Reason enough

—Last Wednesday, November 25th, the day before Thanksgiving, Yr Fthfl Srvnt restarted aquatic balance-training in Canandaigua’s YMCA swimming-pool.
I haven’t done it since that YMCA closed due to COVID-19 perhaps eight months ago. That YMCA reopened in September I think, but using it seemed difficult.
I think the locker room was off-limits at first, and I needed that locker room.
Other things beside balance-training were occurring. I befriended three ladies I consider attractive. Doing so counters my torrid childhood: “No attractive lady will associate with you!”
First would be my aquacise-instructor, a tiny sprite with an engaging smile. We both were using the same dog-groomer who noticed my balance was faltering.
She thought she might be able to help me, so one-on-one at first. Then she suggested her balance-training class.
Then she wanted to meet my new dog, which to someone with the childhood I had was completely MIND-BLOWING.
A pretty lady wants to hang out with me? “No pretty lady will associate with you! You are DISGUSTING!”
Three times in quick succession; first time without her own dog.
Being as inexperienced with women as I was at that time, and probably still am, I thought she was interested in me.
A dreadful mistake; she probably was no more interested in me than her other male clients.
About the same time, one of the lifeguards at that swimming pool said hello to me by name, and after a while I managed to get up the nerve to say hello back.
She’s not stunning, but for her age she’s attractive. She was 63 back then, but looked like she was in her 40s on her lifeguard stand.
Again, “why in the world would a pretty lady say hello to me? I am DISGUSTING!”
So began a long relationship prompted by thinking she might be interested in me. And despite my many foul ups and flubs trying to learn how to deal with women, she stayed with me = AMAZING!
Fortunately, I never had her phone-number. But I did have the phone-number of my aquacise-instructor. I texted her too much, probably thereby destroying any possibility of our ever being friends. I was acting like a lonely hot-to-trot widower.
The third lady is another lifeguard. She was the first attractive lady with whom I struck up a conversation on-my-own.
“I see you were named after the transmissions our buses used,” I said.
“You got that backwards!” she shouted. “Them bus-transmissions were named after me!”
It was Saturday afternoon, long ago, so after using the pool, I climbed out and noticed her name scrawled on a bulletin board.
“Your name has only one ‘L;’ the bus trannies had two.”
“Yeah,” she said; “they spelled it wrong.”
WOW! This girl is quick!
So began friendship with a third attractive lady, although there was no romantic misperception with her.
So the other day we met again: she was lifeguarding at that time. What a thrill; we are such great friends = we laugh and shoot the breeze. “Yada-yada-yada-yada-yada.”
My bereavement counselor suggested I lay low with the aquacise-instructor, which seemed right to me; since I would seem forward if I said anything to her at all = let her do the talking.
I met that third lady later in my supermarket. Again, “yada-yada-yada-yada-yada! Haven’t seen you in months, and twice in one day! Happy to see ya!”
“Back for good?” she asked.
“Not sure,” I said.
“Why not?” she asked.
“Too clumsy,” I said.
She began telling me my aquacise-class would probably be beneficial.
I thereafter threw my speech at her I repeat to all my newfound lady friends, namely: “we could talk forever, and it sure would be fun, but we’re here to buy groceries!”
“So come back to the pool again so we can talk,” she said.
“Reason enough,” I thought to myself.

• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS) in Rochester, NY, a public employer, the transit-bus operator in Rochester and environs.