Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Timing is Everything

Both of the girls were working yesterday, so I thought it would be a great time to sneak off to Wal-Mart after work.  Usually there is no issue with going to that store, but my reason for going was to purchase some romance novels.  I have been forbidden by my daughters to buy any more romance novels, because I currently have around 40 that I haven't read yet!  I love Harlequin SuperRomance books, and also the Silhouetter Special Edition books.  But as you can imagine: I don't have the time to read like I used to so they are kind of piling up.  However, I don't want to miss out on any of the sequels, so each month I now have to sneak to Wal-Mart, buy them and then hide them when I get home.

But the gist of this entry isn't about the books.  It's about what happened while I was at Wal-Mart.  I went into the store and headed right for the book section.  I read the descriptions on all 12 books and decided I only needed 4 of them.  As I was heading toward a register, I decided to detour to the soup aisle just in case they had brought back the "hot-ass oodie of noodie" (more on this in another entry!) which of course they hadn't.  I did notice a brand I wasn't aware of, Hanover, and decided to try a can of their Chicken Pot Pie soup.   I didn't want to have that for dinner, so I also went to the frozen food section to get a TV dinner.  I picked up something really good by Boston Market; and since I was already in the frozen section I also got a box of Magnum dark chocolate ice cream bars (dark Belgian chocolate over vanilla bean ice cream).  Now that my hands were full (didn't think I'd need a basket!) I now headed for the cash registers.

This is where I had to make a judgment call.  Wal-Mart is always packed, and I wanted to get out of there as expeditiously as possible. So I went to one of the "speedy checkout" lines, for 20 items or less.  I figured this would be a good bet, since there were only 2 people ahead of me.  

I turned my head slightly, and  noticed a man had gotten into line behind me with only 1 item.  I figured it wouldnt' take me too long since mine would scan quickly, so I didn't think I needed to let him go ahead of me.

There were 2 people ahead of me, so of course that meant the cashier slowed down to a snail's pace.  No matter what short line I get in, it's guaranteed to hit a snag and move at a snail's pace.  The gentleman behind me said, "How long do you think this wil take?"  I said, "I'm not sure, but  I can guarantee it's not going to be a speedy checkout."  He laughed, and I turned to get a better look at him.

My my: what a handsome man he was!  He was taller than me (highly unusual!), had a head full of salt and pepper hair, hazel eyes, a great smile, nice teeth, fresh cinna-minty breath, was in good shape and appeared to be my age.  This NEVER happened in Wal-Mart!

Needless to say, I was intrigued.  So we began to converse, trading witty repartee and sending off those "hmm, interesting" vibes.  He seemed to have the same kind of sense of humor that I do, and I was really enjoying the conversation as he talked a bit about himself, and discussed how long we'd have to be in line, and different topics.  Man, I had hit the jackpot!

So I decided since he wasn't wearing a wedding ring, I needed to be bold and give him my number.  Just as I was mustering up the bravado, his cell phone rang.  He excused himself to answer it, and I was waiting for him to hang up.  But wouldn't you know it: now the cashier wakes up and it's my turn to cash out.  I tried to pay as slowly as I could, since he was still on the phone, but I didn't want to hold up the line.  But I walked slowly to my car in case he came out: nothing. I went to my car and sat there for a couple of minutes: still nothing!  Finally I realized how foolish I was being. If he'd been interested he would have asked me for my number.  So I put the car in gear, pulled out and started driving past the store.  Now  he comes out, but he's still on the phone!  So I took that as a sign that it wasn't meant to be, and headed home.

As I was driving I wished I had a business card I could have given him.  That was a relatively safe way of putting myself out there, but I had put off making up any business cards because I'm...lazy!  So an opportunity to make a new acquaintance slipped through my fingers.

I went home, put my stuff away and then got on the computer. I hadn't been up there in a couple of days, so I had email galore.  And wouldn't you know it: there was an email from Staples, with a coupon for 100 free business cards.  Seriously???  If I had opened my email a couple of days ago, I would have HAD a business card to give to Mr. Hottie!  Well that just proves that timing is everything.

So after work today guess where I'm heading?  That's right: to Staples!  Maybe it's God's way of saying "I'm giving you a second chance and I'll put Mr. Hottie in your periphery again".  Well, that's what I hope God is saying.  Stay tuned!!

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