As I have stated in previous posts, I had just moved to the NWA area about a month before J and I went on our first date. I was at a point in my life where I was really looking for a long term relationship but I had learned you don't date people from where you work. And I didn't know anyone in the area at the time to set me up on dates. So I did what any other nerd, who typically sits in dark rooms for hours playing with technology usually did, I joined a dating website.
To be fair, I had been on dating websites before and had learned several things. If a man smiles in his photo and doesn't show his teeth, there is a reason. If he only has head shots, there is a reason. And if every photo he has posted has an ex scribbled out, there is a reason. This is 2013 and most people have phones who know someone who has a phone with a camera. There is no reason for a person to have outdated photos. I had become a pro at reading profiles and determining pretty quickly what the person was actually trying to accomplish. Some where really just on there because it was cheaper than the bar every Friday night looking for a hookup, while few are actually looking for a commitment.
I had seen the profile a few times and the headline but never clicked on it. Something kept bringing me back to this particular profile. I finally clicked on it and started to scroll through the pictures this man had posted. One in particular caught my eye. Not because he was performing some crazy adventurous, adrenaline pumping activity, like so many men post, but because the picture was funny. He was posing on a bed with a wax figurine of Hugh Hefner. Wow, really!? I found it hysterical that this person had chosen to post a staged photo with the man who cultivated the entire non-committal, live sexually free lifestyle. Nothing says "I'm looking for a commitment" like Hugh Hefner does! But to be fair, he has always remained faithful to his 7 girlfriends. I weighed this all very carefully and against my better judgement I signed up and sent him an email.
"Really? You post a picture of you and the world's biggest playboy and you think that's going to get the ladies!?"
That's what I sent him in a private message. His reply? "It got your attention didn't it!?" Well, he had a point. We started to email back and forth for a couple of days and I found his online persona funny. And funny always wins with the girls. So I sent him my number, he sent me his and we started to text for a couple of days.
Flash forward to April 18, 2012. I got off work and stopped by this Mexican restaurant to have dinner and a drink with the bartender there. We had made "friends" over the last couple of weeks and I thought she was pretty cool. But I've also been accused of giving people way to much trust when I first meet them. It gets me in trouble...a lot. But I refuse to let go of my idealistic belief that people are basically good.
Anyway, a night of good, clean debauchery was had and as usual trouble rears her ugly head.
The next morning I wake up and I walk over to the restaurant about a block away to get my Jeep, but it's not there. I knew it wasn't going to be there, but I was hoping. Why did I know it wasn't going to be there? Because the vague memories I have of the debauchery filled night include me approaching a police officer to give me a ride home. I mean, who doesn't approach random officers and ask for rides home because they are too intoxicated to drive. This technique should defiantly be employed if you are not sure what town you are in either.
So the kind officer, from two towns over, brought me home and I remember as he was was driving me, I was trying to remember the route so I could get back there the next day to get my Jeep. Thankfully I remember the town name though that helps me little later. I suppose I walked to check to see if it was at the restaurant because even I couldn't believe the events of the night before and it was like pinching myself to see if it was a dream or real.
It was real. So you know what I do, I go back to bed. I was already working from home but my laptop was in the Jeep as was my phone. I wasn't going to get a lot accomplished without either and we've all been there. Sometimes it's just easier to go back to bed.
After a few more hours of sleep, coffee and a shower, panic mode finally sets in. I check the restaurant parking lot again in vain. Stop by the apartment complex office and use the phone. Call the police in the town where I got the ride and explain the situation. Lots of laughing. First, they have no record of the office who gave me a ride home because he crossed city limits and I guess they are not supposed to do that. So it was not logged. Second, there is no record of my Jeep being towed. I'm not ready to report it stolen, because I know it's not, it's just missing. And I wasn't smart enough to have them just put a BOLO.
In the apartment I have my Kindle Fire. I send off a couple of emails to work to get that covered. Then I need a car and a phone. And I had been texting with J the night before and then I just went dark. I didn't want him to think I wasn't interested so I had to find his number. Thankfully, he had sent it to me in an email and I was able to get it from the deleted folder. Score one for me, or so I think, when a Google search reveals that there is a car rental place at the Sears on the other side of my apartments. I head over there, but the car rental place was closed. The nice gentleman at the Sears Tire counter let me use the phone...after I explained the story and he looked at me like I was either pathetic or putting him on. Whatever, I get those looks a lot but it just usually means there is a good story in there.
