The Yolk’s on You

Welcome back, gang.

Another day, another step closer to the ‘ol flipperoo. (Yeah, I don’t like watching the sun drop like a stone every night either.)-:)

As for today, Day 28, please allow me to share a story from way back when.

So, when I was 28 years old, I finally got the courage up to ask a girl I liked out on a date.

I laugh at myself sometimes (truth be told, I do that often!) when I think about those days. Confidence is a funny thing that way. You spend your whole life trying to harness it, only to fall flat on your face a good portion of the time.

Hopeless idealist that I was then – and still am today – though, I always hung onto the idea that somewhere among all that fear and self-doubt was something resembling a proverbial silver lining. Not sure I’d say that the 28-year-old yours truly believed that then, but the windmill chaser in me managed to catch up over the years.

So, with all the style and grace of an old junker Buick with no brakes, I called up this girl. Yeah, let’s call her Sue. Hey, sometimes anonymity, at least in some form, tends to promote honesty. (Thanks to the late Steve Tesich, an Oscar-winning screenwriter for that bit of wisdom.)

Anyway, as crazy as it seems, I still remember dialing my old Panasonic phone. Yep, an old landline that I’d use for another few years, before I finally graduated to a cell phone when my older daughter was born.

When she answered, I promised myself that I would stay clear of the awkward moment when I would inevitably say something along the lines of “So, I was wondering…” I failed miserably, of course, and I could hear her giggle a bit.

“Yes, I’ll go out with you, John.”

After one of those painfully long and uncomfortable silences, we made a plan to meet that Friday night. And before I could make any suggestions, she quickly picked the place.

I didn’t give her insistence on quarterbacking our dinner plans much thought. That is until I walked into a quiet restaurant in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan, nervous, but excited, about my long-anticipated date with Sue.

When I arrived, she was waiting for me at the table. The thing is, though, she wasn’t alone.

Before I could say anything, she introduced her two friends, a tall skinny guy with close-cropped dark hair and a plain, but pretty girl with nice hazel eyes.

“John, this is Julia,” Sue said. “And this is Nate.”

Feeling confused and even more so ambushed, I did my best to play along. “Nice to meet you both,” I said. (I politely lied. I mean what the hell was going on here?)

It only took me a few moments to realize that Nate was more than a friend. In fact, the way he looked at her, I soon figured that he was probably her boyfriend.

As for Julia, the look on her face more or less gave her away. She may have been recruited to be Sue’s backup, but you could tell she didn’t want to be there.

I did my best to get through the meal and quickly formulated a hasty retreat.

I’ve never been very good at being a smart ass, but I felt I had to make an exception. “We should do this again,” I managed to spit out. “Maybe you can bring your parents next time.”

I guess I was a little too hurt and confused to be pissed off, but I walked out the door before I said anything else regrettable.

I walked out into the street, suddenly feeling pretty used, wondering what the hell I had done to deserve these oddly hurtful circumstances. But then a voice.

“I’m so sorry.”

I turned to see Julia standing there in front of me right at the corner of 31^st Street and 2^nd Avenue.

Julia explained that Sue had gotten cold feet about her date with me and recruited Nate, who had apparently been in Sue’s doghouse for a while. Once Nate agreed to play along, I guess Sue figured it wouldn’t hurt to have some insurance.

Julia said (through what suddenly seemed like real tears) that she never thought she’d ever agree to do something like that. Those tears were a pretty solid convincer, but I didn’t want to look like a schmuck twice within the same hour.

So, I tried to play it cool, but that’s never really been my long suit. Instead, I did my best to play the small talk game for a while. Before too long, though, it became pretty clear that we both were a little lonely.

Shortly after a quick trip to a nearby bar, we ended up in her apartment.

I wish I could tell you a tale of unexpected and passionate love making, but that just didn’t happen.

Instead, Julia, who I learned had recently move to Manhattan from a small town in Rhode Island, decided to make me eggs.

We dated for nearly a year.

I guess silver linings are really a thing. Just as long as you stay a believer.

See you tomorrow, friends.

JFish
@Copyright 2024 by John L. Fischer