At The Bottom Of Everything

At The Bottom Of Everything

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At The Bottom Of Everything
At The Bottom Of Everything
21. in all ways, always

21. in all ways, always

written 5 months and 27 days after

Amy Lin's avatar
Amy Lin
Feb 14, 2021
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At The Bottom Of Everything
At The Bottom Of Everything
21. in all ways, always
14
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October 2018

I met my sweet guy on a blind date that lasted hours, and then there was the second date, infamous as it is, with the passing out, and the food I couldn’t eat.

The third date, he showed up in chaps, cowboy boots, a Sheriff’s star strung on a lariat around his neck, a massive horse belt buckle at his waist, an embroidered Western shirt buttoned all the way up, a cowboy hat on his head.

It was summer and there was a huge rodeo going on. It felt like every person in the city had turned themselves into a pseudo-cowboy or cowgirl, except for me. I wore high-waisted, black linen shorts, a black V-neck tank top, a long, pink-floral wrap. We were meeting for dinner and his spurs clanked when he sat down at the table, which was outside, on a patio.

“You like costumes, huh?” I said.

“It’s Stampede!” he exclaimed. “You have to dress up.”

“You really don’t,” I said.

He adjusted his hat and called me “ma’am.” The hat was all leather and shaped more like the cowboy hats of Australia.

This …

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