The Book - 4: Will She Say Yes?

Here is the next installment of my book. If you missed any, you can find them all using the Take Me To.... the book link to the right of this page. Enjoy!

*****

The group hung around for an hour, ordering a second round and debating the best plays of the day. The conversation floated between the BCS standings and who threw away their Heisman hopes with the three picks in one game. They ate their nachos and wings and then impressed Mia by leaving the table relatively neat.

As she went to close out the tab for the group, she noticed another pleasant surprise. That guy Tim, lawn guy, had picked up the check. That was not the surprise. Everyone knew he had a trust fund footing the bill for all his college expenses. What did surprise her was his tip, a healthy 20%, respectful but not over the top. He wasn’t flaunting his wealth nor was he stingy after she had called him out in front of his friends. It was a simple gesture, something he probably did every day, but it felt like a truce to her. But then maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe it was just a tip.

Mia went to clean up the table the guys had vacated. The pub was empty now except a few regulars who sat at the bar until Matt called them a cab at closing time. It had been a decent night and she was going to get out early enough to still get another hour or two of studying in before going to bed for the night.

“Mia.”

She turned at the sound of her name spoken behind her. Tim was standing there, smiling as always. Had he forgotten something she wondered. She looked down at the empty plates seeing nothing and then back at him. She could feel her pulse quicken.

“Mia,” he said again pointing to her nametag. “I wanted to introduce myself, again. My name is Tim.”  He reached out his hand.

She shook his hand. It was warm and firm. Her hand fit so nicely inside his until she pulled away. “My name is Mia,” she offered back, blushing when she realized that he had just said her name.

“I would love to get a drink with you some time.” His eyes twinkled full of confidence.

Mia had only been asked out a few times in her life. She didn’t know why. She had not been allowed to date in high school. Her mom’s attempt to make sure Mia did not get distracted and lose sight of their goal of her going to a good school. College had not changed her single status. She just didn’t seem to have that thing that made boys want to ask her out. She had only been on one date in college and that had not gone well. She had no idea how to act when guys became men, when feelings and hormones started to act up.

She felt caught off guard again by this guy. Mia did not like to feel off balance.  “No thank you,” she answered.

“Coffee at least? I know you like coffee.”

“No thank you.” She replied again. “Wait, how do you know that?”

“You always have a kiosk coffee cup in hand as you walk across campus in the morning.”

Mia didn’t know if she should be flattered that he had noticed her. She had certainly noticed him over the years with more girls than she could count attached to him. This was not the kind of guy Mia wanted. This was exactly the kind of guy her mother had warned her about. Lawn guy liked the chase, but she had seen him discard his prizes just as quickly as he won them.

“No thank you,” she said again.

Tim looked down at his feet his facade shaken. He was not used to being rejected. And now twice in one day this woman had turned him down. No one is worth this much work he thought, not when there were so many other girls out there ready to go home with him.

“Ok. Well I guess I will see you around campus then,” he said before hurrying to catch up with his buddies before they left him behind. Mia stood there dumbfounded. Had Tim just asked her out? Had she said no. She knew it was the right decision but why then were her palms all clammy.

The Archives - Taking Risks

Here is another post from the archives. This one was written in January 2009. Since this post we have moved two more times and are in the process of buying our own little piece of the California dream.

*****

Yesterday at my church's moms group the ice breaker question was about taking risks. What was a big risk you have taken in your life? How hard is it for you to take risks? I had a hard time thinking of a big risk I have taken in my life. This is not to say that I lead a boring life.  Well, it is boring at the moment. In our almost 12 years of marriage my husband and I have lived in 7 cities in 2 states, 1 foreign country and 1 US protectorate. We moved overseas for his job when I was pregnant with our first child to a country where neither of us spoke the language. We again moved to a Caribbean island when I was pregnant with our second son. And the biggest risk of all, we married each other after dating long distance at the ripe age of 23.
But the thing is none of these things seemed risky. At the time, each of these decisions seemed like the obvious choice. We knew that God had prepared the path before us. Too many details had to fall perfectly into place, our hearts had to be readied, unexpected opportunities had to call to us. It felt like God had taken the laid out his plans like I lay out my sons' Thomas the Tank Engine Track. We were simply going on the track God laid before us. These choices that seemed risky to so many around us, many of whom thought we were crazy for leaving family when we were having babies or marrying people we really did not know, seemed so simple to us. Because in the big choices of life, we usually seek and find God.
For me the biggest risks are in the smaller moments. Walking into a room full of moms trying to find a new friend. Being honest with my husband even when I know it might hurt his feelings. Taking a small step of faith when I feel the whisper of God to do something new. Being authentic in a world of presentation. These things are hard for me. 

