The One That Got Away

The lights were bright and beckoning. The chair welcoming. The stage was set. She in her best attire, literally and figuratively putting her best foot forward. She’d never met him but held great hopes that they would be a great fit for each other. She realised how important it was, that first impression, that eye contact between two individuals wanting to start a journey together.?

He was already there and gallantly stood up as she entered the room, exuding confidence. He stood up and shook hands firmly, and she returned the handshake with equal enthusiasm. She quieted down the butterflies in her stomach, nerves had no place in the here and now. Focus!! she chided herself mentally.?

Beverages were offered and they slowly settled into a comfort level, as comfortable as strangers meeting for the first time could be.

They fell into an easy conversation, he asked all the questions. She felt like their eyes held each others gaze up until a point where she felt a seismic shift in his demeanor and attitude. She struggled to bring back that first hint of a great future but try as she might, she could visibly see that she had lost him to his smart phone.?

In a matter of minutes he had found something really important that needed attention on his phone and excused himself for a few minutes.?

In the awkward silence that followed, she gazed around and kept smiling bravely. Never letting on that she felt like it was over before it had even begun. In the two minutes it took him to come back to the table, she lived a few lifetimes and was disappointed with herself in every one of them.?

She tried to catch his gaze again but he averted his eyes like he was guilty of something. Guilty of a hasty conclusion, she thought to herself…. and sighed inwardly.?

He made a couple more half-hearted attempts to ask her a few more questions but she could see his heart or attention wasn’t in it anymore.?

She was absolutely sure when all too soon he asked her if she had any questions for him. And before she could form one in her mind, he nodded at the HR Executive who was seated with him.?

She knew she wasn’t getting a call back for this one when the HR Executive had to pitch her questions loudly because he had decided to take a call right there in the middle of the interview, making it very clear he didn’t see the point of making an effort to get up and leave the room.?

On to the next one then, she thought as she walked out chin up, head held high. No one was going to come between her and her self-esteem.?