What follows is my first submission - it isn't a short one-off, it's a longer recount of a moment in my life I'll never forget. Worth, I think, the build-up. Let me know if I'm right.
New in town, starting a new job, and divorced doesn't make for a good social life, or better said, I had no life.
I was in a rut... wake up, go to work, come home, watch television, go to sleep, wash, rinse, and repeat. Further complicated by not being the most social and outgoing type, being in my early 50s, and my job, although a job I loved and made good money at, was mostly working with kids... errr, I mean the younger generation.
About four months after I arrived, I joined a neighborhood-oriented social website, primarily to ask where I could find a good Reuben in town. Yeah, I was jonesing for a Reuben, but I wanted the real deal.
Part of the signup process for the website was filling out a profile and if the user wanted, adding a brief bio. Thinking this was the proper social thing to do, I filled it in and included in the bio, I was a retired Army Master Sergeant.
The neighborhood I lived in was thought of as the melting pot, the most free-thinking, hip neighborhood in town... something I wasn't aware of when I bought the home but played into the outcome of my joining the website.
Anyway, I got a lot of welcome to the neighborhood responses and a few recommendations on where to get a good Reuben, plus an invite to come to the neighborhood farmer's market, that happened every Saturday and Sunday from spring to fall.
The invite was from a member with the screen name of "SophMarket", and her personal profile picture was a shot of a stall at what I guessed was the farmer's market. The shot showed a banner over a display table that read "Soph's Market". Included in the comment was "I sell homemade sauerkraut" made with all organic ingredients.
Tucking that information away in my mental "good to know" box, I moved on and in the next couple of weeks tried out the places recommended for the best in town for Reuben's. Yeah, not, or at least not what I thought of as being a real deal Reuben.
My search for a good Reuben became a bit of an obsession and finally, I decided I'd just make my own, which led me to Soph's Market early the following Saturday morning.
The farmer's market was more than I expected... I thought it was going to be a neighborhood thing with maybe a couple of stalls, but what I found was a market with I estimated, 30 or so stalls offering fresh local produce and of course, the usual few craft shops where locals had a side gig going on.
So, after wandering around a bit, I saw the banner I was looking for and walking up to it, saw a long table across the front of the stall and two others creating a U-shape, plus at the back, wood crates stacked up with different produce offerings.
Standing in front of the crates with her back to me, was a petite woman dressed in what I call a hippie-style long skirt, a white loose-fitting blouse, and with her long sun-streaked auburn hair pulled up in a messy bun. What struck me was how warm, rich, and lustrous her hair was... even in the messy bun.
Yeah, don't ask, but I was taken by her hair... moments later I was taken by Soph. Ever heard the phrase "You had me at hello"? Yep, she had me even before that.
Anyway, she must have sensed me standing there gawking, because she turned with this brilliant smile on her face, a face without a bit of makeup and so vibrantly healthy-looking, that I continued gawking.
After an awkward moment caused by my obvious inability to speak, Soph recognized me from the profile picture I had on the social website and said "Hi! Aren't you the Reuben man?" and then she giggled saying "Cat got your tongue?"
I, being the ever so suave ladies' man, stuttered out "You're' beauti... I mean yes, It's me and I promise I'm not some weirdo", to which she lapsed into a warm smile and even warmer laugh saying "I know" and then pointing to a row of jars with homemade sauerkraut in them, finished by saying "everybody thinks my sauerkraut looks beautifully delicious" and then said, "care to try a bite?"
Yep, I was a gonner and had we not ended up chatting for the next 20 minutes, I'd have immediately bought every last jar of sauerkraut she had.
In those 20 minutes, I learned Soph was the sole owner of a small organic farm just outside of town and grew and sold organic produce and homemade canned vegetables from her farm. That she lived in the neighborhood, was divorced, had a son who had just finished college and was halfway across the country starting his life in a new city, and that while she didn't sell corned beef, Swiss cheese, or rye bread, she did sell a delicious organic Thousand Island dressing.
Also in those 20 minutes, I became fully aware of how attracted I was to this woman. Something about her just hit me. She was maybe 5'3" tall, slim but with a nice shape, or as far as I could tell under the loose-fitting hippie outfit it appeared she had a nice shape, had beautiful hair, was tanned with healthy glowing skin, had green eyes that were filled with warmth and mischievousness, and the cutest nose perched above perfect lips. Just a warm, dare I say beautiful woman filled with life and so at ease with herself.
Finally, with a bag containing sauerkraut, dressing, some heirloom tomatoes, and fresh spinach, I started to say I'd be on my way, when she stopped me asking, "Did you ever find a good Reuben?"
