In The Meadow, We Can Build A Fashionable Snowman

Lewis stared at his creation, and then over at his date.

While Gretchen was, by far, the more attractive of the two, he could not keep his eyes off of the Snowman he had just built.

Okay, it was technically “their” Snowman, but Gretchen’s only real contribution had been to pack a couple of snowballs that Lewis eventually turned into the head and body.

Yes, he had decided to defy convention and go with a two piece Snowman, rather than with the traditional three piece one.  He had just wanted to show Gretchen that he was different from all the other guys who asked her out, but now he was beginning to have his doubts.

Everyone was used to the Snowman with a head, an upper body, and then a wide base.  Lewis had originally pegged Gretchen as a woman who liked to go against the grain, who preferred a rebel, and appreciated a surprise.

That was why he had proposed building a Snowman as a first date.  Come on, what other guy would suggest that?

Had he been mistaken, though?  She’d been incredibly quiet since they arrived in the meadow.  Every time Lewis looked over at her, she had flashed him a charming smile, but he was beginning to wonder if it was more of a “Oh, I am going to kill this guy, and bury his body beneath his precious Snowman” kind of grin.

Why was he thinking these things?  Why did he get just a little bit insane whenever he was around Gretchen?

He supposed it might have been her green eyes.  There was something so mesmerizing about them, and he often found himself babbling when he looked into those eyes.

He also blamed the freckles on her face.  Not only were they adorable, but he also had this strange urge to try to count them.

Gretchen crossed his wires and made him feel like a complete idiot.  That was how he knew she was the one.

Gretchen made him want to spend his Sunday building a Snowman.  She brought out a side of him that no one else ever had, and he desperately wanted her to continue.

So this first date had to be memorable.  Gretchen needed to go home and talk excitedly about it to her friends.  She needed to lose sleep because she was too busy wondering what Lewis was going to do to impress her next.

But looking over at her now, as she applied some small rocks to the Snowman’s face to give him a smile, Lewis feared that he had done exactly the opposite.  She was rushing to finish the Snowman so she could end this date and get on with her life.

Lewis sighed and loosened his tie, which felt like it was trying to choke him.  He’d thought the tie would catch her attention, since it had Tabasco bottles depicted as blimps hovering over a football field.

She probably would’ve gotten a laugh out of it…if she’d been able to see it.  However, the genius First Date Planner had asked her on a date that required his tie to stay bundled up and unseen under a bulky Winter coat.

Finally finished with the Snowman’s smile, Gretchen backed away from the creation and came to stand next to Lewis.

Her sudden proximity immediately caused the butterflies in his stomach to flutter, and he had to fight the urge to turn and begin to count her freckles.

Instead, they stood in silence and studied the Snowman.

“As someone rebellious enough to go with a double decker Snowman, rather than the boring, played out, triple decker norm, you’d probably agree that it requires a final bit of penache to ensure that future generations will still be talking about what we built on our first date,” Gretchen told him with a sly smile.

Lewis couldn’t believe his ears.  He also couldn’t trust his mouth to not ruin this incredible moment, so he simply nodded.

What happened next will go down in the First Date Annals as “The Gtretchen”.  She adroitly spun, deftly removed Lewis’ tie, sweetly kissed him on the cheek, and then walked over and tied the Tabasco monstrosity around the Snowman’s neck.

“Now, it’s perfect,” she said with a smile.  “Just like this date.”