The McDonald's Date

We had reconnected after four years, in the grocery store in the neighborhood. Honestly, I reluctantly accompanied my mom there. According to her, a young woman had to know to wake up early in the morning, complete all errands for the day and ensure that her husband and children would be taken care of. In college, we had mutual friends and would greet each other in passing. Being taller than him wasn't a problem, but there was something about him that I liked. He would get a look of curiosity in his eyes which made me to wonder what he was thinking. We exchanged numbers and went our separate ways.

The conversations were pretty calm and funny. Amar started telling me that pockets of jeans are not for putting things in, they are for putting your hands in your pocket to look cool as you walk down the street. I disagreed, because I only put my hands in my pockets to check if I left a dollar or two. I requested that we would speak on the phone more than text. This way, I can listen to the different intonation's in his voice. He told me that he would like to take me out on a date Friday evening around 7:00pm. Amar told me he would pick me up and that he knew of a great taco spot in Queens. This was really happening. A day, a time, a spot to eat and I wouldn’t be in the driver’s seat.

Friday had finally arrived and I made sure to have my outfit and makeup ready. This is the part of the story where things should turn for the better. It does not. So much so that it makes me question our human existence, but that could just be the part of me that isn't healed yet. The rain began and I texted Amar to ask if he was already on his way. This was mistake number one because he’s taking me out, remember? After about thirty minutes, I receive a text from him saying:

Don’t you see it’s raining outside?

Wait. What? Is he being for real? I checked outside to look at the rain. Who blames Mother Nature and then cancels a date? I immediately messaged in my friend group chat about what he had texted. As you can imagine, hell fire spewed out of their texts with exclamation points, emojis and abundance of question marks. I rewound in my brain the day we connected in the grocery store and pictured myself ignoring him and paying him no mind. Too late. It’s my fault that I did not recognize the utter madness in his eyes which I mistook for “curiosity”. God what have I gotten myself into?

My mother's words were echoing in my brain "don't be quick to lick hot soup" and here I am feeling the burn on my tongue. My mother, an honest, caring, strict and hard working immigrant woman, was always right and made sure I always remembered that. At my tender age of twenty-five of course I know what’s best for me, so I did not catch on. Two days later, he texts me and apologizes that he did not take me out that night. I make an excuse for him, saying we don't need to go out at all and to not worry about it. Realizing that this was his chance to go in for the kill, he calls and pleads with me to give him another chance at “making things right between us”. Now, at this point you should be questioning human existence for myself and Amar because why am I even still speaking to this guy? Desperation.

I would like to start by saying this matter is not “fool me once or fool me twice”. I was the fool from the beginning and Amar knew it. The second time of our first date, he picked me up on time. He looked and smelled so good. We began making our way to the taco spot and I made sure to have my Google maps open with the address he gave me. We stopped at the red light. It turned green and he made a right. I was wondering why he would take that turn when we should've gone straight. Before I knew it, we were in the drive-thru of McDonald’s.

Welcome to McDonald’s. What would you like to order?

Yea, let me get a large fry.

He asked me if I would like anything and I stared at him and said nothing. I noticed he had a cup of ice with a drink that was dark. It definitely wasn't soda. I told him to take me home which was about two minutes away. Instead, he drove past my house and I looked back at the window as my house became further and further away. I began to yell at him to turn the car around to take me home. I felt as if my eyes were popping out of my head because of how annoyed I was. He was calm and smiling and I thought “God is this what I get for talking to folks in the grocery store?”. I went silent again as he continued driving. A few minutes went by and he stopped the car in the middle of the road. He reached over with his alcoholic breath and tried to kiss me. Are you serious right now?! You know this section is off limits! He smiled and got out of the car and began to urinate. I calmly unlocked the car and began to power walk so I wouldn't bring too much attention to myself.

I heard the closing of the car door and saw in my peripheral vision that he began to follow me, asking me to get into the car. I began to run because I had one block left. I had taken the power of oxygen for granted. I reached in my pocket searching for my keys, not caring for any money that was in there. I quickly went back into my house, trying my best to catch my breath. I made. No more Discovery Channel for me I thought.

At 2:00 in the morning, I received a text saying, I'm parked around the corner. Come and meet me. I am so sorry. Do you think I responded?