Kenny’s Blog - 3
Apparently, variety is the spice of life. It quickly became apparent that I needed to do something truly special; a memorable experience. Thankfully, Ryan had provided the answer to my predicament. With a bucket of Ryan-induced optimism and a spoonful of courage I messaged Steph back and we agreed to meet for lunch on the top of Birmingham library on a Wednesday, at least that way it would be less busy. She agreed and we made our way there.
From the outside, the building is an impressive array of blue and yellow shapes decorated in circular patterns that immediately catch the eye. We made our way to the roof, which contained a secret garden overlooking the rest of a city, our own little patch of paradise amid the ambient bustle of the streets below. For a moment the two of us looked out over the urban landscape. I tried to strike up a conversation.
“Sometimes I like to come up here and just watch the people wandering around below. I try to give them stories. Where they are from... where they are going…”
Steph looked down and smiled.
“Can’t imagine any of them doing anything that interesting.”
I subtly pointed to an older man with a bright purple hat making his way across the road and caught her gaze.
“Take this guy for example, he’s lived many lives. In his youth he was a phenomenal chef and actually ran his own restaurant in London with his best friend. However, the war began and he had to do his duty, bravely stepping into the field of battle where he watched his friend fall on a trip mine. When he returned home, the spark had disappeared and he couldn't cook anymore, so he began a new business in Birmingham.”
“What did his new business do?”
“They made hats, purple hats. Only purple hats. It was pretty niche but it set him up for life. He’s actually on his way to his next customer, little does he know that it is actually the grandchild of his best friend…”
“Did you just make ALL that up Kenny?”
“I did.”
“You should write a book. Could make yourself some money.”
She turned to me and handed me her phone. We spent the following 30 minutes taking pictures on top of the library, I was amazed at the amount of time she spent fraternising over every aspect of the process. Finding just the right angle, lighting and adjusting her hair multiple times and once she took the picture she was happy with she then proceeded to flick through filters to find the one that maximised the vibrancy of her deep blue eyes. I found it two thirds admirable and one third sad. Admirable in the sense that it was almost like watching an artist create their next great masterpiece and the level of care going to every pixel of the image seem to trigger a sense of joy. But it felt sad in the sense that once the phone snapped the picture, her happy expression would drop in an instant, like flicking off a light switch. In many ways it was like peeking behind a curtain to see an individual who was obsessed in curating her exterior to the rest of the world. But in all honesty, who am I to judge?
We all ‘curate’ ourselves to varying degrees.
As she posted her perfect picture, I moved into phase 2 of the perfect date plan. I sent a text to Ryan to inform him that ‘Operation: Sush on the roof is go’ and within 40 seconds, he appears followed by the rest of the band. All of them were armed with dishes of sushi, there was an incredible amount of variety; bento boxes, tuna maki, tamago, teriyaki and more rice than you could shake a stick at.
Steph had a look of shock on her face. I was tense for a moment as I tried to judge her expression. She sprung forwards into my arms with a big embrace.
“Kenny, this is so lovely.”
Almost like clockwork she whipped out her phone and started snapping pictures of each of the dishes as The Upsiders laid out the food and picked up their instruments. Playing sweet summery melodies that fit together with the space around us like a jigsaw. As they got into the first song Steph grabbed my hand and kissed me. I felt a warm rush of happiness. I can’t believe it worked! Ryan, you are a genius! I pulled back to look at Steph, her blue eyes glistening, I could have got lost in them till I caught a glimpse of her right hand still holding her phone. She was live-streaming the whole thing...
Once we’d eaten the rest of the guys stuck around for a bit, had a little laugh and said hello to Steph. She thanked them for the surprise and they left us to sit and talk a while longer. We agreed to meet again on the following Friday and I went home in high spirits. It had worked!
I sent her a couple of messages during the weekend that she didn’t respond to. I did not think it was a big issue, also I did not want to pester Steph, she was probably just busy. But a few days later… still nothing. I sent her a third text to ask if she was okay and almost instantly got an answer:
“Let me just say that the sushi was great. But in all honesty, why did you get a band to sing about all of our dishes? Like, it was fun, but for a first date, a bit weird. So I just wanted to tell you that I think we should leave next Friday, you're nice and everything but I don't it's gonna work between us. Sorry to be blunt, I just didn't want you to think I was ghosting you…”