On a November day in 1999 I was dragged along to a BBQ by my new house mate. I had not long moved back to Australia, having spent the best part of the year living in Canada and was only just finding my feet on the Gold Coast. I had known my housemates for a while, having worked with them in the past, but for now I was perfectly happy just fraternizing with them, needing little additional external stimuli. Unfortunately, they insisted and I was dragged along to nothing less than the Sunday afternoon gathering of a family I had never met.
As we drove, I played in my mind all the potential awkwardness that would ensue;
"So, what do you do for work? Where did you grow up? Why does your face look so funny?"
If I could paint a picture of hell, the afternoon which lay ahead of me would be it. As the cherry on top, we were to stop and pick up another friend (who I did not know) on the way there, just adding to the tally of people that knew each other but not me.
Being new to my surroundings, I was not at all familiar with where we were headed or even currently were. As we headed further west to collect the next accomplice, I was certain that they could have made their own way by cart and bullock faster than us making the seemingly endless detour. Eventually arriving at the acreage property my religious metaphor for this hellish afternoon went up a notch. Emerging from the house was a young woman, pink scoop neck top, long dark hair, and shorter than me (not easy). Walking trepidatiously to the car was the most angelic person I had ever seen. This beauty was introduced to me as Peta, she climbed into the back of the car and proceeded to say approximately 11 words to me for the rest of the afternoon. Given I uttered a grand total of 15 words, it was safe to say she got most of my attention.
A few weeks passed, I continued to familiarise myself with my new city, playing a bit of sport here, going for social drinks there - but primarily focused on work, opening a skate store I had flown back to start up. It was on a shift prior to opening that I was to meet Peta again. She worked for the parent company that was funding my store, and would apparently be showing me the ropes on our point of sale system.
We spent that day in closer proximity than any two strangers should ever be, two people confined at a single operator register space. Fortunately, our prior interaction had broken some of the ice and we were able to banter over worldly topics such as the weather, work colleagues and troublesome customers. It was during my absence at lunch time that things kicked into overdrive.
That afternoon a friend from New Zealand was flying in to stay with me. We had met a few years prior working at a ski resort in Colorado and this would be the first time we had caught up since. She was to call me at work when she got to the train station and I would knock off for the day to go and pick her up. I came back from lunch at about 1pm, Peta went to lunch immediately after and returned at 1:30pm and we continued to work in earnest. About 2:30 I started getting anxious as I had been expecting my friend to arrive an hour ago. It was at this point Peta turned sheepishly and mentioned I had had a phone call a couple of hours ago whilst at lunch. This oversight would be the catalyst to the best moments of my life.
Over the coming weeks the awkwardness faded to friendship. Peta not long from a relationship and in no hurry to re-enter that space, me personally just in need of a friend to show me around and talk shit with. Occasionally we would grab lunch, go to the movies (Toy Story 2 was our first ever film together), and I'd watch her play netball on a Tuesday night if the mood struck. By no stretch were we girlfriend and boyfriend, just mates who had a similar work schedule and complimentary spare time. One night after a movie (I'm sure many would have called it a date - but I was a bit slow and pretty sure no princess would ever go for a toad like me) I dropped Peta home, as I had done multiple times before. She leaned in to kiss me.
What was this? I was shocked! This couldn't be happening! She didn't want a boyfriend, and I only dealt in absolutes, the idea of kissing just for shit's and giggles was not on the table. I retracted in what must have been an incredibly peculiar response, hit my head on the driver’s side door and extended my hand to shake hers. The unintended rejection of a girl I could have only ever dreamed about. Always the caring and conscientious one, Peta took my hand and returned the gesture to avoid further embarrassment and took her leave. I reversed out the driveway, stunned silence turning to self-loathing faster than my 1988 Toyota Camry went from 0 - 20kph. An opportunity wasted, unlikely to ever present itself again.
Like all social pariahs, I avoided Peta for the next few weeks. Watching from afar but averting my eyes should she ever catch my glance. Unnecessarily finding reasons to walk past the front of her store anytime she was working and hoping to see her there.
One Saturday my father came and visited me at the store. We went and had lunch, and on the way back happened past Peta's store. Hiding behind a sunglass stand, I pointed her out and told him that one day I would marry that girl. Always supporting my day dreaming ways, my dad placed a hand assuredly on my shoulder and probably said something encouraging whilst prompting me to not set my goals too high, and the exchange was forgotten.
That night, my housemates again dragged me out of the house, noticing that my forays into the real world had dropped somewhat in recent times. I agreed, not having the energy nor desire to argue, figuring there would be Cheezels and a six pack of beer to keep me company in the corner. As we made our way the roads felt familiar, and the setting sun told me we were heading west. We turned into a driveway I had been down before, the first time on a November day some time earlier.
Walking in, the birthday girl’s eyes caught mine, and I am happy to say I have loved her ever since.
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