In The Beginning

In the Beginning

Elizabeth was running late. She blamed the taxi but really it was the time it took to pick an outfit, do her make-up and fix her hair. So when she came into the restaurant the overall impression lost some of its impact on Jason as he’d been waiting for twenty minutes. She looked amazing so he decided to be polite and not mention how late she was. He’d always wonder if this was why she apparently had such disregard for time, but never understand how much of her self-confidence came from making sure she looked good.

“You look amazing,” he said after a slightly awkward kiss on the cheek. Thankfully the awkwardness would be short lived, and in fact Elizabeth would eventually feel that Jason generally pawed her too often.

“Thank you,” she said as they sat down, glad all the effort has been worth it. Jason was rather attractive himself, in that ‘too stylish to be bothered’ masculine kind of way. However, his tie had not been a great choice. She would come to actively hate all his ties, and secretly destroy the worst of his collection.

“I’m glad we finally got to do this,” he said, filling in the conversation and eliciting a modest polite affirmation from Elizabeth. Being a first date, both of them were saving judgement about whether it had been a good idea until the end.

They both picked up the menus, avoiding eye contact and more awkwardness by studiously checking their options. However, they both caught each other looking up at the same time and laughed as the ice broke. In the next year they would laugh at over 216 childish things together and each one would bring them closer together. This would decline over the next two years to none at all.

“What would you like Elizabeth?” asked Jason, intimating that he would pay the bill. It wasn't that he was bothered about who paid, but he did want to avoid more awkwardness over splitting it. Unfortunately, the implication he should pay made her label him as potentially sexist. From now on, anything sexist he said or did would confirm this suspicion, no matter how many times he proved otherwise.

This time, Elizabeth decided to let him have his way over the bill. Her acquiescence to traditional gender roles would be an evening’s pause from the fight. However, this would only serve to confuse him later as to what she expected in their relationship. She had been pleased to hear him use her full name though, even though after tonight he would always call her Liz, which she hated but would never mention.

Jason took far too long to choose what to order. He actually only wanted a burger and chips and was confused by the options. Male bravado refused to allow him to ask Elizabeth what she recommended. When she suggested the chicken he decided it looked decent enough. Having accepted her advice, she would always think it was welcome on this point. He would see it as nagging because he wasn't ordering quickly enough. After the fourth major row in a public restaurant they would silently decide only to ever eat together at home.
The meal filled a lot of the date, but they still had time to talk. Knowing so little there was so much to say.

Between mouthfuls they shared so much history and so many dreams they left little to talk about further. Only what they forgot would grant them more conversation, annoying the other for their forgetfulness.

By dessert they both knew there was a spark here. Both ate a little quickly, and leaned closer to each other. Their nervous and excited glances betrayed their intentions but they still needed to be voiced. Jason suggested they go on somewhere for another drink, but Elizabeth suggested they have that drink at her place. She was a little taken aback by an unusual forwardness on her part. He was excited by it, but would later wonder if she was so easily taken to bed why she later rejected his advances more often than he expected.

They stopped in the street outside the restaurant to kiss. It was long and deep and passionate, and the best kiss they would ever share together. The memory of it would keep them together when they rarely kissed at all.

As they reached Elizabeth’s house Jason paused and looked deeply into her eyes for what would be the only time. She met his attention with a satisfaction of finding the right person that she would experience later with only two other men.

“I really like you Elizabeth,” he said. “I know it seems strange but I think we really have something here.”

“Me too,” she replied, and took him inside for the last perfect moment they would share for the next five years.