12.26.2006

Singleton

So, I decided to attend church on Christmas Eve with my parents. (And already, you know that this story can't end well.)

Round 1: As we are leaving our pew at the end of the service, we are literally chased down by the Pastor's Wife. Actually, I am literally chased down, and then hugged by the Pastor's Wife. This is extremely strange because a) I haven't seen her in at least 5 years; b) I've never had a close relationship with her; c) she's not, to my knowledge, a warm and huggy person; and d) the church is not aflame, and I've been inside for about an hour.

After an extremely awkward hug (picture me, extending my hand in greeting, and her, oblivious, going in for full contact), she asks if I will be attending the 5:30 service. I tell her, with feigned regret, that we will be at my brother's house. Which is absolutely true.

She then says that she is hugely disappointed, not because she's trying to save my soul or anything, but because her son, B, is driving up as we speak, and wouldn't it be great if we could reconnect.

[Some history here: B and I attended church, senior high youth fellowship, and high school together. Our previous 'relationship' consisted of months of note writing and flirting during 10th grade geometry and church youth group activities, culminating in one afternoon of hanging out after school and kissing, followed by the mutual ignoring of each other the next day. So very high school. ]

While Pastor's Wife is still talking about B, I steal a glance at my parents. With relief, I note that they look as confused as I feel.

Round 2: In order to exit the church, we must greet the Pastor. He too enfolds me in an inappropriate hug, and asks if I'll be returning for the evening service, I supply my same response, adding feigned regret, he conveys disappointment, blah, blah, blah...and then goes even further. About how he and Wife have long felt that B and I would be perfect for one another, having been through similar "situations", both being of a certain age and still single, and don't I look beautiful (ew), and can he give my contact information to B?

Round 3: When we arrive home, my mother tells me that Pastor's Wife ran into P, my mom's close friend, in town the other day, and told her what a perfect couple B and I would make, and asked for P's help in getting us together. My mother allows that she probably should have warned me about this before we went to church.

Questions:

Is this it? Have I finally reached the stage of my life where "well-meaning" semi-strangers will decide that 34 is too old to be unattached, and therefore attempt to matchmake without any discernible interest on my part?

By similar "situations", did he mean my broken engagment? And if so, how did he know about that? Was B engaged at one point? Furthermore, why would he assume that our "situations" are similar because of that one fact?

Why would Pastor's Wife and Pastor presuppose that I am currently single just because I'm not engaged or married?

Given that Pastor's Wife and Pastor know nothing about my life, personality, circumstances, preferences, or (ahem) situation since I was regularly attending church at age 18 (and they had limited information at that time as well) - what makes B and I "perfect" for each other?

Can't I just be engaged in worshiping Our Lord Jesus Christ without worrying about engagements of another kind?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is AWESOME.

You just became a romance novel heroine, as interpreted by Lifetime.

And I, for one, am now curious about B.'s "situation."

Anonymous said...

Yikes!
It is a funny story though. I assume you won't be attending church with your parents anymore?

PS - When someone tells me they've "long felt" I should meet someone, I immediately tell them I too have something "long" that they should "feel."

(Sorry, was that inappropriate?)

Dewey Dismal said...

My guess is that the "situation" means he is 34 and still single. At least you know he comes from pretty good people and if he doesn't treat you well he will burn in the pits of hell and piss off his mom. I say give him your number. Of course I tend to be a bit of a romantic about this sort of thing because my parents met at a church for a wedding to which my mother had to be dragged kicking and screaming...

Anonymous said...

You should immediately put your petty individual feelings aside, follow the wise counsel of your elders and marry this fellow. They know best.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps B was featured in a separate NY Times article about bedbugs & is now also a quasi-cult celebrity with his own fascinating blog called "Ridiculous B"?

Do give him your number, attempt to reconnect & thrill us all with the details of this subplot...

Oh, and happy holidays, kiddo!

LORMO said...

This story is what church is all about - feeling awkward in the name of the lord.

But you sound like you might like B! You used to, for like a week or so, right?!

g8s is right, you should date him and then tell us all about it.

DO IT FOR US. Or Jesus.