Photo via: Margaret Durow
I spent one day out of my life with you. Just one. Just one measly day out of 24 years of my existence and the impact you left still keeps me wondering about you from time to time.
I met you while I worked at a bar over the summer. I spotted you immediately before you could even get close enough to order a Jameson and ginger. And once you opened your mouth and a thick English accent poured out, I knew I was in trouble. I've always had a soft spot for English boys and you stood out like a sore thumb amongst the typical, classless frat boys that take over about 90% of Philadelphia. You were tall and your smile was perfect. You had better style than any man I've ever seen. Before the night was over, I made sure I had the chance to slip you my number, even though I basically knew what your plan was. I could tell that accent probably seduced way more girls than just me. You stood out and you knew it.
I met you at a strange time in my life. I was still talking to an ex boyfriend who had completely and utterly destroyed my heart and I was trying to win him back and move on from him, all at the same time. My heart was a mess but you never found that out about me and maybe that's why you meant so much to me, because in you, I found a girl who was completely new. However, I knew my baggage didn't matter because you had already explained in a week you would be on your way, moving to a different part of the country for your job. Right then, right in that moment- I knew that I could fall so dangerously hard for you, but I also knew that it was impossible- that you were basically just a figment of my imagination from here on out, and that for once in my life, I could be a girl whom both you and I had never met. You made me smile so big, you gave me butterflies, and you had real manners. You told me about your life; about how much you hated England, how grey it always was and how much you loved being over here. You told me about your little brother and how much your parents hated his girlfriend. You told me about your mom and dad and what they did for a living. You told me about being yelled at every time you wore a cap while at the dinner table. You told me about my own city, you knew more about this beautiful place than I had known, I felt like the tourist. I had so much fun with you, I laughed and i blushed and I felt so important to you. I learned that you say cheers instead of thanks, that when you say the word ranch it actually sounds like radish, that you eat mayo with your fries, that your choice of drink at Starbucks is a breakfast tea. I was just genuinely captivated by everything you were.
I never saw you after that. You moved to California, clear across the country from me. We kept in touch for a bit, but eventually your contact became less and less until you faded away. I can only assume by now you have met another girl to captivate for the day. But thank you. Thank you for that one day. Thank you for holding doors open for me, thank you for paying for lunch, thank you for making me happy even for a moment.
I always wonder why life sends you these people who steal your heart in an instant, only to let them disappear shortly after. I always wonder what these fleeting people in life are supposed to mean to you. I wonder how it's possible to meet someone and feel so at home with them when you can't even name their favorite color. I don't quite know the answer, but I do know this: at a time when I was completely broken, you showed me what it was to feel again and for that I will never forget you. You have forever captivated me in one day in a way that it would take some, years to do. People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime and you'll never know which someone is bound to be and even more, you don't have a choice in deciding. You were a reason, but god, how I would have loved to spend a lifetime with you.
I met you while I worked at a bar over the summer. I spotted you immediately before you could even get close enough to order a Jameson and ginger. And once you opened your mouth and a thick English accent poured out, I knew I was in trouble. I've always had a soft spot for English boys and you stood out like a sore thumb amongst the typical, classless frat boys that take over about 90% of Philadelphia. You were tall and your smile was perfect. You had better style than any man I've ever seen. Before the night was over, I made sure I had the chance to slip you my number, even though I basically knew what your plan was. I could tell that accent probably seduced way more girls than just me. You stood out and you knew it.
I met you at a strange time in my life. I was still talking to an ex boyfriend who had completely and utterly destroyed my heart and I was trying to win him back and move on from him, all at the same time. My heart was a mess but you never found that out about me and maybe that's why you meant so much to me, because in you, I found a girl who was completely new. However, I knew my baggage didn't matter because you had already explained in a week you would be on your way, moving to a different part of the country for your job. Right then, right in that moment- I knew that I could fall so dangerously hard for you, but I also knew that it was impossible- that you were basically just a figment of my imagination from here on out, and that for once in my life, I could be a girl whom both you and I had never met. You made me smile so big, you gave me butterflies, and you had real manners. You told me about your life; about how much you hated England, how grey it always was and how much you loved being over here. You told me about your little brother and how much your parents hated his girlfriend. You told me about your mom and dad and what they did for a living. You told me about being yelled at every time you wore a cap while at the dinner table. You told me about my own city, you knew more about this beautiful place than I had known, I felt like the tourist. I had so much fun with you, I laughed and i blushed and I felt so important to you. I learned that you say cheers instead of thanks, that when you say the word ranch it actually sounds like radish, that you eat mayo with your fries, that your choice of drink at Starbucks is a breakfast tea. I was just genuinely captivated by everything you were.
I never saw you after that. You moved to California, clear across the country from me. We kept in touch for a bit, but eventually your contact became less and less until you faded away. I can only assume by now you have met another girl to captivate for the day. But thank you. Thank you for that one day. Thank you for holding doors open for me, thank you for paying for lunch, thank you for making me happy even for a moment.
I always wonder why life sends you these people who steal your heart in an instant, only to let them disappear shortly after. I always wonder what these fleeting people in life are supposed to mean to you. I wonder how it's possible to meet someone and feel so at home with them when you can't even name their favorite color. I don't quite know the answer, but I do know this: at a time when I was completely broken, you showed me what it was to feel again and for that I will never forget you. You have forever captivated me in one day in a way that it would take some, years to do. People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime and you'll never know which someone is bound to be and even more, you don't have a choice in deciding. You were a reason, but god, how I would have loved to spend a lifetime with you.
