I pulled into the parking lot outside the local Office Depot. I parked the car and was headed for the door when I noticed a mildly attractive woman walking toward me, on her way to her car. She was on the tall side, probably around 5'7" with short dark hair and wearing a rather plain summer dress. As she got closer, she looked in my direction and gave me a slight smile in a shy sort of way before quickly looking down at the pavement. I kept my eyes on her as we crossed paths. Again she looked toward me. I gave a nod of the head as if to say "Hi," and with that her smile broadened before she returned her eyes to the ground.
Well, there must be some sort of attraction here,
I thought to myself as she passed.
I took about two more steps and stopped. I didn't have time to think about what I was doing. I turned around and quickened my pace in her direction.
"Excuse me," I said.
As she turned, her smile morphed to a look of confusion.
"You have a very nice smile and if you drive out of here, I'll never see that smile again. I don't mean to be forward, but would you join me for dinner tonight over at the Red Door?" I asked, pointing across the street.
I love this part of asking a girl out. They never know what to say!
She glanced over at the restaurant and then looked back at me with wide eyes and a half opened mouth. I wasn't going to add to her confusion by saying any more. I just half smiled and waited for an answer to my simple "yes or no" question.
"Uh.................. Yeah.......Yeah, I think I'd like that," she smiled.
"Well, I'm glad," I said, extending my hand. "I'm Dave Bristol."
"Beth Paulson," she added, the confused look still on her face.
"Beth? That's a nice name and deserves a nice dinner. Would seven o'clock be a good time?"
Her confused look turned into one of those "I'll figure it out later" smiles.
"Yeah, that would be great."
"Thank you," I said. "Now, I've got to get some shopping done. I'll meet you in the lobby at 7:00."
"Yeah...... I'm looking forward to it," she said as her shyness returned.
We parted there. I walked into the store thinking this was one for the books. I just asked a total stranger to dinner in a parking lot after a one minute conversation, she said yes.
The Red Door isn't a posh restaurant, but it is one of the better restaurants in town. I thought it best to dress accordingly. A white shirt, gray slacks and blue blazer ought to do it. A tie would have been over kill, so that stayed at home.
The last thing I wanted was to have her think I stood her up, so I arrived at the Red Door ten minutes early. I secured an out of the way table and returned to the outer lobby just in time to see Beth drive up. She was wearing a powder blue dress with white trim. I greeted her with a broad smile as she came through the door.
"You look very nice tonight," I commented.
"Oh, thank you," she said with an uncomfortable voice. "I've never done anything like this before."
"You mean having dinner in a restaurant?"
"No. I mean I've never gone out with a total stranger before."
I just smiled. "Well, maybe by the end of dinner we won't be strangers. C'mon, I got us a nice table. I was hoping to get one of those violinists to play while we eat, but there wasn't enough time."
Beth laughed. I was hoping a little humor might make her a more comfortable.
We both ordered the fish and over a bottle of chardonnay, got to know each other a little better. Beth was a fourth grade teacher. She relayed all sorts of stories on the pros and cons of dealing with ten year olds. She had a great sense of humor and by the time the meal came, we were having a pretty good time together. The fish was smaller than my computer mouse served alongside seven string beans and three carrots. If it wasn't for the rolls, I think we would have starved. Luckily I had ordered another bottle of wine, which we polished off after our "five minute" meal. The two of us were laughing so hard; I thought the waiter might think we were insulting him, as he kept looking our way.
"Would you like some dessert?" I asked Beth, looking at the menu. "They have an eight dollar scoop of vanilla ice cream with half a walnut on top."
Well, Beth lost it right there. She couldn't stop laughing and buried her face in her hands as I tried my best to ask for the check with a straight face. I paid the bill and we sat together at the table until we gained out composure.