Forgotten at the Wash
It was a beautiful day less than a month before Spring and there I was minding my own, getting ready to wash my gleaming silver stallion next to all the other fine cars with their massive horses rumbling amidst the spray. Windows rolled down, sunroof open, drinking sun and the chill upon my forehead. Amidst the beeping horns, revving engines and cars separating between the express and full service lines. I was in line making casual conversation with the attendant as I slowly swerved my car in the wash thinking, âWow! Iâve arrived, finally at the big boyâs wash with a big boy car to boot!â The moment of pride lingered as I got out the door waiting for the attendant to take my car into the wash. Sunglasses shimmering that violet essence of cool I open the door and walk in not knowing what is waiting for me inside. I walk passed windows with the suds coming out of every corner and brushes swirling non-stop and I get in line as others shop for knick knacks, candies and unnecessary trinkets.
Air fresheners galore
The line was moving when I saw this gorgeous lady checkout over priced air fresheners and I couldnât help but intercede my opinion. âExcuse me, but yeahâI wouldnât purchase that air freshener from here. Youâre can get two of those at Target for around $5.00. Save your money.â To my surprise she erupts in laughter and thanks me graciously for sparing her from a horrible mistake. And I laugh as a result. I go to the register and pay eagerly $11 on top of the monthly car wash I have a $50 membership too. I walk outside as I see drying cloths tumbling in every directions with vacuum hoses tossing blue jacket attendants from left to right, right to left, left to right.
Outside waitingâŚ
There I wait with everyone else. Wait and wait and wait. There she appears outside next to me. I try to chat it up with her and find she's been visiting churches, hanging with friends and moved back to Denver from Durango. I ask her to invite me to church but she never gives me a way to contact her and so I go in for the plunge, the one that leads to heavenly bliss or earth shattering rejection, yes: âCan I have your phone number?â She obliges and gives it to me casually. I wish I could say this is where the story ends but alas there is much more to the story. Snatched from the getting to know you faze, like a person begin ripped from space and time a shout comes over the noises that surround, âYour car is ready!â How I shuddered to think that this was goodbye, she shakes my hand, states it was so nice to meet you and wishes I have a good Sunday afternoon. There is no summons to call, text or follow up. Just goodbye. I should have learned but no I have to test the waters.
God awful self-help robbery
Itâs 8:00 PM Sunday evening and she is still on my mind, not moving, just there at the forefront of my thoughts. I stare as the seconds click slowly bye just thinking, wondering, sighing, dreaming. I then decide maybe just maybe I need to reach out to her so she doesnât forget about me. After all you canât make the memory fade, right? You canât let time pass before she wonders, âHuh? Oh. Yeah. Not.â I turn to a self help e-book about texting the opposite sex. Yet another dumb thing but I was desperate and had no one to provide wise counsel at that moment. Well $29 later I find that Iâve just been scammed with a poorly written e-book that is only 37 pages. Highway robbery if you ask me but I was to blind to see otherwise. The book tries to give practical advice about âpingingâ just to see if the person you want to text is busy. This seems simple enough. Tons of examples and I still do it my way (donât cringe just yet). I make the decision to make it my own. This is the message:
âHey this is Branden from the car wash earlier. Crème brĂťlĂŠe or Tiramisuâ
Specifically the e-book emphasizes do not use a â?â and that she will automatically know it is a question. Ugh! I click send and hope, and wait, and wonder, and feel like I messed everything up. Immediate questions come to mind: How do I recover? How do I say that in a different way? How do I get a second chance? I for the most part followed instructions by not placing to much immediate value in the text by saying, âIt was so great to meet you,â or âYouâre such an awesome person,â etc.
Deafening SilenceâŚ
Yep she hasn't texted me back at all. Some say toss your line back, others scuba dive for it and others just power up that ship of rejection and move on. A lot of voices, a lot of advice, a lot of confusion. Iâm not sure what to do or if it is worth me doing anything at this point. I was closer than I thought but further than I realized. Here I am again waiting as crickets pack there bags to go to the next hopeful stranger. Here I waitâŚ










