Maiden Moment #2005

Obviously I went into work in a pretty lousy mood. I was working in the kids' department by myself, and at one point in the evening I had gone to drop off some non-kids' books off at recovery.

I walked back into the kids' department and stopped in my tracks as I was met by the Ex's cousin. I have nothing against her--she's nice, and in fact her family is one of the nicest parts of the Ex's family (I liked them more than I liked his parents). Not far into grad school, I had run into her and her mom in the supermarket, so she remembered and asked how school was going. She's a teacher, so we talked about school and jobs and stuff. She was looking for a particular author, so I helped her find a few titles.

As we were talking, I noticed at one point she was looking down--at what? It wasn't until later that I figured out she was doing a ring(s) check on my left hand. Whatever. It hasn't happened for her yet, either.

Then her mom came into the department, and she gave me a big hug. (Makes me think they would've liked me to have become part of the family.) We chatted for a bit--she sometimes sees my dad when he plays for the Mass they attend, so she told me a funny story about him--then her husband came over and we chatted a little bit more, then we wished each other well and they left for the DVD department.

It was uncomfortable at first, seeing them again, but they're such nice people it was easy to overcome (ring checking aside). Not the kind of thing to make this Maiden Aunt go home and beat her head against the wall, thankfully. . . no, that happened later, when after an evening of quoting The Princess Bride to each other and cracking jokes about the dreaded "urban fiction" question (response: we don't segregate our fiction!) with a male co-worker on whom I have a teensy crush, he complains about the operatic ambient music (what? I like "Old Man River" and "Nessun Dorma") and puts on Broadway.

Oh, that's right, completely ineligible for a crush.

Comments

Eh, don't set your standards too high.

My daughter complained once about not having a boyfriend. I asked what she was looking for. After some thought she said, "He has to have a brain, and act like a human being." That does narrow it down - she may have to wait till she's old enough to date 30-yr-olds.
Kate P said…
Sorry for the confusion--I was lamenting the fact that I'm attracted to a co-worker who has stated in no uncertain terms that he is gay (and no this isn't the 19-year-old from the other day). "Must prefer women" isn't a high standard, IMO.
Kate P said…
BTW the 30 year olds I've dated aren't much better. They still think (and have been told repeatedly by our culture) they have all the time in the world to settle down. Then again, maybe they just want younger women with less interest in settling down.

That said, it only takes one person to be the right one! I'm giving your daughter the converse advice not to set her standards too low. :)
"'Must prefer women' isn't a high standard, IMO."

Well, no, I'll grant you that one.
Kate P said…
Sad but unfortunately necessary. . . it's a jungle out there.

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