Spinning the Fairy Tale...

I like watching people.  Restaurants are great places to people watch.  You look over and see a couple and you create their story:  She’s flipping her hair, giggling and hanging on his every word.  He’s bored and keeps checking his phone.  First date.  Won’t be a second date!  OR:  A couple sitting together is staring in different directions.  He’s thinking about the football game that he’s missing.  She’s thinking that she forgot to shave her legs but doesn’t think it matters.  The waitress comes with their food and they both look relieved at the distraction.  I think they're a married couple out for their weekly dinner without the kids.   I see either a counselor or an attorney in their future. 

Mr. Gotmyattention and I play this game all the time.  It starts with finding an interesting situation and then, “So…what’s their story?”  We’ve created all kinds of stories, and sometimes even mouth the pretend conversations.  Once, we were at a sushi restaurant and a couple was sitting at the table next to us.  “What’s their story….”  We decided that from their white hair, they were at least in their late 60’s.  They were wealthy, because we’d seen the red sports car that he was driving when he dropped her at the door.  “How long have they been married?”  I guessed less than 6 years and Mr. Gotmyattention guessed 26 years.  My clues: Just the fact that he’d dropped her at the door so that he could park was unusual.  Surely that wears off after a few years of marriage.  And, they were very engaged in conversation.  She was laughing and very touchy with him.  He didn’t seem to mind, but wasn’t reciprocating.  On our way out, Mr. Gotmyattention went over and asked how long they’d been together.  The couple laughed- and the woman said, “Why, do we look married?” (insert batting eyelashes, limp wrist coyly flailing and dollar signs in her pupils) The gentleman added (a little dryly if you ask me), “We’ve been dating three weeks.”  We shared that we’d been guessing their story.  IMHO, I think she was more excited at our banter than he was.  Let’s face it, he had the cha-ching and she saw our conversation as a sign that they were destined!  That little red Porsche might soon be in her very own garage!!  At least, that’s how it played out in my little guessing game world...

Why is the tall guy in the corner booth wearing a wedding ring and his female companion isn’t?  Are they having an affair? Is her ring at the jeweler? Is this her brother? Hmmm… He keeps checking the door and sweeps the room with his eyes right before he kisses her.  My guess:  He’s married, but not to her. 

Human behavior and body language intrigue me.  I can create any story I want and I’ll never know the reality of the situation.  It’s like gossip that you create but don’t spread.  And like gossip, it’s a great distraction from my own world.  I stop thinking about the tuition that’s due; the meeting I need to prepare for; and the dry cleaning that needs to be picked up.  It’s like watching a soap opera unfold and then turning the television off, never to know the ending.

So what is the story that others create when they see us out to dinner?  In my story book world, it goes like this:  The kids are grown and they are empty nesters.  Pictures of their angelic grandgirls adorn the refrigerator at home.  They laugh a lot, though his jokes are corny and she calls him a dork.  Daily.  He treats her like a China doll and takes very good care of her.  She didn’t know that life could be like this.  He didn’t know she was so hot tempered and high maintenance.  They have a ton of money and take multiple vacations each year (Yes, that’s a stretch.  It’s a story- go with it).  They live happily ever after.  Oh, and, she gets a red Porsche like the gold digger at the sushi restaurant.  The End.