Salt and Pepper. Pepper and Salt

The first thing I noticed when Patrick picked me up in his 90s Cavalier was that he wasn't dressed up and he apparently hadn't doused himself in any strong fragrance.  In my experience, this was atypical.  Usually guys would show up, flashing brightly colored feathers like a peacock and distributing a pungent scent like a tomcat, but Patrick didn't seem to be out to impress me.  He wore a modest sweater  and comfortable dark green cargo pants.  I was impressed and also grateful that I couldn't smell him.

It had just begun snowing as we drove west on my street out to University Avenue.

"What's your favorite movie?"  His effort to break the ice.  He prefaced his query with a short explanation about his being a film major and thus having curiosity about other people's thoughts on the matter.  Little did he know that I was probably the least interested in film of anyone he knew.  For the sake of the remaining date, I thought of making something up, but ended up honestly killing the conversation.  Instead of turning around and taking me home, he was accepting.  I was relieved, though still self-conscious.  Luckily, we arrived at our destination, Color Me Mine, just as the movie discussion fizzled out.

"You pick something to paint," He requested as we stood in the doorway of the establishment staring at shelved walls full to the brim of every ceramic creation imaginable, all white and waiting for someone to embellish it.  I looked at statues, knick-knacks, platters, bowls, plates, teacups, and at last settled on a pair of salt and pepper shakers for two reasons: we could each paint one and they were among the least costly items available.  It didn't occur to me that this would present a problem.  When fired and shiny, the finished shakers would either have to be separated or only one of us would be able to keep them.  In the end, you'll see that we never had to address this conundrum and maybe you'll decide it was a fateful decision, choosing the pair of salt and pepper shakers tacitly pleading not to be parted.

As we painted, other patrons would come and paint much larger and more intricate pieces, finish, leave, and quickly be replaced by another who would accomplish the same routine while we kept toiling on our small and rudimentary compositions.  It took us a while to realize, so engrossed were we in a corner of the store with our tiny shakers and steady dialogue, but when we noticed how very slowly we labored compared to those around us, we laughed and joked about it.  Really, though, we were most busy becoming acquainted and for the first time on a date I felt comfortable in the acquaintance.   Something about him put me at ease and I threw down the barriers that usually loomed over my first dates.  We were there for three hours.

It was close to 10 and still snowing when we sat down to eat on the other end of town.  As we meandered through the meal, a restaurant employee overturned chairs and prepared for closing.  I think we decided to leave when we realized we were the only remaining customers.  The parking lot was lost to a thick white blanket.  It must have snowed a few inches while we were eating and it was still falling in large flat feathers.  There weren't many cars on the road and the sounds of the city were being absorbed into the white that sparkled against the street lamps.  I was likewise absorbed.  Provo never seemed so magical.

"That's all I had planned," He interrupted my reverie.  "Unless there's anything else you want to do, I'll take you home."  He was already driving carefully in that direction.

He probably wasn't serious.  Maybe he was just being polite.  Maybe I should have considered the position of this poor boy.  It was already 11pm after an already lengthy date.  Maybe he didn't feel the way I did.  But all I could think at his announcement was that the date was going to end abruptly if I didn't do something about it and this caused a little panic.

"We could hike the Y."

Did that just come blurting out of my mouth?  I slunk down a little in my seat and appraised his profile to detect a reaction to my outlandish outburst.