Pick Up

Whether you're 4 or 34, the same rules apply.

There I was, standing on the side of Reading Road, in a stunning, royal blue dress and my patent leather slingbacks. Some days I look passable. On this day, I looked dynamite.

It was shortly after 4:30 p.m., and I was waiting for the 43, my regular bus route to and from work.

I noticed his shiny, maroon Saab convertible, the top down and music blaring, as he traveled north on Reading. Destination unknown, the driver soaking up the sunshine of a warm, September afternoon.

I didn't think much of him, other than that his pop music was so loud it was obnoxious. After he passed, my face returned to my iPhone and the chatter in my social media streams.

A minute later, the car crawled by me until it stopped. He turned the music down and smiled. He was handsome. Dark hair and olive skin. Gleaming white teeth. He sported a casual t-shirt and shorts. And a seat belt.

He was charming.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were a friend. But, well. Do you need a ride?"

It was completely out of nowhere.

If I was a more adventurous person, I would have said yes. And the story would have sailed on seamlessly. Cocktails and conversation about life and our respective adventures. Sunset. We'd fall in love and see the world.

We'd get married.

And that's when I heard my conscience issue a blood-curdling scream from the inner depths of my soul: "ARE YOU NUTS? THIS GUY COULD BE SOME WACKO. SAY NO, GIRL, OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE."

I have always been a sort of a Nervous Nelly. When my college girlfriends wanted to go home, as a group, with some guys we met at the bar, I'd always stand defiant. We don't go home with boys we don't know.

And we don't take car rides from strangers, either.

Was it a pick up? Was this guy going to whisk me away to some shed on the West Side and chop my body into little pieces the size of cheddar cheese cubes?

We'll never know.

My mama raised me better. Pretty Girl does not go home with Stranger Man. Ever.

Because Pretty Girl is also a Smart Girl and can find her own way home.

Always.


Kate's Random Musings by Kate the Great is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.