Where the Mind Wanders

Just Me

~ ~ ~

There he was, carrying the same grin he'd had the day before. This time he was holding two styrofoam containers. Jane honestly thought he was joking so she didn't even prepare for the meeting.

"I'm glad you could make it. I was beginning to worry I'd have to eat both of these myself." Jane still couldn't find any words to say. When she didn't respond he just kept talking. "Care to join me at the courtyard picnic tables?" He extended his elbow, inviting her for escort.

She hesitantly placed her hand on his arm and they began to walk.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Aaron."

"Jane." Good; at least she said a complete word that time...progress.

"Well, I'm glad you bumped into me, Jane."

She began to wonder what kind of man he was. She hit him with a door. He should be upset and never want to see her again. Was he just a big flirt? Did he invite every girl to lunch? Was he trying to see if she was easy?

"... I hope that's okay with you." Aaron finished whatever he was saying. She felt bad because she didn't even realize he had been talking.

"Um..."

He laughed. "I'm just teasing. I saw you were lost in thought so I thought it would be funny to bring you back to the present like in the cartoons."

She couldn't help but smile. That was kind of cute.

"Ah, here we are." He placed the containers on the table. Burgers and salad. Simple yet delicious. They sat and began eating. "So what were you thinking about?"

No one-word answer for this one. "Um, what do you do?" That was vague.

"I'm a temp at the front desk. All I've got to do is smile, look pretty, and give directions." He took a bite. His food was only partially chewed when he continued. "It's surprisingly easy, except the directions." He chuckled at his own joke.

Jane's cell phone rang. "I'm sorry, it's my boss." To her surprise she had forgotten to clock out. Due to her negligence she was asked to come back in and sit in on a meeting about the importance of honesty. She felt terrible. It sounded like she was coming up with a lame excuse to leave the lunch.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled. "That just means we'll have to do this again tomorrow."

~ ~ ~

The following meetings got better and better. Aaron carried the conversation each time, but Jane was getting better at offering a response that could encourage further discussion. She approached each lunch period expecting that he wasn't going to be there, but he was. He always brought the food and he always seemed so happy to see her.

She was surprised at how exciting his life was compared to hers. He was born into a rich family, but he wanted to work for his money. His parents were respectful of this, but he got to participate in it when they would go on a cruise, visit the Great Wall of China, or go sky diving. Even when he wasn't doing these extravagant things he was a surprising nerd that enjoyed anime, video games, and electronics.

Jane needed to track her finances in excel just to pay for college and save up for a new car. Her idea of a fun night out was to have enough time to sit down and play a game on the computer. She didn't have makeup or any fancy clothes because she'd never needed them. She didn't tell him that, though. She didn't say much about her life. It was much more fun to talk about him.

He was an inspiration to her. She actually wanted to go out on the weekends, she wanted to talk to her roommate, she wanted to work harder to have more money to make herself look good, she wanted to learn how to play an instrument so she could play with him...she wanted to be someone that was more entertaining for him. She wanted to be someone he wouldn't get tired of.