(This is the second story in a series. Please read this post first, if you haven’t yet!)
Why I ever trusted Elijah after that first night with the unsolicited vodka, I can’t say. Some people are so intriguing, so persuasive that all the little red flags are camouflaged by loads of pretty pink flowers.
I was scheduled to leave the state (followed by the country) indefinitely about two weeks after our first date, so I came to know Elijah hurriedly. We watched Modern Love together and contemplated philosophical questions from the comfort of his sectional sofa. We had a leisurely outdoor December brunch and spontaneously decided on Napa for a festive holiday evening. He met my family at a college basketball game, and I met his mother and stepfather when we dropped by their home one evening. It was fun and easy and low-pressure, but he gave me another reason to consider returning to the SF Bay Area after my adventures abroad.
“We’ll wait to get married and have kids until after you come back,” he joked, and I laughed.
(More of this story will be here tomorrow!)
