“Aww, he’s an animal lover, that’s an enormous bonus. Show’s that he is capable of having a kind heart.” Lisa was an animal lover as well so any man that loved animals as well earned her respect. The way Sam talked about Owen, definitely pegged him as an animal lover.
“I know it is so silly but God, I am so smitten. Why shouldn’t I be? He is so amazingly sweet, has the same interests, and he asked if I wanted to meet his dog. I’m silly, aren’t I? Want to see his picture?
“Yes!” Lisa insisted.
I put Lisa on speakerphone, and I opened up an internet browser and used a random search engine to find any image results. I typed Sam Ellis, Sutton Hill and discovered that there were hundreds of pictures. Sam must be more well-known than I initially thought. I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t find information like this years ago when I tried looking him up. Back then, I found no information on him. I couldn’t help but find the fact that he was well-known slightly disappointing because I wanted Sam to be my little secret but he couldn’t be. He was already some other woman’s possession.
“Here he is,” I said while I emailed Lisa several of his best images that I found.
“Got the email. Wow, Sam is hot. Especially in the picture, you sent with him wearing the blue button down shirt. Matches his eyes. They’re blue right?” Lisa asked.
“When did he say you guys were going to hang out?”
“I don’t know, he didn’t really say.” I purposely left out the part about the woman that approached us and how I suspected he was taken. She would ruin this feeling of glee I had by telling me to move on if he was taken. There was a small chance he wasn’t. Things have worked out for other people before, why couldn’t it work out for me?
“When did he say he was going to call you?” Lisa asked.
“He didn’t, we didn’t exchange numbers,” I explained.
“Well, what did he say to you exactly?”
“He asked if I wanted to meet Owen or go running sometime and I said sure. Then we started talking about the Foundation.”
“That’s it?”
I felt guilty withholding information from her, and I definitely didn’t want to pretend that this woman didn’t exist. “No, while we were talking his wife or girlfriend came over and stated that they had to go, so he left. That’s it.”
“Jamie, he’s married? I’m sorry, but that doesn’t even seem like even a possibility for it working out for you. Sounds like he’s just been friendly this whole time, although, I do think it is weird for Sam to invite you to hang out if he’s taken. That’s probably why he never asked for your number, or he didn’t get the chance to because he got caught by her. You definitely don’t want to get involved with a man or a situation like that. Plus, I wouldn’t read too much into it even if he was single. It sounds like the statement of someone who says things like that because it fit the situation. I do it all the time.
I don’t know. I can’t help but be attracted. There is something special about Sam. I felt my heart drop when I realized he might be in a relationship already, I can’t believe that didn’t even occur to me before.”
“It is okay, Jamie, we all make mistakes. It’s not your fault, you didn’t have much to go on. You just met the man.”
“You know, I don’t mind being a platonic friend. I think I really could be okay with that, he seems like a good guy to know. Besides, he could get my number from the country club, the committee has our contact information. He’s one of the members there. I am sure he can easily get it from them or the Board of Directors, or he can get it from Felix at the dojo. I’m not worried.” I lied. I wasn’t okay with just being a friend and I wasn’t okay with the fact that he didn’t have my number.
I started to feel depressed about the fact that I was attracted to a man I actually believed could be single. An attractive man like Sam was rarely ever single, especially at his age. A misstep that I regretted.
“I’m glad you met a good-looking guy, I really am. I think until we find out for sure what his situation is, I wouldn’t put all of your eggs in this particular basket. Lisa consoled.
“I’m not. It was such a great holiday event and being in Sutton Hill, you don’t realize how much you lack until you finally experience the potential that is actually out there. This Sam thing was just icing on the cake.”
“It’ll work out, you’ll see. Whether it is with Sam or the next guy, it’ll work out for you. I promise.” Lisa encouraged. She was always the positive and supportive person, and I was glad to have her in my life as my best friend. I also loved the fact that she was brutally honest and didn’t hold back, it was what I needed. I didn’t always listen to her, but when I did, things worked out for me better than when I did not.
“It’ll work out, you’ll see. Whether it’s Sam or the next guy. It’ll work out for you, I promise.” Lisa encouraged.
THREE MONTHS LATER
As silly as it was, I thought of Sam often. I wondered what he was up to and if he was happy. I also couldn’t help but wonder if he was single, single yet or if he thought of me too. Of course, there were days where I felt foolish being smitten at my age with someone I hardly knew but there was always that one thing, whatever it was including his calm and quiet nature that felt like home to me. A home I belonged to. Then again, it could have been the hopeless romantic in me. It was a feeling that nagged me regularly and a state of mind that I hadn’t experienced before. It almost felt like serendipity but he was nowhere to be seen, and he wasn’t exactly available.
It was only a few months ago when I saw him last. We last spoke of getting together, but I hadn’t heard from him since. Of course, I wouldn’t. Sam didn’t ask me for my number, but I figured if I were significant enough to him, he would have found a way to get it. Taken or not.
