Guy at the movie theater

 It was Friday evening when Greg, his brother Cameron, and their cousin Jason decided to catch a movie downtown. His brother had never been to New York and on his last night, he just wanted to do something calm and relaxing before his flight back out west.  

“Hey, I can get the tickets”, Jason suggested. “You and Cam go wait in line at the concession stand and I’ll meet you over there.” It was a busy night and the lines were only getting longer, so splitting up was the best move. Cam and Greg engaged in small talk as they waited in line. 

“How’s Pam doing? Is she liking her new job? I know you said she was having a hard time getting settled in the new place”, Greg asked. Pam and Cameron had been married for 18 years and shared two children together, Greg’s niece and nephew. They knew each other in high school but didn’t have a romantic relationship until they reconnected again after college. There had been a few parters for each of them beforehand, but nothing serious. When they met again, it was nice to be reintroduced to that familiar, warm and loving energy that they had both been missing. After a few months of dating, they knew they had reconnected for a reason, and 18 years and two kids later they’re still strong.

“Pam is good”, Cam responded taking in a deep breath, sticking his hands in his front pockets and rocking back slightly on his heels. “Yea, the job is getting easier and she’s adjusting. Same place just a new department. She’s hoping she can stay here until retirement, she’s only got five more years. She doesn’t want to keep getting moved around, but the pay is better so there’s the bright side.” As he raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly, Greg nodded as if to say he understood. 

“Well that’s nice to have some extra money coming in. Maybe you can take that vacation you two have been talking about, right?” Greg smiled at his brother as he nudged him playfully.

“Oh yea, that’s definitely on the radar. Gotta get a trip in soon, it’s been way too long.” Cam chuckled and they moved forward in line and made their way to the front. They looked down through the glass trying to decide what overpriced candies they wanted and regretted not just buying their own from the CVS across the street. With both of their heads down facing the glass, Greg turned slightly to the left to see what his other choices were when out of the corner of his eye, a few feet passed his brother, he saw a woman standing there looking up at the marquee. He stood up to get a better look over his brother’s head and saw her there with short dark hair, blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and an olive green jacket that stopped just above her waist. She looked a bit younger than Greg, but not by much. As she started to back away, she turned and looked right at him and smiled. Greg returned the gesture and waved slightly, before hearing Jason call his name, breaking his gaze. 

“Greg!”, Jason called again.

“Hey, hey. I’m right here,” he responded to his cousin but looked confused as to why he was being so loud. 

“I called you twice and you didn’t respond. I thought you couldn’t hear me,” Jason explained.

“Oh, sorry naw I didn’t. I was…” Greg glanced quickly back at where the woman was standing and saw her from behind as she walked to join her group of friends. 

“I was um…” Cam and Jason leaned in slightly, anticipating the end of his sentence.

“Nothing man. You get the tickets?” He asked, trying to change the subject. 

“Yeah”, Jason laughed in confusion as he answered. “Yeah, I got them right here. Did you pick out anything you wanted from the concession stand or are you good?” he said.

“Yeah, I’m good. We can head in.” Greg started walking toward the theater, all while glancing over his shoulder in hopes of finding the short-haired woman again, but she was gone. 

After the movie, the three of them went to grab a bite to eat at a bar not too far from the theater. While Cam and Jason exchanged thoughts on the movie, Greg sat there, and from the outside, you’d think he was listening intently, but inside he couldn’t stop thinking about her and why he didn’t just say hi. 

“What did you think, Greg?”, Cam asked in between jalapeno poppers. 

“Think about what?” Greg responded as he came back to reality.

“The movie?”, Cam questioned. He looked over to Jason for validation who also seemed baffled at how spacey his cousin was being. 

“Oh. Yeah, sorry I know I’m a little out of it. I saw this woman when we were online at the concession stand? She was so pretty and we saw each other actually, and we waved but you came over with the tickets and by the time I looked back she was walking away with her friends. I was just thinking about her and why I didn’t say hi.”

Cam and Jason looked at each other and smiled. 

“Ohh. Oh, that makes so much more sense now”, Cam chuckled.  “You just kept fading, I thought we almost lost you.”

Greg laughed. “Yeah, no that’s all.” Greg didn’t have the best luck in love or relationships, which didn’t exactly help his confidence. If you asked anyone, they would tell you that he’s very sweet, funny, smart, and even handsome, but he didn’t always see those things in himself.  He’d had dates here and there, a few girlfriends throughout his life, but never married and never anything serious. 

“When are you gonna get back out there? It’s been so long since… what’s her face? Jen? Ashley?”, Jason rattled off a few arbitrary names, trying to land on the right one.

“Erin,” Cam said with confidence.

“Jess,” Greg responded flatly, proving them both wrong.

“Jeeeess!” Cam and Jason exclaimed and leaned back in unison. 

“Yeah, it’s been so long since Jess”, Jason started. “You can’t keep letting moments and opportunities pass you by. You gotta try again.” 

Greg nodded silently, took a sip of his drink, and sat back in his chair. As he looked out the window into the busy New York City street, through the crowd he saw a woman who matched the same description of the woman he saw in the theater. He sat up in excitement.

“Wait is that?” He leaned closer to the glass. “Wait I think that’s her. Walking down the street. Right there in the green coat.” Cam and Jason looked at him, then back at each other with skepticism. 

“Um, are you sure? There’s a lot of women …” but before Cam could finish his question, Greg hurried out of his chair, through the restaurant, and down the street. He was full of adrenaline and anxiety, but he kept replaying Jason’s words in his head as he made his way through the crowd. 

“Excuse me, miss!” he shouted as he got closer and closer. 

“Miss! Miss excuse me!” when Greg caught up to her, he placed his hand on her shoulder and began to introduce himself. 

“Hi, I’m Greg. I saw you in the …”

But when the woman quickly turned around, she was alarmed and confused, and rightfully so, because she, in fact, was not the woman that Greg and seen a few hours prior.

“Get the fuck off me! Are you fucking crazy? You don’t run up on people like that! Lucky I don’t slap the shit outta you!” She screamed in his face and Greg instantly backed away with his hand up, showing that not only was he not dangerous, but that he couldn’t be more sorry.

“I- I just” he started to stammer. “I thought you were someone else, I’m so so sorry.”

He turned around and merged back in with the rest of the crowd, and made his way back to Cam and Jason, who had seen the whole encounter play out. 

“So I’m assuming it’s safe to say that wasn’t the woman from the theater?” Cam asked as Greg approached the table.

“Yeah no. Not her.” He sank down in his seat and chugged the rest of his beer, before signaling to the waiter for another. They laughed at his embarrassment, before trying to give him a few more words of encouragement. 

“She’s out there bro”, Jason said lovingly. “You just gotta be patient and open to receiving someone new and right for you. That’s all. But you are a great guy and I’m telling you -- with the utmost confidence -- that she is out there.” Greg again, just nodded silently, as the waiter placed a cold one down in front of him. 

“Thanks, man”, he said as he raised his glass. “Cheers.”