Robert’s Perspective:

I met Mireille on February 6th 2013. Mireille was different than anyone I had ever met and had this strange feeling that we would be together. I get it, its kind of lame I know, but there was just something about her that infatuated me. She was funny, smart, beautiful and wasn’t willing to go all in up front. By Valentines Day there was a small group of single people in the office who were looking to get out that evening and do something fun. We decided to go to Johnny’s Hideaway, classy joint let me tell you… In a way the place sort of reminds me of Studio 54 in that everyone of all ages is welcome. Young and old, no judgement. Its really a beautiful thing when you think about it. Its a place where you can escape from the hustle of the world for a few hours and belly up to an old bar in a smoke filled room. The nostalgia of these types of places always interest me in that there have been tons of patrons in an out over the years and yet nothing seems to have changed from the first day it opened. There were about 5 or 6 of us going that evening, Mireille included. Men flock to Mireille, what can I say, she’s beautiful. I on the other hand haven’t been known to chase after women with the rest of the herd. It always appeared a bit desperate to me and figured, if it was that obvious to me, women could pick up on that as well. The end of the story is, I ignored Mireille until the last 10 minutes of the evening. I finally struck up a conversation with her and as it progressed, I explained to her I wanted to see her again outside of work and asked to take her to dinner.

February 20th was our first date. I took her to Season’s 52 in Buckhead. If my memory serves me correct, she had sea bass, rice pilaf and a glass of white wine. I had scallops, asparagus and a 420, or two… I found myself mesmerized with this woman and running the odds on how we had come to know each other. Mireille just moved back to Georgia from a 6 month stint in Charlotte and previously spent two years in living in New York. All of her professional experience dealt with fashion. Let me tell you, she was no software guru (still isn’t) and was a bit confused having worked with her a couple of weeks, why she would pursue a career at a software startup. Throughout the evening I found out she too had been in a long relationship that didn’t work out. Knowing that I had come from a similar situation it was nice to spend time with someone who was so comfortable with who they were and what they wanted in someone; furthermore, what they didn’t want. The night continued and so did our conversation. I paid the bill and drove her home.

For the next month our relationship progressed a bit. We spent time together but not every waking moment. We were both 29 so puppy love was a bit juvenile to us. I can’t deny that I was falling for her though. I did the moment I first laid eyes on her. I knew I would be with her in my heart. Challenge with love is it clouds your judgment. It just does.

We went to lunch on my birthday, March 21st. I could tell something was off with her. I paid attention to her every gesture and mannerism. That evening we got together and hung out for a bit but felt the relationship was taking a turn for the worst. She wouldn’t tell me but I analyze people for a living and can tell when something doesn’t smell right. On March 23rd, we broke up. Damn.

 

Mireille’s perspective:

Robert was exactly what I needed at exactly the right time. I knew it was special at the time but it would actually take me a little longer to fully realize his role in my life. He seemed to make the right moves, not too strong, not too little. He started talking to me one day on g-chat while we were in the same meeting. Liking to break the rules, I liked him already. He asked me about my dog Georgia because my email picture was with her. That got me talking of course because I didn’t have kids yet so I was obsessed with my dog it seemed like he was genuinely interested. This made for a little excitement in the back of my mind, but I had just moved back to Atlanta 2 weeks before and was sorting out my life. I was finally getting settled in Buckhead and used to being single and loving it. I never thought I would because I relied on my previous relationship for so long as my stability in life, so when losing it, it was like losing an arm. I was relearning who I truly was. I couldn’t date someone now, I just started dating myself! Living in New York somewhat gave me a rebirth or almost a realization of what I was capable of. It finally opened my eyes to that ‘more’ in life that I was searching for.

Valentine’s Day night, a bunch of single people planned to go to Johnny’s Hideaway to party. It’s one of the oldest establishments in Atlanta, and if you haven’t heard of it, ask your parents; they have been there. I specifically remember telling my best friend Amy who I lived with, that ‘I hope this cute guy from work is there tonight’. Luckily, he was there, and he ignored me the entire time. It was the best thing he could have ever done. I loved the thrill of the chase, and definitely didn’t want someone all in bending backwards to be available 24/7. Complicated yes, but self-realization is important, people! We all danced and had fun, and he came up to talk to me the last 10 minutes. He told me that he wanted to take me out where it was just the two of us, and little quieter. Well played. Who exactly was this bad boy, who is actually the most genuine person I know? Well, for starters, he is someone who cut me off on 400 on his motorcycle on the way to work one day, wearing flip flops and barely a helmet, looking back at me and giving me a smile. I was excited and intrigued.

I remember exactly what I was wearing on our first date and everything we talked about. It was so easy to be there. Robert was so easy to talk to, he never judged me… and I feel like he could have for a lot of things, most people did. I told him all my secrets, I told him all my flaws, I told him exactly what I did wrong in every other relationship in my entire life. After I fled to NYC, I vowed to myself that I was going to do it all different, and be completely honest and up front with people. People were just going to have to like me or not, but at that point, I didn’t care. I even told him about the time I shoplifted when I was 16, and since I can’t ever break any rules easily, got caught. I told him I don’t particularly love nature, hate the taste of alcohol, am somewhat high maintenance, and drive like a grandma. He probably should have run for the hills. But what’s funny, is that in his story in life, this was mild. He was a bit of a wild child who loved adventure, motorcycles, and doing his own thing. I loved hearing his story too because as different as we were, it finally felt like home. We dated for a little bit over a month.

I knew what I wanted in a person and Robert seemed to be exactly that, but was still almost certain that it didn’t exist anymore and that maybe I already missed my chance in life. I started to distance myself from Robert because I don’t think I was ready to see that he was exactly what I needed in someone. I had to figure it out on my own, and in true Mireille fashion, after the fact. I know this is dumb, but somehow that quote from ‘Sweet Alabama’ keeps popping in my head to something of the effect of ‘you Southern girls don’t make the right decision until you’ve made all the wrong ones’. I don’t exactly claim to be southern, but I have somehow adopted this habit. He told me one time that he seemed to always have bad luck on his birthdays. And I think someone broke up with him on his birthday once too. Well gah, I can’t have this conversation on his birthday. I made his birthday as special as I could because I genuinely cared about him and I did not want to add to the list. But being as intuitive as he is, he knew I wasn’t all the way there. I held out, and two days later, told him I needed to figure some things out. It wasn’t fair to him if my mind was somewhere else. If I was going to be with him, I was going to be with him 100%, something again, I had never done before. I was going to do it right this time in life.