The blind date that wasn't mine

dod

In deference to the fact that my sister is six months pregnant, I arrived to meet her at Bewleys on Grafton Street five minutes ahead of the scheduled time so that, in her condition, she wouldn’t have to wait for me. It was a glorious evening and people were sauntering up and down the street enjoying the sun and enjoying each other.

Bewleys is the Grafton Street landmark used by everyone, as Clerys clock is on O’Connell Street. Tourists use it to get their bearings for Stephens Green or for Trinity College. Shoppers use it for a respite from melting their credit cards in the nearby boutiques. Lovers meet outside Bewleys before a night out. Former lovers meet in Bewleys to reconcile their differences over coffees they don’t drink.

I walked through Bewleys to ensure that she hadn’t arrived ahead of me, and then walked back out to the front door so that, on her arrival, she might see me. When I walked out, the most astonishingly beautiful girl with striking blue eyes looked at me. Her eyes fixed on mine and did not let go. I did not want to do the Irish man-thing and look down at my feet when looked at by a good-looking girl, so I looked straight back into her eyes. They were glitteringly hypnotic. Still her gaze did not let go. Such was her confidence, I wondered should I know her: was I to be embarrassed by not being able to greet her by name. Inevitably, I buckled under the intimidation of not knowing what to do, and I slinked back into the shop at the front of Bewleys.

Were I not waiting for my sister, I feel sure I would have fled. Fled anywhere. Here I was, being engaged by an astoundingly good-looking and clearly very confident young lady, and I had resort to nothing in my armoury that allowed me to react appropriately. As I shuffled amid the shelves of tea and coffee (did you know you can now buy decaffeinated tea?) I stole a few looks out the door in the hope that recognition would dawn. Not a chance. Worse again, when she caught me surreptitiously looking over at her, she reacted with a very attractive smile.

So preoccupied was I with the conundrum in which I found myself, I didn’t see my sister and her husband come in. I jumped when he tapped me on the shoulder. We talked for a few minutes in the shop whist my sister finished a phone call. As we spoke, the stunning girl came into the shop and stood, with no apparent purpose, right across from me. Again she looked at me and held my gaze. I can react so much better to this situation at three in the morning in a nightclub. Sober in Bewleys at 6.30 in the evening though, I was a fish completely out of water. Thank God she broke the ice.

“Are you Gary?” she asked. Even her voice was seductively attractive.

“No. I’m sorry,” I smiled broadly back at her. Little did she realise how sorry I really was.

And that was it. She hung around the shop for a few more minutes. Was she on a blind date, I wondered? Perhaps she was meeting a long-lost cousin to show him around Dublin, or who was going to show her around Dublin. Perhaps Gary was a talent scout for some big modelling agency in Paris? I tried to think what I might say to her so that this wouldn’t be the last I would see of her. But I couldn’t think of anything. What if it was a blind date and the fool hadn’t turned up? She wasn’t going to think too highly of somebody making light of the situation. Perhaps she thought I really was Gary who, having checked her out, pretended to be somebody else because he didn’t want to go on a date with her after all.

I racked my brains. Surely there was something ambiguous, something inherently meaningless I could say that would allow me to strike up a rapport with her. For once, I hoped my sister would stay on the phone and not hang up for at least another while.

And then she was gone. She walked out the door of Bewleys, without so much as the courtesy of giving me another look that I could dream about for the rest of my life. And I was left behind to wonder what, in other circumstances, might have been.

Gordon

Live and learn mate, live and learn.

Next time she won't be so lucky if you have anything to do with it

dendenz

You should have said you were Gary and then said "Where is that ride I was promised ? !!!" lol

Tusky

nice thread - good read, donno what to say though really... what was that famous quote ? "we only regret the chances/risks we didnt take" somthing like that...

basically you should have mounted her there and then

Lex_Diamonds

Oh God, you just let your wife walk out the door mate....

TomTom

That would reck my head to be honest. Don't bother thinking of the what is's. cus what if you never meet her again.

lordsippa

Beyond commenting on how beautifully written that was I don't think I can say anything. But it IS wonderful to read something so pleasantly worded as that online.

Blitzkrieger

Repeat after me : "YES! I AM GARY. Now let's go, quick." You can always make it up to your sister later

Samson

Originally posted by dod
“Are you Gary?” she asked. Even her voice was seductively attractive.

You should have said, "No, but I wish I was" and then added, "If I was Gary, I would have been here on time. In fact, I think I should wait with you until he has arrived so that I tell him how much of fool he is to leave you waiting".

Tazzle

that'll learn you, those kind of encounters are rare.

Big Chief

i agree with alot of other people on this thread in that it was very well written.

I can react so much better to this situation at three in the morning in a nightclub. Sober in Bewleys at 6.30 in the evening though, I was a fish completely out of water.

why do alot of guys always feel they are better at talking to women when they are drunk / had a few drinks ?

Nemici

"Dod - when someone asks you if your a god............

you say yes "

gogo

You should be a writer dod, you have me waiting for the next chapter.
Chance happening are unfortunatley just that, chance, sometimes your lucky, sometimes your not.

Beëlzebooze

poor sod.

lovely story though.

commuterised

Originally posted by Samson
You should have said, "No, but I wish I was" and then added, "If I was Gary, I would have been here on time. In fact, I think I should wait with you until he has arrived so that I tell him how much of fool he is to leave you waiting".

ah yes but it's always easier to think of this clever replies after the event in question.
And I agree with previous posters, I too enjoyed reading that

patch

You should have had a look around the area for a glass slipper......

