From Afar

 I came across a great story yesterday but I didn’t have time to write anything in response until now. Check it out at The First Word Blog.

What’s interesting is the fact that I’m in a somewhat similar situation right now. Though, mine is a little more personal.

There’s a girl whom I’ve run into recently while on visits to Virginia. She works at a place where I’ll often stop and get something to eat. The first time I saw her, she gave me part of my order at no charge, asserting her kind intentions with little more than a stare that seemed to say, “I’ll take care of this.”

I’ve only seen her one other time since then. It took place one week after the first time. I walked up to the counter as she was counting a stack of bills from her register. She looked up and made eye contact to indicate that she’d be with me in just a second and she then continued counting. However, she soon stopped and said, “Oh, I’ll do it later. I lost count.” As I paid for my things, I gave her a short note of thanks for what she had done during my last visit and invited her to call me sometime if she ever wanted.

We haven’t really exchanged any significant communication beyond that. I know her name, but only because of the badge she wears with her uniform. She only knows mine because of the note. Oh…and she still hasn’t called. Not that I really expect her to, though. And, if she never does, that’s cool.

The interpersonal relationship we have is fairly superficial at this point. Yet, there lies under the surface an intrigue that goes beyond my exchanging glances and minimal words with a cute girl who seems to hold the same opinion of me. Do I daydream of her and hope that we can work something out? No. However, I cannot stop my curiosity. Will we ever talk beyond “will that be all” and “have a nice day”? Will we ever get around discussing which schools we attend or what our majors are…or even our ages? Or will we be content to keep things where they are?

David (the author of the above story) speaks of his encounter with his window friend in the park. He had the perfect opportunity to actually speak to her, but he did not take it. And I can understand why. When you get comfortable in your relationship with another person, you sometimes fear anything that would change it in the least. And, if he had begun speaking to her, I think it would have changed drastically.

Even before reading this story, I wondered about if I truly want to get to know to this girl. Not that I think it would be unpleasant. Though, there’s always a chance that things won’t be as good as they may have seemed…

As I drove to school last night, I considered this a great deal. Ultimately, I believe it’s not so much the thought that one of us might be disappointed. Rather, at this point, it would change the way the story is going, and it’s going pretty well so far. It’s very interesting to be in a situation like this.

And, for many people, the kind of question that pervades this scenario is often a great dilemma of life. “Do I change or keep on with what I know works?” “Do I take a risk or play it safe?” “Do I go an a nicely laid-out and well-planned trip, or do I go on an adventure?”

I tend to be more of an adventurer myself.

We’ll see what happens.