My One Regret

Working this eharmony doo-jobby as I am, I'm reminded of something that happened to me close to ten years ago. On eharmony, you send each other questions at different stages. These can be of your own devising or chosen from a list of queries both pithy and benign. One of these questions has me strolling down amnesia lane quite a bit lately.

How important is chemistry to you? Do you need to feel that immediate spark?

Years ago when I was living in Oklahoma, I went with my mother and some neighbors to dinner at some crummy buffet. Rounding the cottage cheese and skinned-over chocolate pudding I locked eyes with a girl so pretty she left me breathless. I think that she was Hispanic, or at least she had a dark complexion. I remember she had the most slender, delicate hands. Mostly importantly, she had the same deer in the headlights look on her face that I must of had. Even as clueless and self-doubting as I was back then, I knew that she was as knocked out by me as I was by her. But I was far too chicken to talk to her, and I let her get away.

I keep wondering, did I blow it back then? Will I ever experience that again?