I really didn't have any idea what I was getting myself into when I signed on to work in Seattle for a summer at an elite summer camp for middle- and high school-aged children. What I did know is that I would take anything to get away from the stressful and monotonous lifestyle I had gotten swallowed into for the six months prior to when I had decided to leave. I could not be around middle-aged women who had to settle for their lives or deal with patients who felt the need to release their anger about their financial problems to me. I needed to live out my youth, even if for just a few weeks. I was so drained from preparing another application for dental school that I was ready to leave even before I had been offered the position.
In the back of my mind, I did hope to experience some kind of fictional summer romance and have the time of my life. To my disappointment, I immediately pushed that thought aside after observing the rest of the administrative staff I had met upon my arrival. Namely, because out of about 13 staff members, 11 were females. And of the two males, one was already interested in my co-worker and the other one was, luckily, taken. Thus, I mentally tossed the idea of a summer fling.
Days later the rest of the staff arrived and I honestly did not even bother to consider anyone else. I was just here to have fun, that was the new agenda. But my luck may have been steering me into new directions.
As we went on a tour of the neighborhood where we'd be the next seven weeks during orientation, a boy asked me a question out of the blue. "So, I saw that you're applying to dental school?" I was completely caught off guard and had not really even noticed him over a nearly 48-hour period since his arrival. However, I was deeply impressed that he had 1.) read my bio, and 2.) remembered that subtle piece of information. He went on to humbly mention that he was going to be attending medical school in the fall. And that's all it really took to get me interested -- interest in me and ambition.
Although a day or two had gone by since that happening, I wasn't expecting anything more to happen (because I am a skeptic). But then, one evening after putting all the children to rest, I got a text from this "friend". "Are you going out tonight?", it said. I was surprised, but nonetheless, happy to hear from him. I shared that I was. In the end, some of his crew was not excited about going out with administrators of the program. But we agreed to let each other know in the future, if we went out.
Then, one fateful night, after all the kiddos had gone to dreamland for the night, we decided to go out to our escape, Capitol Hill - an area thriving of young people and a great bar scene. All the staff always congregated in the lobby before heading out for the night. When I stepped off the elevator, all were discussing who was going out for the night, it was stated twice that this "friend" wasn't going out. My curiosity and sudden wave of braveness that had found me in Seattle wanted to know if this "friend" was just "being nice" or was being somewhat flirtatious. So, because I knew he was staying in for the night, I texted him, jokingly, "You aren't heading out with your RA friends tonight?" No response. The group started to head out towards our beloved destination when someone came rushing out from our dorms. It was our "friend", whom will now be referred to as R.
Honestly, I was flooded with a mix of emotions. I, frankly, did not expect him to come. I had not calculated beyond sending him that text. As a result, my childish self resurfaced and I ended up pretending he didn't exist the whole night.
A few nights later, staff had planned to head out again to CapHill. My phone needed to be charged, so I had left it in my room while was lounging with two staff members in the main office. The two were staying in and when the office was officially closed for the night, I went back to my room to see missed calls and texts. R had called and texted. I asked if everyone had already headed out and he had responded, "Yes, come out!" I called and he had said they were already on their way out, but asked if I wanted someone to walk me back. I had crossed the street to head towards the group and saw that he had already begun walking back to our dorms. Internally, I was bubbly and smitten by the fact that he was thinking of walking back to escort me.
Incidents that made me continue to question the actions of my friend R were definitely quite confusing to me. I had never been in such close proximity to a guy, nor had I interacted with a member of the opposite sex who was that forward about being, well, friendly. About two weeks after first meeting R, I had my first day off from the program and spent the day with my aunt, who was living in nearby Olympia. On our way up to Whidbey Island, I brought up all my excursions and funny stories from the program. In addition, I brought up my unusual encounters with my friend R. She immediately hit me on the shoulder and exclaimed, "Are you dense?" The honest truth was, I was hoping someone would tell me I wasn't just imagining these things.
My aunt had noticed this feller by vigilantly checking my Facebook to see what I was up to on her side of town. "Oh, he has great calves...A runner?...A traveler?..And he's an immigrant going to med school?! He sounds great!" As I shared bits and pieces of what I had learned about him over the course of two weeks, I began to see what a great guy he seemed to be. He had told me that he ran his first half marathon last year, had been backpacking in Central America before coming to Seattle, and immigrated when he was 10 years old to New York. That and I observed that he was pretty athletic during our makeshift staff intramural sporting events. Overall, I was extremely impressed.
Putting my interest aside, my aunt knew me too well. She knew I would never act upon this slight attraction, which was entirely true. I have always been one to move cautiously, calculating consequences and avoiding risk. My aunt asked me to drive back from Whidbey Island to Seattle, as she would have to drive all the way back to Olympia that night. As I was driving and just before she pressed send from my phone announced, "You are so cute. And you have nice calves. Seriously." "OMIGAWD!" I exclaimed, not believing she would actually send it. She laughed and mastered up another text, "You will make many patients happy someday. Especially the female folks." If I wasn't driving, I probably would've died.
to be continued...
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