First Impressions

We had only been dating for two weeks. In other words, not long enough for me to know that I shouldn’t hand Jordan my phone and ask him to text one of my friends while I’m driving.

At the time I didn’t think anything of it. My friend Bri and her two-year old daughter had just moved to town from Mexico. We were on our way to pick them up for brunch but we were running late, so I handed my phone to Jordan and slowly dictated what I wanted him to type.

“Sorry we’re running late. Be there in 10 minutes.”

This was the first time they had all met, but Bri, a high-energy Latina, is not shy when it comes to strangers. Neither, as most of you know, is Jordan. When I introduced them, Bri called Jordan a tiger and said something about how she couldn’t wait for her tiger to come visit from Mexico. She even stuck out her nails like a claw and made a “rawr” kind of noise.

She’s really outgoing but I thought that was bold, even for her.

At brunch she told a joke about tigers…something about keeping them locked up at the zoo. I gave her a sympathy chuckle, and then looked at Jordan questioningly. He widened his eyes and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “I have no idea what she’s talking about.”

It wasn’t until later that week that I finally read the text message Jordan had sent.

“Sorry we’re late. Jordan was a tiger in the sack this morning. Be there soon.”

It goes without saying, but Jordan and Bri get along famously.

As for her daughter—to this day, she knows Jordan only as “Tio Tigre.”