Strawberry Pancakes, P.S. Cafe
The date (if I may even call it that) was perfect. My company came in the form of a complete gentleman who took absolute care of me – let me have complete say over the two mains on the menu which we agreed to share; help me cut my pancake into bite-sized pieces; offered me his jacket to cover myself when it suddenly poured and we didn’t have an umbrella; braved the rain to get his car and drove back to our lunch venue to pick me up so I wouldn’t have to get drenched; drove me all the way home even though his next appointment was a significant distance away.
The venue was excellent, with a decent amount of sunshine and romantic Christmas jazz ballads I loved. Our lunch was littered with the right amount of laughs, teasing, conversation, sharing of school and life experiences, and heart palpitations (though I’m certain they were all mine). I was amazed at how alike we were, in terms of interests and hobbies (Chinese pop music, CantoPop and film), down to the subjects we did at school (Higher Chinese and Geography). It hardly felt like I was meeting him properly and face-to-face for the first time, because everything flowed so smoothly and he always made it a point to ensure that I was comfortable and well taken care of. Never mind the fact that I was a nervous wreck inside, constantly anxious about how the day would flow, if I had said anything stupid, or if I looked fat and ugly.
After a 20-minute car ride from the CBD to my place, where we listened to the radio (he immediately switched to FM 88.3 the moment he knew it was my preferred station), we parted on a pleasant enough note, agreeing to meet again for meals and stuff. I don’t know if he meant it sincerely, or if it was just his way of being polite. The one thought lingering in my mind, as I got out of his car after only 4 hours of being together, was that this guy was really something and I wish I could get to know him better, BUT.
… I am glad we managed to cross paths, and in such a random manner, however regrettable the situation might be. In fact, I think he just might be that one person who is going to indirectly help me put a stop to my cycle of dating inappropriate and useless men.
So, dear S1, thank you. Thank you for this fleeting, transient memory; for instinctively knowing what my Chinese surname is; for appreciating 《驼飞轮》 like I do, for having obscure songs like 《绵绵》 and 《无声仿有声》in your iPhone playlist and being so eager to let me go through it; for understanding what I mean when I say Ryan Gosling is my current favourite actor. I look forward to the day when we can talk about shirtless A&F models openly without me feeling like I’m treading on sensitive ground, and when you can finally quit mentioning this phantom “her” that you are currently seeing and how cool “she” is about you coming out to meet me. :)
