Imagine this: You know in those cheesy romance movies when they put a chick flick song in the background, and do a split screen with the girl in her bedroom thinking of her lover, and the guy in the street staring at the stars thinking of her as well?
So there was Yassine in the car with Alaa, heading back to Cairo to catch his train to Luxor. And there I was chilling with family in Marina for our last few days before heading back to the real world. This scene is what I was told happened in the car between them. Yassine was gushing to Alaa about me (don’t they all… HA! Kidding).
Aaaand stop the chick flick music. All of a sudden, Alaa burst out in anger. She scolded him so bad (that’s my girl) and told him he lost his only chance to “get” me because he was too damn shy and let go of so many opportunities that she worked so hard to get him (mainly getting us “coincidentally” to sit alone together. It really was hard work to get all our friends occupied with something other than us… Poor girl.)
So he felt terrible and told her I must think he’s an asshole or a player. Right then, (queue Rocky motivational music) he asked her for all my numbers and my BBM Pin, and as soon as he got to his hotel he sent me a text.
Back to my room in Marina. I read the text and thought it was very sweet. He thanked me for the great time in Marina (though I didn’t really do anything) and said he hoped to see me soon. So I courteously replied that I’m glad he had fun and that I hope he has a safe trip back to France.
The night after, Alaa calls and assures me that she set him straight for me in the car. I was laughing the whole phone call because that’s so her to randomly yell at someone for indirectly annoying her. What made me “aww” was when she told me that he had asked her if she would drive him back to Marina after he got back from Luxor so he could see me one last time.
It was crazy because he was going to arrive to Cairo in the evening and his flight to France was the next morning, but he didn’t care. I told Alaa to convince him that it wouldn’t be possible.
The night he came back from Luxor, he actually called me (hallelujah). So I was like, this is it, he is going to confess his love to me right this second. I answer, smugly pretending that I knew what he was going to tell me. But lo and behold, Yassine INSISTS on continuing to talk about the weather! And what a wonderful time he had in Marina. I was “mmhmm”-ing the whole convo and we closed.
My temperature rose and I felt a huge burst of courage, so I called this guy back. As soon as he said hello, I demanded “Is there something you wanted to tell me?!”
He started laughing and exclaimed (in his strong French accent) “Lenah, I’m soooo shyyy!” I was like, yea, but this is too much! So we laughed it off and he did say that he liked me. After that, the conversation was smooth flowing and just… nice. So we said we’d keep in touch and text each other every now and then.
Cute, right? But that’s not it. You can’t build a serious relationship through text! (Although some people have done it, all power to them!)
After that call I bumped into my grandpa, sitting alone in his usual spot in the garden with his Cuban cigar (yes, he’s cool like that). He sensed something and commented, “You never tell me what goes on in your love life.”
I was feeling talkative and told him everything. He asked the usual questions, and then surprisingly got super excited about it! He demanded that I talk to him more often and advised me to see where it goes. I was so impressed with my grandpa and spoke with him about Yassine every other day. He was the only one in the family I told, and he made sure to keep my little secret between us.
At the end of that fine August, I headed to DC for a two-month internship. By this point, there was an unspoken texting rule between Yassine and I to text every other day, meaning one day yes, one day no. Kind of weird, but it made sense at the time, and made life easier.
So on one of our yes days, Yassine hinted that he was thinking about coming to visit me in DC. OMG, I thought. How super amazing yet super awkward would that be? I played it cool and said, “You can come if you want to.” Super chill.
He said he’d think about it because he’d always wanted to see DC (psh, yea right). Weeks passed and we hadn’t reopened the subject until his birthday. We talked on the phone and mid-conversation, Yassine said, “Oh by the way, I booked my ticket to DC, I’ll be there at the end of the month.” At that point I couldn’t keep my cool. I was like, “WHAT! Are you serious?” He was so relaxed about it and said yea. So I was like, “Well that’s fine… how long are you staying?” And he said a weekend.
Now ladies, if a guy is willing to fly over sixteen hours to be with you for only a day, then he’s a keeper. That’s the first thing that made me think, “Yes, I can definitely see myself with this guy”.
But before I jumped to any conclusions, I called my grandpa to ask his opinion, and even MORE surprisingly he said hell yes! What was going on in the world? I even took the parent role in the conversation and told him, “Don’t you think it’s kind of inappropriate?” He said I should definitely be inviting because it was our only chance to get to know each other. Which was kind of true.
I was jumpy for the rest of the week and to avoid any awkwardness when Yassine came, I started planning what we would do right away. I even wrote a list – so nerdy, I know.
