ENCHANTED, NOT SO MUCH

Dinner and a Movie


I spent a great deal of my time after Thanksgiving running my relationship with Nancy around and around in my mind . Weighing the pros and cons of what had started as a simple group date, a chance to get out again and how it had turned into something much bigger. I asked myself THE BIGGER QUESTION was I really ready for an exclusive serious relationship. How long had it been since this all started, it seemed as though it were yesterday and years all at the same time. I was enjoying not being alone again and that was for sure. I felt alive again, getting out, going to nice places again, especially with a pretty woman at my side. Somehow I let this all get away from me, she was looking for something faster than I was willing to commit too, we needed to talk and on a much deeper level than we ever had before and that was obvious.


Love had come so easy with Joanne, we had let our ego's, our independence and our young spirits get in the way for a long time before finally settling down, but falling in love, that was the easy part. There was never an issue with wether or not we were in love with each other. I wondered if falling in love that way was exclusively for the young, if this new feeling of just being comfortable is what I will now be left wiht to fill that empty whole.

The phone rang, it was Fancy she asked if we could go to Happy Hour and a Movie, just something simple since we had the big "Colors of Christmas Show" coming up. Do you have a movie in mind? "No we can figure that out when you get here.

Making the drive to Yorba Linda had become second nature, it is after all the same route I take to the office everyday. I arrived at Nancy's as per usual, flowers in hand like a dating robot. She played with them while I looked thru the paper, I may or may not have mentioned but I don't really go to the movies much. More of an Indy film kinda guy and unless you go to a film festival the good ones are few and far between. I didn't really recognize any of the movies by name so I waited for her to finish and we looked together. "OH ENCHANTED" she said, "THAT IS THE ONE WITH MC DREAMY" "Would you mind seeing that?", I came back with a "sure whatever you want to see is fine with me". We selected a time and a theatre and off we went.

As we were leaving the sky's opened up, it was raining sideways for real...Fancy wanted to go to Chili's for happy hour, she wanted some chicken dish that they serve..."fine with me" I told her. I had only been to Chili's once in my life, I am not a snob by any stretch but I don't do Chain Restaurants as a rule, I just don't, figured what the heck they have cocktails right? It might be a good chance to talk on neutral soil.

By the time we got to Chili's the rain seemed to be coming from all directions...I parked ran around to the trunk and got an umbrella from the trunk, made my way around and opened FANCY's door, we clung to each other to stay in the small dry haven provide by the umbrella and raced towards the door, it was fun. I enjoy moments like that, there is something innocent and fresh involved. We made it thru the doors, Nancy headed straight to the Ladies room to make sure her hair was intact. I went into the bar and found us a table.

She ordered her usual, I had a crown rocks....she ordered and I am straining to remember but I think it was some type of sesame chicken, I think I got nachos...it was Chili's so who cares right?
It didn't take long before I told her I wanted to discuss what I had told her on Thanksgiving and why I felt that way, the whole it seemed a bit fast for me and that she was the first person I had dated, I told her how I enjoyed our time together, how I liked to hold her hand, I must have went on for 10 minutes...this time it was Nancy who looked like the dog in that Doonesbury Cartoon..Finally she came back with a "I am not trying to rush you Jim" "Really".

Was I putting all this pressure on myself, was I really that delusional. We ate in near silence, I tried to start a few conversations, asked her who this Mc Dreamy dude was, blah blah blah...her answers were short and to the point. She did tell me that she and her daughter were going to the Caribbean in January for two weeks, and that she was not going to decorate her house for Christmas because her wrists were bothering her to much. I offered to come over and help if she needed anything lifted, moved, put up, whatever.

Back to the car we went, still raining...this time there was no clinging onto each other, more like squeezing under the umbrella without touching...that is hard to do but she was managing quite fine. What a stark contrast there had been between our running and our running out.

It was only a 10 minute drive to the theatre, I purchased the tickets and we made our way inside. It was a Disney Cartoon? Oh wait no it has real people in it, Nancy had told me about that Mc Dreamy dude...The movie started, it was a cartoon and a movie, it was very cute, moderately funny and very sweet on the romantic theme. I tried on numerous occasion to hold Fancy's hand but she complained that her wrists were sore...

On the way back to her house we made small talk about the move, I thought it was entertaining, she enjoyed it as well...silence...small talk about the weather....silence...I asked her about the "Colors of Christmas" plans and she told me she would let me know as soon as Jennifer called her on Saturday....more silence...we arrived at back at her house, as I walked her to the door she told me she wasn't feeling well and would I mind if she just went to bed. "Whew" was all I could thing....while the temperature in Yorba Linda was falling quickly, it couldn't match how quickly this relationship had cooled off.

I said good night and gave her a small kiss and told her I hoped she felt better, she looked in my eyes and smiled and said goodnight. She turned, walked inside and the door closed.