Right
in the middle of telling me about finally meeting this amazing woman, on-line
no doubt as a growing number of single adults are doing now-a-days, Derrick’s
cellphone vibrated alerting him of a new text message. Without missing a beat, he grabbed it, read
the message, and gently placed the phone back on the table.
“That
wasn’t her.” He said, but without the same smile on his face and in his voice like
minutes before as he boasted about her love for animals, dream of owning her
own horse farm and doing a lot of rescue work for all sorts of animals, and her
dedication
to her three children – two boys and a girl. As a matter of fact, Derrick had dominated
the conversation describing how amazing his new interest was. I knew about the ink on her various body
parts – the blue rose is his favorite.
On and on and on he’d talked about her.
I understood his enthusiasm because he’d been so cautious about meeting
people on the internet. As a matter of
fact, Derrick hadn’t dated anyone seriously in five years. As a single dad he’d concentrated on
nurturing his son and also adjusting to a career change.
They
met via a inquiry she sent regarding a comment he’d made on a mutual friend’s
Facebook page. That was 8 months ago and
he has yet to hear her voice because they have only engaged in conversation via
text and direct messaging. He says he’s
enjoying the journey of getting to know her with the hope of developing a solid
friendship.
His
cell vibrated again, and once again...it wasn’t her. “That was work. I’ve got to be at a
meeting in the Village in an hour.”, he said as he gazed off into the
distance. I may have just as well been
speaking Ursprache as I inquired about the meeting, because his thoughts were
elsewhere.
As
I signaled the waiter to retrieve our check, Derrick mumbled that the meeting
was to provide support for his team that was presenting for a new client. He insisted upon paying for lunch, because
his company’s per-diem covered it. Heading for the 8th street rail, I
asked him how much she knew about him. If
she’d indeed been as curious about his life, as he was
of hers, for I truly
believe in order to fuse a relationship both have to exhibit curiosity. And this man, who had just filled our hour long
conversation with exuberance about his delight of a newfangled relationship,
was now...silent. And he remained that
way for several blocks, until the ominous blare of the horn of an approaching
cab shook him out of his meditative state, and he replied, “You know, she doesn’t
ask much about me at all.” He swore to
me it wasn’t the next episode of ‘Catfish’, because he’d been provided plenty
of evidence she is real via constant photo and conversation updates on Facebook
and Instagram. And even though she said her schedule was full with work and the
three children, she still managed to avoid replying to him at times she
suggested they would chat. His last correspondence from her had been 72 hours
prior and it was in response to his request that she contact him when she wasn’t
busy. Her reply...
“Ok. I will.”
When
a direct response is required, for some a brazenly honest reply could seem
callous, whereas with Derrick and me that was the only answer expected. So, when he asked what I thought about the
situation, her not asking questions about him nor keeping her word to reply, I
looked him square in the eyes and said, “My friend, she’s just not that into
you.”
As
his train arrived, prior to boarding, he thanked me for meeting him for lunch
and said he’d be in touch in a couple of days to let me know how the meeting
with the client went, and if he’d heard from his new-found-friend. I assured
him the client would be impressed by his team, and asked him not to get his
hopes up about the i-girl.
I
walked to the nearby bench and took a seat with hope that I was wrong about her
for the sake of my friend’s happiness.
UPDATE
48 hours later:
Derrick
called to share the exciting news that his team had closed the client which
helped them exceed their third quarter goal.
And upon inquiring about his i-girl, I was left intrigued by his
response, “Ah...the perils of the mystery known as woman.”
On my way to the Food
Channel, I happened by VH-1 and stopped, because I could not believe what I was
seeing unfold before a studio and broadcast audience. The show Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta was having a reunion and the entire cast was in an
all-out-brawl! Fists were flying, weaves
were being yanked, profanities were being shouted, the set was being destroyed,
security was being overpowered, and the audience was being...entertained?
