When Lucy entered Narnia she was confused as to why there was a lamp post in the middle of the forest; and, indeed the lamp post confused all the children. Dating itself is a confusing undertaking- especially when you find an incongruous person in the middle of the search for the ‘one.’
On a more recent dating adventure I went out with a man I will call Reid. Reid was not my usual type: long hair and so laid back I felt I should be even more anxious to make up for his relaxed air; but, he had a jaw line so strong it made Liam Hemsworth’s look lazy. Clearly, the dating world has taken its toll on me when small gestures like filling my water cup and strong jaw lines have me swooning.
I was, however, still weary because despite his kindness, when he opened his mouth and spoke it sometimes made my brain angry.* Despite our very different views I was intrigued and actually wanted to spend more time with him. Which explains why our first date lasted as long as it did.
When, for our second date, he suggested a hike my brain said no thank you, I do not want to be murdered, but it came out as, ‘Sure, sounds great’ instead and it was then I knew I was in trouble. As a side note, I hate hiking, I’ll do it, but I hate it. I do not like being dusty…or sweaty for that matter. And hiking is the least sexy thing one can do on a date.
But I found myself driving on a early afternoon in July to attempt a hike with a man I did not know but was strangely attracted to and angry at all at once. While hiking I found myself smiling. Smiling…While hiking. Who was I? My brain was still fuming but my heart was giddy. No, really who was I?
The hike turned into lunch and the head-heart situation only grew worse. It was like when Edmund was trying to understand how the queen, who offered him loukoumia, could be bad. I, like Edmund, could not understand how I could hold so many drastically different emotions for a human I just met. But I found myself listening and being enthralled by what he was saying. At the end of the second date he was all I could think about and I was looking forward to our already scheduled third date.
And this reader is where our story takes a confusing turn. Despite a successful third date and plans for a fourth set, Reid disappeared. Poof gone. I am pretty sure it took the queen more time to have the Faun picked up for harboring a human than it took him to change his mind.
Like the lamp post in the middle of the forest, what happened after date three that seemed to scare him away will remain a mystery.
*Thank you Mindy Kaling for verbalizing this sentiment
The Chronicles of a Single Woman: Dating 