I had met the HVAC technician several times when he was working at my mom’s house.
He was a nice guy and I often thought he was the type of guy I would date, but I had a boyfriend. When my boyfriend and I broke up, I wasn’t heartbroken, because it was a bad breakup, but I was lonely. My best friend kept telling me her brother was single, and she wanted me to meet him. I didn’t want to go out on a blind date, and I knew her brother when I was a kid. My best friend and I had known each other from kindergarten. He was eight years older than us, so we didn’t see him very often. I was twenty-two, and she said that a thirty year old guy wasn’t too old for us. He had been away at college for six years and she said he was now an engineer, but working part-time for his best friend’s father. After hearing all about her brother, the paragon, I finally agreed to go out with him. I was to have a blind date that weekend. I’m not sure how she talked him into going out with me, but the date was set up. I saw mom’s HVAC technician when I walked in, and he smiled. It suddenly occurred to me that I knew this man. It had been ten years since I had seen him, but he was my best friend’s brother. Everything clicked between the HVAC technician and me, and we were both happy to see each other.