Wouldn’t he? Everyone had insisted it was one of those noncommittal things someone said when they left their options open. They used to do the same things. Plus, I wasn’t the kind of person a man would leave a woman for. Was I? Men did not leave sexy women for their cousin.
I prayed daily that I did not read too much into the flirting and often lectured myself on the consequences of being obsessed with a man already in a relationship, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to reach out to him, but I didn’t want to be the first one to do so, so I waited for fate to work its magic.
Three long months I waited. To everyone, it looked like I had moved past the situation and had long forgotten about it but I was dying inside. More recently, their nagging comments about how I hoped for something that didn’t exist made its way to the forefront of my mind. I did not want to accept the thought and would visit Sutton Hill often to ease my mind. Rain or shine, I was there.
I knew it was a long shot, but since Sutton Hill was a small community, I hoped I would run into Sam as well. He did say he was an avid surfer, but they didn’t surf when the weather was cold. Not usually. I still had to try. Everyone suggested to me that I should give up and chalk it up to small talk from a nice man, but I was convinced that serendipitous small talk doesn’t occur like that. It just didn’t.
I would often ask myself why it happened to me and why did he take an interest in who I was. Also, why did it happen to me again during the fireworks display where he invited ME to meet the dog he loved dearly and go running or something? What was that ‘or something’? I wanted to ask him these exact questions. Sam could have spoken to anyone else at the celebration, but he approached me at the refreshment table as well as after the celebration. I was convinced he did it deliberately and didn’t know why but I spent the past few weeks trying to figure it out. I had to know.
The following week, I performed my routine task of looking for job opportunities and resume editing. I wanted to leave the corporate world and get into what I was really passionate about non-profit work.
“You will never guess what I found online!” Lisa said exactly over the receiver. She had called that Saturday afternoon frantically and called me repeatedly.
“What?” I asked curiously. By this time, I resigned to the notion that everyone must have been right and it was one of those moments that happen in life that never meant anything and was never going to continue being anything more than what it actually was.
“They are hiring!”
“Who is hiring?” I asked confused.
“The Ellis Foundation! They posted a job ad on Jobs4U for a Project Coordinator. This position will be involved in their branded men’s cologne as well as their liquor brand. It says that the individual would need business as well as non-profit experience. That’s you! It also says that the person would be reporting to the VP of the corporation as well as the Director of the Foundation. That’s him, isn’t it?”
Looking at the ad, it stated that it was posted back in July, they surely had hired someone by now. “Lisa, I don’t have any non-profit experience, besides this job was posted months ago. It’s too late.” I said dejectedly.
“So what if you haven’t worked for a non-profit before, the work you have done with assisting non-profits in growing their organization plus you have business experience with for-profits as well. It’s the perfect job for you. You should still apply anyway.”
“What would be the point, the job was listed a couple of months ago.”
“It can’t be too late, the job ad is still up. You never know what could happen, besides didn’t you say that the Sam guy was the Director? If you got the job, you’d be working directly for him and can somehow create the opportunity to tell him how you feel. Maybe he will leave you for her, stranger things have happened.”
“Uh, I don’t think so. You should have seen how beautiful the woman was, Lisa. There is no way I could compete with her.” I declined. I started to feel uneasy at the thought.
“Why not? It will give you a chance to confront him.” Lisa urged.
“Lisa, it’s awkward. What if I tell him and he starts avoiding me.”
“Oh geez, why would he do that? Why would he avoid an amazing girl like you? I think you are severely over analyzing the situation.” Lisa laughed. Lisa was the only one out of her friends who tried to be positive and supportive about the situation, even if it was a foolish one.
“If he was interested enough, wouldn’t he have found a way to call me?" I asked.
“Oh my god, you are so insane. You didn’t even find a way to call him either so how can you expect him to find a way to call you.” Lisa chuckled. “You are definitely romantic. Didn’t your friends think that it was an insignificant moment that just happens? This job ad is something significant. This is a real chance to get yourself immersed in his life. To have a considerable impact on his day-to-day activities and work things in your favor from the inside out. If anything, you get to work for a non-profit like you have been wanting to do for a long time!”
“I do not want to take the chance. I would rather settle on the notion of not knowing and move on with my life. Applying for a job that is more than likely filled is just going to get my hopes up again and then become a disappointment. Besides, finding out what the truth is will only leave me humiliated for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.” I sighed.
“Since when did Jamie Winters become a quitter? That’s not the woman I know. What if it is not what you think? What if he’s just a stupid and single man that forgot? What if it was something else that prevented him from contacting you? What if he thought he had called you which didn’t happen but in his mind, he did and then didn’t hear from you and decided to give up? That could happen.” Lisa offered.
“Now that is insane, he wouldn’t think something like that. We never exchanged numbers nor mentioned it. We weren’t even holding our phones so he couldn’t possibly believe that. I just can’t do it.”
