Jill wasn't the least bit surprised when Greg called her that night after she got home from work. "Hi there."
"Hi yourself, I was wondering if you made it home OK."
"Oh yeah, had a worse time trying to find a place to park than I did getting home. It must not have rained as hard here as it did uptown."
"Well, I'm glad you made it. If something had happened to you, I'd have felt terrible."
"Why? You didn't make me leave."
"I know, but I couldn't make you stay either."
They talked for an hour, about topics ranging from their respective days, to their favorite kind of ice cream. Greg thought she sounded very care-free, and Jill thought he sounded a bit tenative. As it turned out, they were both wrong.
They made a date for the upcoming Friday, the ubiquitous dinner and a movie. Greg was still wondering about how he should be going about this, so he figured a bit of advice was in order. He called his friend Sandy, figuring she might be able to shed some light on the subject. Sandy had an added advantage in that she was also a friend of Jill's, but he wasn't out to get any secrets, just a female perspective. "I've got a situation you might be able to help me with."
"Oh really? What kind of situation?"
"Well, someone has shown an unexpected interest in me, and I'm not sure what to do." br>Sandy knew exactly what Greg was talking about; she knew that Jill had been asking a lot of questions about him lately, but she played it coy for the moment. "Well, if it's unexpected, what do you think of this person? Are you interested in her?"
"I really had never given it any thought til a couple of days ago, but yeah, I have an open mind about it."
"Greg, she likes you. Trust me. But you have to play it cool with her. She's been really hurt in the past, and she needs someone who will let her be herself. Don't try and rush things. And don't think you're gonna change her."
"I wouldn't think of changing her. I don't expect people to conform to some preset ideal."
"Just be yourself. She likes you for who you are. Be the wonderful guy I know, and everything will take care of itself."
Greg came away from his talk with Sandy feeling a bit better about his prospects, but continued to think about how he was going to approach things. He too had his share of disappointment in relationships and he felt like he needed to change his expectations of what he wanted if he didn't want to go through it again. He decided that he would let Jill set the tone and see how things went. He felt like he was fairly adaptable to situations, and keeping his options open was a good way to go at this point.
On Thursday before the date, Greg got a call from Dianne. She wanted to see what was on Greg's mind concerning Jill. "So, are you ready for tomorrow?"
"I guess. It's no big deal, just a movie. People go to the movies all the time."
"Well, you be sure to have her home when it's over. I'll be waiting up for her." Dianne laughed.
"Yes mom. Will you be looking out the window to see if I kiss her goodnight too?"
"Oh yes. Don't try anything silly."
They both laughed. Dianne told Greg a secret.
"She already thinks wonderful things about you, so it's not like you're trying to impress her. Just let her feel like she can be herself. She just got out of a relationship where she was forced to be someone she wasn't."
"I don't think that's gonna be a problem. I'm not looking for someone to control or manipulate."
"You're gonna be fine, don't worry about it too much. Just have fun, OK?"
"Thanks. We will."
Greg debated taking the car but decided against it, opting for a cab instead. He rang the buzzer and in a moment found himself at the door of the apartment. Jill answered, and showed him in. Surprisingly, she was ready to go, not needing any last minute rush to do whatever women did when they were going out. Greg thought she looked fantastic in her red and black checked dress, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail. "You look great." He smiled in appreciation.
"Thank you. You're not too shabby yourself."
"Well, I clean up well, I guess."
They caught a cab and reached the restaurant, where they had to wait for their table at the bar. They talked about their respective weeks at work, and picked through the bowl of party mix, both avoiding the little goldfish crackers that were in it. It became a race for the two of them to see who could get at the rest of the items in the bowl, and they had a laugh at the simple childishness of their pursuit of the tastier bits. Soon, they were seated and looked over the menu.
After ordering, she looked at him and asked a forward question. "Why do you think I wouldn't be interested in you?"
"I don't know. I'd never really given it any thought before. I figured you were already with someone, so I didn't have to worry about it."
"You mean you don't think about women even if they aren't available at that moment?"
"Nope. No sense in getting your hopes up. I stick to women who are unattached."
"You're no fun. Where's your sense of fantasy?"
"I try to keep my sense of fantasy firmly rooted in the reality of my life." Greg gave her a smile at that remark.
After they were finished with dinner, they made their way to the movie. Greg wasn't much of a movie-goer, so he let Jill choose which film to see and they settled into their seats. Just a short time after the film started, Jill put her hand on his, and in return, he clasped it, giving her a smile with a sideways look. She squeezed his hand, returning his smile.
The movie was over and they made their way to the exit. They crossed the street and hailed a cab. Once back at Jill's apartment, he told the driver to wait, and walked her to the door. She faced him and put one arm over his shoulder. "I had a great time. Call me tomorrow?"
"Sure. I had a great time too."
She drew him closer and they kissed, and when she pulled back, she had a bemused expression on her face. "You're leaving me again, but at least it's not raining this time."
"Maybe one of these days, I won't have to worry about having to leave." He smiled.
"I hope so. That would be very special to me." She looked at the cab. "You'd better go. Don't want to have a big fare when you get home."
He kissed her again, and then made his way back to the street. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"You'd better." She watched him get into the cab and he waved at her as it pulled away. She returned his wave and made her way inside.