7. Keith #3
“I would disagree on that,” she said with such resolution in her tone that it threw me for a loop yet again.
“You sayin’ that you think I’m special? Some of my former teachers would agree with you, that’s for sure.”
She stared at me with those kohl-lined eyes of life-giving earth and priceless amber.
I’d left a wide opening for her to make a Special Ed joke, and I was ready for it, but that look told me she wasn’t going to.
“I’m saying I can see that you’re special, but what any of your former teachers think is irrelevant to that. ”
She paused, and for a moment I thought that was it.
Honestly, I was up shit creek without a paddle because I had absolutely zero idea what I was supposed to say to that.
She might as well have been speaking a rare dialect of Mandarin when she complimented me outright like that because she short-circuited my brain in the same manner.
Fortunately, she saved me from having to think of any sort of witty repartee, because she kept going, her voice more serious.
“I know this is only our second class, but you have a demeanor that really puts people at ease. Stuff like this can be scary, especially for your older students, but you make it a safe space to fail, and to ask for help.”
Fuck.
It was hard not to believe she’d hacked my brain, because that was what I’d always wanted.
Yes, I’d started the classes to keep myself occupied and try to squeeze some sort of purpose out of life when I felt so adrift, but after seeing my mother thrive in an environment where she was encouraged to try new things, I wanted to provide that to my students too.
“Thank you,” I said, trying to keep my tone steady. “That means a lot to me.”
The corners of her eyes crinkled as she grinned so broadly at me that I was temporarily blinded. “Part of what makes you special.”
It was too much talking about me, that was for sure, so I scrambled to flip it around. “Same could be said about you. You’re a pleasure to have in class.”
“Oh? You have a particular fondness for students who turn chisels into potential shuriken?”
Shuriken? Did I detect a nerd? She just got even more interesting.
“I have a fondness for people who are curious, and people who know what they want,” I said frankly. That was probably beyond the bounds of what was even remotely professional to say, but whatever. Class was over.
“You think I know what I want?” she murmured, and strangely enough, it was like I watched her morph into the much less certain version of herself from the first class.
The one I’d had a nice conversation with but hadn’t really thought more about until I’d seen how strong she was, and then the adorable look of shock after she’d been startled.
“Don’t you?” I asked.
She let out a nervous giggle, then sighed. Something had shifted between us, but it didn’t feel bad. Just different.
“I suppose that’s something I’m a little new to asking myself. I’ve... I’ve made some big changes lately that are forcing me out of my comfort zone, and that’s scary too, but I’m beginning to find that there are all sorts of wonderful and amazing things outside of said comfort zone.”
If I wasn’t so captivated by the woman in front of me, I might have looked around for cameras, because surely I was having a Truman Show moment. However, since my eyes were locked with hers, I said the only thing that I could think of. Which was the truth.
“That’s pretty brave. I’m going through a bit of a transitional period myself. Sometimes it feels like I was on cruise control my entire life and now I’m trying to take the wheel and be more proactive.”
“Really? Huh, what are the chances?”
What were the chances indeed? Two total strangers on similar journeys just happening to meet in my casual hobby workshop. “I’m not sure. Maybe there are more people like us than we think.”
Or maybe...
“Yeah, haha. Things are certainly tumultuous in the world right now.”
… maybe there was something about our meeting that was meant to be.
I wasn’t really into the concept of “fate,” and I knew I was taking a risk that could make the rest of the course very awkward, but something about the moment told me I had to trust my gut and take a leap of faith because this had the potential to be incredible.
“They sure are,” I agreed, giving myself one more beat to think. Although, thinking was the last thing I needed to do, because if I got too far into my head, I would chicken out entirely. “Hey, no pressure or anything, but would you like to go out and grab dinner sometime?”
I’d done it.
Those gorgeous eyes of hers widened once again, and her rounded face flushed an even deeper pink than it was before. No matter her answer, I could be proud that I’d gone out on a limb and been assertive.
“I’d love to!”
“You would? I mean, great! Here, let’s exchange numbers, so we can work out the details later. I’ve got to finish cleaning up here, and I’m sure you’ve got your own thing to do.”
And so, we did just that, leaving me with a whole lot more to look forward to than I’d had in a long, long while.