I got the off the bus and stood in front of an impressively large building with the words MINI in large type. I met my group inside the Mini car factory in Oxford. On the left was a small museum of the history of the Mini Cooper car.
After browsing the museum for a few minutes and admiring some of the cars in the collection, the announcement was made that the two hour factory tour was about to begin. I walked into the waiting area to get the purple safety vest and safety glasses for the tour.
I look up and our tour after getting dressed at our guide Sara, in her white factory coat. She smiled and said hello. She was French, red hair, 5' 7", and pretty smile on her 20 something face. She had small breasts hidden behind a little added weight evenly distributed the length of her body.
After the obligatory video safety briefing, we headed out to the factory floor. Sara started talking in her wireless mic as our group listened intently with our wireless ear pieces.
I looked at Sara intently listening to her every word. I tend to look directly at people as I listen and she took note. Sara smiled at me and stared back as long as she could without looking socially awkward to the rest of the group.
As the tour progressed she kept smiling at me as I smiled back at her. Sara started shifting her safety glasses back up her nose with her hand flirtatiously while she stole glances at me. Although it was obvious she has given this tour a hundred times, she stumbled on her words occasionally as, clearly, something else was running a cross her mind. Her glances and body language left little interpretation about what she was thinking.
During the middle of the tour she looked at me intently, smiled, and mentioned that we will see the marrying of the body and the engine in a few moments but did not want to spoil anything.
After a few moments we were watching this process as the frame and the engine came together.
Sara said that "Mini called it the marriage because this relationship will be life long." as she looked at me.
I was clearly getting the hint from Sara.
She was not my typical type of girl but clearly she saw something there. I liked her flirty style and cute smile. I started standing closer to her and asked a few questions to participate. This flirty pattern of looks and smiles continued between us to the end of the tour.
Once the tour ended and she collected all of the headsets. We talked for a bit. She told me about her PhD program in mid-evil history and we talked about mine. She was going back to France next week to continue her program and I was going back to the states.
"Would you like to have a drink with me at the pub?" Sara asked?
"I have my teenage son with me on this trip." I replied.
"Any chance meting after he goes to bed?" She asked.
Thinking it would be fun to have a female friend that lives 5,000 miles away, it should be safe. "Sure, I would be happy to." I replied. "How about 10pm at the Trout Inn?"
"Sounds perfect." She said.
It was a long day thinking about what Sara's intentions were and how the evening would go. I walked about a mile down to the pub from the hotel. It was a beautiful summer evening about 60 degrees as I strolled across the bridges of the Themes river with the stunningly, old large trees, and a fresh breeze guiding the way.
Once I arrived, I saw Sara sitting in out on the patio nervously nursing a glass of water. Her hair down to her shoulders now with a fresh coat of light red lipstick. I walked up to her.
She stood up and gave me a hug like an old friend not seen in quite some time.
"I was nervous you would not come" Sara said.
"Of course, I would never consider otherwise" I replied back. What can I order you Sara?"
"A glass of wine." She replied.
I excused myself, went to the bar and ordered two glasses of red wine. I returned to Sara eagerly waiting in the stool overlooking the river. I handed her a glass and said "Cheers, to us and a new..." pausing to fun the right word.
"To a new us." she said.
We sipped our wine and talked about her days as a tour guide, schooling in France, and what her hopes and dreams were for the future.
"Max" she asked as if she needed to get my full attention. "Can we get go for a walk?" Sara wanted to escape from the prying ears and looks from the other patrons around the pub.
"That sounds nice." I replied.
We walked over to the gate next to the pub which opened up to the huge Port Meadows which stretched on for miles. She reached over to hold my hand as we started to follow the river's edge deeper into the park. We walked quietly, comfortably, together for a while until we came to a large weeping willow tree on the bank of the river.
Sara stopped, looked slightly up at me in the pale moonlight and kissed me gently on the lips. I returned her advances. I reached around to embrace her. We kept gently caressing each other's lips with our own until she spoke.
"I know this might sound strange since we just met today, buy I have never just instantly fallen in love with anyone, but I have with you." She said. "I don't know how you feel and understand if you don't feel in love yet but I did not want this to be an opportunity to just slip by." She finished.