Week 10 Story: Patient Heart

I couldn’t have imagined it getting worse. After the last of my group of friends got married, the nagging and meddling just increased tenfold. So what if I’m the only single one in the group. I just haven’t found the guy who I’d want to marry, let alone date. But they don’t seem to get that, which is why I am currently in a coffee shop on a Monday with them and they are pointing out each guy they deem attractive.
“What about that guy?” asked Katie.
“No, Katie.” I responded, “How many times do I have to tell you I don’t have to be in a relationship to be happy?”
“Honey, we just know that you’ll be happier when you are. And then we can all hang out as married couples?” said Jessica.
“Yea, you’re just being picky,” added Rachel.
“I’m not picky,” I replied “there is just something off about these guys. I don’t know what it is, it’s like a gut feeling.”
“Well just so you know this isn’t going to stop until you have a boyfriend at least,” said Jessica.
“Why am I still friends with you guys again?” I commented.
“Because you love us, duh.” replied Katie, “Plus we’re too amazing to get rid of.”
“Will you just please stop?” I begged.
All three girls shook their head and I sighed.
“What if I ask someone here on a date, at least?”
Katie, Jessica, and Rachel all looked at each other. After a few seconds, they looked back at Selena.
“Deal.” They all said in unison.
“Fine.”
With that, I got up from the table and began looking for a potential date. I scanned the room and my eyes landed on the guy in the corner table hunched over a laptop. Although I could barely see what he looked like because the loose hoodie he was wearing was covering most of his face, there was something that was compelling me to talk with him. So I headed over to this table and lightly tapped his shoulder. He looked up at me and when I looked into his eyes, the gut feeling that I usually have with most guys just vanishes. This felt like the right choice.
“Hi, I’m Selena and I’m sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to see if maybe you would like to, uh, maybe go on a date sometime?”
I could see the ends of his mouth move into a small smile.
“I’d like that.” His voice was softer than I thought it was going to be. “I’m Oliver, by the way.”
He gestured toward the seat in front of him and I sat down. We talked for a little and exchanged numbers, it was pretty great. After a while, I decided to get back to my friends.
When I arrived at the table, I accidentally interrupted their ongoing conversation and they began to bombard me with questions.
“Did you get a date, then?” asked Rachel and I nodded.
“With who? Is it that cute guy by the counter?” asked Katie.
I shook my head, “I’m surprised you guys weren’t watching.”
“We got distracted.”
“Well then. I got a date on Friday with the guy in the corner table, over there.”
“With the guy in the brown hoodie?” asks Jessica, “And the messy hair and face full of stubble. You sure know how to pick them, Selena. He looks like a hobo, honestly.”
The other girls agreed and I just responded, “Really? I don’t see it. Plus it just felt right so who cares what he looks like.”
And with that, we continued a semi-normal hang out.

Friday came and my friends insisted on helping me get ready. But I know they just wanted to meet the Oliver and slightly interrogate him. Oliver and I had gotten to know each other a little more over text and also arrange small details about the date.
He got there just in time and as soon as Katie opened the door, there was silence.
Standing in the doorway was Oliver, but he looked different. His hair was styled neatly, and he still had stubble but it looked softer, he was also wearing a dress shirt and fitted pants.
I could hear Jessica whisper “Damn.” since I was right next to her.
After my friends got over their minor shock, Rachel decided to ask him the question that was on my friends’ mind.
“So Oliver, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m currently doing a surgical residency actually.” He answered and I could have sworn that the girls looked kind of annoyed, but I didn’t focus too much on that.
“You clean up well, you look way different than you did on Monday,” commented Jessica.
Oliver looked a little sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yea, I was a little too preoccupied with some studying that I didn’t get to be as hygienic as I would have liked.”
“What were yo-”
“That’s enough.” I interrupted Rachel and looked over at Oliver. “Let’s go on this date shall we.”
That was the beginning of an amazing relationship if I do say so myself. Two years later we got married on the same day we met. And a year later we had a beautiful son, it turned out to be the best choice I made that Monday afternoon.

(Source: Pixabay)

Author's Note: In the original story, the main character has many sisters. All of who got married, leaving her to be the last. She could see the heart of her suitors and would turn all of them away. Until she meets a man who most of the people thought was ugly but since his heart was gold, she married him. It turned out that there was a curse placed on him, once the curse was somewhat released, he turns into a handsome man. It also turns out that he is the son of the Evening Star, they live there afterward. But in my story, I wanted to modernize their relationship, so I turned the sisters into meddling friends. I kept the idea of the original story, I just made a few changes to make it seem more realistic.

Bibliography:

"The Child of the Evening Star" from American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned. Web Source.