It’s meet cute season, or at least it is in my world as I learnt this saying from Arthur Abbott (aka. the beloved older gentleman in The Holiday). Many of my personal meet cutes, as you have come to learn, have not ended very well, so I thought it was about time for a cutesy narrative. One that warms your heart like any cheesy Hallmark film!

I took a break from my Wednesday blog posts last week. It might have been that I arrived home at 3am Wednesday morning from my trip to California and I hadn’t even started to put together a blog post or the newsletter that goes with it (cue promo… “sign up now”). I think it had more to do with my mind being full of thoughts and no clear path to take. But this week, I am choosing a path and it’s not about a specific dating story. Nope! This path feels more vulnerable. More exposing. Probably because it’s a story that is not about the past, but about the present me and where I am at. 

Since it’s spooky week with Halloween tomorrow, it makes sense to share a chilling story! Well, a chilling story for me at the very least. This DTR (defining the relationship) will go down in history as the most memorable. So memorable that it still haunts me to this day! But I get ahead of myself. I can’t start this story with him at the beginning, because that would be a book rather than a blog. I can, however, start at the beginning of this haunting memory when The Rescuer and I were about to meet up for a drink.

A Sequel to Eight Lessons, One Night

I’ve never been someone who has felt brave enough to go up to men in bars or even coffee shops. If they initiate a conversation with me, then I’m fine, but if not, then I’m super shy. If I see a cute guy and we make eye contact, I swiftly look away! I can be the worst at making it known I’m interested. So, it is helpful to have a friend who enthusiastically wants you to find love. This kind of friend I have and is the one who initiated this story with The Suit.

Let's rewind to the early 2000s when low-rise jeans were all the rave, caked-on make-up was the norm, and Brat Summer was all year round! It was 2005 and I was in my final year of high school. For context, you know how every Hallmark movie takes the big-city gal back to her small town? Well, those kinds of small towns are exactly where I grew up. I had known most of my graduating class (only 50 students) my whole life and even though I wasn’t close with everyone, we all knew the gossip of each other’s lives.

I should be jaded. I should have thrown dating out with the trash. I should forget about finding romantic love. But, the ‘hope’ in hopeless romantic clings to me like hot leather pants (cue Friends scene). With each dating and relationship adventure, I grieve and wake up the next morning ready to be open to another connection. I can’t help my love for humanity! It’s deep within my soul.