Disclaimer: This is a true story that happened about a year ago. Candice and I were being very silly and very dramatic. I don't actually believe he is my future husband (I hadn't met Peter yet). Also, some names have been changed.
The fact that Candice was visiting from out of town was only a lame excuse for another reason to go back to the restaurant. I had already been there 3 times in the past week and a half. He’s not going to fall in love with me on his own, is he? The first time I went there, I saw him – he was so handsome – I made small talk, introduced myself, ordered my food - the usual. I mean, I was with a group of friends, what more could I do? The second time I went there, he didn’t remember me. But he felt really bad about it – that’s an in! Then I took Candice there.
Back at my apartment, Candice and I mulled it over.
“It could have been a purity ring,” she said.
“Well, you never know… I know a lot of guys who wear them..."
“Yeah, because a waiter at a tiny, Korean restaurant in Japantown gets aaaallllll the ladies.” I replied with sarcasm, of course.
I remembered a conversation I had with him at dinner, in between water glasses 2 and 3.
Candice nodded her head. She was on Facebook and probably only half-listening to me. Stupid Facebook. Wait a minute… Facebook! I suddenly had a brilliant idea. I got on my computer and logged on to Yelp. There it was – a Yelp page for the restaurant! I knew he was the son of the owners… I just had to find the owners’ names and then I would know his last name. There they were! Tom and Shirley Douglas.
“What?” She was still on Facebook.
I put his name into the search box, but there were a million Ricky Douglases. I limited the search to _____, CA. No one with that name in _____ appeared.
“Maybe Ricky is his nickname,” Candice suggested. She's so smart. I searched Richard Douglas. No one. I searched Ricardo Douglas.
“Why would a half-Korean, half-white boy be named Ricardo?” Candice stated.
I tried everything, every combination of name and city, but still couldn’t find him. So I gave up. Facebook is stupid anyway. I handed her her computer back and got on mine. Maybe I would watch a show on Hulu while she wasted her life away on Facebook. Next thing I knew, Candice was cheering.
“I found him!” She called me over. I sat on the floor cross-legged, next to her. “Richard Douglas, _____, CA, 29 years old,” she read to me from the website.
“Where did you find that?” I asked.
“Hey, it’s not stalking if it’s free information,” she defended.
So that's how it ended... We never found out if he’s married or not.
After that night I felt self-conscious and didn't go back to the restaurant for a while. Even though he has no idea that we stalked him online, I still feel embarrassed. Am I really that desperate that I resort to flirting with waiters and then researching their lives online? Yes, apparently I am. But at least I have a friend who is willing to join me in my quests for love, silly as they may be. And for that, I am grateful!