Crystal Eyes

An Unexpected Encounter

I was sitting in the back of a Chinese bar when I first saw him. I spent a lot of time at that bar in those days. It was close to my apartment and just being there helped me feel connected with people, even though I was the only expatriate there. So, when the tall handsome not-Chinese man walked in the door, you can image how interested I was. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the company of my Chinese friends and the Chinese acquaintances who didn't speak English. But to see someone who might possibly speak English as well as I did, was quite a thrill.

He didn't see me at first. Not surprised, I like to sit in the far back so that I can see the whole of the place. I'm a people watcher. I like to watch everyone around me and try to figure out what they're talking about, or create what they're talking about. It's a fun exercise and again, helped me feel connected while I was in such a foreign culture.

I watched as he looked around, then turned and headed for the bar. He walked with a certainty of destination that kind of surprised me. Most people, when they enter a bar, they look around for friends and acquaintances. They wander the bar to explore its areas and seating. Sometimes they pick up a bar menu and peruse it for a while. But he didn't. He turned right for the bar and took a seat. I couldn't hear what he said, but I saw the bartender nod and produce a shot of something and a pint of beer. I challenged myself to come up with some kind of backstory for him. Maybe he'd just gotten off of a hard day at work and this was how he relaxed. I watched him toss back another shot of something. He was so purposeful. Maybe he had just gotten in a fight with his best friend and was trying to drown his feelings in whiskey. Maybe they were fighting over a girl and she picked the other guy. Oooh... Maybe his girl just broke up with him and he's trying to drown his despair. Another shot disappeared with purpose. Definitely trying to drown something. A man doesn't drink with that much purpose and not flirt with the waitress unless he's trying to drown something. He wasn't even looking at his phone. Which is not usual in today's society. Usually it's the other way around: it's hard to get someone to pay attention to something other than their phone.

He rubbed his forehead with his right hand, closing his eyes. Probably has a headache. Of course, headaches often come with fights with friends and breakups with girlfriends. I hoped he liked girls. Because dayum. He was probably suffering some kind of emotional upheaval, but all I could think about was how good he looked. I watched as he ran his fingers through his hair, definitely a headache, and asked for another shot. That was four shots in the five minutes he'd been at the bar. He was headed for a really bad night if he kept that up. But, if my theory about his backstory was anywhere near the truth, he probably needed it.

A crazy voice in my head told me I should go talk to him. The rest of me decided that would be a bad idea. You see, I'm a shy individual. Why else would I be sitting in the back of a bar, by myself, not talking to anyone, and pretending to have conversations with the people around me? Talking to strangers is intimidating in the best of circumstances. Talking to a smoking hot stranger who possibly just got into a fight with his best friend and/or broke up with his girlfriend while in a backstreet Chinese bar.... Mission Impossible. I'd just keep watching him and pretending to have a conversation with him.

If I had an ounce of courage and a whole bucketful of self-confidence I would walk up to him, say something smart like 'looks like you could use a friend' and buy him a drink. Then through some amazing trick of language I would get him talking about his day. We'd have something in common and end up having an unexplainable connection. Since this is my daydream, we'd of course hit it off so well, that I'd invite him back to my apartment and make a different kind of connection.

I could feel myself smiling as I watched him. It's probably a good thing that he wasn't paying attention to anyone else around him otherwise I'd definitely have been caught staring. I love daydreaming about things. My life is pretty dull. I long for the great adventures of the movies, but that never happens in real life. So, I dream dreams. And he was definitely going to star in my dreams for a long time.