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“She sure is a cute one,” Micah gushed at Dolly, to which I agreed.
“I know, isn’t she? So is Davey!”
“He’s a little ham, that’s for sure. Whoever had them before us sure knew how to pick ‘em.”
“That, they did.” I smiled. There was possibly chemistry here, but I was reallytryingnot to think too hard about it.
“So, tell me about you. What do you do, Katie?” He walked back to the bench after Davey was finished with his cookie and they began to play again.
“I’m a paralegal.”
He nodded. “That’s interesting. I was always intrigued by the letter of the law. My parents wished I’d become a lawyer, but I’m not really one for school.”
“I totally know what you mean. School was so rough—being that broke and stressed in college—I don’t know how I did it.”
He agreed. “I took some classes for a while before I knew what I wanted to do—that’s what led me to this position. I eventually got my degree in fire science, and while my parents were hoping I’d go on further, that was just all I could do. Money doesn’t equal happiness, I told them.”
“Right. Happiness is dogs!” I was surprised by my comment, but felt it was the truth. I really had a special feeling for Dolly. There was no denying it,I loved her.
“It sure seems that way,” he laughed.
We continued the conversation, chatting lightly back and forth for the next hour. It turned out he was one of those people who quoted movies a lot, and I had never been a big movie buff myself, so I kept getting lost. Then he’d see my confusion and explain the movie’s plot, who said what, then tell me the background of the director and writer. It wasn’t themostintriguing conversation, but I kept getting lost in his looks. I wasn’t really listening anyway. However, the longer he went on, I started to feel my interest in him draining.
I tried changing the subject by bringing up a few books that I’d connected with, thinking that was something wecouldhave in common, but he told me he didn’t read.
“It’s not that I can’t read. I can!” he joked. “I just don't do that much reading, unless I have too.”
So, I’d ask him if he liked puzzles. “Nah, that is something my grandma always has out. It’s too messy and chaotic for me.”
Maybe I should meet your grandmother, she sounds like fun.
“True Crime?”At least he could get along with my mother.“No way. The people that follow that stuff are really… Creepy.” Ouch. Though I don’t follow it myself, him thinking my mother was creepy kind of hurt.
“Church?”
“I’ve never been.”
I didn’t hold that one against him because if he’d never been exposed to it, I would love to share it with him. My mind returned to Eli’s ex/current fiancé, originally leaving him because she wanted to marry a Christian man. I had the same feelings as her. I couldn’t couple up without that belief being the core of our relationship, so without it, I felt things start to fizzle out here, and I swatted the thought of Eli from my mind.
It didn’t have to be this way, though. As a Christian, it was my mission to share my faith with others and give them a message of hope. Who knew? Maybe he would turn out to be precisely the man I wanted. I decided to at least share the gospel with him to see if he was intrigued or just a flat-out non-believer.
But before I could dive further into the topic, he asked me a question.
“Are you single?”
I was intrigued at his question, but nearly instantaneously remembered he was probably asking because he was not.
“Yep.” I had a flat tone and thin smirk on my face, looking straight ahead. I didn’t dare ask him the same question, but he quickly replied.
“Me too.” His response sent my mind on a rollercoaster.
‘Good day, this is Katie with the Noon Newsbreak. Breaking news for this hour: We have a confirmed sighting of a single man at the Bark Park this afternoon. Sources say he is quite the movie dork, but God reminds me in every moment of my life how He has a sense of humor. However, the team here at the Noon Newsbreak think I should just walk away right now, before finding out he’s not only my neighbor, but he has been living under my kitchen sink for the last three years.’
I knew I should enjoy the direction of this conversation, and a week ago I would've been on top of the world. But right now, I only had one question in my mind: What would Eli think?
Why was my mind even going to Eli when I was sitting next to this gorgeous, single man who wanted to get to know me?
I went back to my original plan. “Do you believe in God?”
