Chance Encounter Part 3

A few more months go by. She hasn't dated anyone in all that time. She's been working on herself, which is exactly what she needs to do.

The summer hits, and with it comes a slew of blockbuster movies hitting the big screen. There's one movie in particular she wants to see because she's such a fan of the original: Planet of the Apes.

She asks around, seeing if anyone wants to go see it with her. Everyone is busy with vacations, picnics, and family gatherings for weeks on end. She's ready to just go see it by herself.

Then Kim calls her and tells her that she mentioned it to Harry, and he said he wanted to see it, too. Kim passes his number along to her, and she rings him up to pick a day to go. They decide on a Sunday in the middle of the afternoon.

It's most defnitely not a date. Planet of the Apes at a Sunday matinee does not scream romance.

So Sunday arrives, they solidify plans, everything's all set. Until her ex calls. He has nothing to do that day, so he's decided he wants to go see the movie after all. Hmmmm. Does this have anything to do with the fact she's going to see it with Harry?

All three go. Weird? Yes.

The movie ends, and they decide to go and shoot some pool. When they arrive at the pool hall, they come to find that it's also Karaoke Sunday. Interesting.

The ex spots a girl he's been trying to date up at the bar, so he leaves her and Harry alone. Finally. They drink, shoot, have a few laughs, wax philosophic, the whole nine yards. Things are going very well after all.

And then it happens. No, not a kiss. Something completely out of left field. He asks her to sing a karaoke song with him. Huh?

Come to find out, he's a karaoke whore. He used to hit karaoke bars 3 or 4 times a week with a friend. She totally didn't peg him for the sort, and, well, she's never done it before. She sang in front of crowds when she was younger, but he doesn't know that.

At first she says no. She's a little rusty. So he does what any other man would do. He tries the jealousy tactic.

There's a girl at the bar he knows. She used to date his best friend. He casually mentions that he'll ask her to sing with him instead.

And just like that, she becomes a karaoke queen. The song: Summer Nights from Grease. Totally cheesy but totally cute, especially when he changes one of the last lines to "Wonder who she's doing now", which gets a huge laugh out of the bar crowd.

They're both very impressed with each other. And all of a sudden, the sexual tension surges. And they kiss.

Chance Encounter Part 2

Things didn't work out with Jason. That stoned look he always had about him, well, it was genuine. Seems he had a bit of trouble with alcohol, as in he was constantly drinking it. One day, he mentioned that he had been sent home from work (a daycare center) because he had been intoxicated on the job. Can you say "BIG RED FLAG?"

Add to that he was on medication for depression while drinking, and you have one seriously messed up person. She didn't need that in her life; she had only just started to heal from a bout of depression herself. She saw right away that being around Jason would be unhealthy.

A couple of weeks after that first fateful meeting at the diner, she asked Kim about Harry.

"Why didn't you tell me Harry was so cute?"

Kim replied, "He's not cute. He's Harry."

***

Time passed. She dated, had some fun, then got bored with it all. No one she met had any real boyfriend substance.

That spring, she met up with a couple of friends at the pool hall. She walked in, and there he was again, Harry, her future husband.

They shot some pool together, chatted, and had a few drinks. They were having a good time. So much so that they decided to leave together to go get something to eat. They hit that diner once again, had some grub, and then she drove him home.

And then...

Nothing.

Not even a kiss.

He thanked her for the ride, then ran inside the house.

She sat in her car and thought, "What the hell was that?"

Sunday Scribblings #118 - Chance Encounter

Imagine, if you will, a 20-something girl on a date. Nothing unusual about that, right? She's about 5 feet tall, with short, dark brunette hair, deep brown eyes, and she's got a killer smile. Her date, Jason, is only a few inches taller than she is (and he wears lifts in his boots). He's cute, a year or two younger, and has light brown hair, warm hazel eyes, and a somewhat stoned look about him (he always looks stoned).

They met earlier that day at the record shop where she works. He had asked her a little about music and then her name. He left, then showed up 15 minutes later with a single red rose and a proposal for a date that night. She'd readily accepted.

They went for something low-key... a quiet dinner at her house prepared by him. After that, they decided to go out for a cup of joe.

So here we are, at the diner, watching the two sip some coffee with a couple of her friends. After a bit, two other people show up. One is her ex-sister-in-law, Kim, just back from a trip to Spain. The other is someone the girl has never met before.

Cue cheesy 80s soundtrack.

His name is Harry, and he is her future husband.