After I put my jacket on, I turned to help Nadia with hers. She draped a blanket over herself, and slipped on a pair of slippers. Her family huddled together with us in a circle and her father prayed for my trip back home. After that, I said my goodbyes to everyone except for Nadia, who walked me out to my car. It was the end of our second date.
As we walked to my car, we continued a topic that we had discussed during the day. A topic that I would be mulling over in my head for my entire drive home. It was something that took a lot of courage and faith for Nadia to share with me. I’m sure you are wondering what this was; but, you, my dear reader, will not find out the answer to that question. All you need to know is that Nadia was courageous and sincere that day, and I recognized and saw great value in that.
The date went well. We both enjoyed ourselves and got to know one another even more. There was a lot less awkwardness, as opposed to our first date. On our first date, Nadia and I were both terribly nervous. We tried to carefully navigate the line between being too formal or too familiar. But, I would say it also went very well. According to her own words at the end of that day, Nadia would agree.
After I presented her with the bouquet of white roses and we were both seated in the car, we prayed. Then I entered the destination in google maps and we were on our way. While driving to the restaurant, I spoke to her of my intentions and values when it comes to relationships. It was good to see that we were on the same page and that she reacted to these things in the way that she did – we were in full agreement and understood one another.
At the restaurant, I opened the door for her, helped her remove her jacket, and seated her at the table so that I would be facing the door. When our server came to us, I ordered some green tea for the both of us and we each ordered a roll or two of sushi. In retrospect, a sushi place was probably not the best choice for a first date. We were both so nervous that we barely ate anything. In fact, my hands were shaking and I spilled tea all over the table. How Nadia found me to be interesting and attractive that day is beyond me because I was an incoherent mess.
We continued the various topics that we had started in our texts throughout the week. We learned more about each other and our families, our lives and plans for the future, our values and beliefs, our interests and preferences. As the night wore on, and we became more comfortable with each other, we started sharing more personal stories and anecdotes. Awkward and clunky small talk slowly gave way to easy flowing and meaningful conversations. We were quickly coming to fancy one another more and more.
After some time at the restaurant, having eaten less than half of our food, we decided that it was time for a walk. I paid the bill, helped Nadia with her jacket, and we were off to stroll the streets of Bellingham. Nadia led me in a circle around the city center, showing me various plazas and buildings. The city was aglow with lights and abuzz with people. I tried my best to take it all in, but I could barely keep my eyes off of Nadia. Still, despite having known it for such a short time and despite seeing so little of it, I was beginning to fall in love with this city.
After wandering around the city for a while, we decided that it was time to head on home for some tea. We walked back to where we parked, I helped her take a seat, and we drove back to their house. Nadia’s family welcomed and accepted me as one of their own. They gave me, in my opinion, the best seat at the table. They were friendly and open, and kind. As we sat drinking tea, I felt warmth and comfort. After tea, they invited me into the living room and we sang songs as Nadia and her sisters played the piano. And after that, we continued to have engaging and open conversations with her parents. I stayed a bit longer than I intended, and wished I could stay longer still. But it was time to go. I said my goodbyes to her family, and Nadia walked me out to my car.
We both agreed that we enjoyed our time together and wanted to do it again. We said goodbye, shook hands, and then I drove home. Four days later I came up north again for our second date…
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story, dear reader! I hope that you enjoyed it. I would love to receive your feedback in the comments. If you are interested in what happens next, please consider subscribing to my blog to receive email updates about my posts. Have a wonderful day!
Vostak - Various Creations 