It Was Obvious To Me

I'm not exactly an old lady, but some of my coworkers are actually younger than me. Some younger by about a decade, which is kind of scary when I stop and think about it.

Two of them work together in the same general area. I would be surprised if either has yet reached 20. One, Neal, is male, the other, Kayla, is female. Both are nice people but neither is exactly a social butterfly. Kayla is a little better socially than Neal but still, she is not exactly at ease with other people, especially guys. One thing that I find rather amusing as I have looked on from afar is this attraction they have for each other. To me it is pretty obvious, but apparently not to everyone.

Tuesday something got into me and I asked Neal if I could ask him a slightly personal question. He nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. I then asked if he had gone out with Kayla yet. I figured he hadn't but I wasn't sure. It was a legitimate question, well, sort of. Anyway, Neal immediately became self-conscious then quickly shook his head. He bashfully told me that he liked Kayla but he thought sure that he'd get turned down. He said that he had kind of assumed that Kayla just wanted to be friends.

I can't remember if I actually giggled or not. Maybe I just got close to a giggle and kept it in. I informed Neal that he definitely would not get turned down. Neal looked at me as if I were nuts. He then, almost defiantly, questioned how I could be so sure.

I have asked, and received relationship advice in my life but I'm not thrilled with the idea of giving it. Nevertheless, I smiled and asked Neal if he had ever noticed how close Kayla stands to him when she is talking to him. He looked confused and shook his head. I told him that she stands about a half step closer than what would be normal. It is not a "just friends" distance, I said. I then informed Neal that when she speaks to him her voice is just a little softer than when she speaks to other people. I told Neal that the quiet voice comes from a bit of emotion leaking into her speech. Finally, I asked Neal if he ever noticed how she will go out of her way to make needless conversation with him. For a few seconds Neal gave me this blank stare before finally stating once again that he was pretty sure that Kayla just wanted to be friends. I told Neal that I am not an expert, and I can't read minds, but that I was 99% sure he was wrong.

Well I'll be honest; if I had been wrong I probably would not have written this blog entry. And if I had been wrong, Neal would not be sharing a pizza with Kayla in about an hour.