It was a long ride back with a lot to think about. Surprisingly, I didn't actually think that much about it. I knew how I felt and I figured that she might be interested in a different time and place, but this obviously wasn't it. The only thing I wasn't sure about was if I was going to email her or not. I eventually concluded that I really did have fun with her and that I'd at least exchange periodic emails with her.
She was a half-step ahead of me. The next day she sent an email to the whole gang about going kayaking again after we all left. It was the perfect opportunity to send her a somewhat typical email, asking her a few questions and talking about the trip. I also showed her the write-up I did on the whole weekend.
It took her a day to reply. I had almost become convinced that she wasn’t going to (and not without reason, she was packing for Idaho). Then it appeared. Very friendly and lengthy enough for me to know that it wasn’t just a polite response to a guy she wishes would leave her alone. I promptly replied to her reply… then nothing.
The next weekend I headed up to Dallas for a convention to show off
No-Lyfe Productions. Some time after midnight on Saturday evening, she sent me an email saying that she was sorry not to have responded but she was a bit overwhelmed. I smiled when I read it and figured that if she didn’t have time to respond she didn’t have time to respond. It sure was nice of her to be frank about it.
I got back late Sunday night. I meant to send her an email Monday telling her not to worry about it. Then I meant to do that on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon I got the response that she’d said would be delayed. This one was even longer than the previous. If nothing else, I’d found an e-pen pal.
As the emails went back and forth, I found myself mentioning her to a few people, which is a rarity as I do not mention prospects with regularity. I mentioned it in passing to a couple friends. I even mentioned her to Mom, who was (with the aid of a bit too much wine) lamenting her lack of grandchildren. I told her what I told most everyone else: that I met this nice young lady in Oklahoma and hit it off with her, but she was Idaho bound.
“You should move there!” she told me.
When I got back to S'port, I sent out my usual post-float-trip e-mail, telling all that I'd had a damned good time and thanking everyone for helping to make it so much fun. Those reasons for doing so were totally legitimate. However, I must confess that in addition to that, I was sort of fishing. I was kind of curious to see if Alex in particular would respond back to the e-mail. A nice low-risk set-up for me - if Alex wanted to e-mail me back, I'd given him an excuse, and if not, I guessed I'd have to pursue this getting-to-know-him-better a bit more aggressively. At that point, I still don't think I had any Camille-and-Alex ideas - it was all quite literally about getting to know him. As a friend. At least I thought so then. Now I wonder.
Anyway, Alex responded back to the e-mail, which was cool. More significant than that was his post on the float trip. I wasn't certain, but given the number of times my name was mentioned in that thing, and the positive light in which it was mentioned, I thought I was seeing definite signs of interest. We did some more e-mailing back and forth, and somewhere during these two weeks post-float-trip, I determined that I was going to New Braunfels to hear the Dead End Angels play the weekend of June 7th. I would be moving to Idaho on the 10th, and by god, I was going to hear the guys play one last time. Once again, I sent out a mass e-mail to the Houston crowd. . . I think Alex was the first to bite on it. Later on, Cathy sent out an e-mail looking at hotels in the area and commenting that what was available was not cheap. I'm the sort of person who is quite capable of sharing sleeping quarters with members of the opposite sex and having nothing happen, and I'm cheap. Alex seemed like a decent guy, someone I could safely share a room with, and I did want to get to know him better - platonically, if nothing else at that point. While I was trying to think of how to ask him what he thought of that option, he beat me to the punchline and e-mailed me to ask me what I thought about sharing a room. Whew! Great minds think along the same lines. He was quite the gentleman, even offering to sleep on the floor if necessary. I figured that we'd get two beds, and if push came to shove and there was only one, we were both adults, and surely we could negotiate something so no one would have to sleep on the floor. I e-mailed him in the affirmative.
I don't recall at what point I sent out the e-mail begging for the ride from Houston to New Braunfels. I was already driving in four hours from Shreveport, I would soon have major time on the road with the drive to Idaho, and I didn't want to drive any more than I had to. Both Cathy and John, and Alex, volunteered to chauffeur me to New Braunfels. I seriously considered taking the trip in Cathy's Mini, but thought about the legroom (or lack thereof) in the backseat and decided to take Alex up on his offer. Besides, as I kept saying to myself, Alex is an interesting guy, why not spend a little more time with him?
While the emails were going back and forth, she’d sent out a mass email asking if anyone was interested in going to see a particular music show in New Braunfels. I thought about it for a good fifteen minutes or so, going back and forth on whether or not it was a good idea to make a special trip out of town to see someone I was interested in but with whom a relationship would not be possible. I ended up accepting the invitation, figuring that relationship or no, I really did think highly of her and wanted to see her again before she headed out to the mountains.
Kevin, Callie, John, and Cathy later signed on. Cathy started looking at hotels and noted to the rest of us that they were largely filled up and those that weren’t were somewhat expensive. In a measure of pure practicality (no sarcasm), I emailed Camille asking if she’d be okay with sharing a room. I said that with a pillow I could sleep anywhere and I’d gladly take the floor. She agreed, though mentioned nothing one way or the other about the floor.
I also ended up being her ride. She drove down from her apartment in Shreveport and we rode together from here. Unfortunately, she’d slept a little late so we couldn’t join the rest of the gang in their earlier New Braunfels activities.
Anyway, again per usual, I was running late on the drive to Houston. I'd been up late packing and had overslept. I woke up, looked at the clock, cursed, and called Alex to let him know I was going to be late, and did he mind waiting? Fortunately, he did not. I got to Houston about two hours after I'd planned and found Alex's apartment, and we took off. I should add that he hugged me hello. Cool.
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Keywords: CamilleLafitte
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