Let the Bees have it

It all started with eye contact that lasted 2 seconds longer than in times previous. Well, truth be told, it didn't start there, but maybe where it transformed for a millisecond. It was the last warm night, Pequod's on the porch, always an adult beverage, and puppies. Perhaps it should be called the night of the Three P's (Porch, Pequod's, and puppies). We'd been there before, always fleeting, rarely flirting, passing ships if you will. I never thought I'd been registered, and truthfully there were many times I hadn't registered him. We were always passing, polite, inconsistent.

Not that night. No, then I made that fateful comment and held his gaze, not by much, but longer than before. Maybe it was then I realized our eyes are the same color. The conversation was random, piecemeal, nothing significant at the time--complaints about life, funny stories, quips on the world, ruminations on pizza and pie. I saw my opening there, pie I could do. That night didn't last long, an hour at most, but the wheels were set in motion (how telling to use that metaphor is now...).

That was the prettiest pie I've ever made. Perfect crust, golden brown, perfection in a shallow dish. Then he stuck his finger in it. No forks, no proper slices, just a finger and thumb, in MY pie. My heart broke a little.

He was everything I'm not: rock-n-roll, politically minded, environmentally aware, classically trained, cyclist, pensive, living on the fringe of social acceptance, rolling in friendships, bohemian.

He is everything I am: competitive, intelligent, reflective, thoughtful, funny, impatient, epicurean, creative, curious, questioning, independent. I suppose it was more about perspective than commonalities.

I can't tell you about that first kiss, but I know it tasted like Bourbon and pecans, maybe a little beer. What I remember most was the next morning, calling in, take a day for me, for us. Awkward conversation over burritos and water. And the Bees, they wouldn't leave us alone. Even after we had moved inside. I was willing to make a sacrifice then. Let the bees have the burrito, I'll take the boy.