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It was a reasonable chat, I let him have it alone (person)
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(
person
)
by
jessicaj
Sun Nov 15 2020 at 19:35:07
Periodically I let my friends talk me
into things
;
which is how I ended up going out on
a date
.
There are rules of engagement, he doesn't have
to know that I've got enough
silk flowers
to leave
at fifty funerals
.
When I suggested we explore a local antique store
I figured he didn't need to hear that I never eat,
or drink anything when I'm out with a stranger.
I don't have anything against right handed men
,
it just doesn't work in my experience, and I offer
the following afternoon as proof. First of all, he
wanted to drive, and I didn't like getting into his
red Mustang because a guy who can't open a
door for me is automatically disqualified, and
ineligible to share any time, but I decided to let
him see if he could try and change my mind.
We never made it to any of the stores
on my list
, and by the time we arrived
at the north side of Milwaukee, I was seething.
He remained oblivious to my mood as
he pulled over, not so we could walk on the
beach, or enjoy the seashore, apparently
he enjoys pontificating on the far side
of Lincoln Memorial Drive.
If you were on a date, and there was a
cozy coffee shop to the left, and a sketchy
filling station on the right, you wouldn't
park your car perpendicular to oncoming
traffic, and let your date walk into the store
alone, unarmed, and you could offer to
buy a token something, but he didn't.
I smiled at the cashier, and felt her warmth.
On the way back he kept talking, I wasn't
really listening, my mind was focused
on escape; every
Jag
, each
Land Rover
,
all the Volvos
we passed seemed to be
calling to me, silently signaling support,
comfort, offering me the protection I had
enjoyed when I worked at the dealership,
and was perpetually surrounded
by angels
.
I had agreed to meet him at
Starbucks
,
and when we got back to the scene where
it all went wrong, I saw that my car was
blocked by a large tractor trailer combo.
My date said that he could get the vehicle out
quite easily, and I said I'd let him know
if I needed help, vowing that I would
dismantle the thing myself first.
I could not drive out of his life fast enough,
and perhaps I should have taken the
extra time to block his number, but I wanted
time to put as much freeway as I could
between us. The father of my children
sent me a text about the guy who had
sold us a front door when we were still
married, and I got a good laugh out of that.
It's probably not good form to tell a date
that I was texting a man I haven't slept
with in almost six years, but he's been a
part of my life since I was nineteen, and
we do have two children together
. My date
had suggested visiting an '
art gallery
',
and without agreeing to anything more,
I erased the text bubbles from my iPhone,
and took the very long way home that night.
Many thanks to
TheDeadGuy
for
the title
.
You couldn't fool your mother on the foolingest day of your life even if you had an electrified fooling machine!
Robert Bork
chat
The broken painting
The Lover writes while the Hangman edits
Deep Thought