Story of my life.

Here is another one for the books.

The weekend Shirley and I went to the lake included more than just a relaxing couple of days on the beach, talking to guys with Australian accents, and checking out those with nice pecs. It also included a rather awkward espionage moment. I'm thinking the many Alias episodes we've watched help us get through the event. Or maybe it was just dumb luck. Fortunatley there wasn't a need to speak Russian.

Let me remind you about Hugh. I have a friend who works with him and has been excited to set us up. According to her, he is about 40, has two boys (one on a mission and one in high school), is recently divorced and ready to get out again. Without getting too personal, apparently his wife has some issues that made most of their life difficult and he finally felt he was at a place in life where he could initiate the divorce and move on with his. He has been in a couple of Bishoprics and has a strong people personality. I've heard many great things about the kind of person he is and how he treats others. He has also been very successful in his business and is currently adding to his "empire."

One of those additions is a restaurant.

A few days before this weekend, my friend mentioned that Hugh would be in town. (He had been in CA working on his properties there and launching his new yacht. No, I am not kidding.) Because he needed to be at his new restaurant (in UT) for a photoshoot, she suggested it might be a great weekend for he and I to meet. (His actual home is in ID.) Because it is located in a place on our way to the lake, I said she could definitely mention the possibility to him. However, there were a lot of things he had scheduled on his way through UT that weekend, and said that he would prefer to schedule time with me in a few more weeks when he came through again, so he could be more relaxed and have the opportunity to get to know me.

That worked for me.
Or so I thought...

On our way to the lake we had to stop for some groceries (Shirley, Rick, Roger and I). It also happened to be dinner time and we decided it would be best to just grab something to eat before making the rest of the drive up. When deciding where to eat, Shirley and I both smiled and casually suggested a restaurant just across the parking lot. Yep, the one that happened to be owned by Hugh.

I will disclaim here: Knowing he had a busy weekend and plans to finish his drive home the next day, I never imagined he would actually be hanging out there all evening. I was wrong.

We walked in, ordered our food and sat down. Fortunately we were able to get a good table in the back corner with a full view of the restaurant. After sitting for a few minutes, I noticed a guy walk in who looked about 40 and could possible be "management." I was content to quietly observe because I only had a name for Hugh, and really nothing much to go by physically. As I was trying to subtly check him out, another guy walked in who was dressed similarly, but was definitely older, and clearly in charge. I'll also mention the bad hair now. I'm talking hair piece bad.

While I was now less subtly analyzing the two players, my salad had been delivered and I noticed there was no dressing. Shirley, following all of this, jumped up and went to the older gentleman (hair guy) to ask for some dressing. During the hand-off she was also able to get a clear view of his name tag. It said Hugh. And to be extra helpful, just below the name it actually said "owner."

Not bad for unplanned, unskilled, and unsophisticated.

Once I finally stopped laughing (the soda through your nose kind of laugh) and started eating my salad, I realized what a bad situation this could turn into. First of all Rick & Roger had no idea what was going on and could say anything (they were noticing his bad hair too). Second, Hugh may have seen a picture of me and he looked like the kind of guy to remember a face (successful business guy trait). Third, Shirley and I looked like we were on a date with R&R, so fourth, what if he came up to our table? How would I handle that? Should I introduce myself? Confess to idiocy? What!? He was doing the owner thing and talking with everyone to make sure their food was good, they had what they needed, and offering the "thanks for coming in" piece. I could definitely see what my friend meant by describing him as a people person.

I shouldn't have been surprised then when he did make it to our table. After making sure we had enough dressing he offered us popsicles (part of their grand opening event) and wished us a good evening. I just sat there looking at the table with what could only be described as the "deer in headlights" look. Fortunately the whole episode lasted less than a minute. Or was it a lifetime? I had clearly chosen to pretend I wasn't there rather than actually introduce myself like a mature, stable, adult.

Once we finally made it out (with only a little suspicion from R&R because they are used to abnormality from Shirley and I), I wasn't quite sure what to do. This put me in "disaster clean-up" mode and I decided I needed to know if he had seen a picture of me. If so, then I needed to be prepared to confess the first time we spoke - just to clear the air. If not, then I could probably get away with not mentioning it. Ever. So, after checking with my friend (and confessing all the horrid details to her) I found out that we can all just pretend this never happened.

To summarize, Shirley got a good look at his face (during name tag scan) and said he had nice eyes, and was pretty cute. Fortunately hair is cosmetic. And can be shaved. He did look a bit older than expected so it will be interesting to get an actual age from him. However, if he does decide to call, I'm sure it will be an interesting night out. Not only because he is older, and professionally in a unique place, but because I'll keep thinking about the first time we met - and hoping he never has to know about it.

Laverne