Love Hides in Mysterious Places

Love Hides in Mysterious Places

Priscilla was simply a beautiful girl. However, she was modest. The college student just shook her head of gorgeous black curls and smiled that great smile the type you could hang on to forever.

“I’m just average.”

Perhaps, she might have believed so, but the healthy, red-blooded male population on campus thought otherwise.  She was hardly able to walk ten feet without some guy hitting on the annoyed female.

Tom Thomas, captain of the football team, had asked her out a thousand times. It usually went the same way.

“Hey, Priscilla, what are you doing tonight?”

“I have to wash my hair.”

“No, seriously, like you can wash your hair any night.”

“Well, that is true, so what are your plans?”

“I was going to take you out for supper.”

“Great where?”

“How about sushi?”

“I hate raw fish.”

“Well, how about that new Tex-Mex grill place?”

“Tex-Mex is overrated.”

“There is that new French restaurant they just opened.”

“I’ve heard about that place. I also heard it was really expensive.”

“That’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“I really don’t want to blow your entire year’s budget on little old me. Maybe, some other time.”

And she walked away.

Sam Norton was on the student council and quite popular around campus. He was another potential suitor.

“Hey, Priscilla, you look nice today.”

“I thought I looked nice every day?”

“Of course you do.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“I could compliment you even more over diner?”

“Well, it would have to be a very, very expensive restaurant.”

“Sure, that could be arranged.”

“I have high food tastes.”

“I can understand that.”

“So where are you going to take me?”

“I am not sure.”

“There are really two choices.  There is Chez Henri’s and the Golden Spoon.”

He winced because they were both very, very pricy.

“I will let you choose.”

“I like a man who is decisive and takes charge.”

“Okay, then we’ll go to the Golden Spoon.”

“Can you afford the Golden Spoon?”

He looked down at his shoes. 

“It will take some effort, but I really want to take you out. If any girl is worth that kind of money throw at them it would be you.”

“You are going to throw money at me?  It makes me sound like a stripper. I’ll pass on the ‘invitation.’”

She walked away.

Johnny Adams, a very brilliant student who had won awards in science and math was another guy who was seriously interested in Priscilla.  He drove a motorcycle not because he was cool, but because it was all he could afford. He had ‘borrowed’ it from his brother.

“Hey, Priscilla, do you like my motorcycle?”

She looked at it and shrugged her shoulders.

“I guess it is fine.”

“How would you like a ride?”

“No, thanks.”

“Why not?”

“Because they are dangerous. The last thing I need is to go and broke a bone or bust my head open.”

“I will go very easy.”

“That’s okay, I can’t risk getting maimed on a motorcycle with my whole future ahead of me. Thanks, anyway.”

And, she walked away.

Despite her many excuses and cold stance, the boys never stopped asking.

There was Duane, who was a bit of a campus legend. He was an older guy who had been in the army. He walked up to her one day and smiled. He got on one knee and recited some poetry and then stood up and bowed before her.

“I hate poetry.” She smiled and walked away.

There were all kinds and types of guys.

Omar, who was in medical school, was an Indian boy.

“Hello, pretty Priscilla, how are you today?”

“I am good.”

She tried to go around him but he blocked her way.

“I am going to be a doctor. Do you like doctors?”

“No, I don’t like doctors.”

“Why not?”

“Because the only time I go to see a doctor is when I am sick. So, no I really don’t like them.”

“But, what if you are with the doctor on a date?”

“Well, I guess that is different. However, you are not a doctor.”

Omar shuffled his feet.

“This is true, but someday I will be one and then you can say that you are dating a doctor.”

“But, if you are a doctor, then you will be working all the time because they are so busy. And, I will be at home all the time and get lonely and depressed and start to drink. And, I will turn into a pathetic alcoholic.  Do you want that?”

“Well, no I don’t want that.”

“Then, I guess we shouldn’t date. Have a nice day.”

And, she walked away with a smirk on her face.

There were dozens of other suitors and she knew how to fend all of them off. The guys on campus just shrugged their shoulders and scratched their head. None of them could figure her out.

One day, she was walking across campus with her friend Erin and spotted Neil.

“That guy is such a loser.” Priscilla looked angry.

“I hear he’s really weird.” Erin added.

“He is annoying and doesn’t know when to keep his big mouth shut.”

“Well, we don’t have to talk to him.”

“Honestly, if we were the last two people on the planet responsible for procreating and keeping the human race alive, it would die a slow, painful death.” Priscilla looked very serious.

“You really don’t like this guy?”

“No, I don’t.”

Neil and Priscilla had met at a party one night. It was a house bash and there was a lot of people there talking and kissing and laughing. In one section of the living room, there was a circle of about twelve young men and women.  

A girl, Diana, was telling innocent, somewhat corny jokes and she was very funny.  Everyone laughed including Priscilla.  

“A college professor was very worried about his recent study on earthquakes.

It turns out his findings were on shaky ground.”

“I knew that joke when I was in grade four,” pipped up Neil.

