Our First Date
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Elver Park Lightly bundled up against the brisk November air, we began our afternoon together at Elver Park. We had planned a Saturday afternoon hike in this generously-sized city park in Madison as a casual but active way to get to know each other better. You see, we had crossed paths at Epic several times, but not until very recently had we exchanged some emails and a conversation or two that really didn't have much of a work-related reason behind them at all. Mark came prepared for disc golf - while not a frequent activity for him, it was a convenient last-minute idea for using an activity to take some pressure off of conversation. Peg came prepared with excellent taste and selectivity. When offered a light beverage (Mark came prepared with that as well), she promptly chose the best of the small selection of craft beers available. This foreshadowed many future situations where Peg brought her keen sense of good taste to bear on restaurants, breweries and of course one upstanding and rather handsome young man if I may say so... The cold fall air eventually set Mark in a chill, which as a Minnesota native he will never be allowed to forget, having been out-toughed in the elements by a girl from Philadelphia on the very first date. None of this was said at the time, her being the epitome of sweetness and charm, and we bundled up and off to Barrique's, a local coffee chain. We sipped coffee and chatted away the afternoon next to the fireplace. Only a few silences filled the gaps in conversation, none of them particularly awkward. |