something new
by jennifer
i indulged in a little bit of that small flirtation. seeking eye contact. meeting glances. smiling. looking away. repeat.
the next sunday, i saw him again as i was heading up the aisle to receive communion. we made eye contact, and i smiled at him--briefly and prayerfully--before resuming my march up to the altar. i returned to my pew, kneeled, and thought, he's cute. and, one second later, but kind of old!
i snuck another glance. he was handsome. average height, nice build. i noticed that his hair and goatee were peppered with grey. i gauged his age to be about 37 or 38. kind of old for me. but then i remembered i'm 30! kind of old, too! still, it occurred to me that he might be married. and i didn't want to chance flirting with a married man. so i stopped.
a couple of weeks later, i found myself at a birthday happy hour at an outdoor bar downtown. i had gotten to know the birthday girl--erica--over the past few months, but didn't know any of her friends. i arrived a little late, surveyed the crowd, and quickly realized that i didn't know anyone in the group (erica had yet to arrive). erica's husband, however, introduced himself and some friends. i sat down for a moment and then decided to find an ATM, hoping that erica (or someone familiar) would arrive in the meantime.
when i got back and joined the crowd at the table, i found myself face to face with the old guy from church.
someone introduced us. "MV this is beto. beto..."
"we've met before," he says.
i look at him quizically.
"after church. at breakfast. in the hall. you don't remember."
i start to remember, but ask anyway, "are you sure???"
"yes, you're from south texas, right?"
"no..." i say. "you must have me confused with some other mexican girl you met at church."
"some other beautiful mexican girl," beto's friend chimed in.
beto glances down, and i notice that his face reddens slightly. "i didn't want to embarrass you," he says.
i have to concede that we have indeed met before. he teases me and makes me feel guilty for not remembering.
i try to defend myself. "i'm new at church! i meet tons of people every week. and everyone already seems to know each other."
"ok, ok," he says and decides to take a break from his teasing.
soon thereafter, beto gives up his chair to some recently arrived women, and i begin conversation with the guy seated to my right. every so often i turn to beto. and every so often i catch him smiling at me between sips of his beer. finally, he mouths, "do you want something to drink?"
"are you buying?" i mouth back.
"yeah."
he comes over as if to take my order, warns me that the beer is warm. i ask for a margarita. on the rocks. with salt.
he is at my side moments later. and he is sipping another warm beer, and i am drinking my margarita. and we are smiling and chattering wtih each other about friends, about austin (where he was born and raised) and language and travels in mexico. about college and jobs. he gives me his business card then asks me if it's weird that he's given me his card. i assure him that it is not weird.
he tells me that he is forty years old.
we talk about names. he tells me his middle name. i tell him my middle name is __________.
"really?" he asks. "that's my brother's girlfriend's name."
"really?" i ask. "what's your girlfriend's name?"
"i don't have a girlfriend."
pause
"what's your boyfriend's name?" he asks.
"i don't have a boyfriend."
we smile and shuffle our feet. for too long.
"was that inappropriate?" i ask.
"no. it's just. smooth."
"clever," i offer.
"yes. very clever."
"i'm a clever girl!"
we laugh and talk more. when i look at my watch, i see that it is already 7PM, and i have dinner plans at 7:30PM.
feeling like cinderella, i scurry to say good bye to erica and then to beto.
"thanks for the drink!" and "i guess i'll see you church on sunday."
"see you then."
about a month ago, i noticed a handsome man at church. and i noticed him noticing me. leaning back a bit in his pew to make eye contact.
i indulged in a little bit of that small flirtation. seeking eye contact. meeting glances. smiling. looking away. repeat.
the next sunday, i saw him again as i was heading up the aisle to receive communion. we made eye contact, and i smiled at him--briefly and prayerfully--before resuming my march up to the altar. i returned to my pew, kneeled, and thought, he's cute. and, one second later, but kind of old!
i snuck another glance. he was handsome. average height, nice build. i noticed that his hair and goatee were peppered with grey. i gauged his age to be about 37 or 38. kind of old for me. but then i remembered i'm 30! kind of old, too! still, it occurred to me that he might be married. and i didn't want to chance flirting with a married man. so i stopped.
a couple of weeks later, i found myself at a birthday happy hour at an outdoor bar downtown. i had gotten to know the birthday girl--erica--over the past few months, but didn't know any of her friends. i arrived a little late, surveyed the crowd, and quickly realized that i didn't know anyone in the group (erica had yet to arrive). erica's husband, however, introduced himself and some friends. i sat down for a moment and then decided to find an ATM, hoping that erica (or someone familiar) would arrive in the meantime.
when i got back and joined the crowd at the table, i found myself face to face with the old guy from church.
someone introduced us. "MV this is beto. beto..."
"we've met before," he says.
i look at him quizically.
"after church. at breakfast. in the hall. you don't remember."
i start to remember, but ask anyway, "are you sure???"
"yes, you're from south texas, right?"
"no..." i say. "you must have me confused with some other mexican girl you met at church."
"some other beautiful mexican girl," beto's friend chimed in.
beto glances down, and i notice that his face reddens slightly. "i didn't want to embarrass you," he says.
i have to concede that we have indeed met before. he teases me and makes me feel guilty for not remembering.
i try to defend myself. "i'm new at church! i meet tons of people every week. and everyone already seems to know each other."
"ok, ok," he says and decides to take a break from his teasing.
soon thereafter, beto gives up his chair to some recently arrived women, and i begin conversation with the guy seated to my right. every so often i turn to beto. and every so often i catch him smiling at me between sips of his beer. finally, he mouths, "do you want something to drink?"
"are you buying?" i mouth back.
"yeah."
he comes over as if to take my order, warns me that the beer is warm. i ask for a margarita. on the rocks. with salt.
he is at my side moments later. and he is sipping another warm beer, and i am drinking my margarita. and we are smiling and chattering wtih each other about friends, about austin (where he was born and raised) and language and travels in mexico. about college and jobs. he gives me his business card then asks me if it's weird that he's given me his card. i assure him that it is not weird.
he tells me that he is forty years old.
we talk about names. he tells me his middle name. i tell him my middle name is __________.
"really?" he asks. "that's my brother's girlfriend's name."
"really?" i ask. "what's your girlfriend's name?"
"i don't have a girlfriend."
pause
"what's your boyfriend's name?" he asks.
"i don't have a boyfriend."
we smile and shuffle our feet. for too long.
"was that inappropriate?" i ask.
"no. it's just. smooth."
"clever," i offer.
"yes. very clever."
"i'm a clever girl!"
we laugh and talk more. when i look at my watch, i see that it is already 7PM, and i have dinner plans at 7:30PM.
feeling like cinderella, i scurry to say good bye to erica and then to beto.
"thanks for the drink!" and "i guess i'll see you church on sunday."
"see you then."
posted @ 8:19 PM
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