“Jamie, come on. You have been so incredibly mopey these past several weeks. You cannot continue to be this way. It’s absurd and silly. The only way you will ever truly get over it and move on with this insane situation is knowing the truth instead of letting your mind run wild. Just apply and see so you can give yourself the opportunity to heal and move on. If anything, you would have a great job.” Lisa pressed.
“I guess you’re right.” I gave in.
“Of course I’m right. Can I be brutally honest, though?”
“Sure go ahead.”
“I do agree with your other friends. I think you are over thinking the actions of a man you barely know and are obsessing about it to the point where it has you depressed about it. No man is worth making you feel that way. He is just a man that is it. This isn’t a movie or a love story in a best-selling novel that’s going to end happily ever after. Things like that do not exist but what does exist is the opportunity for you to get level headed about this and apply for the job, not because of him. Although, that is an added benefit, because you want a job that suits what you are looking for and this position is exactly that.” Lisa said.”
“I know. I get it. I have been crazy about this whole situation, it’s so unlike me, but I can’t help it. I have always been overly emotional and analytical about everything. Everyone is right, Sam is just a guy, and I do need a better job.” I smiled to myself.
****
JAMIE WINTERS. My name in big bold, letters at the top of the resume I submitted online several weeks ago for the Project Coordinator position. It was posted previously, and I told Lisa that I highly doubted the position was still open when I was alerted to it but encouraged to still try. I wanted to still believe in a thing as fate and miracles, but the rest of the world seemed convinced that believing in such a concept wasn’t realistic; her life wasn’t a movie or a book. Serendipity was no longer real for me so I wasn’t surprised I didn’t hear a peep from Sam or anyone from the Foundation about my application. No doubt, they had hired someone already.
The longer time passed, the more I was at peace with it being an insignificant moment in time and I wasn’t disappointed as I thought I was going to be if they hadn’t responded. I kept busy finding potential job opportunities and celebrating holidays, but there had been a surge in requests for Plus One to perform at various charity events, a country club member’s wedding, and a birthday, and once in a while, it was a celebration that was televised. Things got so busy, there hadn’t been time to think about anything at all.
We were performing at the club’s Winter Wonderland Celebration and Christmas was only three weeks away. We were so excited, me especially. It was my favorite time of the year, and I loved everything about Christmas. I enjoyed buying and decorating the tree, putting up lights outside, Christmas carolers, wrapping gifts and the overall good cheer. During the holidays, everyone was happier and nicer to each other.
With the club’s permission, we decided to perform covers of holiday songs, so they had been brushing up on some of the old classics as well as mainstream covers of holiday-themed songs.
The banquet hall was beautiful; even more so than before. The volunteers who had contributed to the work of decorating the room did a fantastic job. The centerpiece of the hall was a tall Christmas tree in the middle of the room decorated with tinsel, ornaments, and colorful lights and topped with an amazing gold star. It was magnificent, and I was in awe when I had first walked into the building with equipment in tow.
“Jamie, come on. We do not have much time to set up. We are already running behind, traffic set us back.” Lily reminded me when I took the time to star at the beautiful tree.
“Sorry, I just had to take the time to appreciate beauty when I see it,” I explained.
“We all would like to, Jamie, but we have to start on time. Let’s admire it together when we’re done with the gig, alright?”
“Okay.” I took one last look and followed Lily to the stage lugging the rest of the equipment.
It took us more time than usual to set up; anything that could happen did happen. Murphy’s Law seemed to be in full effect. Wires were missing at first or so tangled it took a lot of time to free them up. The amps didn’t want
to turn on at first, and the mics would screech when they did a check. It didn’t matter. However, we were still in good spirits, and I was ready. We all were.
We did similar types of events a million times before, but that particular event was different. We couldn’t explain it other than we almost felt like rock stars.
The committee didn’t want us to begin until after pre-celebration announcements were made, so I took the time to grab a bottled water from the refreshment table. The President of the country club started his speech about the charity toy drive and any upcoming meetings, and I knew it was going to be a long speech. I leaned up against the wall behind me in wait until I felt a presence next to me.
It was Sam.
“Oh, you scared me. I didn’t expect to see you here.” I gasped.
“I’m sorry. Now let me guess, Jamie Winters, right?” Sam asked as he chuckled, revealing his endearing, toothy grin.
“Yeah, exactly.” I smiled back.
“How are you doing? Nervous?”
“Me? No more than usual, I guess.”
I couldn’t help but notice that while he remembered me, he did not mention his previous invite nor my application, not that I assumed he even saw it. I did not know who was a part of his hiring committee and if he was even the one that looked at the applications. For all I knew, one of his staff members did it. I couldn’t make assumptions, but I was curious to see if he would mention it at all. If he did, it might have turned into an awkward conversation. I hoped not.
“Ah, confidence. Such a life saver.” I joked.
“Hey, Sam?” The same beautiful, blonde woman called to him. “Chuck Overstreet is here. He might have an excellent candidate for the coordinator position.” She then gave me a suspicious and dirty look before subtly grabbing Sam’s hand.
“We just hired Tobias, why are we still looking at candidates?” Sam said to the mystery woman.
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