An expected delay, the blue line will arrive in 8 minutes now. A smell of burning fire fills the startled air from the act of defrosting the CTA rail. While I take deep breaths, tiny droplets of liquid water and ice are seen in the air as a cloud. On this late October cold day, train stations are traditionally not warm environments. The heating stations are better left available for the cold unfortunate. I slowly sip the warm latte ordered from Dunkin to help calm my nerves. Then, I proceed to pace back and forth wondering how my late arrival will affect the evening.
The train arrives with a halt, diverse populations depart rushing to their destinations. Quickly I stride into the nearest cart, with no ulterior expectations for the upcoming events. Most people are hunched over browsing their phones, while others are conversing, looking out the window, or people watching. “Doors Closing” repeats, then the doors slide together, leaving out the cold air. The train resumes on its delayed schedule, providing transportation to variant lifestyles.
As we travel through the city of Chicago, each individual has their own story in action. My story tonight was chaotic.Commuters are hopping on and off. I begin to navigate the distance needed to be walked to reach my destination. A text notification banner slides down, I exit out of Apple maps to view the message. I don’t need to seem irresponsible for not thinking ahead. I refused the suggestion, plus it is only Tuesday night.
Halsted station is the next stop, so I prepare myself to make an exit. The walk to Parlor Pizza is 13-minutes, enough time for a prep-talk. I began to straighten out my hair and outfit. This is going to be an evening for impressing, therefore I added confidence to my pace.Parlor Pizza’s sign was shining from across the street, and my date was patiently leaning against a fence, wearing a black bomber jacket. A charming smile, and kind body language was gestured, as I got closer.
He mentions that the wait time is 45 minutes, I cowardly break eye contact.My hands were beginning to feel frail from the low temperatures. Truly, I was embarrassed for not agreeing to the idea of reserving a table to dine. He looked at me with sparkling eyes, and suggested we take a walk. My mind pensively stayed distracted, by the inconvenience I have caused for someone else. First I was late, followed with no mindfulness of a reservation, now a numbing stroll.
As we strutted, we conversed about our days as a teacher and engineer.After approximately 45 minutes, we made an appearance back to the restaurant. This time, we were seated and had a satisfactory meal. It was not exceeding, but the company was extraordinary. The eye contact had my heart fluttering with butterflies, and my stomach felt like the zoo was stomping around. Not once did he show any signs of anger of not respecting his time, and my ego did not encourage me to apologize.
The agenda for the remainder of the evening was coordinated by me.As we wore our winter gear, I couldn’t help, but admire his strong broad shoulders. The rest of the evening needed to be magical. I ordered an uber to drive us to Navy Pier. It was going to be a festive night, being able to enjoy a pumpkin patch with scenic views of the city’s skyline. A black car arrived, and with full excitement I guided my date to the car. We both got in, and continuously complimented the warmth being blown out of the car’s heat vents. The uber driver and my date began to converse about current politics. It’s the year of 2019, and elections are coming up in January.
Looking out the window brings me to the realization that we are not enroute to Navy Pier. I lean forward to the front of the car and mention that we might be going the wrong way. He looks confused, and confirms my name and location. The car was silent, because neither was it my name or our destination. My date notices my worry, and requests to look at the app. He announces that we are in the wrong uber, but the car is still black. My body begins to sweat, I cannot believe I did not take the time to check the license plate of this vehicle. My phone begins to ring with the correct uber driver on the line, he claims he would wait at Parlor Pizza for our return.
My date and I apologized to the uber driver for the chaotic event caused during his workday. Not only were the situations stupid, but controllable. Yet, there was no presence of frustration in the car, but I felt bad that someone else was dealing with my irresponsibility. As we got out of the wrong uber, we immediately began to locate our new ride. My shoulders felt stressed and my chest felt tight from messing up.
Light jokes and smiles continued, as we entered the correct vehicle this time. ~~~The new uber driver brakes smoothly and parks the car for our dismissal. We slide out of our seats, and step onto the sidewalk. I delightfully led us to the entrance of Navy Pier. There were some pumpkins that we analyzed, as we were walking deeper into the port.
The area was feeling eerie and the space was becoming vacant. My date looks around vigorously, and questions, “Where is the pumpkin patch event?” I took out my phone to confirm the location, only to read in italicized font that the event date was next week. My date matches his gaze with mine, and this time I recommend taking a walk.