::Serendipity::

Riley's First Date, Not! ________________________________________________________________

Friday night, while Michael and I were innocently going out to dinner and hanging out at Barnes and Noble, my eldest daughter was being asked out on her first date.

I'm enjoying my steak when Gwen goes off in my purse. My ring tone is set to Wind It Up, so I've started to inwardly call my cell phone Gwen. No one knows this but you. So Gwen starts playing, and I have the feeling it's home. It is. Only instead of Riley, it's Maggie. And she's laughing her face off! I can barely understand what she's saying she's laughing so hard. Something about Riley being asked on a date. I think there's probably been a misunderstanding and Maggie is giving Riley a hard time. A boy we met from Dumbledore's Army called earlier, but I thought he was calling to ask Riley to borrow a book, but she was babysitting. I gave her the message when she got home and she left him a message. Phone tag. I didn't think anything more of it. I told Maggie to calm down, get ready for bed, and stop torturing her sister.

Michael and I finish our dinner, and it's too late for a movie so we decide to go to Barnes and Noble. I heard rumor that Pumpkin Spice Lattes are out. So we peruse the books. I happily found the last copy of Cursor's Fury, a late anniversary present for Michael. I also find Kyra Davis' new book (that I didn't even realize was out yet!), Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate. I scored another late anniversary present myself! Thank you B&N 15% off coupon!

It's still warm enough outside that I could have a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino instead of a latte. Heavenly! I go to take my place next to Michael and he tells me of his embarrassing moment. Apparently the lady on the other side of him sat in my chair. His eyes were closed and he was enjoying the fireplace and he said, "So, did you get anything good?" Then he realized it wasn't me and they had a nice laugh. As he was telling me about what happened, the lady said she thought he was trying to pick up on her. She just wanted to sit and read! I smiled politely and thought to myself that she had a lot of cheek jumping to that conclusion. I don't automatically think every man who makes conversation with me is out to hook up. I guess her self esteem is a lot healthier than mine!

So Michael and I are sitting in the big chairs by the fireplace sharing my Frappy and I'm perusing magazines I have no intention of buying. A perfect way to end a perfect evening. It's been a while since we've done that together. It sounds like a small thing, but it's indescribably wonderful.

Then on the way home, there is a fabulous lightening storm. Michael decides to stop and watch it for a while. We weren't the only ones. Such sights aren't common in Alaska. There was no thunder, just these fabulous crackles of dancing light across the sky. Another romantic moment. Ahhhh...

So we get home and I ask Riley about Maggie's phone call. Maggie wasn't exaggerating. He really did ask Riley out on a date. Holy macaroni. She's not allowed to date, and she politely told him that and he asked if they could hang out as friends, and she said that was fine as long as I could come along. Hah! Good answer! He seems like a really nice boy. They enjoy all the same books and he's got a fun sense of humor. I don't think she likes him that way though, so she was glad she had an out.

Wow. A date. My Riley. Wow. I wasn't ready for that. She wasn't expecting it either. Wow. How fast they grow up. How amazingly fast. She doesn't feel quite ready for romantic moments of her own. I don't think. I see some serious talks in our future.

posted by Terri at 9/03/2007 12:04:00 PM >11 comments

11 Comments:

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