butter of serendipity

two things to note for context of this post:

1) i am a girl of many lists. i love lists. i need lists. i am distracted constantly, and without lists i usually forget things. i like lists so much that sometimes i make them with obvious things on them like 'get up', 'eat breakfast' and 'shower' just so i can cross things off and feel accomplished, and organized. shopping lists are of special importance to me, especially if i am getting things for something specific, like a baking project. if i don't have paper and i know i'm going to the store, i try to make a list in my head and remember how many items i was planning on leaving with, so i can count when i'm leaving and see what's missing. yes, i'm that neurotic.


2) i have a secret gym crush i've been eyeing for about two years. he typically wears a red shirt and gray hat, and he's adorable. i have yet to ever say anything to him though, so i secretly pine away as i stare at his profile in the gym mirrors. it's possibly pathetic, but i'm ok with it.

there. you have context. in the form of a list. on with the show...

last night i was at the gym, feeling extremely unmotivated and lonely without my ipod. i was wandering around the weights, doing random things and not concentrating on a real workout at all. of course, i spotted red shirt gray hat gm crush (gc) and kept my (sly) eye on him. at one point, i lost all subtleness and while taking a break from ab pikes, i stared him down from across the room. i think we caught eyes, but he was too far away to tell. that was my bold move of the night, not breaking eye contact. courageous, no?

fast forward about an hour- i leave the gym and hit up albertsons on the way home, because i have a cake tasting coming up that i must stock up for: marshmallows, cranberry juice, and eggs. i make a rough list in my head and run in. i wander around the store, picking things up in random order- unfortuantely, i don't really know (or like) this store very well, so i kind of turn into a mindless, meandering bum in my workout clothes, going back and forth between aisles as i remember things.

 

as i'm walking to the check out, i remember i need peanut butter- but then try to talk myself out of it, since that is for frosting, i am not going to be making frosting tonight, and i'm in between pay checks right now. however, i convince myself to 'do today's work today' (motto borrowed from a friend), and since i'm at the store already, i might as well stock up. i go grab some peanut butter, and as i am working out the best savings in my head, i remember, 'butter! oh, i need butter. tonight!'

i walk with a purpose down the aisle from peanut to regular butter, silently praising myself for how great i am doing without a list- i'm not forgetting anything! and, as i walk straight to the butter, guess who is walking perpendicular to me, alongside the butter aisle, on (what i like to think of as) a metaphorical crash course of destiny?!

you guessed it: ol' red shirt gray hat GC.

i stop and smile, letting him continue walking. he makes eye contact and smiles under his hat, walking past me. i grab my butter and my heart flutters a bit, and my inside voice shouts "congratulations for listening to me!"

i walk to the check out line. GC is right behind me. we talk opposite ends of the self check out, and our backs are facing each other. he finishes as i finish, but walks out two steps ahead of me. i am close behind him, and as we leave the store, it's pouring rain. we run opposite directions to our cars, with nothing said between us. i don't think he even knew i was behind him. it was just a natural occurance of events. that i enjoyed every second of.

please note: i am not a stalker. i like this story because i did ab.so.lute.ly. nothing out of my way, which is (to be honest) somewhat out of my character. i'm proud i didn't say anything to him, at the gym nor at the store. maybe in two more years we'll actually say hello.