My goal on the 14th was to avoid being "negative Nancy" and supportive of those girls on cloud nine that act like Valentines Day is Santa Claus. I was at work, and not even 10 minutes into my work day I came across a guest. She asked me if I had big plans for the evening, I smiled and said I was single. She was somewhat surprised, proceeded to tell me I must be intimidating (which I get a lot and is turning out to be a shitty excuse for my singledom). This guest is a bit of a talker, and continued to indulge in her plans for the evening. It involved consoling her lesbian friend who ended a ten year relationship with her partner… As our conversation was ending, she jokingly invited me to her pity party. I laughed, played it off as nothing, but how should I have responded to that? Offense? Flattery? I was confused, but continued on my quest to make it through a complain free day!
The weather was a bit reflective of my mood, gloomy and looking ready to break into a storm at any minute…
I encounter another guest. A man with a witty demeanor, sarcastic at best, and about 350 lbs. Upon his arrival with his family, scoping out the place, my coworkers and I greeted them with a warm smile and "How are you doing today?!" His remark, "Slow, fat, and stupid in that order." Eventually his family left, he did a little bit of work, and needed a lift back his hotel. I obliged. He asked if I had plans for the evening to start up small talk, and I retorted with "I'm single". He spewed a slew of nice compliments, and asked "How is it that you're single?"
How does one respond to such a question?
Really.
Dont you think that if I could answer that question, I wouldn't be single. I gave a polite laugh. Thankfully the ride was a short one because that launched a deep internal conversation about where I am in my life.
That's something we can discuss over bottles of wine sometime.
I close down work, end up home, soaking wet because the weather got the best of me. I'm greeted by B, we make dinner, toast to our current single status, cash our bottle of wine, and decide we should hit the town. We both understood that it was dangerous territory with the amount of couples out, but figured maybe after dinner everyone took dessert back to their respectable homes.
Quickly, we put the day behind us, and in five we put on our Sunday's best and hit the bar. One drink in, people are funneling in and out of the bar, it wasn't overly busy. I do notice a man that sits down behind B, and he orders himself a Stella and continues to mind his own business. We made eye contact once, maybe twice, but never struck up conversation. We're ready for round two. (Papabear is in town, so after his meetings were done he cozied up to the bar in G&B style.) Round three complete, and I'm ready for the bill. Our bartender (she is also single, so we obviously bonded over the pointless holiday) approached me as I was rifling through my cash to pay and whispered to me, "your bill has been taken care of." I was beside myself. Who took care of our bill?! Another bartender? A cute guy I hadn't seen or made eye contact with, but wanted to be charming and buy our three rounds? Boy did I hope for the latter. It's like that situation in an airport when you see one cute guy at the gate before you board. As you anxiously sit on the plane, and he's walking down the aisle (no pun intended), you hope that his seat is next to you. Shortly after that you find that his blonde, 5'3 girlfriend is right behind him, followed by the 500 lb man that plops down right next to you. You know you've been there. The bartender didn't want to tell us, but she quietly gestured at the gentleman sitting behind B at the end of the bar. I was still beside myself, and once again didn't really know how to feel. Flattered? Offended because we can pay our own tab? Guilty because we didn't engage in conversation with him? We rounded up the troops, I walked over, gently grabbed his arm and thanked him. We all did. I can put all those other pointless feelings aside, and just be grateful. Why should we call into question a mans kindness (especially on the 14th). The three of us laughed about it, my dad remarked, "It's been awhile since I've had a drink bought for me at a bar!" (Papabear doesn't go out with G&B, so he quickly learned how it felt. We're only kidding!) After letting our "one-day-annual-love-fest" marinate, we've come to the conclusion that no matter the day, no matter the person (boyfriend, family, or stranger) appreciating a kind gesture is all it takes. Who knows the motive behind peoples actions, who cares. One's reaction of gratitude is the most rewarding outcome for any giver.
Hope everyone made yesterday special for themselves.
Love,
G&B
No comments:
Post a Comment