Getty Images"Maybe this is the one, I thought. Maybe she’s finally landed in my lap. Were my lonely days about to end?"There comes a moment in every relationship, however brief, when one of you realizes that things are destined for failure. Sometimes it’s something you do, sometimes it’s something she does and often it’s nobody’s fault. Either way, these moments remain with us, seared into our memories, as testaments to our deeply personal journeys through romantic life. This is one man’s attempt to share some deeply personal moments of his own.?
This is the second in a five-part series. Check out the first entry here.
About four years ago, I was sitting at an airport gate in Southern France, after vacationing with one of my closest friends and his new girlfriend. I happened to be single at the time, and traveling with a happy couple really made me wish I had a girlfriend of my own. In fact, I was probably thinking about just that when, lo and behold, as I sat down at the gate, I found myself staring into the eyes of a beautiful girl. She was with her parents, clearly returning from some family trip, had wholesome good looks, a warm smile, big eyes and was wearing leggings that showed off her curves. I was won over almost immediately, and even impressed by how well she seemed to get along with her parents in nice easy conversation. Maybe this is the one, I thought. Maybe she’s finally landed in my lap. Were my lonely days about to end?
She and her parents boarded the plane first, and since they sat ahead of me, I made sure to use the opportunity to cast an extended glance toward her as I walked by. To my surprise, I ended up making eye contact only with her mother, who smiled at me, and was clearly aware of what was going on. In any case, the next time I would see the family was after going through customs, at the baggage carousel. I hadn’t checked my bag, so at this point I was creepily hanging around waiting for an opportunity to make an overture. Needless to say, approaching her right in front of her father was not an option, so I was unsure what to do.
Then came an opening. As they were walking toward the airport exit, she lagged behind her parents ever so slightly, so I ran up and tapped her (lightly) on the shoulder. Nervously, I said, “Sorry to bother you. I just thought you were very pretty.” “Oh,” she said. I asked her “Do you live…?” But before I could finish my sentence she had turned away and rejoined her parents, clearly flustered. I was shocked, dismayed that she denied me, but, hey -- at least I had tried. I walked away toward the trains with at least that bit of comfort.
A few moments later, I felt a tap on the shoulder. “Here’s my email,” she said, and handed me a note. “Oh, thank you” I said. “Do you live around here?” “No, I live down in Dorset on the coast.” (We were in London.) “Oh,” I said. “Long trip!” “Yeah,” she said. “Well, it was very nice to meet you,” I said, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. We left each other smiling, and I was beaming with a sense of accomplishment.
When I got on the train home I of course immediately looked her up on Facebook. It turned out that she was still in high school, and I had been fantasizing about a 17-year-old -- I was 27 at the time. I did send her an email and we had a brief exchange, but the cold hard truth was obvious: this just wasn’t going to happen.
Check out the next entry in this series tomorrow.?
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