Missed Connection

I went to a friend's birthday party last night, which ultimately ended up being a night of miscommunication and hurt feelings. Half of us ended up at one club, the other half (myself included) ended up at a bar down the street.

The problem with the first club was it only allowed people 25 years of age and older. The birthday girl was celebrating the big 2-5, however she has a lot of friends who are just barely 19.

One of those young ducklings is a good friend of mine and although I could have gotten into bar #1, there was no way I was going to leave her out on the sidewalk to freeze to death. It was bloody cold last night and the bouncers wouldn't even do us the courtesy of letting us stand inside while things were trying to get sorted with the club promoter. So if any of you have plans to go to Brassaii on King St. W., don't bother. They are assholes who clearly do not know the meaning of courtesy and customer service.

We had a good time in spite of the whole drama surrounding the evening. But by the time 3am hit, I was literally falling asleep in the bar. Which is a big no-no and gets you tossed out on your ass real quick. I was coming up on my 20th hour of consciousness and it had been an already very long and stressful day. I took the preemptive position of admitting defeat to fatigue and said good night to everyone.

One of the things I really hate about Toronto is our subway system shuts down before the bars close. The streetcar and bus service that late at night can leave you waiting on average about 30 minutes before anything comes along. Catching a connection without having to wait again is next to impossible. I was sooooo tired and cold that I was prepared to pay for a cab.

By some small miracle, I managed to grab a streetcar as I was coming out of the bar. I took it up to Bloor, which probably saved me about $10. I was waiting patiently on the corner of Bathurst & Bloor for either a cab or a bus, whichever came first.

As I was waiting, a really tall, really cute guy joined me on the corner.

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Oh, about 5 minutes. I saw a bus go by about two minutes before I made it to the corner. Who knows how long it'll be before another one comes by."

As I stood shivering, I took a good look at him. He seemed to be in his late twenties, about 6'4", brown hair coming out from under a newsboy cap, lean build and he was wearing the most awesome pair of orange velour sneakers.

A few minutes passed and another guy joined us on the corner. He too asked me how long I'd been waiting.

Even though it was a few short minutes, it felt like ages because it was so cold. I remember thinking to myself if it would be weird to ask the Tall Guy if he wanted to share a cab. I figured he's probably heading north, just like me, seeing as we were both waiting for the same bus that is only going in that direction. But being the big Chicken Shit that I am, I just continued to stand there shivering like an idiot.

While that monologue was going on in my head, I almost didn't hear him ask.

"Would you want to share a cab? At least up to St. Clair?"

Oh yes, yes, yes! Thank you Sweet Baby Jesus!

We managed to hail a cab within a few seconds and both climbed into the back seat.

"By the way, my name is Derek."

"Paprika. Nice to meet you."

He had a good firm handshake and a really nice smile.

"So Derek, where are you coming from tonight?"

"Karaoke."

Um, could I just fall in love with him right then and there?!

"Really?! Where?"

"XO Karaoke Bar on Bloor near Christie."

"Is that one of those Korean boxes?"

"Yup."

"Oh."

"You don't like the boxes?"

"Nope. I like having an audience to perform for. And who'll clap for me."

He laughed a nice, deep laugh.

"And where are you coming from Paprika?"

"A failed birthday party."

I went on to explain the events that transpired which led to me being at a different bar than the birthday girl.

Our cab arrived at the corner of Bathurst & St. Clair. The damage was only $7.50. We each put in $5.

As I was getting out, I lost grip of the door and it almost slammed into his feet. Oops!

After successfully leaving the vehicle, he looked down at me and said, "Well Paprika, it was nice meeting you. Have a good night."

"Thanks! You too!"

Now had this been a Hollywood film, he would have asked me for my number, phoned me the next day, made a date, started seeing each other exclusively, fallen in love, gotten married, had kids and lived happily ever after.

But this my life we're talking about. Nothing that awesome ever happens to me when it comes to men.

I crossed the street as the light was green, and when I turned around to see what direction he had walked, he had already disappeared.

For a moment I wondered if I had made him up in my mind. After all, I did drink an entire bottle of wine by myself.

He's been on my mind the whole day. So much so, I did something I swore I'd never do. I posted an ad in the personals on Craigslist.

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/mis/1698160057.html

Here's the text for future reference:

We Shared a Cab Last Night - w4m (Bathurst/Bloor)
Date: 2010-04-18, 2:12PM EDT

We shared a cab from Bathurst/Bloor to Bathurst/St. Clair. You were wearing a newsboy cap and orange shoes.

You know my name and I know yours.

When we got out of the cab, we shook hands and you wished me goodnight. Before I could say anything, you disappeared. I think you may have ducked into the Big Bee for a late night snack.

Since we live in the same neighbourhood, I would love to have coffee with you. I don't know why I would think you'd even see this, but I had to try this once.

Hoping to hear from you.

Location: Bathurst/Bloor
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 1698160057

Who knows, maybe he's thinking about me too.