Tusky

why do alot of guys always feel they are better at talking to women when they are drunk / had a few drinks ?

because they are more confident ? care less about rejection ? are more sure of themselfs ? some are more witty and entertain'n too i guess...

Big Chief

it was more of a rhetorical question tusky as i already knew the answers

Mac daddy

if it is meant to be it is meant to be, who knows you might meet her again :~ (
At least you know for next time :ninja:

Emboss

Like others I just wanted to compliment you on your writing, fantastic, I had a similar experience when I was a lot younger, and pretty much like you, I let her go, but I was lucky and met her about 12 weeks later, we ended up going out for just over 5 years. There is still hope

MojoMaker

Guys, this was a cut n' paste story, sorry.

Nobody see the uncanny resemblance to George Bernard Shaw's "My hat blew off"?

I've no doubt the circumstance was probably true though but go easy on the backslapping!!

Nemici

Originally posted by MojoMaker
Guys, this was a cut n' paste story, sorry.

Nobody see the uncanny resemblance to George Bernard Shaw's "My hat blew off"?

I've no doubt the circumstance was probably true though but go easy on the backslapping!!

you saying dod is a fake, a phoney, a dud, a grifter , a shark, a snake, a rat, ??

dod say it aint so. say it aint so

elexes

Originally posted by TomTom
That would reck my head to be honest. Don't bother thinking of the what is's. cus what if you never meet her again.

the butterfly girl tom ?

Mac daddy

Originally posted by MojoMaker
Guys, this was a cut n' paste story, sorry.

Nobody see the uncanny resemblance to George Bernard Shaw's "My hat blew off"?

I've no doubt the circumstance was probably true though but go easy on the backslapping!!

Emmmmm the plot thickens

dod

Thanks, I enjoyed reading through the replies to this post. Hand on my heart I've never read Shaws "My Hat Blew Off", though I will make a point of looking it up when I'm in town tomorrow. These events happened, exactly as I recounted them, yesterday evening. Honestly no 'cut & paste' or cheap plagarism. Once I've read the Shaw essay, I'll return with a more informed comment on the comparison you are making.

Thanks again.
DOD

dod

MojoMaker, in vain I have searched to my best ability (which is admittedly limited) through Google, Yahoo etc. and cannot find anything by Shaw called "My hat blew off". Is this an excerpt from one of his other works? Maybe you can point me to where I can find a copy of it.

Thanks in advance.

oeNeo

Very nicely written indeed dod.

Sev

Em, if it actually was a cut and paste. What would be the point in posting in the first place?

TomTom

Yes Ian, that drove us mad for quite some time.

Serbian

Originally posted by Blitzkrieger
Repeat after me : "YES! I AM GARY. Now let's go, quick." You can always make it up your sister later

That's just sick.

Anyway, I think I would have done pretty much the same in the same situation. I'm no good when confronted like that, especially in the middle of the day. I'm pretty crap at it at the best of times! (ie crawling along the floor of a pub somewhere)

I suggest hanging around Bewleys for the next couple of days to see if she shows up again. If she does, she's probably a prostitute.

Caesar_Bojangle

Good god man, all you had to say when she asked whether you were gary. "No, but i wish i was."

I shaved off my luscious locks and no longer look so feminine, but more so like a neo nazi. So the likelihood of a girl asking me am i gary is slim to none. Roll on summer of lovin

Spacedog

If you had said that you were gary, you could have had one of those relationships you see in cheesy American sit-coms where as you increasingly fall for eachother be becomes more and more difficult to maintain the lie that you are not really gary. You'd get into all kinds of wacky adventures getting your family to call you gary and keep them upto date with all the latest overly elaborate fibs you've conjured on the spot when the two of you just happened to bump into that old friend from school, with crotch grabbingly hilarious consiquences.

DMT

Originally posted by Caesar_Bojangle
I shaved off my luscious locks and no longer look so feminine, but more so like a neo nazi. So the likelihood of a girl asking me am i gary is slim to none. Roll on summer of lovin

Change of custom avatar is in order:

Blitzkrieger

Originally posted by Serbian
That's just sick.

What's sick? A little white lie never hurt anyone.

Your suggesting she was a prostitute wasn't? Where did that come from :rolleyes:

hedgetrimmer

There is no cause for regret here.

Consider, if you had said something "clever", she may have reacted badly, or differently, and perhaps you would have been left kicking yourself even more.

The bottom line is that you met someone beautiful, who you may meet again, and yo had a very nice moment of silent communication. She obivously thought you were good looking at least.

Preserve that golden nugget of a moment just as it was and as it is - a moment of beauty

Beëlzebooze

I was thinking about this post yesterday evening, and indeed the thought crossed my mind that she was a "call girl" too, either that or some sales woman meeting up with a client. Not some hot babe on the prowl for some unknown guy's manjuice.

Caesar_Bojangle

Originally posted by DMT
Change of custom avatar is in order:

lol

dendenz

good reading, honestly the attention to detail was good and I am not being sarcastic.

Capt'n Midnight

'cos by the time you started chatting her up, your pregnant sister would have arrived calling your name..

So now you've been caught lying and now you are trying to explain that you did not get that other girl pregnant ......

Talk your way outta that !

Wolf

I can see it all now

You: "Yes im Gary"

Her: "Mr. Solvoticks send his reguards!"

BLAM BLAM BALM BLAM...........................