> Garry, hopefully this is heading toward a round of sincere apologies to
> everyone you insulted...?
> Amir
Ya , right :
Anyway , could not get this awesome looking girl out of my head .
Thought of her all week long at work , and wondered why I did not
react more quickly , ask her for her phone number , apologize and
ask if we could get together some other time .
The week went by and Saturday was baseball practice . Back at
the coach's backyard we enjoyed some hot dogs and cold Gatorade .
Suddenly while sitting there day-dreaming , it hit me .
This girl probably was not on crowded Clifton Hill to see the
sites . She was flying up that hill like a pro . She _must_ have
just gotten off of work and was heading home !
Maybe she does the exact same thing every Saturday around that
time ! I look at my watch ... it was around 4:00 PM that I saw her
last Saturday . It's 3:00 PM now ... gotta go !!
No time to change out of my ball uniform - just drive to Clifton
Hill - park halfway up the Hill - keep an eye out for her ...
An hour goes by and no beautiful familiar girl . Lot's and lot's
of people though , more than last week it seems . Oh well , it was
quite an enormous longshot anyway . Just a weak attempt at finding
a needle in a haystack .
Then , at the foot of the Hill , on the other side of the street
it looks like her . She steps out onto the street to pass an 8 mem-
ber family , then back onto the sidewalk and is really moving ...
it's her !
Out of my car - lock the doors - more money into the parking
meter - turn to look for her and she has already passed me . She
is in fine form today and I must risk getting hit by cars if I
want to catch her , and finally at the top of the Hill , I do .
Behind her I gently tap her shoulder as I say "excuse me , miss" .
She slows and turns slightly , no look of recognition on her face .
I say "excuse me , I know you don't remember me but I was here last
week and you were suggesting a nice place to have a drink " .
She semi-rolls her eye's and looks away . "oh yes , I remember
you now " . The sarcastic tone was to be expected .
I go on to tell her that I'd been thinking of her all week and
took a chance that maybe she would be here on the Hill again at the
same time , that perhaps she had just gotten off work .
Before she can answer I apologize for last week and my buddy
cutting us off . That I actually did wish to buy her a drink at
one of her favorite places , if she had time some day .
She said she had to go , to catch her bus , to be home on time
for dinner . I offer her a ride then , as it would give us an
opportunity to chat . She says no , but I am persistent and apol-
ogetic , and plead a little that she not keep my wondering
about her again all the coming week too .
She laughs and then, finally, agrees to let me drive her home .
We walk to my convertible , and I suggest we drive with the top
down . She agrees . Driving past powerfull Niagara Falls , a
slight mist is falling on us , cool and refreshing .
I introduce myself formally , at last , and she does the same . It
turns out her Brother & Uncle are members of my Construction Union ,
who I have worked with on several projects and know quite well . We
have something immediately in common and we talk about how those
family members are doing . They are doing very well and I ask her
if she would make sure to say "hello" to them for me .
Almost at her home , I gently pressure her yet again and ask if
she would allow me to buy her a very casual dinner tonight , now ,
and that way we could continue to drive a bit more , perhaps on
the parkway , or along the lake on this beautiful summer day .
It takes several attempts , but Chris finally agrees , phone's
home at a nearby payphone , hops back in the car , and off we drive
'into the sunset' , the first of many , many beautiful evening drives
together .
Chris . She was my one and only "10" .
Garry
