He Asked Me Out!

The spring I was nineteen, worrying about finding a husband or becoming an old maid, I also got my first real job.  I became a short-order cook at Fonzie's.

Fonzie's was a cute little cafe in my neighborhood.  Some good friends of ours bought is as sort of a tax write-off, hoping it would make some money but mostly knowing it would give us teenagers a good place to hang out, work, and learn some life lessons.  They decorated it 50's style, named it after one of the main characters on a popular TV show, and opened the doors to rave reviews and happy kids.  I quickly learned how to flip burgers, make delectable sub sandwiches, mix tantalizing milk shakes and sodas, and make change.  It was fun.  Within a few weeks I had been promoted to night manager, and also learned how to clean out the ice cream machine, scrub down the grill, count out the money and lock up the cafe.  That was even more fun.  I can't say that I wasn't nervous sometimes after I had closed out the register, turned off the lights, and was locking the back door, but no one was ever waiting outside to knock me over the head and steal the container of soft-serve ice-cream I got to take home with me.  Since we always had to clean out the ice-cream machine, we had to do something with the left overs, and getting to take it home was one of the perks of being night manager.  Yummmmmm, that stuff was good!

I worked at Fonzie's all spring while I went to college and waited for prince charming to come.  Mind you, I was also looking for him every time someone walked in the cafe door, but that never happened.  Perhaps I was a little too picky, but in the back of my mind was always the thought, "Gene will be coming home from his mission one of these days, and maybe he will you ask you out again."

Gene was a boy who lived in our neighborhood, belonged to my ward in church, and once asked me to go to a fireside with him, but like an idiot, I turned him down.  He'd caught me off guard in the parking lot after church on Sunday.  I had already decided I wasn't going to the fireside because we had a family thing that night, so when he amazed me by asking if I'd like to go I didn't think, "Hey, Gene's asking you out on a date!"  Instead, I was so surprised and flustered that he was actually talking to me that I told him the excuse I had planned to give my friends when they wanted me to go.  Dumb! 

Anyway, Gene had been away on a two year mission to Canada, and he was coming home soon.  I'd written to him during that two years, and he'd written nice letters in return.  Surely that meant he was still at least a little interested in me, right?  On the other hand, probably every girl in Mesa was writing letters to Gene, so he might not even realize who my letters were from.

The Sunday after he came home Gene spoke in church.  All the girls in our ward drooled over him as he talked.  Gene was tall, had dark hair, and the most intense, dreamy eyes you ever saw.  One look, and those eyes were emblazoned on your mind forever, at least if you were a girl. 

After church Gene's mom invited everyone to come over for a little open house they were hosting that afternoon.  I could hardly wait for dad to get home from his meetings so we could go over.  I made no-bake cookies while I waited, since it was nice for people to bring goodies to open houses to help out, and who knows.  Maybe the way to a man's heart really was through his stomach?

Mom and dad and I walked in the back door of Gene's house to find the living room and kitchen full of people, mostly teenage girls, standing around talking and laughing and eating cookies. Slyly scanning the room while I walked, I took my platter of cookies over and put it on the counter.  I finally spied Gene, standing in a corner next to his mom, talking to some neighbors.  I kind of grinned and waved, and immediately his mom grabbed Gene's arm and pulled him over to talk to me. 

"I brought some cookies," I motioned to the heavily laden counter. 

"Oh, you're wonderful!" his mom gushed.  "Gene, you remember Gale don't you?"

Gene smiled shyly and nodded.  "Thanks for writing to me," he said, and my heart melted.  "He cares," I thought.  "He knows I wrote to him, and he remembers."  

More people were pushing up behind us, reaching out to shake hands with Gene and welcome him home, but I didn't move out of the way.  I just sort of stood there, taking up space, listening to the conversations going on all around me.  I was standing next to Gene.  Who cared what else was happening?

Eventually mom and dad made their way over to welcome Gene home, and to collect me so we could go back to our house.  Gene visited with them for a few minutes, I always thought he especially liked my dad, and then before we left he turned to me and said, "I heard there’s a stake fireside tonight.  Would you like to go with me?"

Wham! Bam! Woosh! Fireworks went off in my head and heart so loudly my ears started ringing.  He was asking me out, again.  And this time I knew what to say.  "Yes!"  That was all.  I couldn't think of any clever reply, I couldn't think of anything at all except Gene had just asked me out on a date and I was going to go.  So I turned and followed mom and dad out the door, down the street, and to our own house.  Believe me, this was way better than getting to bring home the left over ice cream from Fonzie's, even if my insides were already starting to twist around in nervousness and I kind of felt the same way I felt when I had to walk out into the dark parking lot, anxious and scared.  But excited!