Airport, Affleck, Awkwardness...

For those of you who read my previous post regarding the premonition my mom's friend had regarding me, a turkey, and a future husband in the grocery store, well... I went to the grocery store today and... it didn't happen (shocker). Neither did it happen on the plane ride here to Chicago. However, I must tell you about my airport experience this morning.

I sat complacently in the little black chairs at the airport, waiting for my flight and crocheting an ugly scarf with ugly brown yarn. Then out of nowhere, of all the open seats around me, sits one of the top ten most attractive men I've ever seen close up. Like, not movie-star attractive necessarily, but this amalgamation of boyish good looks and manliness; He was like a combination of Ben Affleck and that cute desk worker from Moody I mentioned earlier. Of course I didn't talk to him (I never do talk to attractive men... we've been over this), and he sat, fidgeted a bit, watched the crochet hook, got up, left. I thought, Well, that's the end of that. Figures. The cute ones never stay long. I boarded the plane, took the aisle seat of the second row, and forgot about Ben Affleck. Until we made eye contact.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing his head towards the seat next to me.
"Nope," I said in a small voice with a slight smile, face reddening. I couldn't decide if it was God's sense of humor or pure irony that this attractive stranger was actually going to sit by me. Instantly a hundred thoughts raced through my mind: I've got to think of something to talk about with this guy! Should I flirt? Wait, I don't even know how to do that. Do I look OK? Oh my gosh he's cute. We very awkwardly did that always-very-awkward dance that people do in planes when depositing luggage and taking seats. He sat down. Tall. He was very tall. And right next to me! I rummaged in my purse for some gum. Wouldn't want my breath to stop what could be the beginning of a very beautiful... conversation.

"I'm really sorry to do this to you again," he suddenly said, looking sheepish but still very good-looking, "but I think I'm going to take that seat," he continued, pointing to the middle seat in the row in front of us. Clearly this man had commitment issues. OK, maybe he just had really long legs and wanted the first row. Did I mention he was tall? Tall, dark and handsome.

"Oh, that's OK," I insisted with a smile that belied my disappointment but indicated my relief that I wouldn't have to make coherent conversation with Ben Affleck. Awkward airplane dance again, except worse this time because he paused to let an elderly couple pass (cute of him), which meant I had to stick my butt in a woman's face and get closer to the elderly man than I found entirely comforting. Ben Affleck turned to me again, apologetically. "Sorry to do that to you again," he said. I smiled brighter this time. "It's OK," I said. And that was it. That was the end of my conversation with the attractive man. As quickly as he had come, bringing his handsome self near, he was gone again. I spent the duration of the flight crocheting my ugly brown scarf and looking at the back of his well-shaped head that kept comically nodding to the right and left as he fought sleep. I promise I wasn't as much of a creeper as that makes me sound.

I had to laugh inside. After writing about meeting someone anytime, anywhere, and my problems with talking to good-looking men, I thought it was quite opportune to be actually sitting next to such a catch. I was even mustering up the courage to speak to him. And then in God's typically funny, ironic way, he's snatched from me and I'm forced to do what I always do... watch and wish. And I just had to share this with you, for laughs. As I get older, I think I get more awkward... which does not bode well for the rest of my life!