when all else fails, flip a coin

At the Loyola Parents Dinner Dance Saturday night.

In chronological order

Three guys at the table, before the fourth arrived, all standing aside the table talking with each other, the shortest of the three of them is still five inches taller than I am; I wasn't comfortable to engage with them. I milled about a little, then sat down at the table. On my own for a while, then M, one of the wives of the standing men came and sat next to me and we had a nice conversation. She is from a latin country and is very expressive and has almost a continual conversational touch that I find warm and atyipcal. We shared our running and medal commonalities among other things.

We all took our places and conversation ensued; at one point an in depth conversation about how the school is very much sports-focused and how that almost dissuaded this one mom from sending her boy to the school. I spoke up of my own experience when I was a student, and of my son's experience, in his last year; neither of us being particularly sporty, and how there are numerous other opportunities for the boys to do extra curricular activities that line up with their interests.

MC of the event announces that each table ought to elect a 'captain' of the table. I was chosen and then all of the captains were summoned to the dance floor where we received playful glasses that lit up of various types and colours. This would identify all of us to everyone else as the captains. Then, as the captains we were encouraged to dance to show how committed we are to being the captain and engaging our tables. It was at this time I happened to notice 'J', one of the moms present who was a great dancer.

Soon after, everyone else was encouraged to go to the dance floor and people formed mostly in table groups, so I moved over to join my own table group. This went on for a short while then we sat down for the main course. Between this dancing and the main course I headed to the WC and on the way back encountered a person looking at the sports team photos from past years on the wall. He happened to be looking at the photos of students at the exact year that I graduated, so I recognized all of the boys in the photo. I engaged with him, talking about the boys whose photos are on the wall and our own boys. Moments later a faculty member joined us and knew something of the guy with whom I was speaking and so the two of them started off on an alternative topic that effectively disengaged me.

After our table had finished the main course, there was lighter music being played with no MC and the dance floor was empty. I meandered onto the dance floor and just start moving with the music, a few minutes later another male captain joined me, and the two of us danced for maybe five or eight minutes; just the two of us doing our own thing. The tables that bordered the dance floor had people who then started to take notice of us, they cheered, though no one joined us.

Then the MC came on and he invited everyone else; back on the dance floor, prizes were given, bottles of champagne, to people who show they are committed to having a good time and dancing up a storm; 'J' won the first one. We connected a little on the dance floor the way that sometimes people do; and after she had won and there were fewer people around her I went to congratulate her on being the first to win. She was gracious, friendly and about ten minutes later she put a cup of champagne in my hands. We would dance together on and off a little while longer. Later in the night when we had both gone to sit down, I located where she was sitting and chatted with her a little, as this was the first (and only) time I would engage in conversation with her. I mention that my son is in his last year, but this may not stop me from coming back to the Parent's dance next year, and that I would hope to see her there too. She reciprocated.

We left soon after; a little bit abruptly from my own perspective; but it was already midnight and three quarters of us were heading to church Sunday morning.