The Book - 3: Just a Smidgen

Another Monday, another good day to post a little taste of my book. If you missed the other sneak peeks, you can find all my book postings using the link on the right of this page.

*****

The restaurant was half empty, even though it was a Saturday night. Not surprising considering the place was out of date, worn and faded. There were newer chains along the outside of the mall about a mile from campus but Mia loved this place. She liked the flexible hours Matt her manager allowed her. She liked the few friendly regulars. And she liked that she could wear her regular college garb to work. No funny hats or ties at this place. It was just a good, classic college pub.

It had been a slow night. Mia’s tables had been cleared, her condiments filled. She was almost ready to head out when a group of guys entered. She glanced over at the other waitress working tonight, hoping the guys would see the blond hair and midriff flashing t-shirt and head over to her area. Mia had more studying to do and she really did not want to waste another hour on this group.

The group paused for a moment, looking the tables over, checking out which had the best view of Sports Center. They walked right past Sally’s section and headed to a table next to where Mia was standing. Taking a deep breath, Mia walked over and started handing out menus to the guys. As she got to the end of the group, she saw him, the guy from the lawn this morning. Based on the way he was looking at her, he had obviously recognized her too.

Without missing a beat, Mia started taking drink orders. As she suspected this was a beer and wings crowd, though the beers were various microbrews. She waited to take lawn guys order until the end. She might be his waitress but she still held some power in the situation. After she had written down everyone’s order she looked at lawn guy. He looked back but did not say anything. He just smiled. He seemed to be waiting for something. Mia was annoyed. She was tired from the long day and was not in the mood to deal with this jerk.

“What would you like?” Mia asked looking him square in the eyes this time.

“What do you have on tap?” he challenged.

Mia shifted her weight and pointed to the list in the middle of the table. “The list is there.”

Lawn guy grabbed the list, glancing at it quickly, and then asked, “What do you recommend?”

Mia’s agitation grew. He obviously knew what he wanted to drink. Any college guy can order a beer within 3 seconds of getting into a bar. “I would recommend a glass of the white chardonnay. Or maybe you are a Pinot Grigio man?” she replied.

The guys around him perked up and began to pay attention to this exchange. Mia noticed the looks; she felt the heat rising in her. She hated that feeling, feeling like her actions were merely a reaction to provocation. She knew better than to play the game. She had years of practice not taking the bait, not engaging, and yet here she was bickering with some guy she hardly knew. There was no reason for it.

“How about a Newcastle?” Mia asked, her polite veneer back in place.

The other guys at the table lost interest now that the tension was gone. They turned back to the highlights of the day’s games. Tim also felt the air around Mia relax or more accurately smooth.
“Thanks. That sounds good.” He conceded. He enjoyed verbal sparing, so different from his usual cadre of women, but he did not want to push his luck.

The Archives - Secret Desire

Here is another post from the archives. This was written January 2009. I love this one because it reminds me how far I have come.

*****

I have told very few people, very few, that my secret desire is to be a writer. This is such a secret that I really have not done any writing, except in my own head. I never took a writing class in college or spent much time writing short stories. I wrote a few as a kid and they are funny to read now because they are pretty twisted. Somehow the prince kept getting eaten by a bear or some wild animal. Not just once but in more than one story that I have from my childhood.
I am not sure why I want to be a writer.  I have never been encouraged to be a writer. But it seems like a job I would like. I love sitting alone in a quiet room just writing down  my thoughts. So I guess I should clarify. I would love to be a columnist or an essayist who shares my thoughts on the world in hopefully funny ways that cause people to think and see the world from a different perspective. I love Donald Miller and Anne Lamont. They write about their faith, their foibles, their loves and their mistakes. Reading them often brings clarity to my experience even though our lives look nothing alike on the outside.
I don't want to change minds, just maybe open them a bit. And actually as I write this I realize I write to get things out of my mind and onto paper, or the computer screen in this case, not for people to read. Not that I don't like people reading. I would love to have people all over reading what I think and posting comments and starting dialogues. But I realize that is probably for real writers.
For now I will just write. Maybe people read my blog, maybe not. But either way, I will be clearing a few of my many inner dialogues out of my head, maybe even making room for me to remember the important stuff, like we need bananas. More likely new crazy ideas will take the place of the old ones.