There were two more months before graduation. In my head I believed I had escaped the clutches of love and heartbreak and was on my way to fulfilling my duty as an independent modern woman focused only on reaching c-level.
A few days before Spring Break, a good friend of mine invited me to a free movie screening of My Neighbor Totoro. While we waited in the auditorium sipping our bubble teas, she told me another friend was coming. She didn’t use “he” or “she”, just a unique name conveying no specific gender. I guessed female–after all it was a very cutesy movie.
My friend turned her head and waved. I looked up and to my surprise, she was a he. A very tall, dark, and handsome man with shoulder length brown hair to be precise, who made me reconsider my stance on staying single. We shook hands. The look in his eyes suggested he knew me, though I had never seen him before.
The weekend after the movie screening he asked me out. It was the first time I got butterflies and the first time I rummaged through my tiny wardrobe trying to find the perfect first date outfit. I wore the cream-colored embroidered blouse I had worn for my high school senior picture, remembering all the compliments I received. The one thing I failed to remember was that the top button tended to pop open.
My band teacher in high school drilled the words “Early is on time, on time is late” into our souls during marching band season. It stuck with me. There I was in a crowded Starbucks sitting on a sofa trying to preoccupy myself by sipping my latte every few seconds, knowing I was yet again, too early. I rehearsed my greeting in my head as if I was about to be interviewed.
He walked in a few minutes late. We chatted a little about his home state, Hawaii, before heading off to an independent movie theater to see the film Stoker. As we stood up, I glanced down and saw that two buttons had popped and my bra was exposed! Quickly I wrapped the cardigan around my chest and held it in place until I fixed it in the theater’s restroom. I remember looking in the mirror and telling myself to take a deep breath. It’s just a date.
Turned out he didn’t even notice. Also I later found out that he was the guy who asked my friend to introduce us last fall semester. He had seen a photo of me on my friend’s Facebook and thought I was beautiful. That’s why he seemed to know me when we shook hands at the free movie screening.
Five months later… I got off the plane at Hilo International Airport on Big Island.
The Swinging Hammock 