May 10th. 2017
Went to the mall to return a couple of unwanted presents. While walking to my store, a young gentleman stopped me to tell me that I had dropped my credit card at the counter and he was returning it. At first I was suspicious of him and wanted to make sure there were plenty of people around, but then he caught my eye and my alarms were silenced. His smile and demeanor was just the right combination of self confidence and humility. He (Rory), as He introduced himself had the deepest blue eyes and sandy brown hair. Rory could tell I was flustered and motioned me to sit down at a little table that was just up the way. I decided to take his advice. He offered to get me a glass of water. I don't usually sit down with someone I don't know, but there was something about him that made it ok. When Rory returned, we must have sat there for 3 hours and talked about everything and everyone.
Rory was a volunteer fireman who lived at a base camp in the high sierras most of the time and only came down for special occasions. This one was to find his mom a present for her 50th birthday. Hmm, I wonder if he knew I was 5 years older than his mom. If he did, he never let on. I walked with him to the Hallmark store where he picked out a nice charm. I really enjoyed my afternoon getting to know him and it seemed he enjoyed his time with me. It was too bad our meeting was most likely a passing chance as we had separate lives and different paths. I left , somewhat sad that I wouldn't see him again.