Kim Possible Rides Again - Prologue pt. 4

- APRIL 2008 -



“So, I got a phone call from Carrie last night,”  Tara said as she sipped her latte.

“And?”

“Wayll ...” she replied as she curled her lip and wrinkled up her eyebrows.

Ron sighed as he slouched down into the restaurant booth. “That good huh?”

“I’m sorry, Ron, she’s just … I don’t know, is looking for someone a little more ...”

“Handsome?”

“Mature,”  she finished. “She yelled at me for setting her up with a high schooler.”

“She thinks I’m a high schooler?!”

“Well, you did pick her up on a moped and then proceeded to pay for dinner with coupons. Then there was something … Did you really order off the kid's menu?”

“Eh, it’s an old habit. I came up with the idea a while ago that if I ordered something cheap from the kid's menu then I could spend more on my date’s meal.”

“That, might work with someone who has known you since prechool,” Tara replied, “but for someone who is on a blind date with you, meeting you for the first time, and all that jazz. Probably not the best way to make a first impression.”

“Well, at least I took her out to a decent restaurant this time.”

“That you did.  At least you learned your lesson from Jeanette and the ‘JP Bearymore's Pizza Party-Torium incident’," she replied as she took another sip from her cup. “Ron, hon, I’m glad you’ve been getting out amongst the living once again and I’m really proud of you for starting to date again, but I’m starting to have some concerns.”

“Oh?” Ron responded somewhat surprised.

“Well, seeing that most of the girls you have been on dates with have been friends of mine that I had set you up with, I’ve been privy to some feedback.  And, well, I’m starting to notice a troubling pattern.”

“And what kind of pattern is that?”

“Well, um.  There appears to be a general consensus that you lack any form of …” Tara waved her hand in the air as if trying to conjure the proper term. “Sophistication?” she finished weakly.

“Wha?” Ron responded in surprise. “Now I might not be a Prince Wally by any stretch, but I do know how to treat the ladies.”

“Well, according to them, you need to learn how to treat them a little better,” she shot back as she pulled out her smartphone and opened a document.

"Holly said, 'He made me drive him to the putt putt course because he doesn’t have a decent mode of transportation. Then made me pay because he left his wallet in his other pair of pants.’“

"Dana said, ‘He brought his pet rodent into the restaurant with us and then it proceeded to burrow into Ron’s spaghetti.’”

"Jeanette said, ‘His idea of a romantic evening consists of being surrounded by eight year olds and an animatronic jug band.’"

"Altea said, ‘You set me up with a man-child. I hate you Tara.’"

"And finally, Carrie said, ‘I should have listened to Altea. I felt like I was on a date with my little brother.’"

“Need I go on?” Tara concluded as she looked up from her screen.

“Wow,” Ron replied in a more sober tone.  “I didn’t think I did all that bad with them to be honest.

“Ron,”  said Tara before taking a deep breath and forging ahead. “Kim had a bit of a tomboy streak in her, didn’t mind getting dirty, and you had the benefit of being good friends way before you decided to take your relationship to the next level.  You didn’t have to try hard to impress her, Rufus was part of your team, and she wasn’t much for being showered with glamor.  That being said, most girls out there aren’t like her.  Most girls will want to be wooed with romance, treated like a princess, and not be asked to pick up the restaurant tab. Especially on the first date where first impressions are crucial.”

“I mean, take Logan for example,” she continued as she referred to her boyfriend of seven and a half months. “For our first date, he picked me up in his car of which he had cleaned both inside and out to the point that it looked almost brand new.  He then took me to this nice little seafood restaurant down by the waterfront which looked like a complete dive but had the best seafood in the Tri-City area. The place was small and empty, so we had it virtually to ourselves, which was fantastic. After our meal, we went to the park where we watched an outdoor concert for a couple of hours.  And then finally, we went out for some ice cream before taking me back to my dorm.  It was fantastic, and as you can see, his charm worked!”

“Yeah, yeah, not everyone is as perfectly romantic as Logan,” Ron moaned.

“I wouldn’t say he was perfect. He accidently spilled his glass of water at dinner on me and then walked around the park with his zipper down for half the night,” she chuckled. “But we laugh about it now.  Even with the hiccups he still managed to make the evening all about me.  And I couldn’t have been happier with the result.”

“So you’re saying that I should basically be completely not how I am when it comes to dating?”

“I’m saying that you need to approach women in a way that will leave them wanting more, and, I’m sorry, taking them to kiddie parks, making them pay for things, and introducing them to your pet mole rat on the first date is probably not going to get the job done.”

“I see,” Ron said dejectedly. “That, to me, just sounds like giving up on everything that I like in life. Well, except for making them pay for things. That isn't something that I like in life. I mean, it isn't like I'm a bum or anything."

“Ron, you’re rambling,” Tara replied. “I mean, Logan was quite a bit of an obnoxious doofus when I first met him during an intramurals match.  Honestly, the way he acted when I first met him I would have had nothing to do with him, but when I got him away from his buddies I realized there was more to him than just what I saw on the field.  Eventually, he decided he wanted to be with me more than making immature armpit noises with his friends and, well, the rest is history.  Think of it as trading something you enjoy for something that you enjoy even more, like an old video game for a new one.  Or trading up a Naco for a plate of Filege con Hongos.”

“Tara, that is awesome. You actually listened to me when I was talking to you about my chapter on high-end Mexican cuisine?"

