December 19-28

(To catch up in chronological order, see yesterday's post first.)

Still, though – no date with the doctor.

We continued to text throughout the week trying to make it happen, but he worked late on every night I could meet up. In order not to overwhelm you with too many details, suffice it to say we ended up at a neighborhood bar, late-late on that Saturday night. And he was boring – barely asking me anything, one-word answers to all my questions, and boring one-word answers at that! Also, he kept asking me if I wanted to get breakfast with him. I’m still not quite sure what all that implied – regardless, I was ready to go home and go to bed and so declined the offer.

So we leave. And, as we’re leaving, he takes out a pack of cigarettes, tells me he smokes when he drinks, and lights up. I tell him that’s too bad, and, as I’m talking, he tosses the now empty cigarette carton on the sidewalk. I stand there, staring at this blatant display of laziness and littering, and ask, “Aren’t you going to pick that up?” I get nothing but a puzzled expression in reply. Maybe he misunderstood. “You just littered – there’s a trash can right up there,” I point it out. Still no signs of life. So, I walk around him through his smoke haze, pick up the empty carton, and throw it away. That’s when you know the night is over – when you find yourself picking up your date’s trash off the ground and throwing it away for him. Needless to say, there have been no further dates with the doctor.

The next week I headed to Houston to spend six days lounging with my parents and brothers, eating amazing food, watching movies, going on walks in the warm weather, gazing at palm trees, and just generally having a fabulous time with my favorite people.