How I Met Esther

My friend Russ worked at an auto dealership and had been singing my praises to one of his co-workers in an attempt to get her to go out with me. Previous attempts at his matchmaking skills didn’t go so well so I was pretty skeptical. In any case, after his continual pursuits she finally gave in and agreed to go on a group date.

It was a large group of about 8 of us that went out that evening to a classic Mexican restaurant called Gardens of Taxco in West Hollywood. The date was going ok with some idle chit chat between us until it came time for us to order food. When the waiter asked what I wanted to order I proceeded to tell him in Spanish. I saw that Esther’s eyes got wide and she asked me how I knew Spanish. I told her of my Argentinian background and could tell that she was impressed. The date continued and things went very well.

This first date was somewhat of an audition. If it went well then there was an expectation that I would be asked to accompany her to the company holiday party a few weeks later. Lucky for me things worked out and I made the cut. After the holiday party we discussed going out again and shortly thereafter entered a relationship. I let her know that I had never been in a long term relationship with my longest only lasting about 3 months. Esther is quite the competitor and quickly identified this as  a  challenge.

She had an excellent strategy. We continued to go on dates enjoying each others company, quickly becoming great friends and building a strong romantic connection. However Esther, unknowing to me, was going to dangle a carrot to make sure my interest continued without taking any chances. So she kept me at bay from any hanky panky. Her strategy worked because I was enamored with her and continue pursuing her for several months. More than 3 to be exact which is when she finally deemed herself the victor in being my longest relationship and finally letting me take a bite of the carrot…so to speak.