Wednesday, October 8, 2008

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.

14 comments:

Spicy Latina said...

I see the end coming quickly. Enchanted..really??? I can't knock Chili's, I was just there with Tim and D'. lol Something about loaded mashed potatoes and huge glasses of beer that Tim likes.

JIMSIGHT said...

Oh not nocking the place at all, Chili's and all of those places, Outback whatever,they are all like the moon, I have never been there thats all.

SSP said...

i typoed...sorry for the delte

oh my, oh my....Enchanted? Could she really care that little about you, or did she honestly think you loved her so much you would want to indulge her like that? Especially after Thanksgiving? I don't know you, but just from reading your blog, I would know better than to drag you to Enchanted or Made of Honor! You seem more a 400 Blows kinda guy to me, and as close to a chick flick I would drag you to would probably be something like Kaslowsky's Blue.

JIMSIGHT said...

I don't blame her, in retrospect I never fully represented myself to her. To be honest, I was afraid to at that point. I can be a little overwhelming.
"faire les quatre cents coups"
lost in translation...to raise hell.

as always nice call.

not familiar with Kaslowsky's Blue thanks for the info..will have to find that.

SSP said...

i spelled his name wrong - it is Kieslowski and he did three films, sort of a trilogy - i am gonna say at least before 1995, cuz then I was living in this little cow town in Texas - amazed my local blockbuster had a "foreign film" section, so I rented everything they had. Red White and Blue were the individual titles...En francais pour la plupart, mais peut etre le polanais ou la russe? juliette binoche etait l'etoile de Bleu, et j'aime bien cette actrice. I also saw Unbearable Lightness of Being during this foreign film rampage in texas...and it is one of my favorite movies of all time

Charmaine said...

Am I the only person who does not know what "Enchanted" is?

I have seen The Color Triology with Juliette Binoche.

Chili's sounds like a place Evil would have taken me to on... I dunno, our wedding night if he REEEEEALY wanted to impress me.

Can't wait to read the end. I hope there is a big fight. Is there going to be a big fight?

Are you ever going to tell us about the "other" Nancy?

JIMSIGHT said...

Charming, I told you how it ended but will try and post something here soon....Calamity Jim has tons going on again....I am so ready to quit my job. Another huge fight with our CFO today...

As far as the other Nancy goes...well...I doubt I will write about her...everyday was perfect with her, the last time I saw her she told me how much she loved me and did I ever run out of that make Nancy feel better stuff. Then Poof...one e-mail and I never heard from her again...since I am not the kind that shows up on ones porch I just cried, and then cried some more.

JIMSIGHT said...

Oh, i did e-mail and call her, sent her flowers too...but I would not invade her space...closest I came to that was sending her mother one e-mail...didn't hear back from her either.

Charmaine said...

Jim,

That is the strangest thing. Maybe if you tell us, your loyal fans, what happened we can give you some perspective.

All of your fans are women, in case you had not noticed.

When a woman just dissapears like that it means there was another man. She was not, perhaps, honest with you.

Why is finding love so difficult for old folks?

SSP said...

missing my fix of you and charmaine - i really enjoy your posts and hope all is well...it sucks to have a job that is annoying you, but i hope it works itself out.....and you can BOTH get back to writing :-)

Charmaine said...

The rest of the story please?

I survived the snow flurries in Colorado despite taking only taking tank tops and shorts.

I'm madly in love with my nephews. For the first time I regret, terribly, not having children. They are instrinsically and perfectly what "it's all about". Grr. Why didn't I know this?

SSP said...

where are you guys???

Briana said...

So, am I supposed to be insulted that my husband took the family to Chili's for my birthday? It's ok with me. I never acquired a taste for that fancy high-falutin kind of food!

JIMSIGHT said...

NO...you are as funny as your sister. Always looking for the Neg in everything. All I said was I don't usually go to chain places, certainly doesn't mean that I don't go to local places that serve similar type of food. What is it with you Peterson chicks anyway. LOL..