Reading the Sign

Tonight I went to the Abbey in West Hollywood. It's really a new archtype for a gay bar. Men go there, women go there. People tend towards the beautiful, but it's not a closed club. They have food and great cocktails.

I called Vern and said I might be going and if I go, we might meet up there. I haven't been working this week because it's my birthday this week, and I love having some an unscheduled life.

So I ended up calling Vern as I walked out the door (I loathe cell phones) and gave him a heads up.

I arrived at the Abbey. It was sort of empty. I ordered a martini and started sipping it. I saw a very cute kid walk in. Clear skin, beautiful green eyes. I chatted with him. He was a dancer who had just moved to Los Angeles the week before.

"What part of town do you live in?" I asked. I find this a nice chit-chat starter but it's also a strategic question for a single person, because it helps me determine if someone is geographically feasible in the first two minutes.

"Hollywood," he said.

I nodded. I live in Hollywood, too.

Then I saw this street sign in my mind's eye. Blue with white lettering. Cherokee.

"On Cherokee?" I asked.

The kid flipped out!

"How did you know that?"

I nodded at my glass.

"I'm psychic when I drink."

"Do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"I have no idea. I just saw the street sign in my head since it didn't go away, I wondered if you lived there."

I started chatting about something else. Cracked a joke. Put him at ease.

I thought he was cute, but a little too tall for me. I guess I just don't like looking up to someone too much.

But... I kept chatting with him because I couldn't help but wondering that with such a clear example of clairvoyance, perhaps this guy might be important to my life somehow. I enjoyed flirting with him and he seemed quite nice despite the gap in our ages (12 years).

I asked the kid to meet for a hot beverage or do lunch, and he thought that sounded nice.

Vern arrived and then the kid's friend arrive -- a nice kid born in Malaysia. The kid asked for me cell phone so he could program my number. I told him I don't have a cell phone. Vern said that he had one and handed it over to the kid.

Since I told Vern I was meeting the kid for coffee later that week, I thought it was odd. Later on, I asked Vern if he thought the kid was into me. I was flirting a bit but not taking it too seriously. Vern told me he thought I was too friendly.

The kid is exactly Vern's type, so I wondered if he were interested in the kid. I raised an eyebrow when Vern used his own cell phone to capture the kid's image with its camera and then Vern handed over his phone to the kid to input his number. Vern kept telling the kid that my birthday was that week and told me in front of the kid that I should invite the kid. Weird. Especially since I'd already eVited Arthur. I'm very particular about guest lists, which I had thought Vern knew at that point. Hmmm...

The Malaysia kid had to leave, and then Vern left. I was chatting with the kid and he was cute and nice but I was getting a bit bored. I kept waiting for something significant to happen.

I didn't feel any sparks. But I gave the kid my number on a card. I saw a street sign, right? Was it only a literal sign? With nothing else attached?

This night became significant later, but not for any of the reasons I had thought when I saw the street sign.