a feeble attempt

Annie

Bruce and I hung back watching as Chris approached the merchandise table. Bruce had jokingly dared Chris to go up and tell Annie, "If I buy one of these CDs, will you go on a date with me?"

Neither Bruce or Chris had been to an Annie Moses Band concert before. They soon found out that I wasn't lying ... about the good music or about the beautiful Annie.

I never believed he would actually do it. He really did just want one of the CDs.

But Bruce and I had nothing better to do, so we couldn't help making commentary on Chris' "attempt" to woo this lovely, accomplished musician. We watched as he started to talk to the father.

"Good technique. Get in good with Dad before going for his daughter," I whispered to Bruce.

"Oh look, now he's joking with the brother who played the cello. Nice," commented Bruce.

The crowd had died down, and I noticed Annie was keeping one ear on their conversation. Then he said the magic word, "Bosson."

"Did you say your last name was 'Bosson'? Are you from Savannah?!" She seemed so excited to meet the son of the Pastor from New Zealand. She and her family had performed at Southside Baptist Church in Savannah last year.

"Bruce, look! She's talking to him but she's NOT looking him in the eye. She likes him. She's trying to pull herself together till she can get up the courage to talk to him AND look at him at the same time."

Finally, she lifted up her head and was ready to meet his eyes. She had herself under control now. But he wasn't looking at her anymore or even really listening to what she was saying. He was filling out a form to get their Christmas CD later this year. He finished filling it out, handed it to the brother, and waved goodbye.

Bruce and I had our jaws dropped open.

When Chris reached us, we gave him an earfull! "What were you thinking?! You had her. You were in. You were part of the family. You even used the magic word 'Bosson'! Why did you do it?! Was that form really so important?!"

Poor Chris was so confused. While Chris was merely purchasing a new CD, Bruce and I were practically marrying him off.

disclaimer: Before publishing the above post I sought Chris' permission. C.B. says "Ok, just for the record, I did acknowledge her (albeit through the corner of my eye) and yes, I believe words actually came out of my mouth that were directed in her direction. Anyway, I suppose I have nothing to lose. Go ahead. Send it. Maybe some lonesome seminary scavenger can use it as a manual on how NOT to impress a girl. In all seriousness, I got a laugh out of it. As long as this isn't the beginning of an endless line of people querying whether or not i'm the clueless idiot who 'blew his chance.' I mean, come on, if it had been ... "the hottest guy at Seminary" ..., he would have known what to do. But then again, his last name isn't 'Bosson.'"

I don't know. Maybe that's up for debate.