Her and her crew were being evicted from their stairwell. My supervisory had heard about this and swayed leadership to allow them to take refuge at our headquarters. They basically supported our mission, so it made sense. Imagine the surprise on my face the first time I walked into the operations center and she was seated behind a table working her mission! I was at a loss for words. In fact, I am pretty sure that I turned around and walked outside to smoke a cigarette, or three. Luckily, I had been quick-thinking. I noticed her she had an iPhone in front of her. Just so happens that AT&T had formally announced the Haiti Relief Plan, allowing for no extra charges for US persons in Haiti. While it had been rumored for some time, I had received confirmation a day or so prior.
She did it to me again! My memories of these initial encounters are cloudy. I was so captivated by her that I had no idea if I was scoring any points or not. I had no idea whether she was being interested in me, what I was saying, or just tolerating the fact that I was talking to her. Seriously, a woman as beautiful as her must get irritated with the amount of guys that try to chat her up.
To this point, I have made mention several times of her beauty. Her intellect and personality compliment her beauty in such a way that leaves me completed floored to this day. I take numerous smoke breaks throughout the day. I would walk past her workstation and steal a glance on my way out. One day, I know she’s outside so I get up to go too.
As I walked by, she said, “Sir… Sir, do you have a lighter?”
“Yes, but please don’t call me ‘Sir” ever again,” I said.
“Ok, then what should I call you?”
“How about ‘Joe’”
I gave my full attention to this conversation that lasted the length of a cigarette. She told me how she didn’t really let people see her smoke, and how she wanted to go out into Port-au-Prince to see the city. I told how I had been out a few times and that it looked pretty bad out there. I told her that I could possibly take her out with me the next time I went. At the time, I was in and out of the operations center where she worked. I used my varied presence as an excuse to request her phone number, which she kindly gave. I walked away on cloud 9! There was no amount stupidity that could possibly have ruined my day. I had to stay grounded, though. I couldn’t let her see me overeager, anxious, or even slightly befuddled. I had projected calm, cool, and collected (or so I thought), and was determined to maintain this edge. It was not very long after, a couple days maybe, which the ‘date’ occurred.
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