This is the first time we will speak on the phone. After he answers and we establish that he is he and I am I, I just blurt out, "Okay, got really drunk last night, lost my Jeep with my stuff in it, came to get a rental car, they were closed, so I going to call a cab and head to the airport to get a car, then I'm going to deal with the phone situation and as soon as I get home I will call you. I just didn't want you to think I wasn't interested..."
Really, that's the first thing he hears from me. Pause, very long pause. He finally responds with "Okay, you lost your Jeep, you don't know where, you're fine. Sounds like a interesting time! Okay, just call me later."
It was like he gets these kind of calls all the time or he had already decided I was a nut job, but harmless. Might as well have some fun huh?
Rental car is retrieved, a new phone is purchased, I eat. Yes, I had not eaten all day because I lived like a single person and had no food at home and no Jeep to go get any. I could have walked, but it was sunny and my sunglasses were in the Jeep too. I even made it a point to get some at Sears. Priorities people, priorities
I nervously call him later that evening. There was no way he was going to want to hang out after the crazy story I just told him. And until I got my Jeep back or figured out what to do I wasn't sure I really needed to focus on a date.
I call and tell him the entire story because I think it will make me sound better. He laughs, which puts me at ease. I explain that this really doesn't happen to me...often and it's probably the number one reason I needed a keeper.
Then J steps his game up. He says, "You know, I know Springdale pretty well. Maybe we can drive around and look for it tomorrow night." Really, this is going to be our first date. Drive around looking for my lost Jeep? You know, it's been one big "What the hell" moment after another for the last 24 hours, I figure might as well just keep it going.
We meet at Denny's the next evening, early enough to give us plenty of daylight to look. I know I was on the Southern side of town because it didn't take long to get me to the Fay. I know what the place looked like that I left and I remember that the road had no sidewalks, only a single middle stripe, lots of pine trees and lots of street lights. Surely with that we were going to be able to find my Jeep quickly right?
For the next couple of hours we just drive around talking. Really talking. You know the kind of talking you do with an old friend on a road trip? Yes, that kind of talking. I was getting hungry, I knew this method was a long shot any way. To Mojito's we go and if you are ever in this area, you must eat there. It's our favorite in this area. We have a great dinner with even more amazing conversation. I've actually forgotten that I should be freaked out because now it's been 48 hours since I saw my Jeep. I was having an amazing time. While I usually suck at reading the signals from the opposite sex, I was pretty certain that he was having a good time as well.
Okay, it's time to report it stolen or something. We head to my apartment, which I've lived in for a month and have one camping chair and a 22 inch TV. I'm still sleeping on the air mattress. As I scan my apartment and think about the current situation, I start to question if there will be a date two. We call the police and wait and chat some more. It's a sign when Officer Peace shows up. I'm a total peace loving, hippy nerd and J should have been a cop. I even asked him 3 times during dinner if he actually was one. So the fact that his name was Officer Peace didn't seem like anything to me at the time, but I like to give meaning to things when I reflect and certainly that has some meaning.
Anyway, officer arrives, I hem and haw at telling him the full story, because again, I feel like I'm getting to old to have these stories to tell. It's not like I'm reliving something from my early 20's. Officer Peace could tell I wasn't being fully honest. He says "You know how many stolen vehicle reports I've taken in the last year alone? Like 500 and you know how many have actually been stolen...NONE." I look at J seeking permission to tell this tale to a man of the law who is going to put this on my official record. J gives me the, "it's your Jeep" look and I proceed to tell the Officer the full story from two nights earlier. He too laughs. He says he highly doubts it's stolen. He'll file a report and something will happen.
It's getting late and I ask J if he wants me take him back to his truck now. As a gentleman would do, he said of course knowing it was a proper time to end the date. But I never do proper.
