him to Chelsea The Mom.
"Myself, of course. I don't want to lose my income or insurance. My insurance is excellent." Good save.
We keep walking, and I'm barely aware my legs are getting tired. Jay is easy to talk to. I love being out in public with a man. I look forward to going on dates to restaurants, movies, miniature golf, and I can't wait to be able to hold Jay's hand. I realize how much I want to be in a real relationship. If that means keeping part of my life secret for a little bit, so be it.
•••
The restaurant is cute - a small place owned by friends of Jay's parents. I'm happy his mom and dad are still together, like mine, and they're involved in Jay's life. His mom is the dean of a university, and his dad the CEO of a large company. Not to be outdone, his older brother is a lawyer. I'm a tad intimidated by his big wig family, as my mortgage rep job seems so subpar to the kind of career-oriented folks he's used to being around.
"Am I the first boring person you've dated?" My tuna sandwich sits on my plate, and while I'm comfortable now, the thought of eating in front of him makes me nervous. Why did I choose tuna? I want him to kiss me, but I'm sure he won't want to come near my mouth if I smell like a fish.
"What does that mean?" Jay asks, not being shy at all and biting into his chicken and avocado wrap.
"I mean, everyone in your family is in an important career and makes a lot of money. I make pennies and my mom is retired and my dad is a landlord."
"So? We do what we're passionate about." He shrugs and grabs a sweet potato fry. I'm not sure how people eat those. Deep frying them doesn't make sweet potatoes taste any better.
"I'm hardly passionate about mortgages." I'm passionate about James and making a life for us. I work to live, not live to work.
Jay drinks his water, and crosses his hands, resting his chin on them. "Tell me, then, Chelsea, what did you always want to do? If you weren't Mortgage Approver Extraordinaire, what would you be?"
I consider this for a moment. What do I want to do with my life? Certainly not what I'm doing. The only thing I'm certain about in life is my son. Scrapbooking is the one passion I have outside of him. Really, though, where is that going to take me?
"If I'm being honest -"
"Please, be honest," Jay interjects, leans in further and places his index fingers on his thin, now glistening, lips. "No one likes a liar."
Second date. I'll tell him on the second date.
"Scrapbooking. I've always loved crafts."
He cocks his head and curves his lips, a small crease defining itself around the corner of his mouth. "Like making photo albums?"
Thankfully he seems interested, but he may be trying to avoid awkward silence. "Yeah. Kind of. I take pictures and create fun pages. I actually run an online store."
"Really?"
The tone in his voice changes and I can't read it, so I hesitate about telling him more. I don't want him seeing my kits online. Most of them consist of a baby theme, which may give too much information away. And I'm a tad embarrassed. I do a good job, but I get nervous discussing it with others. "Yeah. I've been selling kits a little over a year now."
"What's in a kit?"
Does he really care? I don't know many men who participate in scrapbooking, much less ones who even bother to ask about it. When my dad sees me working on it, he doesn't say a word. "One comes with card stock paper, a few frames and stickers and a basic sheet showing how to design a page."
Jay's face lights up. "That sounds so creative. You're like a designer."
I think about what he suggests. I suppose, in a way, he's right. "I never thought of it that way." If a customer asks for me to put together the entire page, I will, less the photos.
"What else? Tell me about you." He seems intrigued. I like that because no one has ever shown so much interest in me.
"Well, you're aware I recently began a workout routine. I'm starting to enjoy it."
"I think it's great you're
"Myself, of course. I don't want to lose my income or insurance. My insurance is excellent." Good save.
We keep walking, and I'm barely aware my legs are getting tired. Jay is easy to talk to. I love being out in public with a man. I look forward to going on dates to restaurants, movies, miniature golf, and I can't wait to be able to hold Jay's hand. I realize how much I want to be in a real relationship. If that means keeping part of my life secret for a little bit, so be it.
•••
The restaurant is cute - a small place owned by friends of Jay's parents. I'm happy his mom and dad are still together, like mine, and they're involved in Jay's life. His mom is the dean of a university, and his dad the CEO of a large company. Not to be outdone, his older brother is a lawyer. I'm a tad intimidated by his big wig family, as my mortgage rep job seems so subpar to the kind of career-oriented folks he's used to being around.
"Am I the first boring person you've dated?" My tuna sandwich sits on my plate, and while I'm comfortable now, the thought of eating in front of him makes me nervous. Why did I choose tuna? I want him to kiss me, but I'm sure he won't want to come near my mouth if I smell like a fish.
"What does that mean?" Jay asks, not being shy at all and biting into his chicken and avocado wrap.
"I mean, everyone in your family is in an important career and makes a lot of money. I make pennies and my mom is retired and my dad is a landlord."
"So? We do what we're passionate about." He shrugs and grabs a sweet potato fry. I'm not sure how people eat those. Deep frying them doesn't make sweet potatoes taste any better.
"I'm hardly passionate about mortgages." I'm passionate about James and making a life for us. I work to live, not live to work.
Jay drinks his water, and crosses his hands, resting his chin on them. "Tell me, then, Chelsea, what did you always want to do? If you weren't Mortgage Approver Extraordinaire, what would you be?"
I consider this for a moment. What do I want to do with my life? Certainly not what I'm doing. The only thing I'm certain about in life is my son. Scrapbooking is the one passion I have outside of him. Really, though, where is that going to take me?
"If I'm being honest -"
"Please, be honest," Jay interjects, leans in further and places his index fingers on his thin, now glistening, lips. "No one likes a liar."
Second date. I'll tell him on the second date.
"Scrapbooking. I've always loved crafts."
He cocks his head and curves his lips, a small crease defining itself around the corner of his mouth. "Like making photo albums?"
Thankfully he seems interested, but he may be trying to avoid awkward silence. "Yeah. Kind of. I take pictures and create fun pages. I actually run an online store."
"Really?"
The tone in his voice changes and I can't read it, so I hesitate about telling him more. I don't want him seeing my kits online. Most of them consist of a baby theme, which may give too much information away. And I'm a tad embarrassed. I do a good job, but I get nervous discussing it with others. "Yeah. I've been selling kits a little over a year now."
"What's in a kit?"
Does he really care? I don't know many men who participate in scrapbooking, much less ones who even bother to ask about it. When my dad sees me working on it, he doesn't say a word. "One comes with card stock paper, a few frames and stickers and a basic sheet showing how to design a page."
Jay's face lights up. "That sounds so creative. You're like a designer."
I think about what he suggests. I suppose, in a way, he's right. "I never thought of it that way." If a customer asks for me to put together the entire page, I will, less the photos.
"What else? Tell me about you." He seems intrigued. I like that because no one has ever shown so much interest in me.
"Well, you're aware I recently began a workout routine. I'm starting to enjoy it."
"I think it's great you're
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