The sun rose early Saturday morning and I was up and dressed and down at the door when my drive arrived... I was feeling very sleep and desperately wanted my Tim's. There certainly wasn't a convenient Tim Horton's to drive-thru, so we hit the road without. You can tell the driver wasn't a coffee drinker... those of us who are would drive WAY out of the way if necessary to get our fix. ;) Anyway, it's good I didn't have anything to drink, cause then I didn't have to request a "rest" stop... that would have been embarrassing.
It was an easy drive up. Conversation wasn't forced... there was actually a lot of silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Not a "racking-your-brain-for-something-to-say" silence.
We got to the cottage just as people were getting ready to start their day. In time for breakfast and... coffee. :) In addition to the two of us arriving, there were 4 couples already there plus 7 kids... Yes, a full house. Everyone else was pretty much family, so it was a relaxed atmosphere. For them. I was feeling a little awkward because I could only imagine what was going through their minds with my tall friend and I driving up together. Rather easy to "pair off".... and I still was leaning toward the feeling that he was just comfortable having a friend who was a girl.
It was a great sunny day at the lake... they had a boat so there was some water-skiing and tubing (I don't tube though)... we spent a fair amount of time in the water swimming out to a floating deck and back to shore. It was a fun day.
It was all going smoothly... at one point my new tall friend was relaxing in a tube sitting tied to the dock.... the kids were playing all around... I was teasing him about his comfy seat, and he invited me in. To say no would have felt awkward... and besides, the seat did look inviting... so in I got. Someone, and I don't remember who, managed to snap a picture. I'm sure it didn't feed into any rumours... right....
The afternoon was progressing nicely until I decided to show off and take a shallow dive (I had already done it a few times when no one was paying attention) off the end of the dock when my new tall friend and his friend were standing there.... it didn't end so well.
Not a big mark... but enough to get laughed at and to feel 100% like a fool. I was spitting sand for quite awhile...
And that wasn't the only embarrassing moment of the day. There were actually quite a few.
I was in a room getting changed behind the door when suddenly the door opens. In the process of "yelling" nooooooo and falling against the door to shut it, I happened to notice it wasn't just some kid... or another woman... but yes... my new tall friend. I still don't know what really happened, only that I about died in there. How could I walk out???? I had to eventually, and there he was saying "I'm so so so sorry..." To this day he barely remembers this incident and says he barely saw part of my head let alone anything else... I believe him, but still.... mortifying!
Another incident of the day was at meal time... now remember, I had been hanging out with my NJ friend, her husband and my new tall friend quite a bit over the last month and a bit. They had seen my ample appetite. I ate a lot. Almost always had seconds. So for my plate to look like someone's who was near death with little ability to swallow was a little obvious. My new tall friend noticed. How could he not when he watched me take about 7 bites the night before... I just kind of shrugged it off... he didn't press the point. Thankfully.
And the final very awkward moment... the arrangements for the drive home. My NJ friend and her husband were there with a car, and my new tall friend was there with his car... and the husband of one of the other couples was also heading back and hitching a ride. He decided he was going with my NJ friend and her husband. WHAT? My mind is racing... my new tall friend says little. I demand a pow-wow with my NJ friend... "Please help... this is ridiculous. We're not a couple, and why are they matching us up?? It only makes sense that I go home with you and his friend go home with him!!" Somehow, in a way that was only slightly awkward (right), we rearranged the travel partners ... but then I was panicking (I did that a lot) that maybe my new tall friend would think I didn't WANT to be with him, and that I was totally brushing him off... hmmm... dilemma. How to let him know I enjoyed spending Friday evening and the drive up with him without sounding forward??
Also, there was a time in my past when someone called me an ice-queen and that haunted me for ages... I could work so hard at not letting my true feelings show that I could come across as indifferent and uncaring apparently. I was terrified I would do that this time and miss something wonderful.
So... I gathered enough courage to get close to my new tall friend alone before he drove off and thanked him for the drive up... and for Friday night. I said I had a good time. (Enter heart pounding) He smiled and said he did too.
I also found another email from my dad dated July 29, 2006... the day we had our cottage adventure. I guess I had shared my nervous anticipation with him beforehand... He writes:
"How were things today? I am sure you are physically and emotionally exhausted. Quite a stressful weekend!! On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being a disaster and 10 being, it couldn’t get much better, how would you rank the experience? Like….was it a nice cottage? Was the water warm? Did the sun shine? Did you guys run out of gas? Did you have to hitch-hike? Did you have to wait long for a ride? Did you forget sunscreen lotion? Did you get a splinter in your toe? Did someone walk on your glasses and smash them? Did your appetite come back? As you can see, we have lots of questions!!" Funny. :)
Aw, your dad is the best. So cute that he was looking out for you. Thanks for sharing.. keep writing!!
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