A few years ago, I tried making small talk with a woman at a hometown function. She was on the edges of my social circle, so saying hello seemed reasonable. I wasn’t asking her out or attempting an elaborate seduction. I was participating in the ancient social custom of being in the same room.
She rudely brushed me off. I left it there. We weren’t close, and there wasn’t much reason to turn one unpleasant interaction into a major project.
Then I moved away for college and had a late growth spurt. This becomes relevant, apparently.
Last weekend, our hometown baseball team was in the World Series, which brought everyone together for a huge gathering. She was there. I didn’t approach her, but every so often I caught her looking at me out of the corner of my eye. I noticed without doing anything about it.
Afterward, a mutual friend told me she’d be interested in going on a date with me and wanted to know whether the feeling was mutual. The friend pretty much attributed this new interest entirely to my growth spurt. A surprisingly concise performance review.
She’s somewhat attractive, and I’m single. Under ordinary circumstances, that would be enough to make a date worth considering. I don’t need a grand explanation for why someone finds me attractive, and I know a few years can change how people see each other.
Still, I remember trying to have a perfectly ordinary conversation and getting brushed off. Her being interested now doesn’t erase that. I also have a mutual friend’s explanation for the change, rather than anything she’s told me herself.
So I haven’t decided. There’s a possible date on the table, along with one bad memory and a secondhand explanation involving my height. Do I want to get to know her, or am I mostly curious about finally clearing the entrance requirements?
