Coffee, Love, And A Cross Country Road Trip

By Chris Clews

Hello my name is Chris. I'm 49 years old and I've never been in love before. Truly in love. There I finally said it. Ahhh...the proverbial weights off the shoulders and monkey off the back and all it took was 11 words. And of course this would still be true if not for a cup of coffee on January 4th, 2020 that not only made me believe that love is actually a real thing that can happen to real people but that love at first sight isn't just reserved for 80s rom-coms.

 

So how do you fall in love if you've lived your entire adult life not believing in it? This is the true story of a 49 year old guy (me) who falls in love for the first time in his life, pretty much at first sight, and the events that follow as the pandemic shuts down the world. A fun, unique and sometimes heartbreaking love story from the male point of view. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Farmer Ted Publishing
• Release date: Jul 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781732335134

Chris Clews

Chris Clews is a speaker and author of the book series "What 80s Pop Culture Teaches Us About Today's Workplace".  This is his first foray into the romance genre and yes he really did fall in love for the first time at the young age of 49. A graduate of Elon University in North Carolina, he spent over 22 years working in corporate marketing and ad agencies building brands, leading brands through transition and spearheading sports sponsorships with NCAA Basketball, PGA, MLB, International Soccer and the UFC. After leaving the corporate world, he founded Pop Culture Creations - a marketing consulting firm. He's a frequent guest on podcasts with topics ranging from 80s pop culture to workplace culture. His books have been referenced in numerous publications such as Entrepreneur.com and has been the subject of interviews with a variety of media including most recently, Esquire UK magazine.   He's also passionate about animal rescue and donates a portion of the proceeds from his book and speaking engagements to the SPCA International and lives by the quote from the poet laureate Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it."  He now believes in love at first sight and fully understands the journey of the hopeless romantic.

Book preview

A Short (And True) Story

Chapter 1

Hello My Name Is...

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"And the best thing you've ever done for me, is to help me take my life less seriously.

It's only life after all, yeah"

– Indigo Girls, Closer To Fine

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Hello my name is Chris. I’m 49 years old and I’ve never been in love before. Truly in love. There I finally said it. Ahhhhh...the proverbial weights off the shoulders and monkey off the back and all it took was 11 words. And of course this would still be true if not for a cup of coffee on January 4th, 2020 that not only made me believe that love is actually a real thing that can happen to real people but that love at first sight isn’t just reserved for 80s rom-coms and those clowns and clownettes on The Bachelor and Bachelorette.

I should also mention that I’ve never been married. Oh, and I’ve never had kids. Yes, I’m the guy that gets all of the questions at every event, party and gathering. So many questions actually that at one point I sort of got tired of being polite, so I had this little gem of a conversation with the wife of a couple that I met at a black-tie event. I’ll skip the standard introductory niceties from our dialogue and just bring you in for the proverbial meat of the conversation:

Woman: So, what do you do?

Me: I’m a speaker and author.

Woman: Very nice. Are you married?

Me: No

Woman: Have you been married?

Me: No

Woman: Do you have kids?

Me: No

Woman: So, you’ve never been married, and you’ve never had kids?

Me: That’s correct.

Woman: Why?

Now this is the question that I never quite understood. Was I supposed to do all of these things? Am I suddenly less than human? Should I have a scarlet letter? Is there some kind of law that I didn’t know about? Would it be better if I was divorced once or maybe even twice? Would that at least show I could make a commitment albeit it temporary? I’m so confused. And I had heard this question of why more times than I could or wanted to remember so this time, I got a bit of a silver tongue and responded in kind:

Me: Before I answer that, let me ask you a question.

Woman: Ok.

Me: Are you married?

Woman: Yes, this is my husband right here. You just met him.

Me: Do you have kids?

Woman: Yes, a boy and a girl.

Me: Why?

Woman (after a long pause): Why? I don’t understand the question.

Me (with a bit of a smirk): Exactly. Neither did I.

Exasperated and a little perturbed, she huffed, gave me a stern look and walked away. Her husband gave me a nod and a smile and went off with her to likely grab another round of drinks.

So this was me – 49, never married, no kids, shamed frequently and quite possibly on the road to being shunned at social gatherings moving forward. I wonder if this is how the witches in Salem felt back in the day.

But six months ago on January 4th, 2020, I was sitting on my couch – ok, I was laying on my couch – when I heard the incredibly unfamiliar tone of a Tinder match emanating from my phone.  I opened it and there she was. Someone mysteriously named S with just one picture on a paddleboard her red Titleist visor pulled down over her face and a profile that consisted of the super catchy and incredibly original – Just checking things out.  So, this is what I had to go on.

And then suddenly a message from the mysterious S and it simply says I’m a comedian too. Comedian? Hmmm. Is she messaging the right person I thought to myself? Oh yeah, my picture. I remembered that one of my pictures was from a time that I did an open mic at The Improv in West Palm Beach, Fl. Ok, so good start I suppose. At least she looked at all of my pics. Afterall, I was pretty thorough with going through her profile as well – all one pic and four words.

We exchanged a few messages including one where she mentioned that she would only be in town until early February to which I responded, well then let’s just make the best of it while you are here. Then suddenly and without warning she threw it out there:

So are you busy tomorrow morning?, she asked. Would you like to meet for a cup of coffee? Here’s my number. 

I shot straight up from my prone position. Tomorrow morning? Coffee? I mean it’s 1030pm on a Friday night. As a guy who embraced his independence, committing to a date that is less than 12 hours away would typically seem a little much for me and I would probably come up with some kind of excuse to delay it, but something felt different. Very different. Like someone that has never seen Dirty Dancing different. Yes that’s me. I can hear the What’s!? and collective scolding from the audience right through my computer. Never saw it. I know, I know. Long story but it involves my senior prom and the song, I Had the Time of My Life and it is a story for another day.  

So, I said Yes. Yes, I would love to meet you for coffee. Wait, love to meet you? Yes, love. And after a lifetime of answering questions – both simple and complex - it quickly became the best answer I’d ever given in my entire life.

A simple Yes that ultimately led to coffee, love and a cross country road trip.

Chapter 2

Coffee

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"She's as sweet as Tupelo honey,

She's an angel of the first degree"

- Van Morrison, Tupelo Honey

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That night I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned and felt excited for the morning and my cup of coffee with the mysterious and intriguing S. I got up earlier than usual and found myself watching the hands of the clock wishing that they would move just a bit faster.  The place we planned to meet – The Modern Rose - is just a 10 min walk from my house and a place that I had used as a writing spot on multiple occasions. A 10