About 15 to 20 minutes later as we are heading back to the Denny's that we had met at hours earlier, my phone rings. I'm driving, I ask J to answer. He answers and we are informed that my Jeep has been located. It had actually just been towed in the last couple of hours and the officer provides the information I need to get my Jeep back. We call the tow company and find out how much it is going to cost and the pertinent information to retrieve it. Some how I missed that the man was going to do me a favor and head over to the business now to unlock and let me get it. I figure this out when he calls later a bit steamed. We had driven over to the location to try and see if there was any damage to the vehicle. How we missed each other is beyond me, but now I like to think that I had stars in my eyes for the amazing man that was sharing in this adventure with me. That has to explain why the company owner and I did not cross paths at the business....right?
Yes, it's an adventure now because the Jeep is safe, we've been laughing for hours and neither of us are ready to call it quits. The hour isn't terribly late and we are at Denny's now might as well go in for coffee and dessert. Another couple of hours later, we're both starting to show signs of the time and we've already agreed to meet up tomorrow to get my Jeep and have date two. A respectable hug and we depart.
I remember getting back in my rental car and feeling...excited. Excited that the date had gone so well. Especially considering our first date was spent driving around a strange town and me basically telling him all the stories that could fall into the "How is she still alive" category. Excited that we already had a plan for the next date. Excited that he had made me laugh the entire time and excited that I felt so relaxed around him.
After getting home, I send him a good night, thank you text and fall asleep pretty fast. I wake up the next day to a picture of him getting pulled over for the license plate light being out. And I figure, yep I've met my match. Any one who can find the humor in getting pulled over in the middle of the night after the evening we had just had, certainly had a unique outlook on life. That quality is priceless, especially when you marry the girl who loses her Jeep.
So the kind officer, from two towns over, brought me home and I remember as he was was driving me, I was trying to remember the route so I could get back there the next day to get my Jeep. Thankfully I remember the town name though that helps me little later. I suppose I walked to check to see if it was at the restaurant because even I couldn't believe the events of the night before and it was like pinching myself to see if it was a dream or real.
It was real. So you know what I do, I go back to bed. I was already working from home but my laptop was in the Jeep as was my phone. I wasn't going to get a lot accomplished without either and we've all been there. Sometimes it's just easier to go back to bed.
After a few more hours of sleep, coffee and a shower, panic mode finally sets in. I check the restaurant parking lot again in vain. Stop by the apartment complex office and use the phone. Call the police in the town where I got the ride and explain the situation. Lots of laughing. First, they have no record of the office who gave me a ride home because he crossed city limits and I guess they are not supposed to do that. So it was not logged. Second, there is no record of my Jeep being towed. I'm not ready to report it stolen, because I know it's not, it's just missing. And I wasn't smart enough to have them just put a BOLO.
In the apartment I have my Kindle Fire. I send off a couple of emails to work to get that covered. Then I need a car and a phone. And I had been texting with J the night before and then I just went dark. I didn't want him to think I wasn't interested so I had to find his number. Thankfully, he had sent it to me in an email and I was able to get it from the deleted folder. Score one for me, or so I think, when a Google search reveals that there is a car rental place at the Sears on the other side of my apartments. I head over there, but the car rental place was closed. The nice gentleman at the Sears Tire counter let me use the phone...after I explained the story and he looked at me like I was either pathetic or putting him on. Whatever, I get those looks a lot but it just usually means there is a good story in there.
This is the first time we will speak on the phone. After he answers and we establish that he is he and I am I, I just blurt out, "Okay, got really drunk last night, lost my Jeep with my stuff in it, came to get a rental car, they were closed, so I going to call a cab and head to the airport to get a car, then I'm going to deal with the phone situation and as soon as I get home I will call you. I just didn't want you to think I wasn't interested..."
Really, that's the first thing he hears from me. Pause, very long pause. He finally responds with "Okay, you lost your Jeep, you don't know where, you're fine. Sounds like a interesting time! Okay, just call me later."
It was like he gets these kind of calls all the time or he had already decided I was a nut job, but harmless. Might as well have some fun huh?
Rental car is retrieved, a new phone is purchased, I eat. Yes, I had not eaten all day because I lived like a single person and had no food at home and no Jeep to go get any. I could have walked, but it was sunny and my sunglasses were in the Jeep too. I even made it a point to get some at Sears. Priorities people, priorities
I nervously call him later that evening. There was no way he was going to want to hang out after the crazy story I just told him. And until I got my Jeep back or figured out what to do I wasn't sure I really needed to focus on a date.
