pins. She introduced me and he smiled. He was so friendly, I thought, as he explained the meaning of some of the pins....big smile on his face.
As I was appreciating his smile Dina said "OH....I see someone I know...I'll be back" and left me there with smiley pin guy. *sigh* Oh no. At that moment a good song came on and we started to dance. He could dance too. Hmmm....cute, friendly and can dance. The next song came on and he asked me if I liked it. It was the Red Hot Chili Peppers "Give it away". I said "yes, I love this song". While we were dancing a pretty blonde girl came up to smiley and whispered something in his ear. He said something back to her and then leaned over to me and said. "Stay right here...I'll be right back".
I moved to the side of the dance floor and stood there for a moment as he walked away with this blonde girl. Then I thought....cute, friendly, can dance....and a ladies man! I'm not standing here 'waiting for him' while he walks off with some girl. I walked away to find my friend Dina.
Dina was talking with a few people. One was a really tall guy. She introduced me and we continued talking and laughing....then we all heard a good song and the tall guy pulled me out to the dance floor. As I was dancing I saw the cute, smiley guy come over and say something to Dina...then...he walked over to me. "I'll be over there" he said. "Um..ok" I said..surprised and confused. He walked away and gave me one of those smiles! Huh! Thats pretty nervy I thought. Here I am dancing with some guy...and he comes up to me to tell me he'll be over there after he walked off with some girl. Well...I'll be over here. I thought. (I have a stubborn streak) and lets remember..........I didn't want to flirt or meet anyone that night! I just wanted to dance with my friend...and now I have this cute smiley guy confusing me! Ugh!
Dina and I danced the night away. I didn't see smiley anymore. Thats what Dina and I called him as we rehashed the night on our drive home. The smiley guy.........
A week or two later Dina and I decided to go to our favorite club dancing again! It was such a friendly atmosphere. We knew many people who went there as often as we did. It was like meeting up with old friends each time we went. As we were walking through to make a request at the DJ booth.... I saw him. Smiley!
Dina and I waved as we were passing and he walked up to me. He couldn't remember my name....so I reminded him and we began to talk. I'm not sure where Dina went at this point. Smiley and I were caught up in conversation. My recollection was how 'smooth' he was being. He was laying on the compliments pretty thick....and I was giving him a very hard time...in a playful way. Every time he would come up with a cheesy line I would pretend to put my 'boots' on. He thought this was all hysterical. (Apparently the other girls fed into all this shmoozing..lol) Not me.
We talked for what seemed like hours...laughing...learning about each other. It was a really good time.
The end of the night came and as we said goodbye I realized he didn't ask me for my number. Ok..I thought. We just had a great night..great conversation...(I was thinking this as we started walking away from each other waiving)....then at the last minute...like it was an after thought...he starts to walk toward me. He hands me his card and says. "Give me a call some time". lol
What? His business card...business number. What is wrong with this guy? I thought as I walked away...totally confused. "Are you going to call him" Dina asked. "I don't know...it's just... weird!"
We assessed the situation and his psychological stability in detail on our drive home as most young girls like to do. We went over the scenario again and again. "He wasn't going to give me his number...it was an AFTER thought Dina!"....."Yeah Patti....but he did...you should just call him"....Ugh. This smiley guy was giving me a headache.
That was Saturday night. By Wednesday I picked up the phone and called him in between classes. He picked up. I heard his formal voice on the other line go light and friendly as I announced who was calling. (This was after all his 'work' phone remember). "Hi Patti!" "So great to hear from you...I had such a great time the other night.......etc. We had another great conversation. Laughing and joking. We must have been on the phone for almost 45 minutes! He was at work! He finally said he had to get back to work, but that he was so thrilled that I called. Ok...here we go. He'll ask me for my number. You would think, right? Nope.
I hung up and called Dina. "So, what happened? Are you guys getting together this weekend?" Dina's voice chimed from the phone. "Dina...I'm done, he's not interested..." I explained the great conversation. The laughing...the jokes...the enthusiasm in his voice when he realized it was me calling. (You know how girls pick these scenarios to pieces) Well....we dissected the whole thing. The end result was. This made no sense.
A few more weeks went by. School and work were super busy. I had been out and about. An old boyfriend was trying to get back into the picture, and I was not into it at all. In all honesty I just didn't have time to date at the moment. School was my priority. Or so I thought.
It was back to Malibu. Dina and I would typically get out of work, change in our cars...and drive to Malibu. This all happened at about 9pm. (Now at 9pm I have my PJ's on and I'm yawning away). Back then....it was just the beginning of the night!
So.....we get to Malibu....as always the atmosphere is fun and we see friends right away. Dina was meeting up with a guy she had met a few weeks back and one of his friends. "This is not a blind date Dina"..."No no...well..I told him I am bringing my friend"...."Dina!!"
As Dina and I are
And so the evening began. This 'friend' of Dinas friend seemed to believe this was a blind date...and I should give him my undivided attention. He was REALLY getting on my nerves. While we were dancing he said "I may not be that good a dancer..but you could at least smile"....then when I excused myself to go to the bathroom he told me he was going to come with me. Rather sternly. It was at that point I turned and said "No thanks..I've been doing this for 22 years..haven't gotten it wrong on my own yet!" and walked away.
I know...mean Patti! You really had to be in the situation to understand though. He was overbearing and he just met me!! I never told anyone I was game for a blind date so I didn't feel obligated to put up with his personality any longer.
I saw smiley again....as I was heading to the bathroom. "Maybe I'll stop and say hi when I come out" I thought as I entered the bathroom. By the time I was done washing my hands the decision was made. I would go say hi to the smiley cute guy. I knew one thing for sure...and that was..that I wasn't going back to my overbearing blind date that I didn't agree to.
When I began walking by the area I had seen smiley...I realized he wasn't there. I decided to just keep walking since I was now actively avoiding going back to my original scenario. As I was walking I was thinking that I really should have just waved to smiley when I saw him....now he was gone. Probably went home. Probably....*WHAM*
I was coming around a corner...deep in thought....looking down....when I bumped right into someone! Ugh!! OH!!! It was Smiley!!!!!!
"Oh my gosh! Wow you look great!!!" he said as I got my bearings. "I have been kicking myself for not getting your phone number and hoping you would call me back! But you never did!"....He said....That smile! I was so shocked by the whole situation that I almost didn't notice the girl by his side. My heart dropped. Not again. I think he saw my eyes scan this detail and quickly said.."Oh Patti...this is my friend Anna...Anna...were going to go talk...I'll see you later".........'friend Anna'...ok, I thought. Maybe that blonde girl back at the beginning of this whole thing was just a friend too...hmmm...maybe I judged too fast.
Before I knew it we were talking and laughing away...but before we got too involved he made sure to write down my number. We had a great time that night talking about how crazy the whole thing had been. That smiley guy was my Rob =)
So THATS how we met......
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Blog: A Moment of Simplicity
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