Life By Zach

And So It Begins

 

“Babe I’m hungry! Let’s go get some breakfast!!”

Babe? What in the world happened last night? My head was still spinning from the beer and whiskey, and of course the fact that Beth was in my bed and all I had were fuzzy memories of kissing her on the dance floor. This is NOT me.

“We can go to EggHeaven across the street, its such an adorbs little place!” Beth said.

“How is she so enthusiastic right now?” I thought as a wave of nausea washed over me. I glanced at the clock on my dresser. It was already 10:30, which in college time is brutally early, but for me, a bit late since I would have been up and at the gym by 9. The thought of working out made me nauseous all over again, however, the idea of a big plate of greasy eggs and bacon gave me hope for relief. 

“Uhm, yeah, ok. Let's go eat.” I muttered, trying to speak as quietly as possible, since every word felt like a tiny jackhammer in my head.

“Good thing I always keep a pair of flats in my purse babe. I totally wouldn’t want to look like a skankasaurus doing the walk of shame to breaky hahaha!”  Beth laughed as she pulled her mass of hair into this side braid thingy, applied some make-up and jumped off the bed.

“Babe again? Skankasaurus? Breaky? Am I going to be able to have any kind of normal conversation with this girl?” I thought grumpily as I pulled on my jeans and a faded grey T-shirt.

My roommate Brady was not home, clearly he had already made it to the gym.  Brady is pre-law but thinks he is already a lawyer, so he takes the whole “where were you last night between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. and who can confirm your whereabouts” to a whole other level. Normally this routine kind of irritates me, especially when I am in a hurry, but today Brady's incessant questioning would have really come in handy to help me piece together how in the world Beth got the idea that we have gotten to the calling each other "babe" stage already.

EggHeaven was pretty crowded when we got there, mostly with similarly situated college students attempting to cure their hangovers amid a pile of greasy eggs, golden hash browns and mugs of steaming coffee. Just the smell of something fried was already making me feel better.

We found a table and sat down, and quickly ordered coffee. I looked over the menu, but I knew what I was going to have. Two eggs over easy, bacon, hash browns and toast and side of pancakes. I have this habit that everyone I know considers gross, but I LOVE! I pour syrup all over my eggs and hash browns and ketchup on top of that whole mess and then soak up the egg yolks with my pancakes. The sweet and tangy mixture of the syrup and ketchup is pure heaven to me. I love it, even though I know it sounds pretty awful. I dare you to try it.

“I’ll just have the fruit cup.” Beth requested after I ordered.

“Fruit cup? That’s it, nothing else?” I couldn’t believe it.

 I like a girl that eats. My mind travelled back to my trip to New York with Aleah, and the delicious meals we shared there. She always ate with such enthusiasm, savoring every bite and constantly trying to sneak food off my plate too. Even though she ate just as much as I did, her body was incredible and I know she worked very hard, playing tennis and running and going to the gym. I always loved that drive about her, which was something that she and I had in common. But I also loved that she was always willing to indulge in a delicious meal with me. 

“Toats babe. I have yoga later and don’t wanna be bloated. That's not like, Zen at all.” Beth explained wisely.

I wonder if Beth knows what Zen means. But that's besides the point.

“I see. Yeah ok, whatever works. So, uhm…last night huh?”

 I didn’t really know what to say. I have never really been much of a player. My father has been an incredible example for me of how a man should act. He treats my mother with respect and love, they seems as much in love now as ever. They still hold hands, he opens the door for her, compliments her and brings her flowers. On top of that, my father has always told me to put my career and education first in life right now, so that I can provide a good home and stable life for my family. Both my parents encouraged me to choose a partner that is as driven and motivated as I am, someone that supports my personal growth and success and someone whose own career and future I will support and wish to see flourish as well.  Encouragement and respect seem to be key in a good relationship, so a person is fulfilled within themselves and not searching for fulfillment thorough someone else.

Because of those values, I have never really been able to treat women as disposable items to be used and discarded, even though that seems to be the norm among many of my peers these days.

“I knowwwwww. Intense huh? I’m so glad we finally got together. I mean, it’s only right. You and me. You’re like super-hot and well, I am too, so why not right?”

Hmm. Beth’s assessment of our mutual appeal wasn’t exactly rocket science, but my breakfast was taking me to such a better place that I went with it.

"Right,” I agreed. Breakfast brain. Apparently can get you in trouble.

“I gotta go to the bathroom. BRB!”

As Beth rounded the corner to the ladies room, I tried to pull myself out of my hangover and breakfast haze and thought maybe I should re-connect with the world.

I pulled out my phone, which I had pretty much ignored since last night, and  scrolled aimlessly through Facebook and Instagram.

Suddenly, my eyes caught a picture that made my heartbeat speed up once again.  Aleah at Elena’s wedding. My God she looks beautiful. I don’t know if she knew someone took a picture, but it captured a genuine moment of what looked like pure joy. She was obviously having an amazing time; she was one the dance floor with some guy, smiling that incredible smile of hers, her beautiful hair cascading down her back as he twirled her around mid-spin. She looked as though she did not have a care in the world, happy, relaxed, and enjoying the moment. With this guy.

Immediately my mind started reeling with questions. “Who is that guy? Was he her date? Her boyfriend? Why didn’t she invite me to be her date? Would I have even been able to go? Did she miss me?”

My headache, which had begun to dull, started throbbing again.

"Oh man," I thought to myself. "Why am I still wondering?" I closed Instagram, set the phone on the table and made up my mind.

"Screw it. I'm going for it."

I'm going to go for this thing with Beth, I am going to see where college life takes me.

But first, I am going to take a nap. Because naps always make things better.