I call and tell him the entire story because I think it will make me sound better. He laughs, which puts me at ease. I explain that this really doesn't happen to me...often and it's probably the number one reason I needed a keeper.
Then J steps his game up. He says, "You know, I know Springdale pretty well. Maybe we can drive around and look for it tomorrow night." Really, this is going to be our first date. Drive around looking for my lost Jeep? You know, it's been one big "What the hell" moment after another for the last 24 hours, I figure might as well just keep it going.
We meet at Denny's the next evening, early enough to give us plenty of daylight to look. I know I was on the Southern side of town because it didn't take long to get me to the Fay. I know what the place looked like that I left and I remember that the road had no sidewalks, only a single middle stripe, lots of pine trees and lots of street lights. Surely with that we were going to be able to find my Jeep quickly right?
For the next couple of hours we just drive around talking. Really talking. You know the kind of talking you do with an old friend on a road trip? Yes, that kind of talking. I was getting hungry, I knew this method was a long shot any way. To Mojito's we go and if you are ever in this area, you must eat there. It's our favorite in this area. We have a great dinner with even more amazing conversation. I've actually forgotten that I should be freaked out because now it's been 48 hours since I saw my Jeep. I was having an amazing time. While I usually suck at reading the signals from the opposite sex, I was pretty certain that he was having a good time as well.
Okay, it's time to report it stolen or something. We head to my apartment, which I've lived in for a month and have one camping chair and a 22 inch TV. I'm still sleeping on the air mattress. As I scan my apartment and think about the current situation, I start to question if there will be a date two. We call the police and wait and chat some more. It's a sign when Officer Peace shows up. I'm a total peace loving, hippy nerd and J should have been a cop. I even asked him 3 times during dinner if he actually was one. So the fact that his name was Officer Peace didn't seem like anything to me at the time, but I like to give meaning to things when I reflect and certainly that has some meaning.
Anyway, officer arrives, I hem and haw at telling him the full story, because again, I feel like I'm getting to old to have these stories to tell. It's not like I'm reliving something from my early 20's. Officer Peace could tell I wasn't being fully honest. He says "You know how many stolen vehicle reports I've taken in the last year alone? Like 500 and you know how many have actually been stolen...NONE." I look at J seeking permission to tell this tale to a man of the law who is going to put this on my official record. J gives me the, "it's your Jeep" look and I proceed to tell the Officer the full story from two nights earlier. He too laughs. He says he highly doubts it's stolen. He'll file a report and something will happen.
It's getting late and I ask J if he wants me take him back to his truck now. As a gentleman would do, he said of course knowing it was a proper time to end the date. But I never do proper.
About 15 to 20 minutes later as we are heading back to the Denny's that we had met at hours earlier, my phone rings. I'm driving, I ask J to answer. He answers and we are informed that my Jeep has been located. It had actually just been towed in the last couple of hours and the officer provides the information I need to get my Jeep back. We call the tow company and find out how much it is going to cost and the pertinent information to retrieve it. Some how I missed that the man was going to do me a favor and head over to the business now to unlock and let me get it. I figure this out when he calls later a bit steamed. We had driven over to the location to try and see if there was any damage to the vehicle. How we missed each other is beyond me, but now I like to think that I had stars in my eyes for the amazing man that was sharing in this adventure with me. That has to explain why the company owner and I did not cross paths at the business....right?
Yes, it's an adventure now because the Jeep is safe, we've been laughing for hours and neither of us are ready to call it quits. The hour isn't terribly late and we are at Denny's now might as well go in for coffee and dessert. Another couple of hours later, we're both starting to show signs of the time and we've already agreed to meet up tomorrow to get my Jeep and have date two. A respectable hug and we depart.
I remember getting back in my rental car and feeling...excited. Excited that the date had gone so well. Especially considering our first date was spent driving around a strange town and me basically telling him all the stories that could fall into the "How is she still alive" category. Excited that we already had a plan for the next date. Excited that he had made me laugh the entire time and excited that I felt so relaxed around him.
After getting home, I send him a good night, thank you text and fall asleep pretty fast. I wake up the next day to a picture of him getting pulled over for the license plate light being out. And I figure, yep I've met my match. Any one who can find the humor in getting pulled over in the middle of the night after the evening we had just had, certainly had a unique outlook on life. That quality is priceless, especially when you marry the girl who loses her Jeep.
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