Interviewing for the Job

While on one of my many drives Florida for an airline job, as I often did, I spent the night at the apartment of my friends Al and Lynda. They were not home, but I had a key, and they knew I was going to be staying there for the night on my way to Fort Lauderdale to get my picture taken, and take my required drug and alcohol tests for this airline that had just hired me. I was excited and since I had time to kill on the way home I was going to spend another couple of nights at their place as well! During this visit, I met a very handsome, very nice man who I could not believe wanted anything to do with the likes of me! He was kind of like Clark Kent, in his business attire he looked like the typical goofy nerd with a very handsome face and dark rimmed glasses. However, out of his business attire, he was a LOT more like super man. He has a body most men could only dream of having! It was apparent he spent a lot of time taking care of himself! So we a had great weekend romance!

He was in town for work, and well I was not from Orlando either, so we knew the weekend romance would have to end soon. However, neither of us liked that idea, so we agreed to keep in touch and talk often and see what would become of "us" or if there would end up being an "us". So he flew off to New York to resume his life and I drove back to Ga to resume mine. We talked daily on the phone and sometimes we talked multiple times a day. We communicated a lot through email as well. When I told him I had FINALLY received a class date and that I was to fly from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale on March the 6th to start class on March 7th, he suggested I come up to visit him for a few days. I saw nothing wrong with that except, I could not afford the plane ticket. He said he would pay for it, but I had to do the research and book it. So I started looking and when I found a flight he gave me his American Express number and I booked my flight. He even paid for my hotel in Atlanta so that I could just stay there for the night between flights on my way back so that I could go straight from the visit with him to my training in Fort Lauderdale.

I chose a flight that had multiple legs because it was cheaper, and since I was not paying for the flight myself, there was no way I was going to pay anything more for the flight than necessary! I had no issue changing planes or taking a multi leg flight as long as it was as inexpensive as I could get it. I was just happy to be going to see this awesome man again! He met me at the airport and asked about my flight. I told him how it was and when he realized I did not take a non-stop flight, he informed me that when he was paying not to worry about the price, just go non-stop. I thought that was very nice of him! We left the airport in his SUV and were heading to his home in Connecticut. The drive was beautiful and the conversation was great. As we entered into the small town where he lived we went into the market to buy fresh vegetables and necessities for him to make dinner. Everyone knew him, called him by name, it was just like being in any other small town. I liked that. Then, we moved on to a wine shop before heading home. Again, they new him by name and knew exactly what he would want to purchase. After all the shopping we finally got home and got everything from the SUV into the house.

His home was over a hundred years old and had all the class that one could expect. Not one single detail was overlooked. You could not find anything better on the cover of "Martha Stewart Living" (side note, he was friends with her as well!) After settling in, he gave me a tour of the compound. Yes, it was not just a home it was a compound! The house adjacent to his was also on his property and it was currently being restored. Also over 100 years old, I found this place to be like a wonderland! A GORGEOUS pond in the back which at the time was frozen over, a hot tub on the back deck, a barn behind the pond, this was definitely a place anyone would want to live. We spent the days exploring, the evenings eating great food by the fireplace and even night dips in the hot tub. The man's talent for cooking was ridiculously amazing!

He was working in his office a couple of days before I was to leave and I went in to see him. He asked if I would want to go into the city for dinner the following night. I was game for anything, I was having the time of my life. He asked where I would like to eat and I told him it was up to him. He suggested Morimoto's and of course, no self-respecting man would EVER turn down a suggestion like that! Within minutes he informed me that he had made our reservations and that Morimoto himself would be coming in to prepare our meals in person! I could not believe my ears! I was actually going to be eating food prepared by the one and only "Iron Chef Morimoto"!! Wow, things like this do not happen to normal people! I was liking this guy more every day to say the least!

The following morning, we loaded our luggage into his SUV and headed off into the city. We would be staying the night with friends of his since his job was in the city and I would be flying out the next day. We dropped off our things in their apartment and then he proceeded to give me a whirl wind tour of the "Big Apple". We went everywhere in lower Manhattan. he showed me the original Vanderbilt home, and every land mark around. We got tickets and went to "The Top of The Rock" and saw the city from above! It was great! He would point out landmarks and I would just stare in amazement! You name it, we saw it. I bet we walked 15 miles that day and I loved every second of it, but the best was yet to come!

After our tour, we went back to the apartment and changed for dinner. We took a cab and off to the restaurant we were. After begin seated, Chef Morimoto approached the table to say hello to my dining companion and introduce himself to me. I was star stuck to say the least! When he asked what I we would like for dinner, I just handed him the menu and said "Anything you make, I would be honored to eat!". With that he headed off to prepare our meal. My companion looked at me and said, "Do you have any idea what it is going to cost after telling him that?" I said..."no". He then said," It will be over $1000 but I could care less, it will be well worth it to watch you enjoy this meal tonight and to enjoy it with you". With that, the first of countless rounds of specially prepared dishes arrived. Each round was paired with a perfectly selected Saki. We sampled everything from one end of the gamut to the other! Beef tar tar to blow fish and saki from around the world! My companion eventually told me"You do realize that he will not stop sending food until you tell him to." I finally had to tell the waiter I was stuffed! With that, he came out with the folder containing the bill. I was not looking forward to seeing how much this meal was going to cost my companion, when the waiter opened his mouth and said something totally unexpected. "The Chef says to have a great night, dinner is on him." I almost fell out of my seat. Could this night get any better? Of course it could, we stopped into Iron Chef Batali's restaurant Del Posto for after dinner drinks. We had hand squeezed kumquat martinis. The tab was paid and off we went on a nice stroll through the city eventually hailing a cab and heading home.

Little did I know that, after touring my friend's office the next day and spending a great morning in the city, this would be the last time I spent with this awesome man! We kept in touch all through training until the night before I graduated. Then, he decided that it would be best if I concentrated on my new job and got settled into my new life and that dating and being a couple at that time was not an option. I was sad, hurt and even a little angry, but looking back I regret nothing. He showed me the time of my life and seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as I did. We still keep in touch through email from time to time for which I am very thankful. One day, maybe he will read this post and know exactly how much that time with him meant! Just in case... to him I would like to say, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!