A Parisian Meet-Cute

Meet-cute (n): An amusing or charming first encounter between two characters that leads to the development of a romantic relationship between them.

So maybe it's because I walked around Paris listening to my favorite Spotify Rom-Com Playlist, or perhaps it's because I felt like I was living a dream, but I spent my time in Paris fully unashamed of seeing things through rose-tinted glasses! Oh, the Seine! Oh, the people sharing their umbrella! Oh, the Eiffel Tower! Oh, the garbage can (HAH, I'm kidding about that one)! To make this even more ridiculous, I began to feel like a Hispanic Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project. If you have no idea who I'm talking about, Mindy Lahiri, played by Mindy Kaling (obsessed with her), is one of my all-time favorite TV characters. She's a hopeless romantic to her core but is also equal parts #GirlBoss.

So this brings us to my Mindy Lahiri-meet-cute moment. It all started with a bag of dirty laundry.

Yeah, this story is brought to you by my dirty laundry--HAH! 

After googling "laundromat near me," I chose one with a decent amount of English reviews. At that point, I had JUST learned a few French phrases to help me get by on my own... I was not entirely confident in reading or understanding anything beyond the basics I knew. So I took a deep breath and walked into a laundromat called Julice Laverie, praying that I'd blend in. But right away, I noticed things were a bit different. Instead of walking up to the machine of your choice and feeding it coins, I was met with dozens of machines without coin slots. Tip: When faced with something new, take a moment to keep calm and observe your surroundings.

I had noticed someone walk up to a small machine by the entrance. I heard the familiar sound of coins being dropped into a machine, so I "casually" (lol not sure how casual I looked) walked up behind this person and quietly took notes. This device seemed to talk to all of the washers and dryers. I chose my machine, punched in the number and codes to buy soap and softener. It was a slow process, but I successfully did it!

Phew, we got that over with. I proudly thought to myself.
As I tossed my clothes into the washer, I closed the door and began poking and twisting the knobs and buttons....nothing happened. And when nothing happened, I tried to open and close the door but it was locked...

A few people began to notice my attempts so I stopped and desperately messaged my friend Lea (she lives in France so I thought maybe there's a quirky little trick to these things that she'd know about). Just as I had sent her a string of SOS texts, a couple walked in speaking ENGLISH! Without hesitation, they walked up to the master-machine. 

"Hey," I said, "do you know what you're doing? I think something's wrong with mine or I did something to it?" A French guy overheard me and jumped in to help (God bless the French). Pretty soon, the entire laundromat was trying to help me figure out what was going on because something WAS in fact wrong.

OF COURSE, I HAPPENED TO CHOOSE THE ONE MACHINE THAT WAS FAULTY. Shit.

The French guy who had jumped in at the beginning suggested that I should call maintenance to come in and fix the machine. I called and was greeted by a man who seemed to have just woke up from a nap! He spoke to me in French and I responded with a phrase I began to lean more and more on, "Bonjour, parlez vous Anglais?"

He didn't speak English, so I looked at my French angel, who was helping me and said, "He doesn't speak English." He took the phone from me and began to recount the events that led up to this call.

He hung up and told me it would take the maintenance guy around 30 minutes to get to the laundromat. So I sat down, opened my journal and documented what had just happened. This was a story I did not want to forget!

Little did I know, the story was just beginning...

In the middle of writing, I glanced up and immediately locked eyes with the most intense blue eyes. I gave the owner of those striking blue eyes a smile and then promptly (more out of nervousness) looked down at my journal. After he loaded his machines, he walked outside to smoke a cigarette. Stupidly thinking he wouldn't look through the window, I got into one of those staring moments, I guess we can call it a daydream? Yep, it's official he's just my type. And just as I finished thinking that, he turned around and looked right at me! YES, HE CAUGHT ME STARING AT HIM. Are you cringing? I was! OMG! Second time, Amanda, now you're just a complete creep! Just continue writing and wait for the maintenance guy. 

I obediently listened to my inner-voice but some time later, a dog walked up to me. Naturally, my high-pitched dog voice came out as I began petting this curious little dog. It soon got bored, turned around and walked over to someone else ... to Mr. Blue Eyes (that's what I'm calling him). We locked eyes again and smiled at each other. Third time. Well damn, at this point, I really don't care if he finds me creepy. He seems to be going along with it. 

This little dance we were doing was entertaining. I thought, Hm, how long can we carry on with this nonverbal communication thing? I heard him speak French when he was loading his laundry earlier, so nonverbal communication was probably the best we could both do.

That was until the American couple returned...

After the maintenance guy showed up, I spent the next few minutes trying to explain to him what had happened. I had an audience, Mr. Blue Eyes included. I watched as this man begrudgingly pulled out his tools to open the machine. He switched a few things on and off, went to the central machine, opened that up as well and then voilà it was fixed at last!

The American couple who had helped me earlier walked back in to check on their clothes and asked how I was doing when Mr. Blue Eyes jumped in on the conversation and (to my surprise) spoke perfect English...with (clutch those pearls) a British accent! We began to walk closer and closer to each other, all while wearing the most ridiculous expressions.

He told me how I had wandered into a great area (Saint-Germain-des-Prés). I nervously laughed and said something I don't remember...actually, I don't remember most of our conversation because I was trying to be casual while simultaneously trying not to sound like a complete idiot.

At that point, I hadn't had lunch or my mandatory daily cup of coffee so I told him and the American woman that I was going to grab a cup of coffee and lunch while I waited for my clothes to dry. I asked Mr. Blue Eyes if he had any recommendations and he pointed towards the direction of a street with endless outdoor cafes. With one ridiculously huge smile, I took a final look at him and walked out of the laundromat with my right hand over my heart (yes, roll those eyes I actually did that).

I walked away feeling like the main character in a movie. I thought, though, that maybe I was hallucinating or projecting a situation I wish would happen. Did I imagine this? I don't know but I was already eager to return!

Are you done? 

I returned after eating my lunch only I arrived to an empty laundromat. Damnit. Just as I opened the dryer to grab my clothes, the American woman came in and asked, "Are you done?"

I said I was and commented on how I made it through the entire machine debacle with all of my clothes intact. Her response, "Oh no! You know that cute guy we were talking to earlier? We stayed chatting after you left and he admitted to liking you! He thought you were pretty but was too shy to ask you out. I told him that I thought you were single so that he should ask you out if you see each other again. What did you think of him?"

HOLD ON... I WASN'T IMAGINING THINGS?! 

"I thought he was really cute too," I said in shock, "Did you catch his name?"

"No, I'm sorry I didn't! You should ask him out, I think he may be too shy to do it himself. Did you notice his eyes? THOSE EYES," we both laughed!

I slowly folded my clothes in the hopes that he'd return but also told myself that I wouldn't wait over 20 minutes. I'm a big believer in serendipity, so if we were meant to have a part 2, the world and God would conspire to make it happen! If not, well, I still walked away with a sweet story.

In the meantime, though, I was in freaking Paris ... and with clean clothes no less!

Happy ending? 

He wasn't my epic love story but he was A story. I will never ever forget the time my dirty clothes got stuck in a French laundry machine and an American woman tried to play cupid with two people who were too hesitant to put themselves out there.

This ending may not have looked like that classic meet-cute ending we see in our favorite Rom-Coms, but I certainly felt happy after that encounter! I had THE best most magical time in Paris, and I didn't need a man to make it complete!

I think a big lesson for me is to listen to my instincts a little more and go for it. We'll see where that takes me ;P