I told her I hadn't and that was the reason I decided to make my own. She got a pensive look on her face, then obviously deciding what she was thinking was a good idea, said, "Tell you what, I know a place close by that has a delicious Reuben, in fact, I always go there for lunch on Saturday, maybe you should try it."
Picking up on what I thought might be a hint, I responded by saying, "I will, and I'd very much like it if you would have lunch with me there today".
Soph immediately blushed, and with her eyes sparkling, said "I was worried that you wouldn't get the hint. I haven't been that forward in years" and then giggled like a teenager.
Agreeing to drop by her stall just before noon and walk to the restaurant with her, I left, headed home, and got ready for my lunch date... meaning I was stupid eager and even went so far as to trim my beard, which is short anyway and didn't need trimming. I was acting like a teenager going on their first date and ended up, after trimming my beard, laughing at myself in the mirror.
I arrived at her stall at 11:45 to find her placing a sign on the table saying she was out for lunch and would be back at 1, so off we went. We talked, walked, and simply enjoyed the day and getting to know one another. About halfway to the restaurant, I felt her hand slide into mine, and then she slowed and turned me towards her. "Okay big guy" she said, "how tall are you?"
"Huh? How tall am I?" "Yes, how tall are you?" Having no clue what was going on I responded, "6"2", is this a test?"
"No, it's not a test" and then she looked up at me smiling and said, "Okay you are almost a foot taller than me, and your legs are almost twice as long as mine... can you slow down so I don't have to run to keep up with you?"
I laughed, said sure, I'll take baby steps from now own and away we went... her not letting go of my hand.
A half block later it hit me. "Soph" I said, and waited for her to look at me as we continued walking. Turning her head, she looked up at me "What?" Then it was my turn to slow us down to a stop. Turning towards her and looking straight into her eyes I asked, "Was that whole how tall are you thing a gimmick you pulled so you could hold hands with me?"
Another blush, and a hesitant sigh later "Yes, do you mind?" My answer was a smile and since we were still holding hands, I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. "Let's go eat, I'm dying to try this Reuben."
When we walked into the restaurant, I immediately saw it had a 60s vibe, all flower power, peace and even some "make love not war" signs, along with pictures of the Beatles, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, LGBTQ positive stickers, and on and on.
The tables, chairs, and booths were an eclectic mix of 50s and 60s furniture, and I immediately liked the whole vibe. By the time I looked around a bit a woman in, I guessed her 70s, dressed a lot like Soph came out from the back of the restaurant carrying food to a table of younger people. As soon as she saw Soph, she smiled saying "Soph, just sit wherever, I'll be right with you."
Soph picked a booth at the back of the restaurant and as we sat down, Soph started telling all about the owners of the place... a couple named Jennifer and Jeff, Jen for short, who had opened the first vegan restaurant in town... the restaurant we were sitting in.
"This is a vegan restaurant, you brought me to a vegan restaurant to have a Reuben? How does that work?" This launched us into a long discussion about me being a meat eater, not a vegan and her telling me I'd be surprised at how good their Ruben was and me asking if she was trying to convert me and, and, and.
For whatever reason I wasn't offended or upset and enjoyed the back and forth and listening to her reasoning for becoming vegan.. ending the whole thing with me jokingly saying, "You owe me one".
I ended up ordering the Reuben with a side of fries and iced tea. Soph had a shrimp poor boy and made me take a bite, which I have to admit, was tasty. So was the Reuben, and I found out the sauerkraut and dressing was from Soph's shop, as was most of the restaurant's produce.
We talked about nothing and everything and by the time Soph had to get back to her stall, I was fascinated by and really into Soph... even if she was a vegan. There was one thing though, and I wasn't sure how to bring it up.
Part of what we talked about included her political convictions, specifically about America getting involved in wars... she was anti-war and what she called the murders of innocent civilians. Being a retired soldier and a combat veteran suddenly put a hitch into our budding friendship, or so I thought.
Believing it was going to be a problem, I brought it up as we walked back to the farmers market. "Soph, I think I need to tell you that, uhhh, I'm a retired soldier and a combat veteran. How does that sit with you?"
Without missing a step or even a pause we continued walking "It doesn't matter Patrick. I read that in your bio. I get why people join the military and fight in wars. I just don't agree with the killing of innocent civilians, but that's not on you. I brought up my stance on the whole thing because I like you and I wanted to see how you would take it. So, is it a problem?"
With a sigh of relief, I again holding her hand as we had been before, stopped her once again turning her toward me, and responded with, "No Soph, I like you too and I want to see if we might be a thing, is that a problem?"
The smile that came from her could have lit up the darkest night and she quickly closed the short distance between us, put her hands on my shoulders, got up on her tiptoes, and pulling me to her, gave me a quick kiss, finishing with, "Nope, not a problem. Now, get me back to work before I'm late."
