Jul 14, 08:08 AM: Scrapbook – Spring 2002 (March)

The second article for the scrapbook is written by Karen Neal about her first date with her now husband Tim.

Oh What a Night, Karen’s first date with Tim

I don’t really get into the yucky love stuff, but the following is a true story. Forgive me if you get a toothache.

Tim and I were both working at Turner Broadcasting. He was the chef in the commissary downstairs and I was analyzing ratings upstairs. We’d spoken several times during the course of his first year there, but I was married. In 2000, I started the path to becoming unmarried. Getting back in the dating saddle again was very difficult, but part of my therapy. I LOVED my therapist!

Anyhooooooo, it was during my suddenly single life that I started flirting with Tim. At first, it was all very innocent, but at the end of 3 months I was giving him the full court press. To be honest, I couldn’t decide if I’d lost my touch or he was just gay. So finally a co-worker of Tim’s decides to give him the 411 by saying “Hey man, I think she digs you.” Did this spur Tim to action? Umm, no.

Moving along, I was seriously distressed at the notion that I had lost my touch (or, again I say, that Tim was gay), when a co-worker of mine insisted I just go downstairs and ask Tim out. So with my heart pounding, armpits pitting and mouth as dry as the Sahara, I walked up behind him late one afternoon. Unbeknownst to me, he was cleaning the frozen yogurt machine. Funny, I don’t even remember him being on a ladder. So with all the confidence of titmouse, I asked if he would do me a favor. Guys, take note! Once he said “yes”...he was committed. Try this on your next effort! But, I digress. Once he said “sure” to doing me a favor, I asked him to have dinner with me. Before either of us had the chance to blink, he blurted out “Yes, but not tonight.” Apparently, that “bro’s before ho’s” clause came into play. So he says he’ll call me that night. I ask if he wants my digits, but turns out Captain America already has them! So he calls me that night, and it’s a very awkward conversation. He repeats again that he has plans that night, but he’d like to take me out the next night. I give him my addy, and ask if he wants directions. He tells me not to worry that he will get directions from the Internet. In retrospect, this was a very, very bad idea.

Seems that Mapquest had little idea of where I lived, and I had even less. Based on the Mapquest directions, Tim ended up in the wrong area of Lawrenville. Since he didn’t have a cellphone (bizarre!), he stopped at a payphone and called me. I thought I knew where he was, but turns out I didn’t. So I told him the directions that I thought would lead him to my driveway, only to send him to the other side of town. blush Fortunately for me, he decided to call me a second time albeit very frustrated. I asked him where he was, and he told me he was at the McDonald’s near the DMV. I told him NOT to move, that I was coming to rescue him. Little did I know then that this would cut his ego to the quick. Sheesh! You guys are soooo sensitive. I arrive at said McDonald’s less than 10 minutes later, ask him to follow me back to my house then we can leave from there.

We’re extraordinarily late at this point, so, with my nails firmly attached to Tim’s dashboard, we hurl ourselves from Lawrenceville to Roswell at the speed of light only to arrive mere moments before the show at The Punchline begins. Unfortunately, we are literally the last two people to arrive and end up sitting at a bar table with our knees interlocking. Normally, this wouldn’t be funny, but my dress fit so well that I had no choice but to go commando. I don’t think I’ve ever sat THAT still for THAT long a period. I was afraid to breathe for fear that my dress would shift. Anyhooooo, the show was funny (we even ^5’ed when the comic called Britney Spears a ho) and Tim took me down the street for dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The only time he touched me the entire evening was at the restaurant when he placed his hand in the small of my back (no doubt appreciating the junk in my trunk!) as we walked through the crowded dining room. Dinner was lovely, we ordered the same meal (creepy!), and then he drove me home.

I invited him in for a while, but having home court advantage, I changed into a t-shirt and jeans (still commando!). Over the course of the next couple of hours, we talked about our childhoods and our families and how we’d come to this point in our lives. It was at this point that I started to feel like I’d known Tim my entire life. It was… surreal.

So it’s nearly 1 o’clock in the AM at this point, and Tim stands to leave. I’d firmly decided he wasn’t gay, but alas, that he also isn’t interested. So I walk him to the front door, and we’re making small talk, and we’re walking to the front door, and he turns to say goodnight… and then he tells me he really enjoyed our evening and suggests we could do it again. Now, given the lack of any intimate touch whatsoever, this surprises me. So, if you’ve seen the movie “Hitch”, you know what comes next…I lean just a SMIDGEON... and Tim… jumped on me like a geek on WoW after work! Women generally can tell a guy’s potential based on that first kiss. Fortunately for Captain America, I was willing to give him another chance. I mean, after all, it had been a while since he’d had any practice.

So back to the sofa we went! We spent the next couple of hours in a very innocent makeout session. He never touched anything but my face and back. I can honestly say that was the first time I’d ever seen stars…and ever had my lips go numb. We eventually settled into a snuggle on the sofa…and both promptly passed out. A couple of hours later, we awake to the sunlight streaming in the window. After a quick trip to brush our teeth, we decided that a trip to IHOP was in order. It was, without a doubt, the most romantic breakfast I’ve ever had. We sat together across from one another smiling like teenagers, munching our breakfast and reading the Sunday paper. We both just knew that everyone in the restaurant had pegged ours for the “morning after” breakfast, and laughed about how little they all knew. Tim drives us back to my house, and after musing about our 15 hour date, he left with a promise to see me at work on Monday.

I took a very long nap, and Tim drove home and watched TV for the rest of the day. When I awoke, I called two people…my mother and my best friend…and told them I was in trouble because I was going to fall in love with a guy so square he has edges. sigh And while I will be the first to admit that I’m not always right…we’ll be celebrating our 5th anniversary next month…and sometimes square can be VERY hot.

~Karen

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