"Yeah, Ron, I did. That is what mature people in relationships, romantic or platonic, do for each other. They take an interest in what the other person is interested in, even if it isn't necessarily something that they like, and you might just find out that, like trading that Naco full of processed cheese for that Filete con Hongos with filet mignon and mushrooms, you will find something that you like better than what you liked before."

“Oh, well, in that case I think I could make that sort of sacrifice,” Ron replied now salivating. “I guess I just need another chance.”

“Good!  I think you could do it if you wanted to,”  Tara replied as she finished up her latte and put up her phone.  “As for another chance, um, in a couple of weeks Logan and I were going to come down to the pops concert that they’re having at the Civic Auditorium.  If I can pull some strings and can get one of my girlfriends to go along with me, would you be interested in possibly doing a double date?”

“A double date and a pop concert?  Who’s the band? O Boyz? Katy Perry?”

“No, it’s pops ... like orchestra music ... Logan used to play cello and likes to catch a concert every now and then to reminisce.  It’s actually pretty fun.  The theme for this concert is ‘Music from Blockbusters’ so they’ll be playing music from movie scores.”

“Sweet! I’d be up for it," Ron said before snarkly rolling his eyes and continuing, "Besides, I doubt I’ll be doing anything else by then.”

“Now, Ron, don’t say that. You have plenty of things to do before then.”

“I do?”

“Yes, a little homework assignment,” she replied as she stood up and left a tip on the table. “You need to work on being a little more mature for the date. Practice in the mirror, maybe practice with your mom, or as a last resort there’s always Hana.”

“Oh, okay,” he said somewhat nervously.  “No pressure right?”

“Well, kind of ... I’ve really only one last person I could probably arrange a blind date with. You’re getting quite the reputation amongst my circle of friends, so after this one you’re probably going to be on your own in terms of getting dates if it doesn’t work out.  But on the bright side you’ll have Logan and me there with you.  So if you get a little off course, we can be your wingmen and try to steer you back in the right direction.  Sound like a plan?”

“Absolutely, Tara!" Ron boasted with a newfound confidence at the proposal.

“Good. Now I need to get back to Upperton so I can study for a psych exam I have tomorrow. In the meantime, do like I said and work on your table manners and social etiquette and we’ll see you in two weeks and see what you’ve learned.”

“Sweet,”  Ron said as he got up and walked Tara out to her car.  “Hey, um, not to change the subject, but do you ever talk to KP these days?”

“Ron,” Tara said reluctantly, “I thought we had been over this.”

“I know, I know ... I just. I dunno, a part of me wonders what she’s up to nowadays.”

“Ron, thinking about her isn’t going to help you to get over her. You need to let it go.”

“I know. I guess I just wanted to know if she’s doing alright down in Eugene.  The last time I talked to her she was struggling with her grades and didn’t have any free time.” Ron looked at Tara sadly. “Tara, Kim was my best friend for twelve years before she became my girlfriend, and despite everything, I still want to be her friend.”

“To be honest, I don’t know,” she responded begrudgingly, obviously uncomfortable about talking on the subject. “I know she made the Dean's List because her name was in the Examiner along with mine, and I think Liz said that she joined a couple of student clubs, but other than that I don’t know. She kind of fell off the face of the Earth in terms of keeping up with people.”

“Wait, you made the Dean's List too?”

“Yep, I’m also thinking about doing a semester abroad.  Logan’s obviously not too hot on the idea, but he understands.”

“And you never feel smothered?”

“Smothered?  No, never.  Logan’s been my rock, I honestly don’t know how I would have made the grades I did without his support.  Why? Is that what Kim used as an excuse to break it off?”

Ron replied with a sad pout and a shrug of his shoulders. “Partially.”

“Ron, look,” Tara said with her hand on his shoulder. “Kim is just like the rest of us who graduated.  For the first time in her life she’s truly independent, being exposed to a lot of new and different people, places, and experiences.  It gets quite overwhelming. I can speak from experience.  I mean, you suddenly start to question everything you have ever known, and you really begin to second-guess yourself and sometimes try to distance yourself from your old friends and home.  She’s not a special case.”

“So this is natural?”

Tara’s look became firm at Ron’s obvious enthusiasm. “I’m not going to stand here and give you any false hopes that you two have a future together or sugarcoat it by saying that she’s in a phase that she’ll eventually grow out of.  All I know is that college can be a challenging time for people.  And if you want me to be brutally honest with you, I’ve got five girls, six if you count Kim, that are saying you have some growing up to do. No offense, but, well, maybe they’re onto something ... You know?”

“Hmmm ... Yeah, you’re probably onto something there,” Ron replied humbly.

“Goodbye, Ron,” Tara said as she slipped on her sunglasses and cracked a smile and gave her old friend a friendly noogie. “Work on your assignment and we’ll see what you’ve learned in two weeks. Ok?”

Tara started up her car and was about to drive off when Ron started knocking on her window.

“Yes?”  she asked as she cracked her window.

Clearing his throat, Ron said in a clear and robust voice, “I would just like to say that I had a wonderful time with you today catching up over coffee.  I hope you have a safe trip back to Upperton, and please give Logan my regards.”

“Well, I certainly enjoyed myself as well, Mr. Stoppable. I will be sure to inform Logan of your salutations.”  Tara winked back at him.  “Not too shabby, you might be on your way to becoming a distinguished gentleman after all.  See you in two weeks!”

“You can do this, Stoppable!”  Ron said to himself as he watched his friend drive of.  “Boo and yah.”



-END-