He was going to arrive in the evening, so I planned dinner on a commercial boat that was known in DC for having great food and took you around the city. After that I planned for us to go clubbing, because I love dancing and I thought it would be an awkward-free place since it’s always crowded. The next day I planned to visit all the touristy places and chill before his flight.
So the awaited day came, and I left work super early to do some girly things at the hairdresser and prepare myself. I was there right on time, which is pretty rare for me, and then the waiting began. 15 minutes late, I was fine. 30 minutes late, started to get fidgety. An hour passed and I was convinced someone kidnapped him.
He was unreachable since his phone was off and I was really worried. AND I was annoyed because we missed the boat ride! There goes that romantic dinner. As I was waiting, I could picture families gathering, kids and their mothers, and of course, lovers reuniting.
I will never forget this, I’m still not sure if it was God teasing me or what. Some guy, probably in his forties, walked through the gate and his girlfriend hugged him hard, which I thought was sweet. And then they started making out with each other, right there, two centimeters away from me. I was like, get a room. Maybe I was a bit jealous but still, it was very uncomfortable.
So an hour and a half later as I was almost having a panic attack, the face I was waiting to see finally appeared. We met each other with smiles and a light hug.
I was still a bit bummed about missing the boat so I was rushing him to get going so I could think of another replacement!
We were talking about his flight, my stay in DC and his new job (no weather talk, thank God). It was kind of awkward but not really. He really wanted to see the White House so we decided to go there and take a walk around the city.
Of course I wanted to show off and pretend that I knew all the directions since I’d been living there for a month. FAIL. I got us lost in the first 10 minutes. He was a good sport and used his phone to get us on the right track. We walked and talked and it was a great start. Also, as soon as we got to the White House, Obama had just arrived in his helicopter, so that was cool!
After our walk I decided to reserve dinner at a fondue place (because I love anything that is cheese). The lady on the phone asked if it was casual or a date, and to this day I have no idea why she would ask that, could she sense it in my voice or what? I blurted out date and she super excitedly said they’d prepare our table right away.
So Yassine and I get there, and the waitress takes us the darkest corner in the littlest booth – what a table they’d prepared! I was famished and THOUGHT Yassine would be too, so I ordered for us to share.
I ended up eating 75% of what was on the table. That was when I discovered Yassine’s low appetite; he just doesn’t eat a lot and has a sensitive stomach, unlike yours truly. I didn’t care though, when it comes to food I transform.
We were continuing with our casual talk, no hand holding or flirting just yet. All the magic happened at the club. So romantic.
We changed and headed over there to meet some of his friends who were living in DC (another good sign that he was actually social). As we were going through the crowds, he held my hand to lead me through, and then we were in our own little world, flirting and laughing, still holding hands. After the club, we walked around DC, talking about what we first noticed about each other, and what we like about each other. All that cutesy stuff.
At the end of our walk, as we neared my house where he was going to drop me off, Yassine was in full French Romantic mode. He was describing my eyes, walk, hair, everything really, in a way that I never thought could be put in words. That honestly made me feel kind of awkward because I didn’t know how to react! No one ever described me in that way. It was amazing though, and I couldn’t imagine how on earth someone pictured me like that. Did he really see me that way?
So I had no idea what I was supposed to say back to him, and I just blurted out, “Does this mean I’m your girlfriend now?” I think he was taken aback by my lack of romantic anything, and laughed and said yes.
We still argue when our anniversary is. He says it’s the 28th of September, but it really is the 29th since it was technically after midnight! Anyway, we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.
The next day we met up and went to all the touristy places in DC, all cute, holding hands and taking pictures. I had never thought I would enjoy it this much. Here was this guy who saw me as one of the most beautiful girls he’d ever seen, and to prove his love, he went through complete and utter embarrassment in Marina, overcame his shyness to talk to me despite my loud, over-confident posse, and traveled sixteen hours to spend a day with me.
I was beside myself that someone like him found someone like me, and made it all happen. To the point where when I took him back to the airport that evening, I actually cried. And that is not me at all. For God’s sake, I only really hung out with the guy for a day. But there was something there that made me feel safe and comfortable with him. I don’t want to sound corny, but it’s true.
It was bittersweet. Our short-lived romance was over, but something amazing came out of it: We were officially together, committed and ready to start this journey. Now all that was left was to report back to grandpa and all my friends. We hadn’t planned when we’d see each other again, but as you’ll find out in the next post, I took the next leap of faith, just as crazy as he was, and it was my best idea yet.
WE SAID THIS: In case you missed it, check out the last Bride to Be diary post!
