A disaster of epic proportions

My second "date" (fourth "meeting") with Jessica was at an outdoor concert on Hampstead Heath, a beautiful area north of London. On the way out, I noticed Diana Krall was playing there next month, so I asked Jess if she was interested, and she said, "I was thinking about getting tickets for my parents." Now, anyone else would have thought she was blowing me off (and insulting Diana Krall) but I just invited her parents to go with us.

Bold? Perhaps. Presumptuous? Absolutely. Smart? No.

I had already met her other parents (dad and step-mom) in Los Angeles--they were the ones who gave me Jessica's number--but this was her mom and step-dad, who live about three blocks away. I knew I couldn't avoid them for long, so figured it would be better to get it out of the way early. Jess later told me she begged her parents not to accept, but it had been four years since she had introduced anyone to her parents, and they were keen to meet me. (Plus they really did love Diana Krall.)

So I bought the tickets and got a job, because I sure as hell wasn't going to meet her parents without being employed. Except...I didn't actually get a job, and of course they asked what I did and I had to admit I didn't have a job. And I was living in a hotel. They pretty much stopped asking me questions after that.

Did I mention it was pouring rain, for an outdoor concert? We went and sat in the wet grass, huddled under umbrellas, and couldn't even see the stage. But halfway through the concert, the rain stopped...and the wind picked up, and it was freezing. Then the rain started again. I brought a bottle of chilled chablis, which went home unopened. I was also soaked through but, coincidentally, I had gone clothes shopping that afternoon and left my bag at Jessica's, so I was able to change into dry clothes when we returned, albeit completely mismatched. (Green pullover, tan jeans, white socks, and black shoes...)

So that said, her parents were lovely, and real troupers. (And they'll certainly never forget me.) It certainly didn't compare to the *last* parents I met, but at least this time there were no machine guns or wolves involved. Her parents also reciprocated and invited me to the Ballet Trockadero (an all-male edition of Swan Lake) in October. If I thought it was presumptuous of me to make plans a month in advance, I wonder how Jess feels about her parents inviting me two months in advance? :-)