Falling in Love Again For the First Time Almost Like It'd Never Happened Before This Once, Part One!

Oh, God. Puke!

Right?

But that is the post for today.

Last summer, I was playing Claire in Rumors at the Neil Simon Festival.

I'd just done a matinee and ran home to pick up the kids to bring them back to the theatre, because someone had provided a big dinner for us in the green room. We got back to the green room and waited for the dinner to arrive while my kids ran around and drove each other and me crazy.  I was tired.  So tired.  As I usually am with doing a play, working a part-time job, and raising 4 kids.  Also, it had been only 2 days since I ended things with The Artist.  I was missing our nakie-kissy stuff and his smooth voice and the way he giggled at my innocence.  More than anything I was pissed at myself for allowing myself to invest emotionally, because The Artist was clearly a girl-in-every-port kinda fellah.

Back to the green room:

My good friend, Mr. Hilarious (who was playing Ernie in Rumors), walked into the green room with some friends at the same moment that I was barking at Timothy. Of course. Of course!

One of these friends was a very tall good-looking man who was speaking in a baritone voice.

We locked eyes immediately.  I would have held it longer if I hadn't been in a bad mood.  Also, my first thought upon seeing him was, Shit.  Not another swarthy, olive-skinned, good-looking man. How dare you, swarthy man! What an a-hole!

Well, Mr. Hilarious just walked in with his posse, and Bad-Mood-Ashley waited for Mr. Hilarious to introduce his friends, but no no. No introductions. So I was feeling awkward on top of my bad mood. Mr. Hilarious!  Come on, man!  Introduce people!  That's what people do! Jeez! (bad mood)

I listened in to bits and pieces of their conversation. I thought, Hmmm, I think I have met this tall swarthy guy who is being an a-hole for being so attractive.

Dinner arrived and with no introductions having ever been gracefully offered to me, a high-class, upstanding woman, who is seasoned as to the ways of high society, I just made myself a part of their conversations.

The swarthy man had mentioned Provo/Orem, poking fun at it.  I interjected, "Oh, please don't."

"Oh, sorry," he said, "does it bother you?"

"Well, not that you're joking about it. I just can't stomach thinking about that place."

He chuckled, "I understand."

Then after some more chit chatting, I was sure I'd met this guy before.

I finally asked him, "What's your name?"

"Jeremy...Minagro," he answered.

"Oh, we've met before," I said, still in my bad mood.  So the tone of it was like, We've met before! God! How do you not know who I am, douche!

"We have? What's your name?"

"Ashley Wilkinson...Neves"

"Oh, right!"  Then he mentioned how he'd heard about my divorce and the deets through the theatre circles in Utah.

There we go.

Then we sat in the green room across the dinner table and did not stop talking.  He told me about his gay father.  He talked to me about how he used to be hardcore, true blue Mormon, but now he's an atheist. We picked apart the whole Mormonism/Homosexuality issues until there was absolutely nothing left.  (Of course, we were on the same page about that) It was just back and forth, back and forth between the two of us- talking, talking, talking.

As we were having this incredibly deep, open, personal conversation, we didn't really care that there were other people in the room.  We just kept going.

Then Jeremy pulled out his phone and very business-like asked me, "What's your number."

As I dictated my number to him, I felt silly. I'm not sure why.

Then he told me he and friends were going to Off the Cuff that night (Mr. Hilarious is one of the founding members/players).

I went home and texted his old friend in Cedar, Mr. Greekopolis, "So...Jeremy Minagro?"

His reply, "Yeesss??"

"I think I'm gonna make out with him tonight."

"Go for it! He's a great guy."

So a few hours, a shower, and play make-up removal later, I went to Off the Cuff.  Found Jeremy and friends and there was no seat open next to him.  I was mad.

We talk at intermission.

He seems strange.  He seems very serious.  I couldn't tell if he was just boring or nervous or uninterested.  I decided that I didn't' care whether or not we ended up making out.

Then Off the Cuff ended. I asked him if he'd like to hang out anyway. He said "Yeah!" But then changed his mind, because he was in town to specifically see these friends that he was with that night.

I understood. And went home not feeling disappointed.