“What are you doing?!?” I practically screamed at him.
“You know, I think I could ask you the same thing, with more validity.” He said, chuckling. “No, I’m sorry, that was rude. I was nervous all day and so I left early. I was going to drive around town, but my driving around town landed me here. Then when I was about to knock on the door, you turned the music up and started singing, so I thought I’d peek.” He said, sounding ashamed.
“Fine, I forgive you. But if you ever mention this again, I’ll deny it to the end. And kill you. And then deny that too.” I said decidedly. “I hope I’m dressed alright. I knew we were going out to dinner but that was all I was told.”
“Yes, you look beautiful. Oh! I have something for you.” He handed me a rather large box, tied with a pink ribbon. “I hope you like it.”
I untied the ribbon and gently lifted the lid of the box off, and found a canvas bag with thorny stems covered in leaves. “Um, thanks. I hate to say this, but um, what is it?” I asked, trying not to hurt his feelings.
“It’s a Yellow Rose Bush. I know you love plants and so I assumed that meant planting and gardening as well. I chose yellow because they’re supposed to be a symbol of joy and friendship, and I figure, even if we don’t end up a couple, I hope that we’ll at least be friends.” This time, he was the one blushing and it was absolutely adorable.
“Well, you chose a good color, because if you had chosen red, it might have been akin to the creepy dream thing.” I told him, with a light chuckle. “Don’t worry Kayde, I love gardening, and yes, we will at least be friends.” I said, giving him a light kiss on the cheek, thinking back on my bath. At least… “Not to rush things, but, I’m kind of starving. I haven’t eaten yet today.”
“Well, let’s leave the roses here and get some food in you. No offense, but you seem like the kind of person who gets cranky if you don’t eat enough times through out the day.” He said with a wink. I set the roses down to be planted when I got home and before I knew it, his arm was around my waist.
We walked to his car, and ever the gentleman, he opened my door up for me before he walked over to his side of the car. He got in the car and put on some soft classical music.
“Bach?” I asked.
“Yes. You listen to classical?” He responded, obviously surprised.
“I love classical. I love music in general. I feel it should be a much larger part of our society. Native American tribes used to gather and have regular sessions of music and dancing, the way young adults go to bars and night clubs. The difference is that the whole village attended these sessions, not just thirty percent of the village. My theory is that it was part of what made them a much stronger community.” Way to show your neediness on a first date Phee. I thought to myself.
“You know, I think you’re absolutely right. Of course there are other things, like the fact that their living areas were much more closely kept, allowing the tribe to be more closely knit. People didn’t go hungry if they weren’t able to work or hunt. There was always something they could do. Everyone contributed some how, and everyone was fed, clothed and had shelter.” He said. “There was no such thing as being homeless or starving. If you were starving, it was only because the whole village was. It’s one of the things we need to get back to in American society.”
Oh my God! I thought to myself. If it was possible to fall in love with someone you barely knew, this was it, I was in love. “So, where are we headed?
We got to the restaurant and parked. He had brought me to the most expensive French restaurant in town.
“Stay here for a minute, I’ll be right back.” He said as he hurriedly opened his door and rushed into the restaurant. Ok, what the hell is this about? I thought to myself. I tried to twist around to see what he was doing, but from the angle he had parked at, I couldn’t see anything except the tree next to the car. I’m giving him three minutes and if he’s not back by then, good riddance! One minute into my time limit, I heard the trunk unlock and then looked out the back window to see him opening the trunk, closing the trunk, and getting back in the car.
“I hope that didn’t take to long?” He half asked, half said, probably hoping he hadn’t pissed me off.
“No, it wasn’t to bad at all.” I said, still a bit peeved. I guess he was right. I do get grumpy if I don’t eat… “But are we going to go eat now?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from betraying me.
“Yep. Dinner time.” He said with a smile. As I was unbuckling my seat belt, he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Oh. I take it we’re not eating here then, huh?” I asked. I wasn’t angry anymore, now I was just straight confused.
“Not exactly.” He answered. We drove for about 20 minutes, up a hill and around some winding roads. Once he got to the top of the hill, he got out of the car and opened the trunk again. “Stay here”, he said again. “And don’t get grumpy this time.” He got out of the car and opened the trunk again. After a few moments, he came to the car and opened my door.
“Ok, unbutton your seat belt and close your eyes.”
I did as he said and was led out of the car and a little bit away from it. After a few seconds of walking he told me to open my eyes and in front of me I saw what must have been the most elaborate picnic I had ever seen. Tons of covered dishes, two large cushions and a small fire pot were just a few things in front of me that he had set up.
“You did all this? For me?” I asked surprised.
“Yes. I wouldn’t be lying if I said that I was trying to impress you by creating the best date you’ve ever been on” He said, smiling. I was beginning to quite enjoy that smile.
