We Found The Fountain Of Love
The best place for a non-date.
In the Midwest part of the United States is a town called Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is an old industrial city that has undergone a transition to a modern business hub. As Chicago grew, large public works projects reclaimed land along the Lake Michigan shoreline to create parks and beaches. It was a grand plan that paid dividends for the residents for 150 years.
Right smack dab in the middle of Chicago’s lakefront is Grant Park, a playground east of downtown. And in the center of Grant Park sits a world-famous icon The Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain. Buckingham Fountain is one of the largest of its type in the world.
People come from all over the globe to stop and watch the magnificent creation spew its 14,000 gallons per minute of water as it dances through the fountain’s 134 jets. The center of the fountain includes a towering 150-foot waterspout.
In the summer from mid-May to Mid-October each evening, Buckingham Fountain puts on a colorful light show. The show is accompanied by a synchronized music concert.
Even though it is a crowded public park, to me it is one of the most romantic places on the planet — if you are with the right person.
Visitors of all ages, all races, and all creeds pass by the site. They hold hands, take pictures, toss coins, make wishes, and enjoy the 100-year-old fountain. Families, friends, and lovers come to the fountain to make new or recreate old memories. But no memory is sweeter than the early remembrances that resulted from your first date.
The ambiance of the fountain is a wonderful setting for a first date. A visit there is far more creative than the old worn-out dinner and a movie concept most guys pass off as charming.
This story is about the time I employed the fountain and all its charisma to help me overcome what could have been an awkward first encounter.
I remember…
It started the time I ran into a friend at a shopping mall near my house. The friend, a female, introduced me to another girl I thought was cute. My friend informed me the girl had recently broken up with her boyfriend and was a bit lonely. Not one to let a good thing slip through my fingers I took the hint.
Her number was in the book. (Yes, old story.) The next day I cold-called the girl to see if she wanted to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful summer weather.
She told me she wasn’t sure she wanted to date me or anyone again so soon. I assured her it wasn’t going to be a date. We were only meeting to get acquainted.
I invited her to join me for a walk in the park. With my assurances and encouragement from our mutual friend, she agreed to rendezvous with me for a meetup we decided to call a non-date. I picked her up at her house a few hours later.
I remembered from our earlier encounter she was a small slender girl with long dark hair. When she came to the door, I could not hold back a smile. She wore an off-white crop top blouse, tight green shorts, and platform sandals that accented her petite figure.
If she was trying for the perfect look for a summer evening walk in the park, she hit the bullseye. I knew right then and there this could be more than a friendship.
What she didn’t know was my plan for our evening. I wasn’t intending a walk in the neighborhood park or nearby playground. I wanted it to be a special night. So, we drove 16 miles to downtown Chicago to the lakefront and Grant Park, the location where Buckingham Fountain sits.
We took our time walking from the parking lot across to the park. I took her hand as we crossed a busy downtown street heading to the park and the fountain. She didn’t resist.
As we walked across the grass, we watched people riding bikes, playing frisbee, and relaxing with their favorite novels. It was early, but we were getting along famously. My gambit was starting to pay off.
In Chicago, during the summer months, the sun stays up until about 9:00 pm, courtesy of daylight savings time. The sun was still high in the sky, so we milled around with the hundreds of other onlookers waiting for the light show to start.
As the sun fell lower in the sky, we knew the show would soon begin. The crowd gathered along the security fence that surrounds the 280-foot-wide base of the fountain. We found an open spot along the railing. Because I was taller than her, she stood in front of me. I watched over her head at the dancing waters displaying robust shades of blue, green, yellow, and red, all changing in time with the music.
As the crowd edged in closer, I slipped my hands around her waist and pulled her close. I didn’t want us to get separated. My heart thumped in my chest, waiting to see if she would pull away.
She didn’t.
Our first kiss, or should I say the first time I kissed her, was right there in front of that fountain. It wasn’t epic, I kissed her on the back of her head. I think she felt it, but maybe not. She didn’t react. She didn’t return the kiss.
It may have been a mistake. Perhaps I was moving too fast, but there was something special about this girl. It felt right.
We had just met, but if things were going this well, so soon, I couldn’t wait to see where we would go from here. There was a kind of electricity I felt when our bodies touched. I was hoping she felt it, too.
We watched the entire show, oohing and aahing with each change of the light display, occasionally laughing or remarking at the splendor. When the show finished, the crowd dispersed, and we made our way back across the park to the parking garage. Still on my best behavior, I opened the car door for her like a perfect gentleman.
The ride back home was quiet. If I pushed too hard, she would run and hide. I contemplated how our friendship would evolve. I walked her to her door but didn’t kiss her good night. We had agreed it wasn’t a date, only our first non-date.
When I asked her if I could call her again, she agreed. I wracked my brain trying to come up with another idea for a real first date. We finally settled on a concert Saturday evening and whatever else our mood would allow afterward.
I remember reserving the pleasure of our lips meeting for the first time until later. It happened on our first real date which we had a few days later. There was no fountain only music.
When it happened, I wasn’t nervous. That normally awkward moment when you are unsure, was out of the way because I had already given her my first kiss.
Even if it was only to the back of her head.
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