He sat in the hotel and read his book, quietly, as he waited for the lunch time to arrive. This was his first trip to Texas, his first trip to see his friend for over a year. The two have conversed, both online and on the phone, and have found a special friendship, one based not on sex but on mutual intellectual stimulation. They liked each other for their mind, an unusual occurrence these days on the Internet.
Although he had seen her pictures, he wondered what she looked like: did her pictures do her justice? "I should not be thinking these things," he said to himself as he put his book down and readied himself to travel the few miles to the park for his picnic meeting with his friend and her family.
"Relax Justin," he said to himself as he felt his heart begin to pound. He was nervous.
"Well, let's go," he said as he fixed his hair one more time and walked out the door. As he locked the door, his phone rang. Quickly, he ran back inside to answer it.
"Hello," he said breathlessly. It was Jennifer, his friend. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to tell you my husband and daughters won't be joining us," she told him. His nervousness, once under control, was now returning and in a greater amount.
"How come?" he asked. He wanted her family there, he wanted to meet them.
"My husband had some tickets for a magic show and is bringing the girls with him," she answered. He wondered to himself why she did not know he had that planned before they were to meet but let it go.
"I'll still see you in ten minutes?" he asked, his voice almost cracking from nerves.
"Yes, hon," she answered directly. If she could tell he was anxious and shy, she did not let on. He felt more at ease with this call. "Kiss and hugs dear," she said before they ended their conversation.
He sighed heavily as he put the phone down and thought of what was to come.
Justin Rochateau, a stay-at-home dad, was just an information maniac when he was introduced to the Internet three years ago. Now as an inspiring writer, he was grateful for the knowledge he had gathered on the net and for the friends he has made, Jennifer Owens one of them. As he pulled into the park, his breath became labored.
"Why am I having an anxiety attack?" he thought to himself as he found an open spot and turned off the rental car. For a few moments, he sat and, with his eyes closed, he tried to gather his thoughts and emotions. After all, this was not the first meeting he has had with online friends, and certainly not his last, but there was something different with her. Something that made his emotions made him behave like a 15-year-old on his first date. His palms were sweaty, his heart rate was increased, and his thoughts were of her not liking him.
"We are both married," he kept telling himself as he tried to calm himself. He smiled as he realized there was no need for all the emotions. "We are just friends," he said as he got out of the car and locked it. Justin smiled broadly as he thought of what kind of fool he was for all the worry over Jennifer.
"Excuse me?" a tall, beautiful woman asked him as he leaned against the rental. It took him a few moments to recognize her: it was Jennifer.
"My God, your pictures do no do you justice," he said with both surprise and excitement. His mouth and eyes were wide open as he looked at his friend.
"Oh stop," she said as she blushed. She never thought her pictures were good, but she never thought she was stunning in real life either.
"No, I mean it," he added as he put his arms around her and hugged her. She put hers tightly around him and held Justin tightly. The embrace between two friends lasted three minutes or so, broken only when Jennifer realized she left the picnic basket in her car.
"Come help me get the picnic basket out of my car," she said to him as they instinctively reached for and held each other's hand. When they arrived at the car, she opened the door and pointed out for him to take both the whicker basket and red and black plaid blanket. She took out two bottles of wine and two long stemmed wine glasses from the other side.
"I think you'll enjoy this," she said as raised a bottle. She was an excellent judge of wines and he had full confidence in her choice. He smiled and nodded.
"I know I will," he said as he closed the door and began to walk to met her. She took his arm and they began to walk as the sun, which had been ducking behind clouds all day, finally disappeared and threw them into a grayish light.
"You'll like what I brought," she told him as they walked on the path which led to a patch of grass locals use as a picnic lawn. She put the glasses and bottles down and was about to spread the blanket out when a few rain drops began to fall. She turned to her guest and gave him a crestfallen look.
"Damn," she said as she folded the blanket back up and tried to hold her emotions. Justin reached out to her to give her a hug. As she approached him, her feelings got the best of her and she began to cry.
"Why are you crying, Jen?" he said as he put her head on his chest. She tried to tell him, but the rain began to fall much harder. They needed to get out of the weather and to their cars. "Come, let's get to your car," he said as he picked up the basket, wine, and glasses. He pulled her to her car.
Jennifer unlocked the door and unlocked the passenger side. As Justin put the food and wine in the back seat, Jennifer sighed heavily. She wiped the tears from her face.
"Now what?" she asked as Justin sat.
"We could go back to my room and have an indoor picnic," he suggested. She giggled like a school girl and smiled, a smile she thought she could not do.
"Okay," she said. Jennifer started her car and drove it to his. "I'll follow you," she called out to him as he switched cars. He gave her a thumb's up as he opened the rental's door. Quickly, he started the Pontiac and put the headlights, wipers, and radio on, and pulled out of the lot.
The short drive back to the hotel was made even shorter as he thought of her. She was beautiful, he thought. Nothing like what she described herself to him over the months they talked.
"I hope she likes me," he said to himself as he pulled into the hotel's parking lot. He looked in his rear view mirror and saw her smile. All fears melted away with every raindrop that fell.
They found two empty parking spots and parked as the rain began to fall even harder. He looked out the side window and rolled down the window.
"Let me get the blanket," he screamed to her over the pounding raindrops. She agreed, knowing what he wanted to do. With quick movements, he stepped out of his car and to the backseat of hers. He unfolded the blanket and stepped back out, walking to her door and holding the blanket high to cover her head. The two then jogged to the hotel entrance.
"Stay here, I'll get the basket and wine," Justin told her as he ran back to her car. Grabbing the glasses, he put them in the basket. He took the bottles and basket and looked out at the weather. If it was possible, it was raining harder.
"Damn," he screamed as he readied himself to run back to the hotel. Shouting an explicative the entire distance, Justin reached her without spilling any of the basket's contents.
"I'm impressed," she told him through a broad and bright smile. Without thinking, he kissed her check, catching her by surprise.
"Thank you," he said as he held out his arm for her to grab. "Let's get out of this," he said as she took his arm and the two walked into the hotel.
There was no line at the elevator, but they still had to wait for its arrival. Jennifer took this time to tell Justin she was nervous about meeting him.
"You are the first person from online that I have met that has made me feel like a school girl," she said as a blush came to her face. Justin smiled and blushed as he thought to himself what he went through earlier: feeling like a teenager himself.
"But why me?" he asked in surprise. He was not expecting an answer but the question needed to be asked.
"You excite my mind, you have this ability to make me feel good about myself, you make me laugh," she said as the elevator doors opened and allowed them to walk in. Justin pressed the button to his floor and looked straight ahead. He knew if he looked over at Jennifer he would not only blush but most likely smile uncontrollably.
"Shall I go on?" she asked as the doors closed.
"No, you've embarrassed me enough," he answered. It was not that he was embarrassed, it was that he went into this meeting to seeing a friend for the first time, and she was making it difficult for him not to have romantic feelings.
The elevator reached his floor and they got out, walking quickly to his room. Nervously, he put the key card in the slot and opened the door. He stepped to the side and let her walk in first. She walked to a chair and draped the blanket, letting it dry.
"Now what?" she asked Justin.
"Take the bedspread and put that on the floor," he answered as he closed the door. She nodded her head and pulled the spread off. Before she could put it on the floor, they needed to move a few things, like a table and some chairs.
He smiled as he moved the furniture and she neatly throw down the bedspread. She walked over and took the basket.