Thursday, October 28, 2004

In The Eye Of The Beholder

Last weekend this happened to me and I've thought about it many times since. I was in PetSmart getting supplies when I heard a little meow behind me. I turned around and saw someone holding a little tan striped kitten and it was reaching out and trying to bat at my jacket. I'm a sucker for little kittens so I reached out to pet it and started to ask the person if they had just gotten it at the store. All I got out was "Did you just get....?" because when I got to the last word I looked up and found myself staring into the most amazing deep blue eyes I've ever seen and at the most beautiful face I can ever remember seeing. She had very dark hair, almost black, almost curly and long enough to reach the middle of her back and a smile that could stop your heart. She was stunning. Beautiful beyond many famous women you see in magazines and movies.

As I stood there like an idiot trying to get my tongue back out of my throat, I heard her saying that she had gotten the kitty that day but at the Animal Rescue Shelter, she was there to get supplies.

Luckily for me the kitty started trying to climb up my arm and I was forced to look away from her. That's the only way I would have recovered quickly enough to save some face. After that, I was able to talk more sensibly and help her find some stuff she was looking for. But I didn't miss the slight blush she got when I handed the kitten back to her. I was busted. No getting around it.

As I was leaving the store, feeling like a smacked ass, I started wondering if people that have that kind of effect on other people ever get tired of it. I wondered if the blush she got was embarrassment or something worse, like anger or frustration toward me for my reaction. I'll bet she gets goofy reactions from guys all the time. I felt goofy.

It’s not just women either. I've known guys that have the same effect on women. Me, being the average Joe, I've never caused that kind of reaction in anyone, with the possible exception of "Oh boy, it's him again." Not exactly the same deal.

I didn't mean to offend her. I was as surprised by how I reacted as she probably was. But then again, maybe she wasn't surprised at all. Who knows.

Whoever she was, I won't soon forget her.

6 comments:

Cindy-Lou said...

That's how I reacted when Simon LeBon walked onto my elevator. I couldn't even speak I just reached out and touched his arm. Lame!

Karen said...

Don't be too hard on yourself! I'll be she wasn't offended in the least -- flattered is more like it. It sounds like you were very nice to her and maybe she's the type who gets lots of "Hey baby, what's your sign?" guys. Believe me, being a decent dude and bonding over pets will make you stand out a lot more in her memory than some guy oozing with smarminess!

And I like that the Cap'n part was added to my name link! I feel so Derek Jeter like -- without the mad athletic skills, that is :)

Katy said...

I can relate. I am a normal, plain jane kind of girl. But there is this guy at work that I have a high school crush on. And it's not so much his looks, though his dark hair and blue eyes combined with his radio voice and the fact that he's in a band....sorry, I digress. Anyway, we talk a lot and he makes comments about him being ugly and can't get a date and so on and so on, and here I am, having naughty fantasies about him and he thinks he is the Hunchback or something.
It's in everyone's (almost) perception that it is THEM that is inferior while often the other person feels the same.
You should have asked her out. What's the worst she could have said? No? She obviously wasn't off to you helping her find some stuff for her new pet.
She could have been your lobster.

Yankeebob said...

Thanks Smashlee, but what do you mean about her being my lobster? I guess I don't know what that is.

And KB, I intentionally added Cap'n to your name. You are after all the Captain of the Mystique & Aura and I knew you'd like the Jeter angle. You're the Cap'n of the Yankee Bloggers!

MomMega: mothersmilkblog.com said...

That is soooo sweet! I think it is refreshing to hear about someone getting goofy and choked up! Around here in the OC/LA area, it is all about attitude! The guys think they are too good and that we should be groveling for a date with them. Gah! I hate men! Except you, you are too sweet!

Madley said...

One time in the early 80s I went to lunch in a mall during lunch break for a summer theater company I was in. I made friends with a very handsome young man, which I often do because I don't believe they see me as a "problem" -- more like an Auntie or Big Sis (woe is me).

He was almost a doppelganger for Rob Lowe in his heyday but you'd never know he knew it -- but I sure in the heck did. Women, Men and everything In Between were gettin' whiplash staring at that guy... and I got a real feel for what it must be like to be one of The Beautiful People. Or at least walking with one.

I don't think they know -- they don't have anything else to compare it too!