Flashback: Formal

One of our first dates, though it is only a first date in retrospect, was when I took Alex to a fraternity formal.  I say first date in retrospect because it carried with it no expectation of developing into a relationship; and while I (Arthur) was definitely checking in to what kind of person Alex was, Alex was more interested in checking out all of my other fraternity brothers. Our evening began with several of my fraternity brothers and I making dinner for Alex and the other dates.   I honestly can’t remember what we prepared we definitely put a lot of effort into impressing the young ladies. 

To what extent we succeeded (Alex just informed me that it was all right) I probably lost some ground when I missed the road getting out of town (twice).  We departed from our college town to Kansas City traveling with another couple and had a very enjoyable time chatting and getting to know each other.  Once we got to our destination I let Alex off in front of the building where the formal was and went to park the car.  Due to some poor navigation it was another half hour before I rejoined her (Giving Alex plenty of time to scout out the other gentlemen and wonder where in the world her date went and if he was coming back.)  I did eventually return and once again we had a wonderful time.  That first formal was an interesting one because we didn’t quite know how to interact with one another, hence, Alex seemed to want to dance to every song and I obliged even though it might not necessarily have been my cup of tea. 

When the night was through the adventure had not yet ended; I was not quite sure how to escape downtown Kansas City.  It should probably be noted at this point that my fraternity brother in the back seat was supposed to be in charge of navigation, but the driver always gets blamed for everything.  Regardless of blame, our merry party was soon heading towards a rougher section of town and Alex was having none of that. She whipped out the atlas and soon had us safely headed towards home.  And again the conversation along the way was very enjoyable.  

Alex’s editorial comments:  Alex had been lost in Kansas City a few times before with different groups and knew enough to know that there were certain areas you did not want to find yourself in at midnight.  As the men of the party were discussing that maybe they should turn east into this area of town she decided that it was not a good time to sit back but maybe someone with some navigational skills should step in so she did—she has a tendency to be a control freak at times.  She was able to navigate them to the only part of KC she was familiar with and get them back on the interstate headed in the right direction.  At that point she could relax since the vehicle was headed home.  About 20 minutes later, Arthur looked over and asked if they had found I-70 yet.  This was just the beginning of an understanding of Arthur’s struggles with navigation.  It was also very entertaining for Alex to retell this story to her parents the next day.  Her dad got quite the kick out of it.  Little did he know that in a few years he would be giving his only daughter to this "navigationally challenged" guy to love and protect for life. 

Whatever we talked about along the way, it was apparently good enough to trump all these navigational errors because about a week later when Arthur asked Alex if they could start “hanging out intentionally” she agreed. A few months later Alex moved to KC so Arthur came and visited her several times-- Alex always praying that he would be able to find her place or his way back out of the city again.  It just goes to show once again that love conquers all and that Alex always navigates. Omnia Vincit Amor.