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Story Of The Week

By Design

by Heather Mercer

I was sitting in a sea of traffic because of a horrible accident that had the expressway looking like a huge parking lot.  My day had not gone well, and I was on my way home from work.  I had been fired from my job due to a serious personality conflict with my boss, and I was beyond blue…I was purple.

It was a hot summer day and my air conditioning wasn’t working.  Therefore, I was literally hanging out of the window of my car, when I heard a deep male voice say, “Hi Beautiful!”

I looked over into the next car into the most handsome face I’d ever seen, and my spirits were instantly lifted.  I smiled, said thank you, and went back to staring at the traffic in front of me.  He began talking to me as if we were sitting next to each other in a restaurant, and thus began a delightful conversation that lasted almost two hours, while we waited for the traffic to unclog.

When the traffic finally began to move, he suggested that we meet for coffee at a nearby restaurant and I accepted readily.  I wasn’t ready to go home to a lonely apartment, and my mood had gone from dreary to excitement, as I followed his car like a puppy following a bone.  It had been a while since I’d been with a man, and my mind raced with the possibilities as we drove along.

However, when we got to the restaurant, my excitement was short-lived.  I was shocked when he got out of the car and saw that he was much shorter than me.  I’m 5’10” and he was about 5’6”.  However, I hid my disappointment with a fake smile, and resumed my fallen spirit, as we headed to the restaurant.

I walked slowly behind him and contemplated changing my mind, but he seemed oblivious to the difference in our heights.   Suddenly, I felt guilty about my prejudice against short guys. 

When we were seated across from each other, I immediately sensed the kindness in his spirit, and I relaxed.  After all, (I rationalized) this wasn’t a date, it was simply a pleasant encounter with an attractive stranger who happened to be too short for me.  So, I decided to make the best of the moment and tuned into his conversation.

He was talking about his job, and his frustration with not being able to find an executive assistant with good computer skills, and my antenna went up.  I began to tell him about my day, my firing, and my credentials.  He listened intently and suggested that maybe our meeting was not an accident.  He invited me to come to his office the following day and apply for the job.

When we left the restaurant an hour later, I was elated about the possibility of acquiring a job so quickly and meeting such a nice guy.  Since he was single, I decided to introduce him to my cousin who was only five feet tall, but that never happened. 

Little did I know that I would not only end up getting the job but that I would fall in love and marry the boss fourteen months later.  Of course, I wore flat shoes to the wedding.

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