He could still salvage this. He looked at her intently. “What can happen in one minute of conversation?”
Sure
enough, it got her attention. “Excuse-“
“Go!” He
checked his watch.
“You can’t
be serious.” She laughed, leaning back. They’d picked a booth for the evening,
to help release the tension. The booths were of a fruitwood finish, not too
light and not too dark, putting the atmosphere along the line of chatty and
cozy.
Well, we need to work on the chatty part.
He thought desperately as her laugh died off. She studied him closely. “Holy
crap, you are serious.”
“When in
doubt, do something random.” He insisted.
“You have a
lot of doubt about this, then.” She assumed.
“Sixty
seconds.” was all he replied, starting them on the half-minute mark.
Her face
drew a blank. “W- And you want me to start?” She shook her head. “Typical male,
afraid to take the plunge.”
“I find
that unfair since I’m the one who asked you out.” He exclaimed.
The muscles in her face relaxed. “Why
did you? Ask me out, that is.”
“Why
wouldn’t I?”
“Oooohhh
no!” she leaned back in over the table. “You don’t pull the spontaneity card
and then act all elusive. That just proves my point.”
“Or you
just think it does because you want to be right.” He matched her lean. “You’ve
got that take-charge, not-to-be-deterred type of attitude.”
She
snickered. “Thank you?”
She was
fearless too. Three seconds ticked by.
He needed
to reach farther, he guessed. “I hear that Canada is letting people into their
national parks for free next year.”
She didn’t
look the slight bit impressed. “Why would you even know that?”
“I heard
about it through a pal on Facebook,” he gained confidence. “I met him during a
triathlon in California. We keep in touch about upcoming marathons, Mud Runs,
and the like.”
She nodded
at that information. “So, you bike?”
“And swim,
and boat, and hike,” He was getting exited. “Pretty much anything that involves
fresh and air. You?”
“So long as
there’s a book next to me.”
The
excitement fled… and so had the minute. What he had learned from it? Not much
on compatibility.
“Not much
athletics for you then.” He supposed.
She cocked
a brow slyly. “I become a blue belt next month.”
“A bookworm
and a martial artist?” He looked her over. She did the same, hand cupping her chin.
“An outdoorsman and a chauvinist. What a surprise.”
“You
believe in all stereotypes.” he was getting annoyed now. “Or just the ones
involving males?”
“I believe
that there’s more to first impressions then people think. If someone puts their
best face forward, they care enough about a positive interaction.” She shrugged
sadly. “If they don’t, then they don’t care really care… about themselves or
any other.”
That’s condemning. He felt spooked at
the coolness with which she stated the words. But he only went, “Hmm.”
“Hmm.” She
went back. “You know it’s been over a minute.”
“We were
able to break the silence.” He pointed out.
“Sometimes
silence is golden.” She smiled. “Sixty seconds, not a word.”
“Wh-“ he
began.
“Go.”
He opened
his mouth, then shut it. Her eyes pierced him, daring him to look… only to find
what? Talk about stereotypes, she was making a mountain out of a mole hole. That
was the freaky part about dating. The peeling back of the layers.
Chill, man! It’s just a minute.
A minute that
had to last forty-six seconds more…
Guy’s got a chin on him! She was biting
her cheek to keep from grinning. She had been noticing the chin because it was
rarely without a smile. Inviting, nervous, curious or calm… smiling seemed to
be his thing.
It doesn’t just stay on his lips though.
She thought. The feeling climbs through
his eyes, over his forehead… how’s THAT possible?!...
Her hands
moved. He locked the muscles in his neck to keep his cheeks from blushing. Why
would hands make him blush? Dimwit, she
probably wants you to look at her face!...
Were those
ringlets of green- inside his brown eyes? Uh, this guy was making her sweat. Or
the silence was. Maybe it had been a bad idea. Probably made him uncomfortable.
Well, he started it with his whole ‘do
something random’ proverb...
How many more seconds? He sweated,
afraid to check his watch. He didn’t want to back down…
“Time’s
up!”
Apparently,
it wasn’t an issue for her.
“That was…
fascinating.” He cracked on the word, being the only one he could think of.
Well, that and one other thing. “So… second date?”
Her
eyebrows rose, lips pursed. She considered him; could she see the sweat?
“Definitely.” She said, picking up
her menu.
~THE END~
As the New Year's approaches, we reflect on the time that's passed in the last 365 days... and we ponder on the 365 days that are ahead. What moments await us? Which ones haunt us? Which ones will we cherish even 20 more New Year's afterwards? Which moments are we going to hold close as reminders of life lessons?
Books, media, sappy Hallmark movies, all talk about our use of time. To take it slowly and make every minute of the day count. The message gets repeated so often, our ears mute it out after awhile. But let's not forget the exhilieration when we're watching that glittery ball drop. It's like the starting shot to a new mile in the race of our lives.
The Bible says many things along the lines of our time. Ecclesiastes 3 is a familiar passage, highlighting how everything has its season. Its time. Nothing comes before or after its due moment. God makes sure of that. Let's remember to hold that certainty in our minds as this New Year kicks off.
