A post in which Jason comes*

It was a mostly quiet day at work today.  We did have a little rush right before the end of the day, but I was able to handle it all.

I heard from Russ, who confirmed we were all meeting at the shop tonight, and I heard from Jason, who was en route.  I left work to run by the grocery store because I was out of eggs.  I thought that I would at least need to cook breakfasts while he was here.  I picked up a few things, and when I got to the house he was waiting.  We went in, greeted each other, and headed for the shop.

Miss Kat and Dana were there, along with Helen.  The boys were at home because of Billy's surgery.  Russ cut all of our hair, and then we all went our separate ways.  Jason got along beautifully and fit right in with everyone.  Everyone likes him - even Helen, and she doesn't like many people.  While we were at the shop, he slipped a ring from his hand onto my pinkie.  Not a terribly expensive ring, but rings carry a big load of social connotation.  More than ever, I need to know if he means that, and what that means for the next year.

After some discussion, Jason and I ended up grabbing dinner from Joy of Tokyo.  They actually have pretty good food, and it wasn't as heavy a some of the things we could have eaten.  On the way there, as on the way to the shop, we talked about where we are, and what his expectations are.  I felt a lot better after we talked.  The primary reason he wants to move back is to be closer to his dad.  He moved back from Europe in 2009 because of his mother's poor health, and then ended up moving to NC.  He wasn't around as much for his mother as he would have liked to be, and wants to be here for his father, who also apparently isn't doing so well.  He understands that when he moves back, we're not going shopping for a house on day 1, and he agrees with me that it's good to take some time to get to know each other.  We have the 'click', and all my friends seem to love him (surprisingly, his friend Rodney is reported to like me too - who knew?), so we have a good start, but we need to be sure before we take steps.  I had always said I would have at least a year of engagement before I took the plunge, and Michael and I ended up with nine months.  Would those extra three months have made a difference?  I don't know - probably not.  But I'm not rushing headlong into anything, and I was greatly relieved that he wasn't proposing that.

When we got back to my place, we started a discussion of movies.  We have some differing tastes.  He had brought his copy of American Beauty, which I hated.  He was astounded (as indeed most people seem to be), and this led to a discussion of other movies that we loved/hated.  He asked about The Color Purple, which was one of my favorites for years - a movie I have probably watched a dozen times. I loved that movie until I actually met Oprah Winfrey, after which it just didn't pack the same emotional resonance with me.  Jason was astonished and incredulous that I had met Oprah (well, I don't know that I met her, but I was on the show), and that led to a discussion of Angela, and her movie Searching for Angela Shelton.

I have a copy of the movie at the house, and we ended up watching it.  It's quite a tour de force, and it's been a while since I've seen it.  Jason had a hard time watching it, at times seeming so upset that I asked him if he wanted me to turn it off, but we finished it.  We had some discussion afterwards (I had kind of been giving him side notes throughout), but by the time the movie was over it was getting late, and we were pretty much all in. 

We went to bed.  This evening certainly didn't go the way I expected.  But it was a good evening, and since I hadn't told him about my past, that was something he needed to know.  Since the goal is our getting to know each other better, I think we're on a fast track to that.