How a Seed Became a Beanstalk: Chapter 1

Once upon a time, a boy met a girl, they fell in love and lived happily ever after.
This is the story of how the boy and girl met:

On a chilly Decemeber evening, as I did some last minute grocery shopping with my mom for New Year's Eve, I got a text from someone I hadn't heard from in a while. He was a boy I had gone to school with, named Kindall. We'd been on a couple dates in high school: a dance, ice-skating, and to a football game or two, but nothing had really come of it. Kindall's texts made me think they were leading up to another such date:

"Hey, what're you up to this week?" he asked.
"Not really anything...why?" I sent back. Nothing could've prepared me for his response!
"Well, how would you like to go on a date with my older brother?"

I burst out laughing right there in the frozen foods section of our local Reams. Mom came over and asked what was up. I let her read the texts, too, and she chuckled a little. "Why not?" she said. "It could be fun."

Now mind you, this wasn't my first blind-date. I'd been set up quite a few times in fact by friends and neighbors alike, but nothing had ever really come of any of it. Sure, the boys were nice but they never asked me out more than once and that time was the time it was set up by somebody else, so it doesn't really count! In other words, this was nothing new, just the fact of who was actually setting it up (a guy I'd dated before) was  really tickling my ribs!

I teased Kindall a little in the next few texts between us, telling him I was unsure, that I'd never even seen his brother, etc. Then his dad took the reins:

"Genevieve, dad here. Tell you what, you plan the date and I'll pay for it. Is that incentive enough?"
Well, who could say no to that?

Mom and I went home and told my dad. He was skeptic about this whole blind-date thing, but when you're a college student living at home versus on campus, it really is one of the only ways to meet new people.

In his texts, Kindall had told me a little bit about his brother: His name was Jefferson, he was 21 years old, and had just returned from serving an LDS mission in Bangkok, Thailand. He was really shy, and hadn't really found his footing around girls yet. Kindall told me that he and his dad thought I would be great for a first date after two years of no girls because of my fun personality. They really thought I could help get Jefferson out of his shell and back into the dating game. But I didn't know anything about him! How was I supposed to plan a fun date if I didn't even know his hobbies? Oh boy...this was my exact thought process:

Well, Thailand. He'd served there, and if I had just served a mission, what would be the things I would miss the most? Definitely the food for one thing, so I'll have to find a good Thai restaurant. [Thank you, Google!] But that's not a very fun activity ...hmmmm.... what could we do for the date part? ... Honestly, I don't know how boys do this all the time for every date, and still keep them fun and exciting, especially if they don't know the girl at all! ... back on track... hmmm...another thing I'd miss from a mission... maybe the fact that you don't always having a companion with you all the time anymore... but how could I replace that? Oh, I know! We'll go to Build-A-Bear! We'll make him his own little companion! ...and maybe I could get a Build-A-Bear, too! I've always wanted one and this would be the perfect opportunity! What'll I name my Build-A-Bear? ...wait a minute. You're not done planning your date yet. Right...oops... Is there anything else I would miss from a mission? Maybe the language, but I don't speak Thai... I think the first two things ought to be enough. We'll go to Build-A-Bear and then to a Thai restaurant and that should be good enough, I think... Now back to the Build-A-Bear I'm gonna get...