Post 8 – The Green Door Restaurant, Part 2
“Would I like to have more children?” I repeated the question. “No, I can’t…I mean…I no longer…”
Stumbling in my words, my mind raced. Of course, he wasn’t proposing we have a child together! That would be altogether absurd! This was simply a misunderstanding, a miscommunication!
That said, in the off-chance that he was making a proposal I wanted to make it crystal clear that I was not interested. Without much reflection, I found myself revealing something personal about myself.
“Next week I’m going to have a hysterectomy! So, I won’t be able to have anymore children.”
After blurting the words, I wished I could take them back.
That was wayyyyyy too personal! For some reason, I thought it would get the message across…to a proposal that was basically non-existent. I felt like an idiot!
“Oh I’m sorry! Is it something serious? Are you ok?” he asked genuinely concerned.
“I’m fine! I have tumors in my uterus, called fibroids, but they’re benign. It’s a common procedure.” I said, making it sound like it was nothing at all.
In reality, it was a medical problem that was causing me problems for a couple of years. While I was well-informed about the risks involved with a hysterectomy, I was anxious about having the procedure. Statistically, about 330 out of every 100,000 women undergo a hysterectomy in Canada.1
That doesn’t sound like a lot to me. But apparently, a hysterectomy is the second most common surgery, after caesarean sections, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
I quickly changed the topic of conversation by commenting on his paintings hanging all around us. After all, that was the reason for meeting up. Whatever agenda he had for this rendez-vous, I knew mine. I wanted to know more about how to market my art, and this restaurant was a good start.
Seth asked one of the waiters if he could speak to the owner of the restaurant. Unfortunately, the owner wasn’t working that day, he didn’t work on weekends.
Great, I thought. Why didn’t Seth find out ahead of time the owner’s working hours?
“We can always come back during the week if you want!” He said. “Or, I can give you his contact info and you can call him yourself. Tell him you know me.”
Seemed reasonable I guess. Though I really wanted to meet with him today. I shook my head in agreement and Seth wrote down the owner’s name and contact info on a napkin.
As he handed me the napkin he blurted: “Hey I have an idea! Eh, we should paint together! Would be nice to paint with someone rather than alone – it can get a little lonely. I have a studio in my basement. There’s plenty of space for both of us to paint. What do you say?”
I hesitated.
I welcomed the company but thought he might be too much of a distraction. Then again, I wanted to make friends who had a passion for art. He certainly fit the criteria. We could share ideas about concepts, design and painting techniques. I could at least try it out. If I didn’t like it, I could bow out anytime.
“Sure! Sounds like fun!” I replied.
“Great!” He said beaming. “The next couple of weekends are busy for me but I’ll text you and stay in touch.”
I guess he already forgot that I would be in the hospital. “Let’s say a month or a month and a half from now” I said, without further explanation.
“Oh right!” he said sheepishly. “Ok! It’s a date!”
Sources
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Hysterectomy rates falling: report. CBC News. 2010-05-27. https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/hysterectomy-rates-falling-report-1.903774