She ignored him.

“Why did the music note drop out of college?”

Before she could roll out the punch line, Neil spoke up.

“Because it couldn’t pick a major.”

For every joke that Diana told, Neil had some derisive comment to make. After attempting to tell a few more, she simply walked away.  

Soon the circle all drifted away and there was only Neil and Priscilla left.

He looked at her and smiled.  “So, what planet are you from?”

“Beg your pardon?”

“What planet are you from?”

“I am from earth.”

“I am not sure about that. I think that earth is a psychological experiment. I think that everyone is an alien and that we are all from different races put on earth to see if we can all get along.  I don’t think it is working.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah.”  

She got up and left.

One day, Priscilla and Erin were walking across campus heading to the cafeteria for a quick bite. Neil cut across in front of them.

He looked at them.

“Hi Erin.”

“Hi Neil.”

He didn’t even look at Priscilla. He walked away.

“That was rude.” Priscilla said.

“Maybe he ignored for a reason?”

“I don’t care. The guy isn’t worth the time of day.”

But the incident repeated itself about half a dozen times. He always said hello to Erin, but didn’t even look Priscilla’s direction.

It turned out that Priscilla did like poetry and loved all types of books, Shakespeare, plays and novels.  

One day, she was in a local discount book store and bumped into Neil.  

There was an awkward moment.

“Hey, I remember you from the party. Have you figured out what race of aliens you belong to yet?”

“No, I haven’t. I told you I am not an alien.”

She was looking for an escape route.

“So what kind of books are you looking for?”

“I am not sure. Look, I really have to go.”

“I have my selections right here.”

He had a basket full of books.

“You are going to read all those books?”

“Oh, sure, absolutely,” and he smiled.

“That is quite the eclectic mix.”

There was a book on windmills. There was one on rare plants found in the Amazon Jungle. There was a book of poetry from African poets. There was a book on the championship years of the Oakland A’s of the early 1970s. There was a history book not the Troubadours. There was another half-dozen that ranged from all over the spectrum, both fiction and non-fiction.

“You really like to read a lot?” Priscilla also liked to read a lot, but not as much.

“I do. I am a speed reader. I like to learn about all types of things.”

“You have a book on windmills.”

“My uncle is going to put up a windmill this summer and I thought it would be good to read up not he subject since I offered to help him out.”

“That is probably a good idea.” Priscilla looked at him a little differently.

“If you think so, I guess. I really have to go.”

She stopped him.

“Is there a problem?”

“How come every time Erin and I bump into you on campus you say hello to her and not to me?”

Neil looked around and shrugged his shoulders.

“Because you try and avoid me every chance you get. Erin is nice and says hello to me.”

He tried to go around her but she blocked his way.

“I don’t think that is fair.”

“I really don’t care if you think it is fair or not.”

He walked around and left.

“What a jerk,” she said in a low voice.

The girl was determined to give him a hard time.

Every time Priscilla saw Neil on campus she would stop him.

“Hi, Neil, how are you?”

“I am good. I would love to talk but I am late for a class.”

He would shuffle off.

Priscilla could not understand this.

One day, they met on campus again. 

“Hi, Neil, how are you?”

“I am good. I would love to stay and chat-

“But, you are late for a class.”

He looked down at his shoes.

“Is there a problem here?” Priscilla seemed a little bit offended.

“Look, Priscilla, you are a really nice girl and seemed bright enough.  But, every guy on campus is chasing you from the star football player to the most popular guys.  I won’t waste my time, because I am just plain.”

“Well, maybe I like plain.”

“No, you want something else.”

“How do you know what I want?”

“Well, actually I don’t.”

“Look, why don’t you come to my place for supper. I’m not much of a cook, but we can talk.”

“Okay, I guess so. Where do you live?”

“I live in the basement of a house at 145 Oak Street. Don’t go to the front door, but to the back and walk down the stairs. How about tomorrow night at five?”

Neil smiled and shuffled off.

He actually showed up.

“You made it.” She looked pleased.

“Did you think I was going to stand you up?” Neil looked puzzled.

“I wasn’t sure.”

“Well, I wouldn’t do that.” He smiled gently.

“If you say so,” and she smiled back at him.

They ate and talked.

“What is about me that you are so attracted to?”

“I like the fact that you are intelligent. I also like the fact that you think outside the box. I mean how many guys would think that earth is a sociological experiment for aliens? But, best of all, you are probably the only straight guy on campus that hasn’t hit on me.”

“I see. So, what do you want to do about this?”

She leaned over and kissed him.

“That’s what I want to do about it.”

Everyone on campus was shocked to watch them walk around holding hands and kissing when he dropped her off to a class. They graduated and a year later were married.

At the ten-year anniversary they showed up together, married and the proud parents of two wonderful, beautiful children. They lived in a nice, quiet town and there was a windmill on their property.

“It just goes to show you, you never know how the heart is going to swing,” said Priscilla to someone at the reunion.