Mysterious Panda
New member
One day, Gerry asked Fiona out to a movie.She accepts and they have a pretty good time. A few nights later, he asks her out to dinner and they again enjoy themselves.They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither of them is seeing anyone else. And then one evening when thy are driving home, a thought occurs to Fiona, and without really thinking she says it out loud: "Do you realise that as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly 6 months...?" And then there is silence in the car. Too Fiona it seems like a loud silence...
(She thinks)
Sheesh, I wonder if it bothers him that I've said that. Maybe he's feeling confined by our relationship. Maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.
(He thinks)
Gosh. 6 months..
(She thinks)
But hey, I'm not sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are,moving steadily towards.... I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy?Are we heading towards marriage? Towards children? Toward a life time together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?
(He thinks)
So... that means it was... lets see... it was February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's which means... let me check the odometer... Whoah! I am way overdue for an oil change here
(She thinks)
He's upset, I can see it on his face. Maybe Im reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment. Maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.
(He thinks)
And I'm going to have them take a look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not working right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 32 degrees out and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck - and I paid those incompetent thieves $800
(She thinks)
He's angry. And I don't blame him - I'd be angry too. I feel so guilty putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.
(He thinks)
They'll probably say it's only a 90 day warranty.That's exactly what they are going to say, those slimbags...
(She thinks)
Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when Im sitting next to a perfectly good person. A person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my romantic fantasy...
(He thinks)
Warranty? I'll give them a damn warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it up their...
"Gerry" Fiona says
"What?" says Gerry, starled
"Please don't torture yourself like this" says Fiona, her eyes begining to brim with tears.
"Maybe I should never have... I feel so..."
She breaks down sobbing
"What?" says Gerry
"I'm such a fool" Fiona sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. There's no knight, and there's no horse"
"There's no night? No horse?" says Gerry, baffled
"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Fiona says
"No" says Gerry, playing it safe
"It's just that... It's just that I... I need more time" says Fiona
There is a fiffteen second pause while Gerry, thinking as fast as he can, tries to think of a safe response. Finally, he comes up with one he thinks might work.
"Yes" he says
Fiona, deeply moved, touches his hand
"Oh Gerry, do you really feel that way?" she says
"What way?" says Gerry
"That way about time" say Fiona
"Oh" says Gerry, glancing at his watch. "No... I mean, yes"
Fiona turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involed a horse. At last she speaks.
"Thank you, Gerry" she says
"Er, yeah..." says Gerry, uncertainly.
Then he takes her home and Fiona lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn. Wheras when Gerry gets back to his place, he opens a bag of pretzels, turns on the TV and immediately becomes deeply involed in a re-run of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recess of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure that there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it. This is also Gerry's policy regarding issues like world hunger.
The next day Fiona will call her closet friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyse everthing she said and everthing he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject on and off, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.
Meanwhile, Gerry, while playing tennis one day with a mutual friend of his and FIona's, will pause just before serving, frown and say...
"Scott? Did Fiona ever ride a horse at night...?"
(She thinks)
Sheesh, I wonder if it bothers him that I've said that. Maybe he's feeling confined by our relationship. Maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.
(He thinks)
Gosh. 6 months..
(She thinks)
But hey, I'm not sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are,moving steadily towards.... I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy?Are we heading towards marriage? Towards children? Toward a life time together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?
(He thinks)
So... that means it was... lets see... it was February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's which means... let me check the odometer... Whoah! I am way overdue for an oil change here
(She thinks)
He's upset, I can see it on his face. Maybe Im reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment. Maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.
(He thinks)
And I'm going to have them take a look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not working right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 32 degrees out and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck - and I paid those incompetent thieves $800
(She thinks)
He's angry. And I don't blame him - I'd be angry too. I feel so guilty putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.
(He thinks)
They'll probably say it's only a 90 day warranty.That's exactly what they are going to say, those slimbags...
(She thinks)
Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when Im sitting next to a perfectly good person. A person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my romantic fantasy...
(He thinks)
Warranty? I'll give them a damn warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it up their...
"Gerry" Fiona says
"What?" says Gerry, starled
"Please don't torture yourself like this" says Fiona, her eyes begining to brim with tears.
"Maybe I should never have... I feel so..."
She breaks down sobbing
"What?" says Gerry
"I'm such a fool" Fiona sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. There's no knight, and there's no horse"
"There's no night? No horse?" says Gerry, baffled
"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Fiona says
"No" says Gerry, playing it safe
"It's just that... It's just that I... I need more time" says Fiona
There is a fiffteen second pause while Gerry, thinking as fast as he can, tries to think of a safe response. Finally, he comes up with one he thinks might work.
"Yes" he says
Fiona, deeply moved, touches his hand
"Oh Gerry, do you really feel that way?" she says
"What way?" says Gerry
"That way about time" say Fiona
"Oh" says Gerry, glancing at his watch. "No... I mean, yes"
Fiona turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involed a horse. At last she speaks.
"Thank you, Gerry" she says
"Er, yeah..." says Gerry, uncertainly.
Then he takes her home and Fiona lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn. Wheras when Gerry gets back to his place, he opens a bag of pretzels, turns on the TV and immediately becomes deeply involed in a re-run of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recess of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure that there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it. This is also Gerry's policy regarding issues like world hunger.
The next day Fiona will call her closet friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyse everthing she said and everthing he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject on and off, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.
Meanwhile, Gerry, while playing tennis one day with a mutual friend of his and FIona's, will pause just before serving, frown and say...
"Scott? Did Fiona ever ride a horse at night...?"